Featured Ideas: Vegan School Lunches and Non-Animal Research

by Stephanie Ernst · 2008-12-31 08:56:00 UTC
Topics:

It's the last day of voting for the first round of Ideas for Change in America! Have you done your voting yet? If not (or even if so), meander back to the post from a couple days ago on voting strategy (on what to consider when voting or removing your votes), and then get voting! Here are two final featured ideas for your consideration:

1. Offer Vegan School Lunch Options
This idea, in the Agricultural Policy section, calls for the USDA to facilitate vegan options in school lunch programs. This is not about requiring schools to eliminate meat, dairy, and eggs from their lunch programs; it's about also offering healthy, tasty vegan options, which would no doubt be eaten not only by vegetarian and vegan children but also by omnivorous children. In addition to all the supportive comments on this idea from vegans, it's been really wonderful to see support from (a) some non-vegans who recognize that these healthy options should be available for all children and that school lunch programs generally need far healthier fare and (b) teachers and students who agree. But we have to keep the momentum and votes going today, folks, because the numbers are close--spread the word today and encourage continued voting!

2. Increase Funding for Non-Animal Research Methods and Mandate Their Use
This idea needs a lot of votes today and tonight to make it to the top 3, and I'll let you read the text of this idea on the actual idea page, but I'm also going to ask you to do some other things to remind yourselves of why this shift is important. Watch some of the videos. See for yourself what happens. And use your vote, and encourage your friends and family to use theirs, to say it needs to stop. One very brief video is embedded at the bottom of this post, and preceding it are links to other videos.

And finally, if you've been convinced that any law could ever adequately protect these animals used in research and testing, go back and reread the post "No Justice for the Monkey Boiled Alive."

Video Links:

If You Knew the Truth, Would It Make a Difference?

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
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