The Meatout

We participated in the Meatout this year by holding a tabling event at Bruin Plaza on April 4, 2005. The event was cosponsored with the University Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. We distributed free vegan food from California Vegan, Native Foods, and Real Food Daily. We also distributed literature and CDs with undercover footage of factory farms, as well as showing the documentary "Peaceable Kingdom" on TV. An exciting new addition this year was an RV truck from Turtle Mountain, which distributed delicious free samples of its Purely Decadent soy ice cream line. Joining us this year were also the fabulous Vegan Vixens. The event was a great success, with students lining up at the tables. More information on the Meatout as a nationwide event is available at www.meatout.org. We would like to thank the abovementioned restaurants for donating food to the event, as well as the UCLA Graduate Students Association, the UCLA School of Law Student Bar Association, and the Undergraduate Student Association Council, for providing funding.

One of the Society's achievements in the 2003-2004 academic year included a major tabling event on Bruinwalk, the heart of the UCLA campus. This tabling event was done in participation of “The Meatout.” The Meatout is an international observance that occurs once a year, around late March to early April. Animal advocacy groups all over the world take this opportunity to educate the public of various health, environmental, and ethical reasons for choosing a meatless lifestyle.

We distributed substantive literature that described, in depth, the health, environmental, and ethical ramifications of eating animals. We were also able to get food catered from some popular vegan restaurants in the area. In addition, the law school graciously provided us with a TV and DVD player. We played "Peaceable Kingdom," a documentary on some farm animal activists and the farm industry. We also distributed almost 100 cds of PETA's "Meet Your Meat" video, which contains undercover footage of the cruelty that occurs in factory farms.

The event was an incredible success. We distributed food to approximately 200-300 students. People gathered around the TV and watched part of the Peaceable Kingdom documentary as they ate their food. Additionally, we got more than 20 letters in support of the proposed foie gras ban. The ban on the sale and production of foie gras in California was proposed, as a bill, by Senator Burton. Foie gras is fattened duck liver, which is obtained by force-feeding ducks until their livers are 12 times their normal size. Because of The Meatout, people were willing to take time out of their lives to hand-write letters to Senators Machado, Murray, Vincent, and Cedillo, as well as the Committee on Business & Professions. Shortly after we sent the letters to the senators and the Committee, the Committee on Business & Professions voted in favor of the bill. The vote was close (4-3). Senators Murray, Vincent, and Cedillo voted in favor of the bill.

Update: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill banning foie gras in Fall 2004.

The Society participated, for the first time, in the Meatout by distributing vegan cookies and literature at the Shapiro Courtyard of the UCLA School of Law.