Leafleting at Maker Faire

The primary focus of my efforts in leafleting is to promote veganism to those who otherwise would not receive the information.  A secondary benefit is providing an opportunity for leafleting virgins to participate.

Some first-timers are apprehensive about the response they will get from the people whom they are trying to reach.  In my experience with leafleting, these are the some of the common responses and interactions:

• “Thank you” and takes the leaflet
• Walks right by me, like I’m the invisible vegan
• “No”
• “No, I like meat” (in which case, it’s great to have Vegan Outreach’s “Even If You Like Meat” booklet to offer as an alternative)
• I’m already [ vegetarian | vegan ]
• I already have that

Goal Reached! Four people read their new VSKs

I once leafleted someone who glanced through the information, and then turned around and leafleted it to someone else.  Now that was really neat.  But, for 99.9% of these interactions, it’s a very narrow window of opportunity to talk to people and offer information, as most often people are on their way somewhere.  And nearly every time I leaflet, I will get a few people who initially say “no” or walk right by my (in)visible self, then turnaround and ask for a leaflet.  And what’s what leafleting is all about — giving people information to make informed choices.

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For many leafleting activists, a “Why Vegan” is the perfect tool to dispense this information.  Weighing in at approx 3/4 of an ounce, the 16-page 5″ x 8.5″ color booklet produced by Vegan Outreach is brimming with information and pictures.

I was on public transit last weekend, and I observed someone reading a “Why Vegan” from cover to cover. I know in that split-second decision he made to accept the booklet from me that he is someone who is curious, open-minded or maybe just wanted something read.

Will those ten minutes spent reading a “Why Vegan” change his life?  Or the lives of the animals he could choose not to eat or drink?  Only he can decide.

Why Vegan? [PDF ]

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Alex talking veg with interested John Q Public

In 2007, I noticed that I wasn’t doing as much veg outreach via  leafleting as I wanted. So I decided to take some of that generic advice given to people going on a diet.  While that’s to keep track of what you eat, and to exercise with a buddy, I applied that to being an activist.  With one addition:  make sure the advocacy activity is one that is enjoyable and sustainable.  For me, leafleting with PETA’s Vegetarian Starter Kits or Vegan Outreach’s Even if You Like Meat is the high fiber activity that’s also fun when you combine it with meeting new people and yummy vegan food afterwards.  (i.e. “Will leaflet for vegan food”)

So, I found a leafleting buddy to keep me from falling into my natural state of eating chocolate chip cookies and reading novels with a feline laptop.  Her name is Alex.

Starting in January 2008, Alex and I committed to leafleting once a month (on a Saturday or Sunday, since we both work full-time), and we also invite others to join us.  I also leaflet sans buddy at a local college (i.e. Vegan Outreach Adopt-a-College program).  But because I do this one on my lunch-hour during the work day, it tends to be sporadic as to when I can do it (i.e. lunchtime meetings are common, pressing work deadlines, and I’m not always in the office); this doesn’t lend itself to leafleting regularly with a partner.

Ready-Set-Go-Vegan!

Here’s a comparison of how that worked:

Alex and I planned to leaflet 12 times.  And we actually leafleted 12 times, and have met a lot of new friends along the way, too.  This isn’t part of the diet plan, but part of the fun plan, after we leaflet, we go out and eat vegan food.  Fortunately for us, there are 22 vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco (and 10 of those SF restaurants are vegan). (Oh, and for anyone who is counting calories, leafleting also offers exercise since I usually walk around to pass out information.)

For my college leafleting, I have a general goal to leaflet once a month for 30 minutes during my lunch hour.  I got out 4 times during the same period.  (Actually 5 times, because I used a floating holiday and took a day off work to leaflet at SFSU with another friend, and then we had some wonderful battered and deep-fried food.  I wonder if deep-fried Why Vegan booklets would be irresistible?  Hmmm…) The bonus with participating in the Vegan Outreach AAC program is they keep track of your leafleting for you.  It’s kinda neat to look back and see I’ve been participating since 2003.

Anyways, it worked well for us in 2008, and 2009 is already off to a good start!  These photos are from various 2008 leafleting events, and our next one is planned for Saturday, February 21st in San Francisco.  So, if you’re another local veg activist and looking to connect with others for vegan advocacy, please join us!

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Just call us Leafleting Leprechauns