Help! I’m Going Vegan Workshop

Join ARC’s Campaign Manager, Ashley, and Outreach Manager, Kelsey, for a Help! I’m Going Vegan online workshop. We’ll answer all your questions related to veganism including ethics, nutrition, the environment, how to gently explain to grandma that her banana bread isn’t vegan… and how to teach her to make it vegan.

Tune in on Wednesday, April 28th, from 6:30-8:00 pm. We’ll have tons of information and resources to take away. This is a great opportunity to answer questions you’ve been confused about, teach you how to respond to opposing views from friends and family, and help ease the transition to a vegan lifestyle.

Let’s Make Fur History in Minneapolis!

Let’s make fur history! Help Fur Free Minneapolis, ARC, and other coalition partners ban the sale of new fur in Minneapolis.

We especially need people who live in Minneapolis Ward 6 to add their voices. If you live in Ward 6 (Ward 6 map is shown to the left) and want to help, send us a message to find out what you can do. You can email ashleyr@animalrightscoalition.com or info@furfreeminneapolis.org to get involved.

Please sign and share the petition to make Minneapolis the next fur free city!

ARC’s MN Vegan Guide

ARC created a new Guide to being Vegan in the Twin Cities! Use it as a resource for finding Minnesota’s animal sanctuaries, locating restaurants, cafes and food trucks, suggestions for books and blogs to read, movies and documentaries to watch, local vegan organizations to support, and important issues to learn about. You can also search through events ARC participates in, find resources for raising vegan children, and scope out animal-friendly activities for kids and families to engage in together. Save it as an app on your phone or bookmark on the computer for quick and easy access to a comprehensive guide for being Vegan in the Twin Cities!

Volunteering at Youth Farm

ARC volunteers had a great time volunteering at one of Youth Farm’s community gardens again in October. We harvested a ton of healthy food and helped get the garden ready for winter. We’re already excited to volunteer next year. Add in lots of laughs, good music, a little dancing, learning some new things, and a whole bunch of good vibes. We even had a visit from retired Vikings player Tyrone Carter, who stopped by as he was in the area making sure people were registered to vote.

Chicken Run Rescue Virtual Tour

Join ARC as we take you through Chicken Run Rescue and meet the birds! We’ll follow along as Mary, CRR founder, moves each bird outside for the day and then watch the birds go through their morning routines and feeding time from their favorite food truck. Meet all 58 birds and hear stories about about some of the birds that were lucky to end up at the sanctuary.

We will be streaming the tour live via ARC’s Facebook page on Sunday, August 23 from 10:00 to 11:00 am CDT. This is a great opportunity to see CRR and to meet these sentient beings that would have otherwise been victims of neglect, abuse and abandonment. RSVP on Facebook or Animal Rights Meetup.

Note: The event will be rescheduled if it rains.

In Solidarity

Although the Animal Rights Coalition works to end the suffering, abuse, and exploitation of non-human animals, we speak up against ALL forms of oppression. We are sickened and outraged by the horrific murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. We mourn with the Floyd family and others who have lost loved ones to police violence. We stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and offer our support and voice to ending police brutality.

Take Pandemics Off the Menu

Our current world situation is very sad indeed, but it has given us an opportunity to encourage everyone to take pandemics off the menu by moving to a plant-based diet. It is well documented that the current outbreak of the Coronavirus is simply the latest in a long history of viruses that came from our mistreatment of animals.

Dozens of people infected early in the current outbreak worked in a live-animal market in China. While many blame the consumption of wildlife for this outbreak, the primary cause of zoonotic diseases that can jump from non-human animals to humans is not the consumption of wildlife—it’s the consumption of animals, period.

But don’t take our word for it; do your own research and learn how consuming animals not only harms animals but also your health and the health of our planet. When you decide it’s time to make a change, ARC’s Vegan University program has all the resources you need to help you go – and stay – vegan in a way that works for you. You can sign up for your own vegan mentor, take a vegan grocery shopping tour, and go to workshops – and it’s all free! We’re here to help and to get you across that finish line in your transition to a plant-based diet!

The Guardian: Is factory farming to blame for corona virus?
Scientific American: One root cause of pandemics that few people think aboutSentient Media: A palate for pestilence: ominous links between Covid-19 and industrial animal farming
The Guardian: Tip of the iceberg: is our destruction of nature resposible for Covid-19?
CNN: The Covid-19 culprit is us, not pangolins
Dr. Michael Greger (YouTube): Bird flu: a virus of our own making
Slate: Jane Goodall – Covid-19 should make us rethink our destructive relationship with the natural world
The Nation: Think exotic animals are to blame for the coronavirus? Think again.

Fur Free Ordinance Introduced in Minneapolis

Congratulations to our coalition partner, Fur Free Minneapolis on reaching a major milestone with the introduction of their fur free ordinance at Minneapolis city hall, which will prohibit the sale of new animal fur products in Minneapolis! Huge thanks to city council authors Alondra Cano and Cam Gordon.

The ban will not force any Minneapolis businesses to close. Companies which currently sell animal fur will have a phase-in period, during which they can transition to selling fur-free products. There is an exemption in the ordinance which protects the rights of Native American tribes to sell fur for traditional and spiritual purposes and secondhand stores are also exempt.

If the ordinance passes, Minneapolis will join Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and West Hollywood, which have similar ordinances. New York City has also introduced an ordinance to end the sale of fur.

Minneapolis residents, sign the petion to ban fur in Minneapolis. Check out Fur Free Minneapolis’ upcoming events for this campaign.