CENTRAL FLORIDA VEG FEST
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SPEAKERS
"Florida's Animal Industries: What You Should Know, and How You Can Help"
Nick Atwood, Campaigns Coordinator
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida
3:00 p.m.
Nick Atwood is Campaigns Coordinator at the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. ARFF, soon to celebrate its 20th anniversary, is Florida's largest statewide animal protection group. ARFF works to open hearts and minds by educating people about the abuse of animals and promoting lifestyle changes that can make a difference.
Nick arrived in Florida 10 years ago and has witnessed extraordinary progress for animals, including a historic ballot initiative that banned gestation crates, among the worst abuses on factory farms. Animal advocates in Florida have a lot to be proud of, but the challenges facing animals remain great.
Did you know that there are more chickens confined in a typical egg farm in central Florida than there are people in the cities of Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg combined? Did you know that the economic impact of Florida's dairy industry is larger than from grapefruit, or that Florida's beef industry is bigger than sugar cane? The suffering of animals in farms presents the largest and most challenging problems for activists in Florida. Nick will present an overview of Florida's animal industries, and discuss ways that everyone can get involved to help.
"Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food"
Gene Baur, President and Co-Founder
Farm Sanctuary
2:00 p.m.
Gene Baur is co founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization. He holds a masters degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University and has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses to document conditions. His pictures and videotape, exposing factory farming cruelty, have been aired nationally and internationally, educating millions. He has testified in court and before local, state and federal legislative bodies, and has initiated groundbreaking legal enforcement and legislative action to prevent farm animal abuse.
Gene played an important role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming methods--including the Florida ban on gestation crates, the Arizona ban on veal and gestation crates, and the California and Chicago bans on foie gras. His efforts have been covered by leading news organizations, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Public Radio, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN. His recently completed book, entitled "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food", is being published by Simon and Schuster in March, 2008.
Gene will use firsthand accounts to illustrate how human and animal lives are caught in today's out-of-control factory farms, contrasting inhumane conditions that exist on today’s modern animal farms with the kindness that exists at Farm Sanctuary. Just as cruelty to animals can lead to a broader callousness and disregard for life, empathy and compassion can awaken understanding, create hope, and give rise to greater awareness of the decisions that affect our world.
"Thrive on a Plant-Based Diet? Whole Food Nourishment for Whole Body-Whole Health"
Robert Cheeke, President
Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness
4:00 p.m.
Robert Cheeke presents a system of eating high quality foods combined with consistent exercise philosophies to achieve overall increased health and vitality. As an accomplished vegan athlete for the past 12 years, Robert shares what he has learned from applying concepts expressed and shared by leaders in the health and fitness industries. The theme behind Robert’s presentation is "take action and make it happen." Incorporating Robert’s nutrition, exercise and lifestyle suggestions and guidelines into everyday life will help you thrive, rather than just get by.
As an athlete Robert ran cross country for Oregon State University and then picked up an interest in lifting weights and became a competitive bodybuilder. In 2002 he started Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, a company dedicated to promoting the vegan fitness lifestyle and empowering vegan athletes. In the spring of 2005 he became a champion bodybuilder winning a contest in Portland, OR and competed at the Natural Bodybuilding World Championships. In 2006 he was selected as one of VegNews Magazine’s 15 most influential vegan athletes, and he is considered one of the most recognized vegan athletes in the world.
Robert has appeared in more than 20 magazines worldwide. He has also appeared in TV commercials for VegSeattle and PETA, and has been on a number of television news shows, radio interviews, and is featured on over 100 websites. Robert is the co-founder of C-VEG, a Corvallis-based Vegan group, a Board Member for OrganicAthlete, a Board Member from NW VEG in Portland, and works with a number of organizations including PETA and IDA. He is a writer for multiple magazines and websites covering vegan and fitness issues. Currently Robert works full-time for Sequel Naturals as a representative for Vega, a line of vegan whole-food products.
"Effect of Food Choices on Health"
George Eisman, Registered Dietician
Veg for Life
11:00 a.m.
George Eisman is considered one of the nation’s foremost experts in vegetarian nutrition. He has taught nutrition at the college and university level since 1980, having served as a faculty member at Florida State University, Broward Community College and Miami-Dade Community College. At the latter institution he created the nation’s first college credit program in Vegetarian Studies. As a Registered Dietitian, he has worked at Miami Children's Hospital, Wesley Woods Nursing Home in Atlanta, and state public health agencies in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
George has lectured at national and international nutrition conferences, has written articles for the Journal of Nutrition Education, Vegetarian Times, and Vegetarian Voice. He is the author of the books A Basic Course in Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition, Don't Let Your Diet Add to Your Cancer Risk, and the primary author of the book The Most Noble Diet. He was one of the founding members, and the first Chairman-Elect, of the Vegetarian Nutrition Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. In 1993, the North American Vegetarian Society inducted him into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame.
The current epidemic of cancers, diabetes, and hypertension has created a situation in which, for the first time, a generation of children is not expected to live as long as their parents. This presentation will empower you to help yourself and others in your family and circle of friends achieve a lower risk of these deadly diseases. The Dairy Council has just been stopped from continuing its deceptive campaign promoting milk as a weight-loss aid. Find out what other misconceptions are still ongoing.
"The Power of Food: Changing the World for People, the Animals and the Environment"
lauren Ornelas, Founder/Director
Food Empowerment Project
1:00 p.m.
lauren Ornelas has been active in the animal rights movement for 20 years. She spent four years as the National Campaign Coordinator for In Defense of Animals, and in 1999 she was asked by Viva!UK to start and run Viva!USA. As the leader of Viva!USA, she investigated factory farms and ran consumer campaigns. Some of her accomplishments include persuading Trader Joe’s to stop selling all duck meat, getting Pier 1 to stop using feathers, and being the spark that influenced the CEO of Whole Foods Market to "go vegan." Her campaigns have been covered in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and other major media outlets.
lauren is currently the Campaign Director for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and she started the Food Empowerment Project as a way not only to help people realize the power of their food choices, but to encourage them to make healthy food choices that are not connected to the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resources or the unfair working conditions experienced by food industry employees. She knows that by making informed choices we all can prevent these injustices and create a sustainable world where having access to healthy food is a right and not a privilege.
Our food choices can have a profound impact on the world around us. It's important to understand that food justice involves preventing cruelty to animals as well as the treatment of farm workers who grow and produce our food. lauren's message is that we must work to end the injustices relating to animal agriculture's contributions to environmental racism and the lack of healthy foods that are available to low income communities.
"Humane Education--Teaching Kids to Care"
Michelle Rivera, Humane Educator
Animals 101
5:00 p.m.
Michelle Rivera is the president/founder of Animals 101, Inc. a South Florida Humane Education Organization. She is the author of several books on animals including "Hospice Hounds, Animals and Healing at the Borders of Death"; "Canines in the Classroom, Raising Humane Children through Interactions with Animals"; "The Simple Little Vegan Slow Cooker"; and "Do Dogs Have Belly Buttons? Answers to the 100+ Most Commonly Asked Canine Questions".
Michelle is a free-lance writer and a board member with the Association of Professional Humane Educators. She is a regular contributor to the Palm Beach Post and The Latham Letter and has written articles for Animal Sheltering and Veterinary Technician Magazine. Michelle is program coordinator for the animal-assisted therapy department at The Hanley Center, a rehabilitation center in Palm Beach County. She has several rescued animals including a retired racing greyhound. She is a member in good standing of Professional Dog Trainers Association and Dog Writers Association of America. She lives in South Florida.
"Advances for Farm Animals: How and Why We're Winning"
Paul Shapiro, Senior Director, Factory Farming Campaign
Humane Society of the United States
12:00 p.m.
Paul Shapiro is the senior director of the Factory Farming Campaign at the Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization with 10 million supporters. He has spearheaded numerous successful campaigns to improve the plight of farm animals, most notably several campaigns to work with retailers to stop selling battery cage eggs. He also played a significant role in the successful 2006 Arizona ballot initiative to ban the confinement of calves in veal crates and breeding pigs in gestation crates.
Paul is also the founder and former campaigns director for Compassion Over Killing, a farm animal advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, where he helped lead campaigns such as the successful effort to end the use of the misleading "Animal Care Certified" logo on battery cage egg cartons nationwide. At Compassion Over Killing, Paul worked also as a farm animal cruelty investigator, primarily documenting conditions on egg and broiler factory farms, livestock auctions and slaughter plants.
For decades, the plight of farm animals in the United States has steadily grown worse. Yet the first few years of the 21st century have seen historic strides against factory farming that few would have imagined possible just a decade ago. Long-time farm animal campaigner Paul Shapiro will discuss some of the most important victories for farm animals and how to make even more progress.
Nick Atwood, Campaigns Coordinator
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida
3:00 p.m.
Nick Atwood is Campaigns Coordinator at the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. ARFF, soon to celebrate its 20th anniversary, is Florida's largest statewide animal protection group. ARFF works to open hearts and minds by educating people about the abuse of animals and promoting lifestyle changes that can make a difference.
Nick arrived in Florida 10 years ago and has witnessed extraordinary progress for animals, including a historic ballot initiative that banned gestation crates, among the worst abuses on factory farms. Animal advocates in Florida have a lot to be proud of, but the challenges facing animals remain great.
Did you know that there are more chickens confined in a typical egg farm in central Florida than there are people in the cities of Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg combined? Did you know that the economic impact of Florida's dairy industry is larger than from grapefruit, or that Florida's beef industry is bigger than sugar cane? The suffering of animals in farms presents the largest and most challenging problems for activists in Florida. Nick will present an overview of Florida's animal industries, and discuss ways that everyone can get involved to help.
"Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food"
Gene Baur, President and Co-Founder
Farm Sanctuary
2:00 p.m.
Gene Baur is co founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization. He holds a masters degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University and has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses to document conditions. His pictures and videotape, exposing factory farming cruelty, have been aired nationally and internationally, educating millions. He has testified in court and before local, state and federal legislative bodies, and has initiated groundbreaking legal enforcement and legislative action to prevent farm animal abuse.
Gene played an important role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming methods--including the Florida ban on gestation crates, the Arizona ban on veal and gestation crates, and the California and Chicago bans on foie gras. His efforts have been covered by leading news organizations, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Public Radio, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN. His recently completed book, entitled "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food", is being published by Simon and Schuster in March, 2008.
Gene will use firsthand accounts to illustrate how human and animal lives are caught in today's out-of-control factory farms, contrasting inhumane conditions that exist on today’s modern animal farms with the kindness that exists at Farm Sanctuary. Just as cruelty to animals can lead to a broader callousness and disregard for life, empathy and compassion can awaken understanding, create hope, and give rise to greater awareness of the decisions that affect our world.
"Thrive on a Plant-Based Diet? Whole Food Nourishment for Whole Body-Whole Health"
Robert Cheeke, President
Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness
4:00 p.m.
Robert Cheeke presents a system of eating high quality foods combined with consistent exercise philosophies to achieve overall increased health and vitality. As an accomplished vegan athlete for the past 12 years, Robert shares what he has learned from applying concepts expressed and shared by leaders in the health and fitness industries. The theme behind Robert’s presentation is "take action and make it happen." Incorporating Robert’s nutrition, exercise and lifestyle suggestions and guidelines into everyday life will help you thrive, rather than just get by.
As an athlete Robert ran cross country for Oregon State University and then picked up an interest in lifting weights and became a competitive bodybuilder. In 2002 he started Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, a company dedicated to promoting the vegan fitness lifestyle and empowering vegan athletes. In the spring of 2005 he became a champion bodybuilder winning a contest in Portland, OR and competed at the Natural Bodybuilding World Championships. In 2006 he was selected as one of VegNews Magazine’s 15 most influential vegan athletes, and he is considered one of the most recognized vegan athletes in the world.
Robert has appeared in more than 20 magazines worldwide. He has also appeared in TV commercials for VegSeattle and PETA, and has been on a number of television news shows, radio interviews, and is featured on over 100 websites. Robert is the co-founder of C-VEG, a Corvallis-based Vegan group, a Board Member for OrganicAthlete, a Board Member from NW VEG in Portland, and works with a number of organizations including PETA and IDA. He is a writer for multiple magazines and websites covering vegan and fitness issues. Currently Robert works full-time for Sequel Naturals as a representative for Vega, a line of vegan whole-food products.
"Effect of Food Choices on Health"
George Eisman, Registered Dietician
Veg for Life
11:00 a.m.
George Eisman is considered one of the nation’s foremost experts in vegetarian nutrition. He has taught nutrition at the college and university level since 1980, having served as a faculty member at Florida State University, Broward Community College and Miami-Dade Community College. At the latter institution he created the nation’s first college credit program in Vegetarian Studies. As a Registered Dietitian, he has worked at Miami Children's Hospital, Wesley Woods Nursing Home in Atlanta, and state public health agencies in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
George has lectured at national and international nutrition conferences, has written articles for the Journal of Nutrition Education, Vegetarian Times, and Vegetarian Voice. He is the author of the books A Basic Course in Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition, Don't Let Your Diet Add to Your Cancer Risk, and the primary author of the book The Most Noble Diet. He was one of the founding members, and the first Chairman-Elect, of the Vegetarian Nutrition Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. In 1993, the North American Vegetarian Society inducted him into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame.
The current epidemic of cancers, diabetes, and hypertension has created a situation in which, for the first time, a generation of children is not expected to live as long as their parents. This presentation will empower you to help yourself and others in your family and circle of friends achieve a lower risk of these deadly diseases. The Dairy Council has just been stopped from continuing its deceptive campaign promoting milk as a weight-loss aid. Find out what other misconceptions are still ongoing.
"The Power of Food: Changing the World for People, the Animals and the Environment"
lauren Ornelas, Founder/Director
Food Empowerment Project
1:00 p.m.
lauren Ornelas has been active in the animal rights movement for 20 years. She spent four years as the National Campaign Coordinator for In Defense of Animals, and in 1999 she was asked by Viva!UK to start and run Viva!USA. As the leader of Viva!USA, she investigated factory farms and ran consumer campaigns. Some of her accomplishments include persuading Trader Joe’s to stop selling all duck meat, getting Pier 1 to stop using feathers, and being the spark that influenced the CEO of Whole Foods Market to "go vegan." Her campaigns have been covered in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and other major media outlets.
lauren is currently the Campaign Director for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and she started the Food Empowerment Project as a way not only to help people realize the power of their food choices, but to encourage them to make healthy food choices that are not connected to the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resources or the unfair working conditions experienced by food industry employees. She knows that by making informed choices we all can prevent these injustices and create a sustainable world where having access to healthy food is a right and not a privilege.
Our food choices can have a profound impact on the world around us. It's important to understand that food justice involves preventing cruelty to animals as well as the treatment of farm workers who grow and produce our food. lauren's message is that we must work to end the injustices relating to animal agriculture's contributions to environmental racism and the lack of healthy foods that are available to low income communities.
"Humane Education--Teaching Kids to Care"
Michelle Rivera, Humane Educator
Animals 101
5:00 p.m.
Michelle Rivera is the president/founder of Animals 101, Inc. a South Florida Humane Education Organization. She is the author of several books on animals including "Hospice Hounds, Animals and Healing at the Borders of Death"; "Canines in the Classroom, Raising Humane Children through Interactions with Animals"; "The Simple Little Vegan Slow Cooker"; and "Do Dogs Have Belly Buttons? Answers to the 100+ Most Commonly Asked Canine Questions".
Michelle is a free-lance writer and a board member with the Association of Professional Humane Educators. She is a regular contributor to the Palm Beach Post and The Latham Letter and has written articles for Animal Sheltering and Veterinary Technician Magazine. Michelle is program coordinator for the animal-assisted therapy department at The Hanley Center, a rehabilitation center in Palm Beach County. She has several rescued animals including a retired racing greyhound. She is a member in good standing of Professional Dog Trainers Association and Dog Writers Association of America. She lives in South Florida.
"Advances for Farm Animals: How and Why We're Winning"
Paul Shapiro, Senior Director, Factory Farming Campaign
Humane Society of the United States
12:00 p.m.
Paul Shapiro is the senior director of the Factory Farming Campaign at the Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization with 10 million supporters. He has spearheaded numerous successful campaigns to improve the plight of farm animals, most notably several campaigns to work with retailers to stop selling battery cage eggs. He also played a significant role in the successful 2006 Arizona ballot initiative to ban the confinement of calves in veal crates and breeding pigs in gestation crates.
Paul is also the founder and former campaigns director for Compassion Over Killing, a farm animal advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, where he helped lead campaigns such as the successful effort to end the use of the misleading "Animal Care Certified" logo on battery cage egg cartons nationwide. At Compassion Over Killing, Paul worked also as a farm animal cruelty investigator, primarily documenting conditions on egg and broiler factory farms, livestock auctions and slaughter plants.
For decades, the plight of farm animals in the United States has steadily grown worse. Yet the first few years of the 21st century have seen historic strides against factory farming that few would have imagined possible just a decade ago. Long-time farm animal campaigner Paul Shapiro will discuss some of the most important victories for farm animals and how to make even more progress.
