The Ultimate Guide to Cleveland VegFest 2014

Featured Speaker: Ellen Jaffe Jones

Ellen Jaffe Jones was a TV investigative reporter for 18 years, winning two Emmys and the National Press Club Award. She was a media consultant for Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine before the release of her best-selling books, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day and Kitchen Divided-Vegan Dishes for Semi-Vegan Households.  Ellen is currently ranked #7 in the US for her age group in the 1500m, #10 in the 400m (at the 2013 National Senior Games in Cleveland), and has placed in 5K races or longer 60 times since 2006 “just” on plants. She has 4 Senior Grand Masters running awards. Out to dispel current vegan myths, Ellen has successfully beat back genetic odds that gave her mom, aunt, and both sisters breast cancer. Her new book, Paleo Vegan-Plant-Based Primal Recipes deliciously adapts for current times, what our ancestors really ate.

Learn more about Ellen, her new book, and her training services at her website, The Veg Coach.

Presentation: Going Paleo, Vegan Style

10:00 – 11:00 Main Classroom Lecture Hall 201

Up until now, books on the trendy Paleo diet have assumed our ancient ancestors were catching and eating meat multiple times a day. Emmy-winning TV reporter, turned popular author, personal trainer and nationally ranked sprinter, Ellen Jaffe Jones, continues vegan myth-busting on her quest to avoid breast cancer that struck her mom, aunt and both sisters. In her newest and wildly popular book, “”Paleo Vegan…Plant-Based Primal Recipes,” she digs deep into the healthy common ground both diets share and weeds out the trash, and anything not vegan. In our quest to return to our ancient, primal urges, learn how compatible the modern vegan diet can be with the best of paleo. Truth is, we were way more gatherers than hunters. And Jones believes it is time for vegans to redefine and reclaim the definition of what paleo really was and means for our current times. Ellen offers a simple, straightforward way of eating based on natural, whole and unprocessed foods that both diet styles endorse.

Film Screening: Ten Lives, A Feral Cat Odyssey

10:00 – 11:00  Main Classroom, Room 134

Did you know that more than 50 million homeless, or feral, cats wander the streets, parks and alley ways of the United States, and that there are tens of millions more worldwide? Ten Lives, A Feral Cat Odyssey, a new documentary supported by Friends of Animals (FoA), the Summerlee Foundation, and the ASPCA, reveals the lives of feral cats and the growing numbers of people and organizations working to not only humanely make their lives better, but reduce their numbers through the proven method known as trap, neuter and return TNR. Director Stan Minasian takes viewers around the United States and to Havana, Cuba; the Colosseum in Rome; and Ottowa, Canada, to show how governments, organizations and caring people are coming together to humanely reduce feral cat numbers through TNR. After watching clips like the ones featuring a colony of cats living on Parliament Hill in Canada, Minasian said he hopes that “when people see a feral cat on the street they won’t turn away from it. They’ll know that there is something that they can do.” Ten Lives also dispels negative myths about feral cats, especially the claim that they are responsible for the decline of birds worldwide.

Visit www.FeralCatsUSA.org to learn more about this film.

Featured Speaker: Terry Hope Romero

Terry Hope Romero is the author and co-author of bestselling vegan cookbooks, Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Viva Vegan!: Authentic Vegan Latina American Recipes, and Vegan Eats World. Look out for her latest and greatest yet, Salad Samurai, in Spring 2014. Terry has also presented lively cooking demonstrations and vegan food talks to hungry crowds at food festivals and conferences in Paris, London, Amsterdam, New York City, Boston, Toronto, and across the U.S. Terry has contributed to VegNews’s Hot Urban Eats column, has been featured in Latina magazine, and has been a guest on countless radio talk shows. She also holds a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University. Terry lives, cooks and eats in NYC.

Culinary Demo: Salad Samurai

11:15 – 12:15  Main Classroom Lecture Hall 201

Recipes: BBQ tempeh salad on cashew creme coleslaw, topped with potato chips and other selections from her new book, Salad Samurai

Featured Speakers: Michael & Karen Budkie

Michael Budkie, A.H.T., is the co-founder and Executive Director of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN), which works exclusively on the animal experimentation issue by successfully terminating research projects, forcing the USDA to take legal action against laboratories, & coordinating release of animals into sanctuaries.  After witnessing the atrocities of animal experimentation during his education, he successfully ended a head injury experiment on cats at the University of Cincinnati, launching his career and leading to positions with several national organizations before he co-founded SAEN in the mid-1990s. He has been published, and travels extensively to appear on TV and radio programs, exposing the truth about animal experimentation.

Karen Budkie is the co-founder & Operations Manager of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN). Karen’s activism started in the 1970s by supporting leghold trap legislation and eliminating live dissection of guinea pigs at her high school. Her activism has come full spectrum as she lends her many talents to the daily operations of SAEN, while traveling extensively and organizing SAEN’s Free the Animals – Effective Action Against Vivisection conferences.

Visit www.All-Creatures.org/SAEN to learn more about the organization and its initiatives.

Presentation: Being Vegan – More Than Changing Your Diet

11:15 – 12:15  Main Classroom, Room 134 

Being vegan is a commitment to compassion and nonviolence that encompasses all life.  Being truly vegan means recognizing that all sentient beings deserve our respect and compassion whether they are exploited for experimentation, clothing, entertainment, food, or any other human use.  Join the vegan movement to spread compassion to all living things!

Featured Speaker: Edita Birnkrant

Edita Birnkrant is Campaigns Director of Friends of Animals, (FoA), an international non-profit animal advocacy organization founded in 1957.  Edita runs FoA’s New York office, leading efforts to ban horse-drawn carriages, challenge the fur trade, and transform policies for urban and suburban wildlife and birds. In addition to vegan advocacy, Edita works on numerous state legislative issues affecting animals in New York and other states. Edita is regularly interviewed by BBC, CBS, CNN, NBC, FOX, cable news and a long string of major daily newspapers about animal rights issues and FoA campaigns. She recently appeared as a guest on the Jane Velez Mitchell Show on CNN’s Headline News to discuss FoA’s successful campaign to stop JFK airport from shooting snowy owls on sight, and our subsequent lawsuit against the federal agencies that allowed owls to be killed.

Friends of Animals places veganism, critical habitat, wildlife protection, sanctuary support, and environmental issues at the core of animal advocacy. Friends of Animals’ programs and services provide assistance for wild and domestic animals throughout North America and West Africa.  Friends of Animals operates a San Antonio animal sanctuary, Primarily Primates, and runs the nation’s first and longest running low-cost spay/neuter program, facilitating over 2.6 million surgeries for dogs and cats.  FoA has published two vegan cookbooks: Dining With Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine, and The Best of Vegan Cooking, and produces and distributes Vegan Restaurant Guides for several cities including New York City.

Visit www.FriendsofAnimals.org to learn more about the organization and its initiatives.

Presentation: Is it Enough to say, ‘End Factory Farming’ or ‘Go Vegan’?

12:30 – 1:30  Main Classroom Auditorium

Almost a decade ago, Friends of Animals was the only national or international group that protested Whole Food Market’s so-called “Farm Animal Compassion Standards” endorsed by Peter Singer and 17 animal charities.  They opposed the notion of Whole Foods conflating “compassion” with eating animals and they still do. The Animal Compassion standards and these animal farms, no matter how local, organic and grass-fed their operations, are still death row. In addition, 50% of all pre-packaged products, including innocuous-looking vegan butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, shampoos and more contain palm oil – 85% coming from rainforests crucial for orangutans. It’s the cheapest oil in the word and palm oil plantations cause deforestation which threatens many species of animals.  There’s something consumers can do to help.

Featured Speakers: Liz Marshall & Jo-Anne McArthur

Liz Marshall is a multi-award winning auteur filmmaker who fuses character-driven cinematic storytelling with social and environmental justice issues. Since the 90s she has created a body of 11 documentary projects shot all over the world that focus on a range of subjects including animal rights, the right to water movement, HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, sweatshop labour, corporate globalization, gender, censorship affecting writers and journalists, and war-affected children. Liz is well versed in the craft of conceptual point-of-view storytelling as a means of exploring complex issues.

Liz directed and produced The Ghosts in Our Machine, which premiered in Cleveland last month at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Jo-Anne McArthur is an award-winning photojournalist who has been documenting the plight of animals on all seven continents for over ten years. Her documentary project, We Animals, is internationally celebrated, with photos from the project benefiting over 100 animal organizations, including Igualdad Animal, Sea Shepherd, and the Jane Goodall Institute. Many organizations continue to work closely with Jo-Anne on campaigns and investigations.  Jo-Anne’s recent awards and accolades include the 2013 Compassion for Animals Award, the 2011 Canadian Empathy Award (art category), a place in CBC’s Top 50 Champions of Change, Farm Sanctuary’s 2010 “Friend of Farm Animals”, HuffPost WOMEN’s “Top 10 Women Trying to Change the World”, Supreme Master Ching Hai’s “Shining World Compassion Award”, and the honor of being among the 20 activists featured in the book, The Next Eco Warrior. Jo-Anne is the subject of the celebrated documentary, The Ghosts in Our Machine, by Canadian filmmaker, Liz Marshall.  Jo-Anne’s first book, also entitled, We Animals, was published by Lantern Books in 2013. She hails from Toronto, Canada.

Visit www.WeAnimals.org to learn more about Jo-Anne, the ongoing project, and her book.

Film Preview: The Ghosts in Our Machine

12:45 – 1:30  Main Classroom 201

The Ghosts in Our Machine illuminates the lives of individual animals living within and rescued from the machine of our modern world. Through the heart and photographic lens of acclaimed animal photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, we become intimately familiar with a cast of non-human animals. The film follows McArthur over the course of a year as she photographs several animal stories in parts of Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Each story is a window into global animal industries: Food, Fashion, Entertainment, and Research. All part of her epic global photo project, We Animals, McArthur has documented the lives of animals with heart-breaking, empathic vividness and professionalism, and begs the question: Are non-human animals property to be owned and used, or are they sentient beings deserving of rights?

Visit www.TheGhostsInOurMachine.com to learn more about the film.

Featured Speaker: Stephen R. Kaufman, MD

Steve Kaufman is an ophthalmologist specializing in retinal disease, and an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is co-chair of the Medical Research Modernization Committee (MRMC), president of Vegetarian Advocates (a Cleveland-based group), chair of the Christian Vegetarian Association, and he is a founding member of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV). He was editor of “Perspectives on Medical Research”, a 6-volume monograph series published between 1989-1995. He is author of Guided by the Faith of Christ: Seeking to Stop Violence and Scapegoating and Good News for All Creation: Vegetarianism as Christian Stewardship, with Nathan Braun. His articles on the shortcomings of animal experimentation have been published in several magazines, including Scientific American and Reason.  Kaufman is also featured in the 2011 documentary, Vegucated.

Presentation: Animals and the World Religions

1:45 – 2:45  Main Classroom, Lecture Hall 201

Many of the world religions describe their spiritual leader or founder as vegetarian, and their scriptures often point to a plant-based diet as the ideal? Why has this been the case, and why have so many religions fallen terribly short of this ideal? Are there any principles that religions of the world share in common that could be the foundation of a universal animal-friendly spirituality?

Featured Speaker: Richard Oppenlander

Dr. Oppenlander is a consultant, researcher, and author, whose award-winning book, Comfortably Unaware, has been endorsed as a must-read by Ellen DeGeneres, Drs. Jane Goodall and Neal Barnard, and many others. Dr. Oppenlander is a much sought after lecturer on the topic of food choice and how it relates to sustainability, all within the framework of fresh perspectives and critical insights. He has been a keynote speaker for several conferences and festivals and has presented lectures and workshops at numerous universities and corporations. Dr. Oppenlander also serves as an advisor to municipalities in the U.S., and to a number of world hunger projects that are designing programs from his multidimensional model of sustainability. Dr. Oppenlander has spent 40 years studying the effects food choices have on our planet and on us. He started an organic, vegan food production company, operates an animal rescue sanctuary, and is the founder and president of the non-profit organization, Inspire Awareness Now. Dr. Oppenlander’s latest book, Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work, was released in November 2013.

Visit www.InspireAwarenessNow.org to learn more about the organization and its initiatives.

Presentation: Food Choice and Sustainability

1:45 – 3:00  Main Classroom Auditorium

Dr. Oppenlander will present unique perspectives and shocking statistics as he divulges the realities of the effects of our food choices–what we choose to eat is the most important factor in sustaining our lives and all other lives that we share this planet with. He will engage the audience with fresh insights as to how our food choices affect climate change, freshwater scarcity, rapid extinctions, food security, world hunger, and the health of our oceans–while debunking myths about the new food movements and revealing the critical time lines that confront us and future generations. A must see lecture!

Featured Speaker: Lee Hall

Lee Hall, vegan since 1983, has written books on subjects ranging from anti-terrorism law to vegan cooking, as well as the “Vegetarianism” entry in the Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice.  Known for advancing animal rights as the capacity of animals to live on their own terms, Lee has spent more than a decade in non-profit advocacy, and co-facilitates Pennsylvania’s annual Chester County Vegan Festival . A regular speaker for the North American Vegetarian Society’s annual Summerfest, Lee has also appeared on “Issues” with Jane Velez-Mitchell (free-roaming horses and the law), “Court TV” (dog mauling case), and the Fox News Channel with Rick Leventhal (deer control). Lee has taught Animal Law and Immigration and Refugee Law. Lee’s work in non-human personhood is included in the animal law bibliography in Animal Rights:Current Debates and New Directions by Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum (Oxford University Press). Lee has just been awarded an LL.M. in environmental law with a focus on climate change from Vermont Law School.  Lee writes forCounterPunch, and blogs at Vegan Place:

Click on these links to visit Chester County Vegan Festival and Lee’s blog, Vegan Place.

Presentation: Overcoming Negative Patterns and Liberating Our Activist Spirit 

3:15 – 4:15  Main Classroom, Lecture Hall 201

Lee Hall has notably described two negative modes of thought within activism. Number One: We can’t achieve animal liberation because overwhelming forces oppose us, and therefore we must focus on the worst, most shocking abuses. Number Two: The movement is a fight—a battle for victories over industries, agencies, and individual abusers.  Both of these modes rely heavily on authority for fixes, Lee suggests, when many vegans would likely prefer to seek radical (root-level) change—and live positive, inspiring, energetic lives.  Broad and deep changes in social thinking begin with a mindset. Lee, who has lived a vegan life and experienced the vegan movement for thirty years, will challenge us to explore what might hold us back, what genuine progress has happened, and why public advocacy matters.

Lee will also offer a new and unique visual presentation of the current controversies between animal advocacy and environmentalism, and imagine a common ground that empowers both.

Video by Gooseberry Productions: Ideas That Undermine Activism

Featured Speaker: Scott Jurek

Legendary Ultramarathoner, International Bestselling Author of Eat and Run Scott Jurek’s outstanding competitive resume includes victories in nearly all of ultrarunning’s elite trail and road events, including the historic 153-mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-mile Ultramarathon, the Miwok 100K, and — his signature race — the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, which he won a record seven straight times. In 2010 he set a US record of 165.7 miles in 24 hours – 6 1/2 marathons in one day. The Washington Times named him one of the top runners of the decade, Runner’s World awarded him a Hero of Running and Ultrarunning Magazine named him Ultra-Runner of the Year three times. In 2010, he set a new US all-surface record in the 24-Hour Run with 165.7 miles—6.5 marathons in one day—for which he was named USA Today’s Athlete of the Week.

More than just a champion, Scott is a true student and ambassador of the sport, known to stay at finish lines cheering until the last runner crosses. A passionate advocate for veganism, he follows a 100% plant-based diet, which he credits for his superior endurance, recovery and overall health. He believes that everyone can run an ultra, and everyone can access their body’s innate capacity to heal. Through writing, public speaking, and consulting, Scott takes joy in encouraging people of all fitness levels to take the next step toward vibrant health.

Learn more about Scott and his book at his website, Scott Jurek: Eat and Run.

Presentation: Food As Fuel

3:15 – 4:15  Main Classroom Auditorium

Learn how Scott Jurek fuels his body to train for the world’s toughest ultramarathons.  He’ll discuss his approach to daily nutrition, providing tips and practical information to get the most out of your fuel for long term health and performance.

Featured Speaker: Anya Todd RD, LD

Anya Todd is a licensed, registered dietitian specializing in vegan nutrition. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Anya completed her internship at the Cleveland Clinic. Anya has worked in every facet of nutrition, including community, research, and clinical, and has been focusing on private practice.  She teaches Maternal & Pediatric Nutrition and Vegan Sports Nutrition for the Wellness Forum Institute for Health Studies, and was recently appointed state coordinator for the Vegetarian Dietetic Practice Group for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Presentation: Thriving During Your Vegan Pregnancy

4:30 – 5:30  Main Classroom, Lecture Hall 201

Are you pregnant or planning to be? Surely you have heard many nutrition myths regarding pregnancy as a vegan. Anya will set the record straight and give you the information you need to nourish both yourself and your baby.

Featured Speaker: Milton Mills, MD

Milton Mills volunteers as Associate Director of Preventive Medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a North American group of doctors and laypersons dedicated to promoting improved health care, better and more appropriate nutrition, and higher standards in medical research. Dr. Mills practices outpatient clinic-based medicine in free clinics throughout underserved communities in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia; He also works as a Critical Care physician with Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, and United Medical Center in Washington, D.C.  His varied experience, specializing in Internal Medicine, HIV disease, and the relationship between nutrition & chronic diseases, has made him extensively knowledgeable about the unique healthcare needs of minorities, the challenges of practicing medicine in inner cities, and the special medical and nutritional requirements of HIV+ and AIDS patients.

As an African-American physician focusing on preventive medicine, Dr. Mills has delved into some of the environmental and societal influences affecting the health of African Americans and other racial/ethnic minorities.  Dr. Mills has lectured and given research seminars across the United States and in Mexico and Canada on such topics as the negative impacts of meat and dairy consumption on human health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS, nutrition and cancer, and the dietary needs of various ethnic groups. Visit www.PCRM.org for more information about the organization and healthy eating.

Presentation: Are Humans Designed to Eat Meat?

4:30 – 5:30  Main Classroom Auditorium

A comparative anatomy lesson on natural carnivores versus natural herbivores and omnivores. What diet are humans actually built to thrive on? The major causes of death in Western countries are cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Abundant medical research linking these diseases to dietary and lifestyle factors, guidelines advanced by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the Surgeon General, among others, counsel Americans to sharply reduce animal foods consumed and replace them with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In effect, they are recommending a more plant-based diet, which begs the question: Are humans designed to eat meat?

Featured Speaker: Jenny Brown

Jenny Brown is a longtime animal rights activist and Co-Founder of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY–one the country’s most recognized and respected sanctuaries for farmed animals. She previously worked in film and television until when she went undercover in Texas to film farmed animal abuse. That experience led her to dedicate her life to helping farm animals and raise awareness of their plight. Jenny’s story and the work of her sanctuary has been featured in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, NPR’s The Diane Rehm ShowI, and more. Her new book, The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight For Farm Animals, was awarded Book of the Year by VegNews in 2012. Visit www.WoodstockSanctuary.org to learn more about Jenny and the sanctuary.

Presentation: Compassion and the Transparency of Animal Agriculture 

5:45 – 6:45  Main Classroom Auditorium Jenny Brown will talk about her story as the co-founder of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and the author of “The Lucky Ones”, as well as the role of sanctuaries and rescue stories on interspecies relationships.  She’ll also discuss how you can help, such as: learning about systematic abuses of farmed animals, understanding myths about “humane” farming, and fighting “Ag-gag” legislation.

Featured Speaker: Rebecca Dingle

Rebecca Dingle is a certified Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Instructor with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), and has a Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University.  As a nutrition educator, she takes the latest scientific data on nutrition and makes it available to the community by offering classes in a wide variety of settings including the Cleveland Clinic, Metro Health, Parma Hospital Health Education Center, Tri C’s Encore Program, the Cleveland Police, natural food stores, community centers, churches and corporate wellness programs. Among the driving forces in Rebecca’s passion for offering her classes is the powerful link between diet and health, and how by making simple dietary adjustments our major chronic illnesses may be prevented and reversed. She enjoys showing how easy, fun, delicious, and affordable healthy eating can be with her food demos! Visit PCRM to learn more about the organization, its initiatives, and instructor programs at www.PCRM.org.

Culinary Demo: Power In Your Kitchen

5:45 – 6:45  Main Classroom, Lecture Hall 201

No matter where you find yourself today regarding your health, weight, and eating habits a healthier you is closer than you think! Beginning right where you are–just as you are–you can begin to turn these around with a powerful approach to excellent (and delicious!) nutrition. Join us in the kitchen, where the power begins!

Recipes: Confetti Rice, Kale Slaw with Creamy Citrus Dressing, Surprise Dessert.

Film Screening: The Ghosts in Our Machine with Q & A Discussion

7:00 – 9:00 The Ghosts in Our Machine will be screened in the Auditorium. The film’s running time is 92 minutes, and will be followed by a Q & A with Liz Marshall and Jo-Anne McArthur.

The Ghosts in Our Machine illuminates the lives of individual animals living within and rescued from the machine of our modern world. Through the heart and photographic lens of acclaimed animal photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, we become intimately familiar with a cast of non-human animals. The film follows McArthur over the course of a year as she photographs several animal stories in parts of Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Each story is a window into global animal industries: Food, Fashion, Entertainment, and Research. All part of her epic global photo project, We Animals, McArthur has documented the lives of animals with heart-breaking, empathic vividness and professionalism, and begs the question: Are non-human animals property to be owned and used, or are they sentient beings deserving of rights?

Visit www.TheGhostsInOurMachine.com to learn more about the film.