Erik Marcus Speaks on New Book at Red Vic in SF

For "Great American Meatout", Bay Area Vegetarians (http://www.bayareaveg.org) is organizing 4 events. The first happened this past Sunday, March 6th, in the Haight at the Red Vic Peace Center B&B. We sponsored a presentation by Erik Marcus, the well-known author of Vegan: the New Ethics of Eating, publisher of http://www.vegan.com, a website dedicated to the vegan lifestyle, and a podcast show "Erik's Diner" that covers various aspects of veganism and animal agriculture.

Erik Marcus spoke to a full house on his newest book, Meat Market: Animals, Ethics, and Money.

In 90 minutes, he talked about the issues and problems with factory farming, and then discussed and critiqued the current vegetarian, animal welfare, and animal rights movements. He proposed a fourth movement called "dismantlement", a systematic approach to tackling the huge animal agriculture behemoth.

Despite the beautiful weather outside, the audience was keenly interested in Marcus' analysis of modern animal agriculture. Much of the information that Marcus shared wasn't new, but it was his analysis and perspective of the material that made it interesting.

He also emphasized the importance of outreach to youth and college students. When a young person transitions to a vegetarian or vegan diet, thousands of animals will be spared.

After the presentation, Erik signed books and was available for discussion. Folks also enjoyed vegan, organic tamales available at the Peace Cafe (in the lobby of the Red Vic Peace Center B&B).

If you missed Erik's presentation, you can also check out his frequent "Erik's Diner" audio podcasts (online radio broadcasts) and purchase his book online via his website - http://www.vegan.com/

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Bay Area Vegetarians will be launching a new event series in April at the Red Vic Peace Center B&B. The "The Compassionate Living" series will examine various aspects related to vegetarianism, animal rights, and being an advocate for a more compassionate lifestyle via discussions, films, and speakers. This event will happen on the 1st Sunday of every month in SF, starting in April

For the first event, we will discuss different "dismantlement" or advocacy strategies to promote vegetarianism, as outlined by Erik Marcus in MEAT MARKET. Note: This is not a review or discussion of the book, but a discussion of what can do as an organization, as individuals, as a community to promote vegetarianism and reduce animal suffering, using the strategies outlined in Meat Market as a basis and/or starting point for the discussion.

This event will occur on Sunday, 4/3, 2 pm - 4 pm, at the Red Vic Peace Center B&B in the Haight. For full details (including public transit and parking info), please visit http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php?EID=736#736

RSVPs appreciated.