Meat-fest mitigation 2017! Manure education & Cancer-reality Actions!
OFAN organize Jeremy became vegetarian for general environmental reasons in 2000, after learning about manure runoff and tornadoes picking cess-pools at Ohio University, Environmental Geography 101.
Why not PROMOTE something better @ Meat festivals. Your visibility demo could focus on Manure, cancer hazard classifications of Processed & Red meats, toxic water pollution from slaughterhouses, and Antibiotic-overuse, if you have enough hands.
We were heckled but never bullied and some folks want to make dismissing jokes and comments. Folks are not at Rib Fest to care for animals wellbeing SO you have to catch them with as many angles as you can.
SADLY these are the most antibiotic-wasting, polluting, and painful food fests imaginable. Until Food and Water Watch, Center for Food safety, & HSUS, organize responses to these events, like Toronto Pig Save has, damage control can be accomplished starting with One Person.
Here's a Sampling of Messages + Tactics employed at local Meat fests!!
Willoughby Rib Fest: We brought banners and Spoke out/sang songs on the bullhorn for a couple minutes, right in the middle of the fest, paraded out (instead of letting cops remove us).
Berea & Parma Rib fests: On the last day of these fests, Jeremy held up signs for everyone leaving, for several hours each. Parking lots were blanketed with fliers left on windshields. It was easy to wave at folks leaving because there's only one exit..
Akron, OH Rib White and Blue: 3 days out of the 4 day fest, stood guard at one of two entrances for manure education, against round up spraying, for Hemp green-jobs, and so much more. Several thousand folks saw our mainstream agriculture awareness campaign, including on Meat Free Monday! Lots of folks were downtown for baseball game + July 4th Fireworks, so it was generally packed (folks were not just there for ribs).
Niles Ohio hot Dog Day: Paraded thru the fest with bullhorn and banners two times. We broke the news to attendees that colon cancer risks spike with hot Dogs & pleaded for labeling of carcinogenic threats. INCREDIBLE VIDEO, action starts at 3.2 minutes!!
Buffalo New York Chicken wing's Fest: For the last couple hours of the fest on Sunday, we were set up to talk to folks leaving. The Hemp seed sampling initiative was well received, as an educational thing and not a disgruntled protest, FOR protein & crop diversity!
Cleveland Bacon Festival, East Bank of the flats - Lots of folks saw our banners as we politely made pleas for disease & manure mitigation. Stood outside the fest (which benefited the Greater Cleveland Hunger Network) from 7:30-10. A cop game up to thank me for volunteering my time, said he gave to Peta $20/mo and empathized with pigs for being as smart as dogs! I commented on the FB event page discussion that processed meats are carcinogenic. Like the University Hospital sponsoring rib-fest, Hunger Network on Bacon fest is actually their downfall)
Also ASKED University Hospitals to stop sponsoring rib fest (11 days of Rib Fest total between Strongsville, parma, and Berea). Also Pressured them to warn to avoid Processed Meats related cancer.
