3/13 – Join us for Black Tie Rave: A Benefit for Vegan Kalamazoo!

Join Vegan Kalamazoo and some of the Midwest’s top musical artists* for a classy occasion of celebration and raising awareness about vegan culture.

vegankalamazooravepicDate:   Friday, March 13th 2015

Time:   Doors/Socializing at 9pm; Music at 9:30pm; Event ends at 2:00 a.m.

Where: Shakespeare’s Lower Level, 241 East Kalamazoo Ave.

Food: Free vegan snacks will be provided. We also have many vegan drink specials planned including pineapple vodka screwdrivers and tequila Sunrises.

Cost:  $5 Presales. Purchase online.
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3/5 – Join us for Cowspiracy with Special Guest Dr. Richard Oppenlander!

cowspiracyMarch 1: This event is sold out. Sorry!

Join us for a one-of-a-kind Kalamazoo event!

Join us for a special screening of Cowspiracy with one of its stars, Dr. Richard Oppenlander, author of the bestselling book Comfortably Unaware and founder of the Ope’s Naturals line of vegan foods. After the screening, Dr. Oppenlander will be available to answer your questions about animal agriculture’s effect on climate change.

The screening will be held in Kalamazoo’s coolest … Continue reading

Join us for Earthlings at the Natural Health Center – February 12

earthlingsPlease join us for a screening of Earthlings, the acclaimed documentary that looks at humanity’s use of animals as pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and for scientific research. The film is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, features music by Moby, was directed by Shaun Monson, and was co-produced by Maggie Q.

When:  Thursday, February 12, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Where: Natural Health Center, 4610 West Main (North of Drake), Kalamazoo, MI, 269-342-9459

Cost:  free; $2 donation to Vegan … Continue reading

Yes There Really Is a Vegan Japan!

Here’s a fun writeup by Vegan Kalamazoo co-organizer Hillary Rettig about her recent trip to Japan. If you’ve had some good vegan food while traveling, please tell us about it!

Japan, the home of sushi and Kobe beef, is often considered unfriendly to vegans, but things are changing! My partner Jan Tobochnik and I visited for nearly three weeks, and in all of the major cities we had several vegan restaurants to choose from, which we usually found by searching on HappyCow. Here are three of the highlights:

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No Chicken CAFO in Otsego!

Bad news! An egg producer wants to open a concentrated-animal-feeding-operation (CAFO) in Otsego. This facility would house 480,000 egg-laying chickens in horribly unsanitary, crowded, and cruel conditions. Mlive reports: “People who have moved to the country for peace and quiet and clean air crowded the township hall at the commission’s Dec. 15 meeting to express their concerns.”

As usual, the CAFO owners are promising new jobs—even though CAFOs are highly automated and specifically designed to keep all costs, including labor costs, at rock bottom. … Continue reading

Michael Pollan Overlooks Veganism at WMU Talk

Intrepid vegan reporter (and VK cofounder) Chris Hendrickson attended Michael Pollan’s recent talk at WMU, and wrote up his exclusive report for us below. Thanks, Chris!

On Thursday November 6th, author Michael Pollan gave a speech at Western Michigan University’s Miller Auditorium as part of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation Annual Community Meeting, and over 3,000 people were in attendance including myself. I was personally curious about what Mr. Pollan would be talking about as I had read his book The Botany of Desire in college as a part of my Systematic Botany class at WMU. I was … Continue reading

Vegan Kalamazoo’s Letter About Michael Pollan Published in MLive!

Published here.

And here’s the text in its entirety:

Dear Mr. Pollan,

We are thrilled to hear that you are coming to Kalamazoo. We appreciate the work you do educating people about the perils of industrial foods. We are 100 percent in favor of advocating awareness about where our food comes from. And, like you, we support local farmers and proper treatment of our environment.

What we don’t understand is your continued advice to eat “mostly” plants. In an increasingly crowded and depleted world, how can anything except a 100 percent plant-based … Continue reading