a conversation with Krissy Vandenburg

Vegan Action's Krissy Vandenburg with Vegan Street's Marla Rose

I met Krissy Vandenburg last summer at the Aniaml Rights 2000 conference in Washington, D.C. and was immediately impressed with her warmth and good humor. I think Krissy embodies a lot of the spirit of activism that I most admire: she's enthusiastic, accessible, smart and thoughtful.

It seems to be a perfect fit to have Krissy as executive director of Vegan Action (vegan.org), a grassroots, progressive organization. Vegan Action does great work on campuses, helping to bring vegan meals to dormitories and empowering students to bring about positive change by becoming involved at a grass-roots level.

In addition to helping facilitate campus organizing, Vegan Action is working on getting the Certified Vegan symbol on products ranging from food to shoes. Free to manufacturers who want to use it, the certification not only makes it easier for vegans to shop, but it gets the "v word" out there, which is always a good thing.

Krissy and I spoke while she and her partner Gaverick were tabling during the conference, amid people stopping buy to pick up literature and chat. This interview has been edited for pace and clarity.

"More animals perish in the food industry than all of the other animal exploitation industries combined, so we focus our energy on veganism. Every time someone becomes a vegan, they're literally saving lives"

Marla Rose: So you are the new executive director of Vegan Action. Congratulations! How did that come about? Had you been involved for a while?

Krissy Vandenburg: Yes. I had been volunteering for about a year and a half.

MR: Have they had that position before?

KV: Yes, and the former executive director is still involved with the organization, doing campaigns and bookkeeping.

MR: What kind of campaigns are you working on now?

KV: Well, our main focus is the Dorm Food Campaign, where we help students on campuses all over the country get vegan options in their dorm cafeteria. We also have 24 chapters all over the country and overseas, working on a local level. They table, go to events.

MR: How do you go about getting vegan food included in dormitories?

KV: Well, first we tell people just to ask for it. If the administrators are unresponsive, then the next step is a petition, getting signatures from students who live in the dorm. We definitely suggest doing this in a very open, honest, upfront way. That seems to really work best.

MR: What kind of success have you had with this so far?

KV: It's been really successful. Vegan Action actually started with this campaign in Berkeley, California. It was a great success. They did a campaign with a petition, and the food service staff were very open and receptive.

MR: So did Vegan Action sort of grow out of this single campaign?

KV: Right. So it was originally a campus organization, and now we're a community grass-roots organization.

MR: So are a lot of your members college students?

KV: Yes, a lot of them are. A lot of the chapters across the country are on campuses as well, which works really well, since it seems like many folks become vegetarian when they're in college. That's a really critical time.

MR: When people are exploring different ways of living, different ideas.

KV: Right. They're out of the house, they don't have to eat mom and dad's food, and they're making their own decisions and choices.

MR: Absolutely. Can you talk a little bit about the McDonald's case that Vegan Action fought recently?

KV: Sure. Somehow they found out about the McVegan shirt [ a design created by and sold by Vegan Action], and we didn't really expect response. I mean, McDonald's gets so much flack, we didn't think they'd want to bother with us. And it wasn't our intention, but an awareness of the possibility was there. And when these shirts first came out, there were a lot of stores around campus that carried them for us. So they found out about us and felt like we were misrepresenting them because the golden arches are such a well-known and copyrighted symbol. They sent a letter from their lawyer and it said that we had pull all of our shirts from everyone who was selling them, that we not sell them, and that we send them the shirts.

MR: So they basically said cease and desist from this effort.

KV: Exactly, or else they'd file a lawsuit.

MR: And this was during the time that they were also embroiled in the embarrassing McLibel suit in Britain.

KV: That's right. And two of the founders of Vegan Action contacted a woman in San Francisco who was a practicing lawyer and they developed a really tactful response to McDonald's. We said that this was parody and that it was being used in a different way.

MR: Yes, it was pretty obvious the shirts were not a McDonald's product.

KV: So it went back and forth a little bit. And finally they backed down, though they asked that we put a little star that identified it as a parody on the t-shirts. So Vegan Action did run one series of shirts with a little star on the top that said parody, and even a disclaimer on the bottom. From then, we just went back to our old design.

"I think the first and best thing that anyone could do is setting a really great example of a happy, content, positive vegan. Why wouldn't you want to be like that person?"

MR: How long was it from the time they first sent you that letter from the lawyer and they decided to leave you alone?

KV: About six months.

MR: You must have gotten a lot of public support. That was probably very good for your organization.

KV: It was very good for our organization, and I really think that's part of why McDonald's backed down: they got so much negative publicity.

MR: They probably also underestimated you guys, thinking, Oh, they're just a bunch of college students. We'll send them a letter from a lawyer and they'll back off.

KV: Exactly.

MR: They were probably also feeling burned by the McLibel case in Great Britain, where they thought it was just going to go away with no problem.

KV: I'm sure they were feeling completely winded by that.

MR: Yes, they have this huge phalanx of lawyers going up against two individuals with no law training. It exploded it their faces.

KV: Right. They got some great negative press.

MR: Did Vegan Action get covered by the mainstream press at all?

KV: Well, it was mostly local, but some other media people heard about it and contacted us.

MR: What are some of the campaigns that you've done since then, and what are you doing now?

KV: Well, McVegan turned into a campaign and the goal is to provide vegan food in a kind of fast food sort of way to deter people from going to regular fast food restaurants.

MR: So you would set up places where this food could be served?

KV: Yes, and distribute free vegan food.

MR: Would this be cooked by Vegan Action or would it already be prepared by businesses?

KV: We get donations, and then we prepare it and distribute it.

MR: What are you required to do hygienically in regard to distributing food?

KV: It really varies. A lot of times we try to follow the Food Not Bombs ethic, and that we technically are breaking the law by preparing and serving food and there is always the possibility of getting in trouble or getting arrested.

MR: Have you guys experienced any problems?

KV: No. A lot of times we do it on campus, and we get permission ahead of time. We definitely suggest people make the arrangements ahead of time.

MR: So your other chapters in colleges are distributing vegan food? And is the chapter in Berkeley still doing it?

KV: Yeah. We had a really great Meat Out on March 20. We had a McVegan event on campus and passed out vegan food all day long. We had veggie burgers and condiments, we had desserts, sorbets and cookies. People were really happy with it.

MR: How do you recommend soliciting donations from businesses?

KV: You know, it's really easy. Definitely local is the way to go, because people in your community are more apt to give donations. So we usually go to our health food stores or local distributors and ask for donations. Fortunately, we're a non-profit, a 501C-3, so they can claim that tax deduction, which makes getting donations so much easier. It makes a world of difference.

MR: How does one go about starting up a chapter of Vegan Action?

KV: We have information up on the website (www.vegan.org), and there's an application with a couple of things that we ask applicants to agree to, because we do have a specific stance on activism. We strive to be really positive, non-confrontational, non-violent, and only promoting veganism. We definitely - as an animal rights organization - are supportive of all aspects of animal rights. As you probably know, more animals perish in the food industry than all of the other animal exploitation industries combined, so we focus our energy on veganism. Every time someone becomes a vegan, they're literally saving lives. We also do this for the other benefits: the environmental benefits, the health benefits. It's something that we feel really good about focusing exclusively on. So our chapters need to agree to that.

MR: Are there any requirements for someone wanting to start a chapter, other than agreeing to agree with the basic core beliefs?

KV: We'd like people to have experience with tabling activism, public speaking or public interaction.

MR: Is there any kind of dues or anything?

KV: No, definitely not. We also ask for a short essay, just to get an idea about what your interests are, what you goals are, what you want to get out of it. I always call and talk to everybody too, just so we can really interact. And then we have a list-serve exclusively for the chapters so we can all communicate as often as people feel like.

"People will be like, "Oh, I've been eating this all along. I had no idea it was vegan."
MR: Do you have any recommendations for people who are working or going to school full-tim, but want to get more involved in activism?

KV: Okay, I think the first and best thing that anyone could do is setting a really great example of a happy, content, positive vegan. Why wouldn't you want to be like that person? I feel good, I'm healthy, I'm not missing anything in life. That's the greatest thing that we can do.

MR: That's right; we're all ambassadors to this lifestyle.

KV: Absolutely. I'd also say that without being pushy about it, I always carry [Vegan Outreach's booklet] Why Vegan (www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/)with me. Because when you're setting a really good example, people are going to come to you to ask question - you don't have to push it on them. I always offer to share my food with non-vegans whenever I can. So for busy people, I'd say that sharing information, setting a really good example are good ways to have a positive affect. If you have a little bit more time, you can go to a local event and ask to set up a table. Most local events don't even charge. Set up a table, get some good literature from some of the animal rights groups, and be available to talk to people.

MR: Do you recommend that people get a partner for tabling?

KV: It sure does help, yeah.

MR: Do you have any recommendations for people who are shy or not really comfortable speaking in public?

KV: There's always the internet, websites and e-mail. Someone can really be effective that way. Education is really the answer, what's having the most affect. When people make their own choices to do the right thing for the right reason, it's so powerful, it's so long lasting. If we don't think that we individually are comfortable speaking in public, it's great to form coalitions.

MR: Tell me about the vegan certification project that you guys are working on.

KV: Sure. It's something that started about five years ago by Hillary Pierce, and she had a lot of different things that came up at once and wasn't able to keep this going on. So we picked up the project about two years ago, got some background information, and changed the symbol a little bit. It finally got approved by the government last month as a certification that can appear on labels.

MR: What is the process for someone who creates a vegan product to get certification from Vegan Action?

KV: Well, they have to fill out an application, in which they agree that there are absolutely no animal ingredients, no animal by-products, nothing in that has been tested on animals, and they don't test on animals. They're pretty strict guidelines. It's pretty limitless on where it can go: cosmetics, food, shoes, belts. There's no fee for this, because our goal is to get it out there and make it easy for people to know that something doesn't contain animal derivatives.

MR: Also it's getting people to look and say, "Hmmm, vegan... What does that mean?"

KV: Exactly. People will be like, "Oh, I've been eating this all along. I had no idea it was vegan." Also, for people like my mom when she shops for me when I'm visiting, she doesn't have to whip her list out, she knows that I can eat the things with the vegan symbol on it. It simplifies things for people who are just starting to explore veganism, whereas before they may have been intimidated with their big long lists.

MR: Is there any message that you have for the vegan, animal rights community?

KV: Yes: the importance of setting a really positive, joyful example as vegans.

MR: Thanks, Krissy.

KV: Thank you!

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