Vegan Outreach
Vegan Outreach is a 501 nonprofit organization advocating against the exploitation of farmed animals. It was founded in 1993 by Jack Norris and Matt Ball in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was originally named Animal Liberation Action.
Vegan Outreach aims to reduce the suffering of farmed animals and to promote animal rights. It engages in various outreach efforts, which have changed over the years. They started with a campaign of holding "Stop Eating Animals" banners on city streets and highway overpasses. From 1995 to 2020, they focused on doing in-person outreach on college campuses in the United States, Mexico, India, and Australia. During the pandemic, they expanded their online program, 10 Weeks to Vegan, to dozens of countries. They recently expanded their vegan chef challenge program and offer a mentorship program for aspiring vegans.
History
As members of the animal rights community of Cincinnati, Matt Ball and Jack Norris spent the winter of 1990–1991 holding fur protests outside cultural events. Their focus turned to vegetarianism in 1992, and the Animal Rights Community of Cincinnati funded the printing and distribution of 10,000 pro-vegetarian flyers titled Vegetarianism. In June 1993, Norris and Ball organized a three-day "Fast for Farm Animals" in front of a Cincinnati slaughterhouse; twelve activists took part. On the last day of the fast, some of the protesters took a large banner reading "Stop Eating Animals" to the University of Cincinnati campus.Following this event, Ball and Norris formed Animal Liberation Action and started a campaign of holding "Stop Eating Animals" banners on street corners. In 1994, ALA developed a booklet called And Justice For All. It promoted a vegan diet, focusing on the abuse of the animals involved. In 1995, ALA's name was officially changed to Vegan Outreach.