being veg/AR at work (was Harold Brown's Talk Last Night)

October 21, 2005

" Talk about frustrating! I work for a law enforcement-oriented County agency in downtown Oakland. On top of being exposed to criminal shop talk all day (how boring and depressing), I must also bite my tongue and keep thoughts to myself regarding environmental and animal-related issues. "

" Not wishing to bring unnecessaary turmoil, stress and aggravation upon myself, I've been debating with myself whether to try again or just write these people off or try another method. "

I think this is a very personal choice. Depending on the type of job some people have, more time (unfortunately) is spent at work with co-workers than family. I think the approach taken depends on how comfortable you feel at work and your relationship with your co-workers. Otherwise, people can be very defensive when confronted with the cruelty and abuses in factory farming, and that can, as you say, make the situation stressful.

Years ago, I started work at a new job at this huge company where I didn't know anyone. No veg restaurants anywhere. Out in the middle of what felt like nowhere. Then, in the breakroom, I found a huge bulletin board area filled with notices people had posted that took up half the wall. In the center was an piece of brightly colored poster board labeled with something like "Vegetarian Info" and something animal related, maybe adopting an animal at Farm Sanctuary. There was a woman's name (Donna) and a phone number on the board..... I got in touch with Donna, and through her, soon met a couple of other veggie people. But while just having the social aspect was good, Donna was even more ambitious than that. She brought in speakers who talked about vegetarianism and nutrition, and we developed materials and recipes that we distributed throughout the building. In that same huge building, I met another vegetarian simply because she had a big vegetarian bumper sticker up on her cubicle wall. I haven't ever had an opportunity like that again but it was really enjoyable.

As I said, it's a very personal choice. Donna was able to be outspoken about vegetarianism at work, and it worked for her. Were there professional repercussions? Did she care about them? I don't know. I do know that I have another friend who's efforts haven't been so well-received.

For a work environment, perhaps a more subtle approach like getting people try excellent veg food is the way to go. A sample of this or that. Or, if there are veggie restaurants nearby, try and persuade people to join you for lunch. Or order extra food and share. When people ask what you did this weekend, talk about that veg book or movie or veg something. Sometimes certain arguments (health, compassion, environment, religious, social justice, etc) will appeal to different types of people, so you might have an advantage of knowing your audience.

Maybe someone else will share their experiences and what worked (or didn't work) for them .. (and if you do, please cut/paste your responses; that really helps the folks on daily digest.)

Cheers,

Tammy

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