Past RenoVegans Events
$180K in fines from Charles River Laboratories sought for animal testing deaths; protest Friday in Reno
Scott Sonner, AP, Dec. 14, 2012.
Animal activists protested Friday outside the Charles River Laboratories research lab in Reno. The rally organized by Reno Vegans was in support of efforts by Stop Animal Exploitation Now to fine Charles River.
Charles River is one of the world's largest suppliers of clinical and laboratory research services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., and has labs in more than a dozen other states as well as Nevada. The documents redact the location of specific labs, but Budkie said only two labs use monkeys and the bulk of those are at Reno.
Charles River closed its lab in Sparks a year after 32 long-tail macaques were killed. More...
Scott Sonner, AP, Dec. 14, 2012.
Animal activists protested Friday outside the Charles River Laboratories research lab in Reno. The rally organized by Reno Vegans was in support of efforts by Stop Animal Exploitation Now to fine Charles River.
Charles River is one of the world's largest suppliers of clinical and laboratory research services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., and has labs in more than a dozen other states as well as Nevada. The documents redact the location of specific labs, but Budkie said only two labs use monkeys and the bulk of those are at Reno.
Charles River closed its lab in Sparks a year after 32 long-tail macaques were killed. More...
 What's The Best Gift You Can Give This Holiday Season? Life.
By Billy Howard, 11/22/12 Speaking from our hearts may be our single most powerful tool for change.  Ever more frequently in our 21st century lives we learn that something we were taught as children was wrong. In the 1970s doctors were telling patients one of the best meals they could eat was a Big Mac. "Perfectly balanced with the nutrients you need. Have one every day." And then came the documentary "Super Size Me" where having daily McDonald's meals nearly killed Morgan Spurlock.
Our world is topsy-turvy. From drugs to the cosmos to nano-technology to diseases to child-rearing to civil rights to derivatives, the world of our birth is very different than the Wikipedia world of 2013. A recent local online news discussion hammered home to horrified vegans just how ensconced people are in the passé belief that eating meat is good for you and that certain animals are made by God to be pets and others are ugly and therefore to be eaten. How do we crack the nut that ushers in the "Aha!" moment, the enlightened split second, the connective instant when a person clearly sees the barbarism of butchery? Personal stories make a difference. When we speak from our hearts, people hear us. They might not register it at the moment, but perhaps an hour later, two weeks after or a year goes by before the seed inside breaks forth and a life is unalterably changed.  As we enter the food holidays, think of the "Aha!" moment that caused you to once-and-for-all turn from consuming animals.
Sharing your story with your family, friends, co-workers and your community has a profound affect on people. Speaking from our hearts may be our single most powerful tool for change. As you reflect on your personal story, practice telling it while driving or shaving. When the right time comes and the door opens, give your story as a gift to help people to the same enlightened, healing, soulful, fulfilling place at which you have arrived. Argument #1: There is absolutely no reason for humans to consume other sentient animals. The China Study looked at 1 million people over 20 years (compare that to many studies of 500 people over a few months) and concluded scientifically in "the grand prix of all epidemiological studies" according to the New York Times, that consuming animal flesh and fluids causes "diseases of affluence:" heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and a number of cancers. Eating a whole foods, plant-based diet will help us shed weight, make our skin glow (especially when juicing) and prevent and even reverse diseases. |
 Thanksliving
By John Merryfield, 11/22/12 Olive loves the cranberries, while Rhonda seems to prefer the pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes.  Rhonda and Olive are two of the dozens of rescued turkeys at Farm Sanctuary that have been saved, instead of served, on Thanksgiving day.
Many people travel to farm animal sanctuaries, like Farm Sanctuary in Orland, California or Animal Place in Grass Valley, California, this time of year, to "turn the tables" and celebrate Thanksgiving by feeding turkeys instead of eating them. Rather than being on the table, the turkeys get a place at the table and feast on traditional Thanksgiving foods such as stuffing, squash, cornbread, mashed potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. No other holiday is as focused on the killing and consumption of an animal like Thanksgiving. With a dead bird as the center piece of the family table, thanks is given for our health, life and the love of our family and friends. Forty five million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving dinner. During their lives, these birds are packed into filthy, unventilated warehouses with just a square foot of space per bird. They suffer burning in their eyes, de-beaking, de-toeing and extreme breathing difficulties, while many die premature death from heart attacks due to their genetically oversized weight. Even so called "organic" or "free range" turkeys endure brutal conditions in transport and slaughter. The heart warming celebrations for the turkeys at farm animal sanctuaries have become a part of many families Thanksgiving traditions. First time visitors are taken aback by both the animals personality and their individuality. One thing is clear, whether human or turkey, all of us seek pleasure and avoid pain. Despite obvious differences among species, human and non-human animals are more alike than different in ways that matter. We love and nurture our children, we form friendships, we seek pleasure in our encounters and we lead rich emotional lives. Some people within the sanctuary community have taken to calling this holiday Thanksliving. For how can we be grateful for what we have if we kill an animal in the process of giving thanks? Thanksliving implies that, only by respecting the lives of others, can we truly express the gratitude for the blessings in our own lives. Whether we call it Thanksgiving or Thanksliving, farm animal sanctuaries help us realize that, at our essence, we are all the same, including animals, and that giving thanks for your own life shouldn't come at the expense of another's. |
 Argument #2: If eating animals is unnecessary, their lives of unutterable torture must exist for profit, greed and pleasure only. More people every year are turning away from participating in this crime against Nature. Meat consumption is down 12% in the US over the last 5 years.
Everyone certainly must know by now that factory farms are incalculable chambers of life-long misery, disease and torture ending in gruesome and the often prolonged deaths of over 50 billion animals per year. The industry is cruel beyond measure with pigs in cages so small they are not able to move, cows continually impregnated artificially until they collapse, calves removed from mothers within hours of their births in wheelbarrows, too young yet to even stand, with their mothers not able to turn around in their paddock cells to lick their calves clean. These animals live in daily horrors that no human would allow their pet to endure for but a few moments. Calves are transported to vast calf ranches to live a life of despair and torture wholly in the dark and unable to move until they are transported to their slaughter where they watch their fellows killed and sometimes skinned alive in front of their eyes. Argument #3: A globally warming and increasingly polluted world cannot sustain the current habits of humans. Three Earths will be needed by 2050 if people continue with their unneeded and increasing thirst for deadly animal flesh and fluids. The great animal farms on which the innocents are raised for slaughter result in air pollution that rivals that of LA autos, soil devastation on a grand scale and fouling of water tables, streams, rivers and is even traceable in our dying oceans. Ocean life is being fished from the seas with warnings from every quadrant of the globe that entire species of what were common fish are now irreversibly damaged and diminishing in a free-fall. Not only is ocean life finite, it appears to be nearing an end. Armed with facts and your heartfelt story, how could your family and friends not consider a vegan lifestyle which includes a plant-based diet and spurning all products made from animals? See our Why Vegan? page for images, stories, subject categories and quotes to help you tell your story this holiday season and give the most important gift of all: Life. |
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ANNUAL HOLIDAY VEGAN POTLUCK
Saturday, December 15, 5:30pm
John & Carol Camarella Merryfields' home
9933 Lake Vista Rd, Kings Beach, CA
Map
The Merryfields' are graciously opening up their Tahoe home once again this year for any and all vegans (and wannabes) to enjoy each other's company and the remarkable pot luck spread with High Sierra Veggies and Vegans.
Bring a vegan dish and your choice of beverage. There will be a white elephant gift exchange if you are so inclined. Bring a small gift to share, exchange or steal from a previous winner.
See our gallery from last year's event.
Saturday, December 15, 5:30pm
John & Carol Camarella Merryfields' home
9933 Lake Vista Rd, Kings Beach, CA
Map
The Merryfields' are graciously opening up their Tahoe home once again this year for any and all vegans (and wannabes) to enjoy each other's company and the remarkable pot luck spread with High Sierra Veggies and Vegans.
Bring a vegan dish and your choice of beverage. There will be a white elephant gift exchange if you are so inclined. Bring a small gift to share, exchange or steal from a previous winner.
See our gallery from last year's event.
Protest Animal Experimentation Abuse at Lab in Reno
Friday, Dec 14, 11a-2p
Longley Ln & Maestro Dr, Reno
Join us at Charles River to speak out against ineffective animal testing and unnecessary animal cruelty.
CRL has killed 9 animals in 3 years. 4 rabbits, 1 dog, and 4 primates due to negligence.*** Not to mention the 32 monkeys that were boiled alive in 2008 due to a heating malfunction that no one bothered to take care of. The recent findings were disclosed to the USDA in annual reports by CRL, we can only imagine how many more incidents have occurred that they didn't bother to disclose. Apparently the USDA doesn't bother to read the reports.
Charles River has been cited numerous times for acts of animal negligence by the Animal Welfare Act for multiple cases of animal abuse. Hundreds of thousands of animals are tortured every single day in Charles Rivers' massive facilities worldwide.
Charles River subjects animals that many may consider companions (rats, mice, dogs, rabbits, and monkeys) to cruel and pointless experiments that negatively affect these animals as well as humans. Animals are a poor indicator of the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals in humans, and there are better alternatives. These animals do not need or deserve to be subjected to this cruelty, and we must push for alternative methods of drug research. Help us to be a voice for the voiceless and stand up against animal exploitation happening right here in our city.
"Help Me" poster by Mike Weber, Weber Graphics.
For more information see the Lab Animals section on our Why Vegan? page
And our Animal Rights page.
| Two Events for the Turkeys! | ||
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Make Your Reservations for Accomodations for Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA Now! 
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Plan your day trip to Grass Valley! 
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RENO VEGANS POTLUCK!
Thanksgiving Dishes To Share!
Bring your best Thanksgiving Dish and be ready to share the recipe so we can all have the best vegan Thanksgiving ever to offer our friends and family!
Saturday, November 10th, 1:00-3:00pm
Feline Sanctuary.
RSVP on our Facebook page.
Please bring your own untensils, plates and cups. A rinsing sink is available.
Vegan Outreach Leafleting
Mon, 10/29, 8:30a-1p.
UNR - 4 way walkway near The Overlook by the bike lockers.
Vegan Outreach's own Brian Grupe will be coming back to Reno to leaflet the UNR Campus on October 29th. Please join us in spreading the information of a compassionate, vegan lifestyle to our local college students. Please text 775-240-7942 if you get lost or arrive late as we will meet and then shortly dispurse to hit more areas of the campus.
RSVP on the Facebook page.
RenoVegans Dinner Social
Mon, 10/29, 6:30p.
Opa Cafe, 80 Giroux Wy Map
After a day of leafleting the UNR campus and teaching college students about the benefits of veganism, let's all come together and welcome Brian Grupe (Northern California Outreach Coordinator for Vegan Outreach) back to Reno with a lovely dinner at the one and only, Opa Cafe!! Reno Vegans, this will be a night of excellent Greek food and fun with the possibility of traditional Greek dancing to welcome Brian back and give us all an opportunity to meet and socialize with our fellow members! This is a night you don't want to miss! (Halloween costume/attire encouraged)
RSVP on the Facebook page.
October Night Out: The Studio!
Twenty-Two RenoVegans at The Studio for a raw wonder meal with optional yoga before.
Twenty-Two RenoVegans at The Studio for a raw wonder meal with optional yoga before.
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RenoVegans Night Out at The (yoga) Studio
Friday, October 12th, Yoga: 4:30-6p
Dinner: 6p
1085 S. Virginia St., Map
We'll be having an excellent meal and solializing at The Studio (upstairs from the Spy Shop on Virginia St.) on Friday, October 12th at 5:30pm.
If you haven't tried the food at The Studio yet, now is the time. They are whipping up incredibly delicious all Raw/Vegan dishes in a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere.
Some of us will be attending a yoga class before dinner also at The Studio. Feel free to join in or just attend the dinner. The class is Vinyasa Flow at 4:15pm and will last one hour. All experience levels are welcome. Do not be intimidated!
Class description: Students will work with a variety of asana and pranayama techniques, from classical Surya Namaskara (sun salutations), to arm balances, inversions, and creative vinyasa flow sequences. Expect to challenge yourself while practicing ahimsa (non-violence). Prior knowledge of Sun Salutations will be helpful, but modifications will be offered for all levels.
If you are not a member of The Studio, the drop-in price for class is $14; however, if you buy a pack (which I highly recommend because The Studio rocks!!), the price goes down.
For more information: http://thestudioreno.com/
RSVP on our Facebook Event page.
Friday, October 12th, Yoga: 4:30-6p
Dinner: 6p
1085 S. Virginia St., Map
We'll be having an excellent meal and solializing at The Studio (upstairs from the Spy Shop on Virginia St.) on Friday, October 12th at 5:30pm.
If you haven't tried the food at The Studio yet, now is the time. They are whipping up incredibly delicious all Raw/Vegan dishes in a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere.
Some of us will be attending a yoga class before dinner also at The Studio. Feel free to join in or just attend the dinner. The class is Vinyasa Flow at 4:15pm and will last one hour. All experience levels are welcome. Do not be intimidated!
Class description: Students will work with a variety of asana and pranayama techniques, from classical Surya Namaskara (sun salutations), to arm balances, inversions, and creative vinyasa flow sequences. Expect to challenge yourself while practicing ahimsa (non-violence). Prior knowledge of Sun Salutations will be helpful, but modifications will be offered for all levels.
If you are not a member of The Studio, the drop-in price for class is $14; however, if you buy a pack (which I highly recommend because The Studio rocks!!), the price goes down.
For more information: http://thestudioreno.com/
RSVP on our Facebook Event page.
Demonstration Against Animal Testing
Sat, 10/13, 11a-2p.
Charles River Labs
6995 Longley Lane Reno, NV [Meet on Maestro]
Join us at Charles River Laboratories to raise awareness about the negligence and suffering that goes on there. We must inform the public about the torturous acts happening in OUR CITY at one of the largest animal testing facilities.
In 2009, Charles River was fined $4,500 for failing to remove a macaque monkey from its cage before the cage was sent to be washed in a high temperature washer. It is protocol that 3 people check the cages before being sent to the washer. That monkey literally boiled alive. In 2008, 32 macaque monkeys died in their cages due to a heating malfunction as CR was fined $10,000. In 2006, 2 monkeys lost their fingers due to an incident while transporting. These are just events that were reported. It is not a stretch to say that there are many more incidents of neglect. These events were all due to human error and could have been completely avoided.
Our question is, what other neglectful things are happening at Charles River? Is this the type of facility that we want testing our pharmaceuticals? They can't even care for the lives they are subjecting to torture. How are they competent enough to determine which drugs are safe in humans? Additionally, tests in mice, dogs, and monkeys is an OUTDATED form of preclinical testing and very inaccurate. We need to push Charles River to stop subjecting these animals to painful experiments and pursue research in other areas of preclincal testing.
Help us in our fight to end animal testing by informing the public about what goes on inside this facility. We must speak up for these animals. We must help end the torture. Until every cage is empty.
*** Some signs will be provided but feel free to bring your own ***
RSVP on the Facebook page.
Sat, 10/13, 11a-2p.
Charles River Labs
6995 Longley Lane Reno, NV [Meet on Maestro]
Join us at Charles River Laboratories to raise awareness about the negligence and suffering that goes on there. We must inform the public about the torturous acts happening in OUR CITY at one of the largest animal testing facilities.
In 2009, Charles River was fined $4,500 for failing to remove a macaque monkey from its cage before the cage was sent to be washed in a high temperature washer. It is protocol that 3 people check the cages before being sent to the washer. That monkey literally boiled alive. In 2008, 32 macaque monkeys died in their cages due to a heating malfunction as CR was fined $10,000. In 2006, 2 monkeys lost their fingers due to an incident while transporting. These are just events that were reported. It is not a stretch to say that there are many more incidents of neglect. These events were all due to human error and could have been completely avoided.
Our question is, what other neglectful things are happening at Charles River? Is this the type of facility that we want testing our pharmaceuticals? They can't even care for the lives they are subjecting to torture. How are they competent enough to determine which drugs are safe in humans? Additionally, tests in mice, dogs, and monkeys is an OUTDATED form of preclinical testing and very inaccurate. We need to push Charles River to stop subjecting these animals to painful experiments and pursue research in other areas of preclincal testing.
Help us in our fight to end animal testing by informing the public about what goes on inside this facility. We must speak up for these animals. We must help end the torture. Until every cage is empty.
*** Some signs will be provided but feel free to bring your own ***
RSVP on the Facebook page.
Photo: © Billy Howard. 2012-
-All Rights Reserved.
September Night Out: Opa Cafe!
Top: Video of the feast. A number of is had gottten up and more people came later.
Left: Greek line dancing.
Right: Children came along including a 13 day old. 28 people enjoyed the healthy and delicious vegan Greek faire.
Top: Video of the feast. A number of is had gottten up and more people came later.
Left: Greek line dancing.
Right: Children came along including a 13 day old. 28 people enjoyed the healthy and delicious vegan Greek faire.
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Smashing Success! 3 Paddlers, 4 Pedalers and a whole lot of people at the Pot Luck!
Night Out: Cafe de Thai
Old Friends and New Met Up at the Grande Affaire.
Scenes from June
Rodeo Protests
Thursday, June 14th, 5:30pm-7:00pm
Sunday, June 17th, 1:00pm-2:30pm
Livestock Events Center
Join us in informing people that Rodeo is cruel, plain and simple, and inviting them to boycott while adopting a healthy vegan diet.
Meet at the main entrance. Literature and signs provided, but if you are feeling crafty make your own! For more information Send us an email BUCK THE RODEO!!!!
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| Nutritional information contained on this site is not intended to replace medical advice from a physician or nutritionist. If you are experiencing an emergent medical situation contact a doctor, urgent care facility or hospital emergency room. Talk over any major lifestyle changes with your trusted medical professional. | ||
