Action Center

Thank you for your interest in getting active for Meatout. On this page, you will find the basics of hosting an event. You can use the table of contents at right to jump to the section of your choosing. For more detailed information, check out the links in the menu at right under the "Also in This Section" header.

Registering Your Event

Please be sure to notify us of your interest in Meatout by registering online or by calling 1-800-MEATOUT (632-8688), especially if you:

• Are curious and want more info
  (no event details necessary)
• Want an Action Guide
  (includes detailed info and leaflet masters)
• Are still in the planning stages
  (you can update the details later)
• Have finalized your plans
  (you are eligible to request an Event Pack)

Registering is very important. It allows us to keep you up-to-date with Meatout happenings, provide you support and materials, post your events on our website, inform activists and media in your area of your event, and use our international events directory to promote Meatout to national media. Registering is also a great way for you to get support from local activists and media.

Register now & request an Event Pack. This will provide you with essential materials you'll need to make your Meatout event a success. The Event Pack includes colorful posters, signs, handouts, stickers, master prints (for copies), and more!

For details on registration, an Action Guide, and Event Pack, visit the Registration Page.

Types of Events

Below you will find a list of common Meatout events with descriptions of each. For tips on selecting the best event for you, check out Selecting Your Event lower on this page. For any of these events, check out our Materials page to download materials, or register your event to request an Action Kit or Event Pack.

Leafleting

Leafleting is the simplest type of event to organize because it requires no permit, no equipment, and little planning. Popular locations are fast food outlets at lunch time and college campuses between classes, but any busy area will do. In addition to Meatout handouts, check out www.VeganOutreach.org for additional resources, such as pamphlets, leaflets, and display materials.

Quick tips:

• If you are leafleting on public property (like sidewalks), you do not have to leave (just don't block the sidewalk or doorway).
• A courtesy call to the local police defuses hostility when upset restaurant managers call them. Be sure to keep the officer's name you spoke to for reference.
• The use of a display board provides additional information (especially to those who don't stop for a leaflet).
• Free veggie burger or veggie dog samples, a costume, or other displays add a lot.

Steakouts

Steakouts (or information tables) are the most popular type of event, requiring only a handful of people and a few hours of planning effort. All you have to do is pick a popular location and busy time of day, get a permit (not usually necessary), then show up for a couple of hours with a large table, a couple of chairs, and lots of display and handout materials.

Exhibits

An exhibit is a non-staffed version of the Steakout. Exhibits are basically the unstaffed version of an information table. The typical duration of an exhibit is one week. Libraries and student unions are popular locations for this type of event, which tends to have more of a visual thrust than an information table. Display materials, including books, are usually under protective glass cover, while handouts are available to passersby.

Retail Outreach

Retail outreach is a key component of the Meatout campaign, and it can range from very simple projects to very involved ones. Retail outreach involves getting supermarkets and restaurants to carry and promote more meatless foods. We strongly encourage activists to include retail outreach among their activities.

On the simpler end of things, you can set up a literature area, an information table, or other display at your local supermarket or restaurant to educate clientele and employees.

For a more direct impact, you can work with FARM to get more vegan items on the shelves of your local supermarket or on the menu of your favorite restaurant. In some cases, this can be as simple as filling out a product suggestion card (available from our Materials page). In other instances, you may need to develop a relationship with the management, provide samples, or stage a cooking demonstration. FARM is developing these relationships on a national scale, but we need help on the local level too. Activists who indicate an interest in retail outreach on the event registration form will receive detailed instructions and progress reports, so you will know which outlets to contact.

Workplace Feed-Ins

This type of event offers ample room for effort and creativity. It can be as simple as putting out some veggie snacks, Meatout posters, and handouts in a college dorm or workplace lunchroom, or it can be as ambitious as getting a major corporation, university, or hospital cafeteria to go meatless for a day.

Classroom Ideas

• Conduct a presentation or show a video about the benefits of a veg diet.
• Hang a poster, talk about the importance of veggies and hand out stickers Register your intent and we'll send you the materials FREE!.
• Offer vegan food samples during lunch; set up an information table with it, if possible.
• Hold an essay contest.

Public Meals

Public meals are like feed-ins, except that they are public — rather than confined to a certain workplace or university — and that you have to provide the food. Some food can be obtained from manufacturers through FARM. A cooking demonstration can be included in the program.

Because you don't have a captive audience (as is the case for workplace feed-ins), you have to either create one or take advantage of an existing crowd. Creating an audience is more work and requires flyering, e-outreach, and media outreach. It is much easier to take advantage of existing crowds at church or club meetings, homeless or battered women’s shelters, sporting events, or college campuses.

Quick tip: Give your audience something to do while they wait in line and while they eat. Setting up a literature table or visual display adjacent to the serving area gives your audience something to look at as they inch closer to the food. Another popular idea is to set up a sit-and-eat area with a speaker or video presentation at the end of the food line. See below for details.

Lecture/Video Presentations

Lecture/Video Presentations require a qualified speaker, an informative and entertaining video and/or suitable materials. The location can be a classroom, student union, community center, church, or private home. Free food samples do a lot to boost audience size. For help finding a speaker in your area, click here to send an email to Meatout headquarters.

Meatout Walks

Meatout Walks are fundraising events that support FARM's outreach and education efforts. Walks are generally 2 to 5 miles long and last 30 to 90 minutes. Walks can be large or small, simple or combined with other Meatout events. We encourage ambitious coordinators to give this event a try. Meatout T-shirts are provided to all registered walkers. Other prizes and incentives make this a rewarding way to celebrate Meatout! Detailed instructions.

Lifestivals

Lifestivals are festivals or fairs that combine elements of other types of events. More planning, promotion, and resources are needed for lifestivals, but they attract a lot of people and are really worth it! Common ingredients of a festival are musical entertainment, street theater, local celebrities, food samples, cooking demos, videos, and other attractive display and handout materials. As a way to create an attractive exhibit area and cover some of the costs of the lifestival, organizers may rents booths to local food retailers and health care providers. Typical locations are a public park or downtown plaza.

Other Ideas & Themes:

Stop Global Warming!

Last year's theme was "Stop Global Warming!" Public response was so positive, that we recommend incorporating an environmental component into your festivities this year too. You can also purchase Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," at www.ClimateCrisis.net and host a screening. Be sure to highlight the ways in which a meat-based diet contributes to global warming.

For additional resources, check out the recent United Nations Report: "Livestock Causes More Greenhouse Gases Than Automobiles" and visit www.VeggiesForEcology.org.

Target a Fast Food Chain

Select any Meatout event type and choose your "favorite fast food" chain as a location. We recommend veg feed-ins outside of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) during PETA's KFC Cruelty campaign. Click here for fast food hints (PDF).

Support an Ongoing Campaign or Event

Take an action to support both Meatout and another organization's campaign. PETA's KFC Cruelty campaign is an obvious example, but also consider health fairs, pet festivals, art shows, and other veg-friendly venues.

Ads and Billboards

Ads and billboards send a powerful message to thousands. Individuals and organizations that wish to contribute money instead of or in addition to their time can sponsor newspaper ads or billboards. Artwork and technical instructions are available from FARM. For details, please contact us.

Selecting and Planning Your Event

When planning your Meatout event, there are seven goals you should try to meet:

1. Maximize the impact of your local event by making it a part of the national effort
2. Expose the largest number of people to the benefits of plant-based eating
3. Create a lasting positive experience for visitors
4. Generate positive media coverage for the residents of your community
5. Be sensitive to your community’s needs and interests
6. Complement the national theme and focus of Meatout
7. Be compatible with your group’s interests and resources

1. Register your event in our international database and take a look at our Suggested Action Plan.
2. Factors that influence the size of your audience include promotion, location, and draws.
• Effective promotion generally involves flyering, e-outreach, and taking advantage of local media. For details on this, see our page on Getting the Word Out.
• Location is another important factor. Depending on the type of event you are planning, your location should be easy to get to, attract a lot of foot traffic, and/or be a place that people in your area are familiar with. Remember, it is much easier to take advantage of places that naturally generate large crowds — such as churches, homeless or battered women’s shelters, shopping malls, sporting events, and college campuses — than it is to create a crowd of your own. Other location-related considerations are any costs and permits associated with a given location.
• A draw is anything that gets people to come to your event. If you trying to create an audience of your own, you may want to consider inviting speakers, musicians, or local celebrities. Many are often willing to participate at no charge for nonprofit events such as Meatout. If you are trying to take advantage of an existing crowd, costumes, attractive displays, tents, and food samples can make a big difference.
3. To create a lasting positive experience, invite attendees to your group's next function and encourage them to sign up for Meatout Mondays, our e-newsletter that acts as a support system for new vegetarians.
4. Tips for getting the most out of your local media can be found in our Getting the Word Out section.
5. Being sensitive to your community's needs and interests means gearing your displays and handouts towards your community’s current dietary standards. You don't want your approach to be so radical or off-putting that your audience shuts down before you can open your mouth or hand them a pamphlet. A variety of display and handout materials are available from FARM, although you are certainly welcome to use your own or other organizations’ materials.
6. The Meatout motto is "kick the meat habit on March 20 (the first day of Spring), at least for a day, and explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of vegetables, fruits, and grains." Our years of experience in promoting plant-based eating has taught us that increasing the availability and selection of meatless foods in mainstream supermarkets and restaurants is a more effective form of activism than relaying factory farm and slaughterhouse horror stories, reports of environmental devastation, and even warnings about dire effects on personal health.
7. Finally, the nature and scope of the event must be compatible with your group’s interests and resources to ensure that you enjoy doing it and avoid burning out in the process.

Meatout E-Cards

Check out our Meatout-themed e-cards, courtesty of All-Yours.net. Send these creative animations to your friends and family in honor of Meatout. Choose from the following:

* Card 1 - Cow w/ Message #1 (light-hearted)
* Card 2 - Cow w/ Message #2 (light-hearted)
* Card 3 - Cow Grazing (tranquil)
* Card 4 - Boy and Cow (weird/goofy)
* Card 5 - Time for a Fresh Start (weird/goofy)
* Card 6 - Super Pig (goofy cartoon violence)
* Card 7 - Save Lives (edgy)