I have to do a Gold Award project(which is basically a big community service project) what could i do that...?

Question

would help promote vegetarians or vegans? Or give people information about becoming vegetarian or vegan? I don't want to be all in thier face or annoy the c**p out of everybody, i just want to let them know thier other options.

Or any other ideas would be great, Its required that i put 40 hours into the project and it has to be something that can be continuted on in the community. Thanks for all your help! : )

Answer 1

Other than cooking a lot of food that is traditonally cooked with meat but instead vegetarian, I don't know what else. Videos are likely to offend a lot of people. Comparative charts and graphs are boring.

You can make stews, chilis, stir frys, etc that are better known for using meat but of course vegetarian. Then perhaps you can make a per serving nutritional onformation chart comapring the two. Say meatless "beef stew" against the real thing: grams of fat, calories, sodium percent,  RDA etc etc.  Of course you have to make sure that your vegtarian version isbetter both in taste and nutrition. Then maybe people will make the switch or eat more veggies that sort of thing on their own without " in your face preaching" on your part.

Answer 2

Emphasize the fun and delicious aspects, with quick and easy recipes, and weave in facts as asides, such as the health benefits of plant-based diets and the small energy footprint of plant vs. animal based diets. People may be trying to reduce meat use as its cost rises. Perhaps you could develop and offer a cooking class, "Five Great Meatless Meals," and do a demonstration and hand out recipes. If your goal is to promote strict vegetarianism, however, I think that's going to be a tougher sell. If you're willing to promote eating _less_ meat, you can encourage people to make gradual changes, to think of meat as an ingredient instead of as a focal point. A gradual approach can do a lot to reduce meat consumption.

Answer 3

i went to a vegetarian holiday tasting extravaganza back in november. it was seriously the coolest thing i've ever did. they had tables set up all over a gym with food all over them. people made different dishes and passed out samples to anyone who wanted them. then the people went back to a table once they filled their plate with samples and tasted them.

you could do something like this with your gold award project.

you could make it a contest though, which might get more people to participate: have people bring in things to make, and then vote on the best one and give that one a prize or something...

it would be kind of interesting to see how many people you could get to participate.

just let them know that they can't put meat in it.

some of the samples could be vegetarian, some could be vegan.

at the place i went to, they sold cook books with all the recipies in it, which would be kind of interesting for like a fundraiser...and it lets people know for sure whats in it.

at the place i went to, they had dishes like:

sweet potato casserole, chocolate pudding, lima beans, carrot and dill soup, cherry strudel, pumpkin bars all kinds of different things. some were imitation meats that used tofu and stuff, but everything was very good.

but so, if i were you, i would just ask as many people as i knew if they would participate in a vegetarian/vegan food making contest. you could even go to restaurants and ask some chefs, and if your prize for the winner is cool enough, they might...

you can email me if you want any of the recipes or any more information on how they set it up.

[e-mail]

Answer 4

You can objectively show the benefits of a plant-based diet. You don't have to label it as vegetarian.

However, you can show, in a chart for example, the costs of eating produce vs. eating animals (as animals take x amount of produce + x amount of energy/gas costs, etc) to show people how much money they can save while there is concern over the economy and rising prices of things like gas.

You can show the benefits (again I like charts or visual presentations) of plants (i.e. showing some of the most nutritious vegetables and what vitamins/nutrients they have and compare those to meat products to show people they can get nutrition from other sources). This doesn't *have* to promote vegetarianism but it can show that people can consume less calories and get the same nutrition from other sources- which is needed for good health.

I would also interview some dieticians/doctors/etc to get health advice. I think you can link all of this together to make a sort of 'healthy living guide and tips' for the community.

To take it a step further, you can make vegetarian or vegan food (especially treats, think bakesale items) and have non-veg treats. Put them on the table together. Give the profits of both to help the community (like local charities). But, list the calories and fat of each. Let people sample so they can see that they can still enjoy a cupcake with half the calories or fat (or whatever percentage it is based one the recipe you use).

Any way you can promote a healthy lifestyle will help your community. People don't just like to hear facts. I would use charts and things that people can see, taste, smell for true impact.

For fun, you can set up a laptop or two with wireless at your booth and have people take quizes like http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/273/he... or http://www.embedtube.com/uploads/3310140...

to interactively make people think about their lifestyle choices. I believe this makes people think and not just go "oh it's another health thing".

You can remind people how these healthy choices, while some times seem hard at first and even 'expensive' up front aren't because they pay off in the long term. Healthy people save on health bills. If you live well and prevent bad choices, you don't have as many hospital or doctor's bills, on average.

I hope this helps. Be yourself. Don't try to convert. Be polite. You're just educating. Be caring.

Answer 5

do profiles on famous vegetarians or supporters of vegetarians , from Matthew in the Bible (if you want) to Socrates to Abraham Lincoln to Albert Einstein, plus a ton of elite athletes, celebrities etc. Then find some local vegetarians who might be willing to help you out and highlight the ways in which they are similar to these famous vegetarians. Here's a site to get you started-

http://www.happycow.net/famous_vegetaria...