Enjoy vegan food in beautiful Santa Cruz County, California! Plant-based eating here is outstanding, as we have some of the freshest year-round produce in the world! Whether you're vegan, reducing animal product consumption, or just want to enjoy good conversation and a healthy meal free of animal products, please join us! Our meetups are Fun social events where you can explore your food options and choices with no pressure, honest.

Why do some people reduce or eliminate animal product consumption? There are many different reasons, and there is a lot of diversity in our group as a result. See the following page for more information about the group and the variety of reasons people become vegan or reduce their consumption of animal products:

http://www.meetup.com/scvegans/pages/Why_Do...

Mark Bittman, renowned journalist and cookbook author, has a great Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) talk that summarizes a lot of the reasons to reduce animal product consumption:

http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_wh...

Another TED talk by Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger.com, on why he's a weekday vegetarian (4 mins):

http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekda...

Our group participates in a variety of environmental events to help spread the word about how even small changes in what you eat can dramatically influence the environment, health, social justice, and climate change. And even save our childrens' future.

Here are some ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and stop climate change, through diet:

http://files.meetup.com/161345/EarthDayFlye...

http://www.meetup.com/scvegetarians/pages/E...

http://www.meetup.com/scvegetarians/pages/3...

http://www.350.org/node/8842

Following is a terrific website with the latest news about climate change and solutions:

http://worldpreservationfoundation.org

Also enjoy a FREE summer film series at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries about the connection between what you eat and climate change, pollution, health, bees, hunger in America, human and animal welfare, and more:

http://files.meetup.com/161345/FoodandYouFilmSeries.pdf

As a coastal community, it's also important to be aware of issues that affect our oceans. This beautifully filmed documentary examines the threat of overfishing, trawling, pollution, fish farming, and climate change (16 mins):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdo-YUFZd6c

This is a moderate vegan group that encourages nonviolence and positive, practical action to improve the world we live in: democracy is not a spectator sport. History teaches us that if you're not paying attention, things tend to go in directions you don't want them to. We enjoy stimulating conversation, and at the same time we ask that everyone be respectful and courteous of others' opinions. Although the organizers are concerned about animal welfare, have been veg for decades, and even live with rescued farm animals, this is not an animal rights group: it's a group about diet. There are many different reasons people become vegan, and we try to be supportive of them and learn from each other, as long as they are in line with our group values of nonviolence in action and communication with each other. We hold no grudges toward any other veg groups, even those who choose to operate differently from us. Everyone should find the groups in line with their own philosophies. We've been a group for more than nine years now!

If you're concerned about your "internet privacy," know that our group is private so you can feel free to post your opinions in your profile and on our message board without it appearing on the internet in searches.