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Your Guide to Speaking Up for Farm Animals, Halloween-Style

Did You Know…

• Dr. Frankenstein's monster was a vegetarian, as was his creator (Mary Shelley, not Viktor F). In the book, “Frankenstein,” he is quoted as saying, “I do not destroy the lamb and kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford my sufficient nourishment.” Some critics have pointed to the "monster's" vegetarianism as an expression of his inherently innocent and benevolent nature.
• In sharp contrast to Frankenstein's monster, Dracula – whose title character lives on a diet of human blood – was originally written by Bram Stoker as an evil, demonic fiend.
• Some believe the carving of Jack-O-Lanterns originated from the British tradition of carving lanterns from root vegetables such as turnips and rutabagas, though some scholars maintain that such lanterns were not associated with Halloween until the custom took root (pun intended!) in the U.S. Pumpkins, being native to North America – though now grown on every continent – soon proved to be a superior lantern material as they were bigger and easier to hollow out. Fortunately, root vegetables of all shapes and sizes make delicious vegan eating!
• According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the top five costumes for children (in order) were princess, witch, Hannah Montana, Spider-Man, and pirate. The top five for adults were witch, pirate, vampire, cat, and fairy. This year, we're hoping to see more appearances of Bunnicula, a fictional vampire rabbit from James Howe's eponymous book, who sucks the juice out of vegetables.  

With Halloween quickly creeping up on us, why not use your wicked ways to speak up for farm animals? There’s no trick about the number of farm animals who are exploited each year for food, and what’s truly scary is some people think meat is a treat. This October 31, put on your best activist costume and make a difference for farm animals.

Here are tips to get you started:

• Host a Vegan-Themed Costume Party/Fundraiser
• Invite your friends to a costume party and ask that they come dressed as their favorite plant-based food or vegan celebrity!
• Leave a smattering of Farm Sanctuary literature in a central location at the party.
• Make goodie bags full of vegan Halloween candy for your guests, and add Farm Sanctuary literature to each bag! (In addition to the general literature, we have an entire section of literature and merchandise geared toward kids.)
• Have the movie Frankenstein playing at the party. Put a sign on top of your TV saying that Frankenstein’s “monster” was a vegetarian.
• Gather everyone’s attention and talk about the real horror of factory farming. Talk about Farm Sanctuary’s rescue, advocacy and education efforts, as well as our victories and milestones. Use this opportunity to discuss the plight of farm animals and how it is up to each of us to make a difference for them. Talk about the benefits of a vegan diet for the world, the animals and our health.
• Ask your guests for a contribution to Farm Sanctuary’s rescue, education and advocacy efforts. You might even make this Halloween-themed by passing around a witch’s hat and asking people to put their donations in it.
• At your event, serve delicious vegan food. Perhaps even make your party a vegan potluck. Be sure to post the recipes for all of the vegan foods near their respective dishes, and ask your guests to do the same.

• “Trick or Treat” Outreach
• With no shortage of people out and about, Halloween is a great time to host a Veg for Life leafleting! Take a look at our thorough tips on leafleting. Excellent leaflets for Halloween outreach include “10 Actions You Can Take for Farm Animals" and “Vegetarian Diets for Kids” .

• Letters to the Editor
• Around Halloween, there will undoubtedly be articles about candy popping up in newspapers. Use those articles as an opportunity to discuss the health benefits of a vegan diet.
• Also use the press generated by Halloween as a platform to discuss the Child Nutrition Act – and the necessity of including dairy-free options in school lunches for all children.
• Remember, you can easily find the connection between any holiday and farm animal issues, and letters to the editor are a superb way of promoting change. Read our tips on writing letters to the editor. And keep in mind, a little wit never hurt anybody! Unique, well thought-out letters are more likely to get published. So put your writing skills to the test this Halloween and speak up for farm animals through your local paper.

• Organize a Theatrical Halloween Installation
• Get a group of your friends together for your community’s Halloween Parade and create a theatrical installation. In other words, create a multiple-person costume that depicts factory farming, and use that as a way to spread awareness and educate spectators. An example of this would be if you and your friends dressed as a battery cage and the chickens inside: Get several people to dress as debeaked chickens standing very close to one another behind people dressed as cage bars and hand out “Say No to Factory Farming" leaflets to passersby.
• Another possibility is to have everybody wear Frankenstein masks (here's one you can print out and color, if you don’t want to purchase one) while wearing or holding signs that say, “Frankie Says Go Veg!” If anyone asks (which they will!), you can inform them that Frankenstein’s “monster” was a vegetarian. Teaming this live installation up with Veg for Life leafleting is a great way of spreading compassion while having fun! (Please keep in mind that in certain cities and states, there is a “no mask” law, so be sure to check with your local precinct before having masks as part of your installation. Many of these laws have an exception on the day of Halloween.)
• A theatrical Halloween installation is a great idea for artists or other creative types. The sky is the limit with what you can create here. You might use the haunting and awesome work of activist/artist Sue Coe to inspire you.
• This can be a terrific press opportunity! Generating press has the potential to reach hundreds or thousands of people with your message. Check out our tips on media outreach.

• Dress Up Like an ACTivist
• If you haven’t joined Farm Sanctuary’s Advocacy Campaign Team yet, sign up today! It promises to be a real treat, complete with sweet surprises!

This Halloween, be sure to keep us posted about your advocacy efforts. And, as always, let us know how we can support you.