No Voice Unheard

Everyday Direct Action

2011-12-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a great deal about an interaction I had with a co-worker recently. She had spotted a stray kitten in the alley behind our workplace. She was upset about the kitten's plight, tears starting to fill her eyes. I asked her why she wasn't doing something. She looked at me and said she couldn't.

I walked over and picked up the small kitten and put him in my car. I walked back to my co-worker, and questioned why she felt she couldn't help. I received no answer and noticed the kitten's mother. I walked over and picked her up and placed her in my car. I brought them into my home as fosters, knowing that to do otherwise would have meant ignoring their suffering. That was what I felt I couldn't do.

To be honest, at the time of this interaction, I was furious. The more I think about it, though, I'm left feeling simply perplexed. There is an assumption on many people's parts that participating in direct action means living in an occupied park, getting arrested, and protesting en masse. Or liberating captive and exploited animals from puppy mills, laboratories, fur farms, and slaughterhouses. But those are just some forms of direct action. Direct action is also helping a lost dog get home, educating friends about adopting from a shelter, fostering a litter of kittens, donating your skills to an organization, providing a curious co-worker with a copy of "Why Vegan," or even baking dog cookies for a fundraiser. No action is too small, and all of it is "direct action."

Every single person is capable of some level of direct action. The most critical thing to understand is that each person has the power to help and to create change.

My coworker thought she couldn't help, so she didn't. The only things stopping her were her own fears and uncertainties. Taking the mother cat and kitten into foster and getting them medical care was a direct action I was able to manage. Helping them meant not only ensuring their immediate safety and comfort, but by getting the mother spayed and the kitten neutered (eventually), future suffering has also been alleviated - what is done today has immediate relief, but stopping suffering before it starts is even better.

Two weeks ago the kitten went to his new family. This past Friday, the mother cat went to her new family. She was adopted by that co-worker who couldn't help a few short weeks ago. From couldn't to will is a short step, but often people need help to understand their own power.

If everyone took that short step, even just once, imagine the suffering we could alleviate. We're not asking for a year-end donation. We're asking you to consider taking that short step, or to help others to do so, hopefully all-year long.

Why not you? Why not now?

Peace and compassion from all of us at No Voice Unheard.

Ninety-Five Named One of the 10 Best Vegan Books of 2011

2011-12-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ninety-Five has been named one of the 10 Best Vegan Books of 2011 by VegNews!

"Much like The Exultant Ark, Ninety-Five matches heart-melting photos with heart-warming prose, in this case former farmed animals now living the life of sanctuary. Each animal has a name, and a story, and it just doesn’t get any better. You will find yourself leafing through Ninety-Five often, sharing each vignette with everyone you know."

Finding Teachable Moments During the Holidays

2011-12-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

This time of year can be frustrating for many of us, but it can also offer teachable moments. It is easy to yell at co-workers who walk past a homeless cat and kitten in an alley, claiming they want to help but there is nothing they can do. It is harder, but more effective to explain why that kind of thinking is of part of the problem. How, as individuals, we are all capable of helping in some fashion. Those teachable conversations are difficult and one of the reasons we publish educational books. This situation happened to me (Davida) last week and once the cats were taken into a foster home and had received much needed medical care, I brought in copies of One at a Time to share with my co-workers. The book does a much better job explaining not only the plights of unwanted animals, but also how individuals can help, than I ever could. Our goal in publishing One at a Time is to change the way people think about shelter and unwanted animals and create positive change for them.

Likewise, with the holidays, family and workplace gatherings abound and many of us are questioned about why we choose not to eat animals. There are plenty of books touting the health benefits and why too much protein is actually bad for you. However, for many of us our own health benefits are not the reason we became vegetarian (no, that's just karma in action). Instead, we understand that to eat a turkey at Thanksgiving a life must be taken. This conversation can often turn hostile around the dinner table, with accusations of familial rejection and cross-accusations of murder. Those conversations are never teachable or productive. We prefer to introduce people to Amelia, Melvin, Aubrey, Ariala, and Rhosyln, turkeys who have distinct personalities, loves, and needs. These are the lives we seek to spare. Ninety-Five makes that conversation easier.

In the interest of taking difficult conversations and turning them into productive, teachable moments this holiday season, we have a special offer - buy One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter and Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs together for just $24.95. This is $10 off the combined retail price.

We also offer Giving Packages - a set of 5 books at 40% off the cover price - to give as gifts or donations to schools, libraries, coffee houses, community centers or any place where our books can reach the public. Other recipients might include teachers, clergy, legislators and policy makers, community leaders, celebrities, activists in other fields and anyone who can effect social change.

As a special offer to our newsletter readers, we are offering an assortment of free stickers with any book purchase. Please use the code "Stickers" in the special instructions box on our online order form. Please let us know if you want specific stickers, which can be viewed on our online order form.

Thank you for all that you do for the animals, and our best to you for a happy - and teachable - holiday season.

For the animals,

Diane, Marilee, Windi, and Davida

Veg Fests Galore!

2011-10-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

We wish we had the ability to do nothing but travel the country attending veg fests! Although the fair season is almost over, there are still some great events coming up...

It does our hearts good to see veg*anism being promoted in such fun, creative ways, and we send our thanks to the good folks involved in organizing them for their hard work, and for advocating for the animals. To help, we're donating copies of our book Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs for raffles and contest prizes.

If you're in the area of one of these wonderful veg fests, we recommend attending, eating yourself silly, and having fun while helping to promote a compassionate lifestyle.

10/15 - The Tampa Bay Veg Fest (http://tampabayvegfest.org/default.aspx ) is presented by Florida Voices for Animals in honor of World Farm Animals Day (http://www.wfad.org/).

10/22 - The Florida Veg Fest ( http://www.cfvegfest.org/), includes speakers, activities, music and of course food! Our donated books will benefit Florida animal rescue groups who will be part of the Fest's Animal Haven, featuring animal sanctuaries, animal rescue groups, dogs and cats for adoption, information on caring for companion animals, feeding dogs and cats a vegetarian diet, the importance of spaying and neutering, caring for feral cats, and more!

10/23 - The Texas State Veggie Fair (http://texasstateveggiefair.com/), opens with a premier of the new film Vegucated, directed by our friend Marisa Miller Wolfson. The fair also features a vegan fried food contest... yum! We're ready to travel all the way to Texas just for this!

10/29 & 10/30 - The 16th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival ( http://www.bostonveg.org/foodfest/) includes free food sampling, grocery and natural foods store exhibits, food producers and new products, cooking demonstrations by noted chefs, book and cookbook publishers and authors, top national speakers, children's activities, and more.

11/5 - The Northeast Florida Veg Fest in Jacksonville ( http://nfvegfest-com.doodlekit.com/home) will include healthy and sustainable foods, cooking demonstrations, live music, speakers and movie screenings. (Boy, those folks in Florida are really vegging it up, huh? This is Florida's third veg fest in October!)

11/5 - Chicago VeganMania ( http://chicagoveganmania.com/) gets our vote for the best veg fest name, and will include a vegan food court, live music, speakers and workshops, kids' activities and a presentation by vegan body builders! Yow!

Be a Part of "Vegucated"

2011-07-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite non-profit organizations is Kind Green Planet , who is dedicated to educating people about healthy, humane, eco-friendly living. They take a decidedly different approach, saying "We believe that sustainable change happens incrementally, and we understand that any kind of change can be daunting for people at first. So we celebrate the small victories in everyone's evolution, and we appreciate the value of laughter along the way."

Kind Green Planet has a program called "Vegan at Heart", a free e-mail coaching program for people who are vegan at heart but not necessarily in practice. As a subscriber, you receive one vegan "mission" in your inbox every day for 30 days, then once a week after that. The missions take 1 to 10 minutes to complete, are fun and help you discover things you never knew about, and they're always upbeat and supportive. We highly recommend this wonderful service - check it out at: http://www.kindgreenplanet.org/programs/veganatheart/welcome/

Now, Kind Green Planet has launched another project, a documentary titled "Vegucated." They describe it as "guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it's all about." Check out the trailer - it looks like it's going to be a fantastic film: http://www.getvegucated.com/

No Voice Unheard is supporting the film thru Kickstarter, a site that helps creative people raise funds for their creative projects. You check out the Vegucated project there at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/412656220/vegucated-documentary?ref=live

Vegan at Heart needs to raise $20,000 to finish the film, and they're almost there. If you're moved by the trailer, as we were, we hope you'll help!

Honoring Our Friends on this Memorial Day

2011-05-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest parts about working on Ninety-Five has been finding out that some of the animals that touched our hearts have passed away. On this Memorial Day we'd like to honor them and their caregivers. The only thing harder than providing the daily care these rescued animals need is seeing them through their (often premature) final days. This is our way of paying tribute and recognizing their part in helping all of us better understand and support farmed animals. This is part of their legacy.

In November of last year, Ian, a turkey from Peaceful Prairie passed away after finally finding love and friendship with a hen named Simone. (You can read more here.)

Amelia, whose charms earned her an essay in Ninety-Five, passed away in March. She became a resident at United Poultry Concerns (UPC) in 2007, when she was surrendered by a local farmer. She was still quite young when we first met her in May of 2008. On subsequent visits she had matured and had a nest in a quiet part of the yard. According Karen Davis, her caregiver, she died peacefully. Her legs had been giving her trouble and went out altogether. She lost her mobility and will to live. She inspired us, but we also came to think of her as a friend.

Amelia

Another friend from United Poultry Concerns was Mr. Frizzle, a rather dashing rooster. He was found as a bedraggled stray in 2007 and made his way to UPC, where he flourished. He lived in the yard there with a flock of tiny Thumbelina hens. He had battled a respiratory infection the last few years and over the weekend of April 2nd, he finally succumbed to it. His portrait can be seen around the DC area on bus ads.

Mr. Frizzle

On April 22nd, Opal, a turkey from Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, died in her sleep. She arrived at the sanctuary in 2004 and was seven when she passed away, which is very old for a turkey. She was lucky from the start, when she literally escaped from a slaughterhouse, just as two vegan women were driving by. They rescued her and brought her to Poplar Spring where she charmed visitors and volunteers alike.

Opal

We urge you to support your local and national sanctuaries and help them provide animals like Ian, Amelia, Mr. Frizzle, and Opal with the care and love they deserve.

Ninety-Five Wins IPPY Gold Award

2011-05-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, No Voice Unheard was honored with an IPPY Gold Medal in the Pets/Animals category for Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs

This year's Independent Book Publisher Awards (IPPY) attracted 3,907 entries, and the medalists represented books published in 45 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, seven Canadian provinces, and seven countries overseas. Launched in 1996 as the first unaffiliated awards program open exclusively to independent, university, and self-published titles, the IPPY Awards contest celebrated its 15th anniversary this year at a gala celebration in New York on Monday, May 23rd. Winners in 69 national and 22 regional categories received gold, silver and bronze awards.

We were honored to be able to tell their stories and are doubly honored to accept this award on behalf of Gilly, Libby & Louie, Olivia, Justice, Lucas and their caregivers.

Ninety-Five is a Gold Medal IPPY Winner!

2011-05-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ninety-Five has won a Gold Medal in the Animals/Pets category for the 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)!

We are thrilled and want to thank every contributor for helping to make this happen.

Yay!

Celebrate International Respect for Chickens Day

2011-05-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Celebrate International Respect for Chickens Day with a joyous dust bath!

Nine Next Steps to Ending America's Homeless Animal Tragedy

2011-03-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, 3 - 4 million animals enter shelters every year in our country; only half of them leave alive. An animal dies in a shelter every nine seconds.

What can you do? The answers are simple, yet profound. Although the homeless animal problem in America is heartbreaking, there is also hope: this problem can be solved and everyone can help. In the actions you take and the decisions you make about companion animals, you will have an impact.

Moreover, solving this problem offers us the chance to become better people and to express the very best of our humanity. We believe this issue can be a stepping stone toward an expanding circle of compassion and action, and toward creating a society that is just and caring to all living beings - beginning with the precious ones "right in our own backyards."

Once you've learned about the issue, these are the next steps that, one at a time, will help bring an end to America's homeless animal tragedy. We offer them to you in gratitude for your concern, and in hope. As always, please help us spread this info far and wide, by forwarding to your friends, family and acquaintances; please also ask them to sign up for our email list for future updates.

*****

Nine Next Steps to Ending America's Homeless Animal Tragedy

1) Be Heroic.

Adopt your next animal companion from a shelter or rescue group. You will be saving an animal whose life literally depends on getting a new home.

2) Be Committed.

Know the commitment when you bring an animal into your family, and follow through on it. Your animal companion is utterly dependent on you for his health and well-being. Commit to providing the care he needs, to working through any problems, and to being his guardian for his entire life.

3) Be Smart.

Before you adopt an animal, take the time to learn so you can make a good choice. Different types of animals and breeds have different needs - make sure you know enough to choose an animal who will be compatible with you and your lifestyle.

4) Be Responsible.

There are already more animals than homes available. Spay or neuter your animals so they don't add even more to the staggering animal overpopulation problem.

5) Be Identified.

Millions of animals become lost each year and never make it back home. Make sure your animal is always carrying your contact information, via an ID tag (which is visible and easy for anyone to use) and a microchip (which is permanent).

6) Be Prepared.

Make plans now for your animals' care should something happen to you. Many animals are in

shelters because their guardians did not make such arrangements.

7) Be a Role Model.

Always demonstrate responsible and loving animal care, so that others will want to do the same.

8) Be a Supporter.

Volunteer, donate, and support your local animal shelter or rescue group, especially their programs that educate the community and prevent animals from becoming homeless and even needing to be in the shelter. These programs save lives.

9) Be a Teacher.

Many good-hearted people simply don't know about the homeless animal tragedy in this country, and would help if only they understood how their actions impacted the situation. Help spread the word; speak up and speak out for homeless animals.

Striking at the Roots of Suffering

2011-02-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

The mission of No Voice Unheard, "is to promote an ethic of compassion and respect for all living beings and the planet we share, and encourage a deeper awareness of the effects our actions have on the lives and existence of animals, the environment, and our fellow human beings." We don't simply want to rescue individual animals, although that is a crucial part of it, we want to strike at the root of the suffering. To effect change before an animal finds himself in need of rescue because of the actions of a human being.

All of us at NVU have been and are involved in direct action rescues as individuals, but as an organization we desire to create lasting change and prevent suffering by publishing books that have the power to create social change. We seek to educate the general public and give activists tools to use.

In the past month we have watched as Borders stopped paying its vendors, Barnes & Noble fired their small press buyer and almost 50 other staffers, and even our own distributor let most of its sales force go. And we've felt the impact on our latest book, Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs. Since its release last year, we've found it harder than ever to get exposure for the book and get it onto bookstore shelves where it can reach readers. Perhaps our expectations are a bit high, but we are so proud of this book and the people and sanctuaries we worked with to help tell the stories of Justice, Lucas, Willy, Jeremy and Lenny, Olivia and so many other beautiful creatures.

So here we are, plagued with doubt about the state of the publishing industry and our present and future within it, filled with more questions than answers. Then on Friday Diane and Davida went on "The Signal", an NRP radio program. We simply talked about the books, the animals we met working on it, and why they inspired us so.

The day the interview aired we received the following email :

I have been a vegetarian since the age of 18 (now 45) when I learned of how beef, pork, etc. were processed. I was disgusted! I still, was always concerned about eggs and milk and although I never researched it I lowered my consumption and go on and off eating both. After hearing today's program and how chickens are kept I decided I'm OFF eggs! The same with the cows and how milk is produced... I'm OFF milk!

How could I, or anyone not be aware of what is going on?? I understand the world would never be vegan or vegetarian, but there is SO much waste and inhumane treatment.

My dream, my "if I ever win the lottery" wish would be to start a sanctuary here on the East Coast and to educate people of how we are killing the animals, our planet, and ourselves with all the toxins these animals are eating and injected with.

I can go on and I'm not telling you anything you don't know. What I do want to tell you is "THANK YOU" for what you do and represent. I too believe ALL animals have emotions and it kills me that we torture and abuse them.

I'm looking forward to purchasing many copies of "Ninety-Five" for myself and to share with my clients.

Despite our fears and doubts, this is why we publish. What we do can and does make a difference. If just one person goes vegan after reading Ninety-Five it means that we helped 95 animals (that year alone). That is striking at the root of suffering.

We will do the best we can to adapt to the ever-changing publishing industry. We'll also continue to evaluate the best strategies we can use as a publisher to reach, educate, and move people. We know we can make a difference. We know we already have.

Thank you for your support of our work and for what you do to strike at the roots of suffering.

For the animals,
Diane, Marilee, Windi, and Davida

P.S. One of the ways you can help is to share our message with your circle of friends and family. The more people who read and use our books as a voice for the animals, the stronger our books become. Again, we thank you for your help and your good work.

1st Annual Baltimore VegFest 2011 at UMBC

2011-02-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

The Animal Awareness Project and The UMBC Vegetarians are hosting the 1st Annual Baltimore VegFest at UMBC Campus this spring!

They still have some vendor/non profit spaces available - so if your organization or company would like to table or be a sponsor please contact them at: baltimorevegfest@gmail.com

Date: Sat April 30th
Time: 11:00- 3:00 pm
Location: Erickson Field on UMBC Campus Baltimore, MD

FREE to Public and FREE Parking!

Speakers for VegFest:

Bruce Friedrich of PETA
Harold Brown - former beef farmer turned animal activist
Plus an amazing vegan cooking demo by Alka Chandra of PETA

Exhibitors at Baltimore VegFest:

Vegan Outreach
Compassion Over Killing
The Humane Society of The United States
Mercy For Animals
FARM
The Animal Awareness Project
The Humane League of Philly
PETA
PETA 2
The Yabba Pot
Emily's Desserts
No Voice Unheard
VegTerps
Dirty Carrots Vegan Bakery
Animal Advocates
Compassion For Animals
Green Earth Travel
EarthSave Baltimore
Students for Environmental Awareness
The UMBC Vegetarians
Coconut Bliss Vegan IceCream
Farm Sanctuary
Lucky Dog Rescue
For The Animals Sanctuary
Brad's Raw Chips
and many many more TBA!!!!!!!

Website Address: www.vegfestbaltimore.com
Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=168562183180383
Join the Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/alka1963#!/pages/Baltimore-Vegfest-2011/147393468645769

A new year - and a new decade!

2011-01-12T05:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

A new year - and a new decade! - are upon us, and we look forward with hope. We remain committed to creating a voice for the homeless animals waiting in shelters, their lives at risk; the imprisoned animals in zoos, never knowing how it feels to be free; and in the largest numbers, the billions of farmed animals raised and killed for the plate. Our hearts are with all of these animals, and we strive to end the conditions responsible for their suffering.

We believe books are a critical way to reach the "mainstream" public with information about animal-related issues, and even more so, that beautiful, moving books have the power to touch people's minds and hearts and to create change. The feedback we receive confirms it...

"Your beautiful book Ninety-Five arrived and all work stopped as we marveled tearfully at the pages and pages of animals and their stories. After 10-12 years of vegetarianism (and then 'falling off' for several years) I have just completed 6 weeks of veganism! As spring came on this year and the sun and flowers began, I found the needed inspiration. I am thrilled about your book."

"A few years ago I bought one copy of One At a Time, and I consider it one of the most important books I've ever read. Now, I volunteer at a local shelter on Saturday and Sunday mornings...I KNOW I'm making a difference... I've also had the chance to adopt some the older cats with medical needs and give them a 'retirement home'... I just want to say thank you...you made a difference in my life and in the lives of several cats..."

"I was always of the mindset that if a zoo treats it's animals well, then they are OK to be visited. However, after reading an excerpt (from Thought to Exist in the Wild) in this month's Sun Magazine, I now realize that a zoo is all about the control that we as humans have over the animals in the zoo. I cannot support the imprisonment of wild animals any longer."

If you have not yet seen our 2010 wrap-up, we invite you to do so here. This newsletter contains highlights of our activities during the past year; it also includes ideas for using our books to educate your friends, family and communities. Please join us in spreading the message of compassion and respect for animals in the upcoming year!

For the animals,

Diane, Marilee, Windi, and Davida

PS Please join our email list!

No Voice Unheard Newsletter

2010-12-19T05:13:00.000-08:00

Please take a moment to see what we've been up to over the last year...

A Special Offer for Shelters and Rescue Organizations from No Voice Unheard

2010-11-19T15:51:00.001-08:00

Dear Friend,

No Voice Unheard is pleased to announce that our book, One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter, is now in its fifth printing!

If you’re not familiar with the book, One at a Time brings the homeless animal tragedy vividly to life via a true account of seven days in a typical U.S. animal shelter. With compelling photos and moving vignettes, it chronicles the stories of 75 animals who passed through a northern California shelter during one week. Their gripping stories include excerpts from actual shelter records; the words of shelter workers, volunteers, and visitors; and the final conclusion of each animal's journey through the shelter system.

We are former animal shelter workers who are deeply committed to educating the public about the homeless animal issue. We formed our non-profit organization, No Voice Unheard, to publish One at a Time after commercial publishers told us the book was too “realistic” to be marketable. Despite their predictions, the book has won awards and received tremendous praise, and we regularly hear from readers who have been moved to adopt from a shelter, and even volunteer, as a result of reading this book.

Hundreds of shelters and rescue groups use One at a Time in their own community outreach and education efforts, by …

Selling it as a fundraiser or including it in their merchandise line.
Giving it as a "thank you" gift to donors, volunteers, or staff members.
Giving copies to local elected officials, policy makers, and community leaders, to help explain the challenges of their work, or as part of campaigns to get ordiances passed
Using it as an orientation tool for new Board of Directors members or volunteers.
Giving it to their local newspaper to review, creating an opportunity to talk to the reporter about their work and the animals in their care.
Using it in humane education presentations and pet parenting classes.
Reviewing or covering it in an article in their newsletter, using the article as an opportunity to teach about the homeless animal issue.
Putting a copy in their lobby for the public to look at while waiting.
Including a copy of the book with adoptions.
Giving it as a door prize at events, or using it in a silent auction fundraiser.
Placing copies in local libraries; keeping copies in the shelter library.

One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter would also make a great holiday educational gift for supporters, donors, and volunteers.

We offer a 50% discount off the cover price of to all non-profits, rescues, animal control, and educational organizations, making your cost $8.47 per copy.
Please contact us for shipping rates or more information,
at info@novoiceunheard.org or 831-440-9574.

We send you our deepest thanks for the work you do for the animals, and hope that One at a Time can help you in that work.

Marilee Geyer & Diane Leigh, co-authors

Show them why you’re veg!

2010-11-19T15:49:00.000-08:00

Facing another season of holiday meals with non-veg friends, co-workers, and family?
Show them why you’re veg!

Our beautiful book, Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs, is filled with stunning photographs and fascinating stories of rescued farmed animals. It’s very inviting, presenting information about farmed animals in a non-threatening, easy-to-look-at format, and would make a great holiday gift to show people why you’ve chosen to go veg.

We offer a special package for gift-giving:
5 copies of the book at a very discounted price ($60).
Get a copy for your coffee table at home, one as a gift, and one for your office at work.
Click here for more info on our Giving Package.
Or you can order one copy for just $14.95.
If you are a sanctuary or non-profit, contact us about our non-profit discounts.

One of the things we wanted to do with this book is make it useful and accessible to show vegetarians and non-vegetarians the personalities of farmed animals. We also wanted to create a celebration of their lives and document their joys, quirks, sorrows, friendships and more. While the book has moments that are heart-wrenching, there are just as many moments of humor and joy. It is a book that can be shared with children, non-veg relatives, co-workers, and more. We believe this book has the power to change how people view farmed animals -- in fact, we've heard from new vegetarians who said this book was the reason they made the switch.

As a non-profit, our advertising and outreach budget is small. We very much want to get the faces and stories of these incredible animals in front of as many people as possible and rely on our readers to help us take our books out into the world. We’re looking for creative ways to reach out. If you are able to help us advocate for farmed animals, whether is it by forwarding this email, buying a copy of the book for your local library, mentioning it to your Facebook friends, or posting a review at an online retailer, we appreciate any and all help. Instead of waiting for Black Friday or Cyber Monday to do your holiday shopping, consider supporting a non-profit, independent publisher and spread the message of compassion and respect for all animals.

Thanks for supporting us and the animals!
Diane, Marilee, Windi, and Davida
No Voice Unheard

Aubrey and Garnet (United Poultry Concerns)

Eat, Think, Write: Vegan Authors Discuss Their Inspiration Panel at Baltimore Book Fest

2010-09-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

The following is what Davida Gypsy Breier, No Voice Unheard board member, spoke about at the "Eat, Think, Write: Vegan Authors Discuss Their Inspiration Panel" at Baltimore Book Fest.

When I was a child I moved from urban Miami to rural Minnesota. We rented a farmhouse on a working pig farm. At 8, I understood the rudimentary concepts of animal welfare and as piglets were born that summer I helped the farmer give them worm medicine and vaccines. Naively, I wanted to care for and help them. I remembered one weak piglet that came inside the house overnight. I routinely saved and fed them our vegetable scraps. I knew which ones were friendly and which of the males were just too big for someone my size. They were a lot like my dogs and occasionally when they got out, the pigs and dogs would romp around. And then one day in the early fall I came home and many of the pigs were gone. I asked about what happened and was told the truth.

At 8, this translated to never eating anything that I understood came from a pig. These were the nascent stirrings of a belief structure that would take me almost 20 years to fully understand. In high school I declared myself vegetarian without having a firm grasp of the concept. In college I finally understood vegetarianism, but made uninformed excuses for eggs and dairy until my first day working at The Vegetarian Resource Group. The flimsy belief structure I had taken shelter under was gently questioned and I couldn’t defend it. I became vegan that day and never looked back. That was 12 years ago.

At that time, and the years following, I devoted a lot of my efforts to written and verbal outreach. I spent my days answering questions from concerned parents, people perplexed by the mysteries of tofu, and combative reporters. I eventually learned that impassioned beliefs need not be strident and that living by example was often just as powerful.

Years passed and I changed jobs a few times. I was still living as a vegan, but my activist role was limited to smaller circles. In 2006, I was working for book distributor of independent presses and one day a book landed on my desk from a non-profit publisher based in California. The book, One at a Time, was the best and most honest portrait of shelter work that I had ever seen. I contacted the publishers immediately and told them how much I loved the book, that I did rescue work, and that I wanted very much to work with them. Eventually they said yes, and in that instant my future changed.

While I enjoyed working with the publishers I represented, there was something about this book and I did everything I could for it. A year later the publisher released a book by Derrick Jensen, Thought to Exist in the Wild, about zoos. Then in late 2007 they approached me with ideas about their third book, which was to be photos and essays about farmed animals and promoting veganism. They didn’t realize I had worked at a non-profit devoted to vegan education, that I was in fact vegan, and had previously worked as a commercial photographer. I so wanted to be part of the project. That phone call was a pivotal moment in my life and for the book. Suddenly they had someone on the east coast who was willing and able to travel and take photos and I was being offered the opportunity to work on the kind of book that I had always dreamed of.

That spring I found myself rolling around on the ground to reach eye level with the residents at United Poultry Concerns, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, near Washington, DC. I would also make it to Peaceful Prairie in Colorado and The Key West Wildlife Center. I shot thousands of photos. After using words for so long, I found myself drawn to telling stories and revealing personalities with images. The mission of the book was to show people what we see in these animals, how they are unique individuals. To show them for themselves and that was my goal every time I got behind the lens.

Despite working for their protection for 20 years, I really had little experience with farmed animals. I held theories and pre-conceptions, but on my second and third trips to United Poultry Concerns I came to understand the sheer numbers of distinct personalities that greeted me when I walked into the yard. I also found that I LOVED taking photos of chickens. They are also the most abused of all farmed animals, with 9 billion killed a year in the US for food, and of all the animals I photographed for this project, they, in my eyes, are also the most expressive. I met hens who I could see bore the emotional scars of their years in darkened confinement, hens who you could just tell were gossiping, and roosters who knew how beautiful they were and how much my camera did indeed love them. The eyes of these birds could in the briefest flicker show irritation, affection, curiosity, fear, vanity, hostility, shyness, boredom, pain, pleasure, hunger, surprise, and joy.

I had the opportunity to photograph a group of 13 hens as they were transported from Rhode Island to the safety of United Poultry Concerns. They were scared, featherless in spots, and just bedraggled looking. A few months later I went down to UPC and I saw the same hens. The transformation was astonishing. The delight they took in simply being able to dust bathe was evident and being able to partake in small watermelons brought by a visitor just put them into joy overdrive.

Those moments are why I felt Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals was so important. If I could convey that moment of joy, perhaps other people would understand their part in taking the joy away, and perhaps, just perhaps, they too will find that their flimsy belief structures need an overhaul.

Vegan Author Panel at Baltimore Book Fest

2010-09-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

From Ellen DeGeneres to John Salley, vegans are all over the media. This year has seen a number of new books pertaining to veganism hit bestseller lists. Recent articles cite that veganism is a huge trend in publishing, for restaurants, and with food manufacturers. Furthermore, it is now widely accepted that a plant-based diet can not only reduce, but reverse, health issues. Lastly, poll results and ballot measures show that the majority of Americans oppose animal cruelty. Despite all of this, myths and misperceptions abound about veganism and vegans.

Please join five vegan authors for the CityLit sponsored panel “Eat, Think, Write: Vegan Authors Discuss Their Inspiration” at the Baltimore Book Fest on Saturday September 25, 2010 at 6:30pm. The CityLit Stage is located on the south side of the Mt. Vernon Place circle at the foot of the Washington Monument. They will be discussing cooking, lifestyle issues, health benefits, philosophies of animal rights, and the personalities of farmed animals. They might even tell you where they get their protein.

Speakers include Jonathan Balcombe, Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals; Tracye McQuirter, By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat; Ben Shaberman, Vegan Monologues; Corinne Bowen, Editor-in-Chief, crazysexylife.com; and Davida Gypsy Breier, Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs.

 A popular speaker, Jonathan Balcombe, PhD, has given invited presentations on six continents. He is the author of Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals (Palgrave, 2010), Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good (Macmillan, 2006), and The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure (University of California Press, forthcoming March 2011).

 A speaker, author, and 20-year vegan, Tracye McQuirter, M.P.H., is passionate about helping people achieve extraordinary health through better food choices. Tracye recently released By Any Greens Necessary, her long-awaited first book. Tracye has been featured in dozens of media, including The Washington Post, Essence, Ebony, Fox 5, NBC 4, The Tavis Smiley Show, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Afro, and Heart and Soul.

 Ben Shaberman's essays and commentaries have been carried by a variety of media including: The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, National Public Radio, VegNews, and Vegetarian Times. His collection of humorous and reflective essays, The Vegan Monologues, was published by Apprentice House.

 Corinne Bowen is the Editor-in-Chief of Crazysexylife.com's online magazine (founded by author and filmmaker Kris Carr), which receives thousands of visitors each day. Her work has appeared in Baltimore SmartWoman Magazine and VegNews Magazine.

 Davida Gypsy Breier is a board member for the non-profit publisher, No Voice Unheard and is a contributing writer and photographer to their book Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs. She is also responsible for Wild Leek Photography, a project that helps support animal rescues and sanctuaries via photography.

Contact Davida Gypsy Breier for more details: davida@leekinginc.com.

Great Day at DC VegFest!

2010-09-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

DC VegFest - Come see us!

2010-09-08T04:59:00.000-07:00

Come on out and see us at DC VegFest! We'll have special event pricing on all three books - it is never to early to think about buying gifts!

The DC VegFest is a FREE outdoor festival celebrating the very best of everything vegetarian in and around the nation's capital. It is conveniently located at George Washington University on the University Yard, just 4 blocks from the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro station on the orange and blue lines.
2000 block of H St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

http://dcvegfest.com/

NVU at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary

2010-07-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.animalsanctuary.org/

NVU At TAFA

2010-07-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

A Place to Live (from Peaceful Prairie)

2010-06-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

"He shows up every morning, this small, slight, inky-eyed child. You can see him teetering across the prairie on his absurdly long legs, toiling across tough, tangled, thistly terrain on his pale hooves, struggling to cross the field that separates the neighboring farm from the sanctuary -- a nub of a child, pushing forth on his spindly bug legs, in his tiny bug body, with infinite bug determination -- so scanty against the hulking earth, so tender under the bleak sky, so unprepared for the demands of the journey, yet so determined to undertake it. Nothing deters him until he reaches his destination: a thorny scrap of scorched dirt on the sanctuary border where the fence wires are slightly bent, stretched and loosened. There, he stops with a sigh in his body, with a hitch in his shoulders, as if tossing an invisible burden."
Keep reading:
http://peacefulprairie.blogspot.com/2010/06/place-to-live.html

Stickers now available to order

2010-06-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

We now have stickers available to order on our website.

New Scientific Analysis Debunks Zoos’ Education Claims

2010-05-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

From In Defense of Animals -

San Rafael, Calif. – A new scientific critique questions claims by zoos and aquariums to be educating the public, finding that a key study conducted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is fatally flawed in its conclusions. IDA is calling on zoos and aquariums to stop misleading the public and admit they have no evidence that zoos have a positive educational impact.

“There is no compelling evidence to date that zoos and aquariums promote attitude changes, education or interest in conservation in their visitors, despite claims to the contrary,” stated lead author Dr. Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory University and expert in dolphin and whale intelligence.

Keep reading: http://www.idanews.org/ida-breaking-news/new-scientific-analysis-debunks-zoos%E2%80%99-education-claims/

2010-05-18T09:05:00.001-07:00

In Ninety-Five you'll meet Ralphie, Andy, and Elvis, once destined to be veal calves, and now adult gentle giants.

Ninety-Five - 1st Runner Up, Culture Category for the Eric Hoffer Award!

2010-05-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Ninety-Five has won first runner up in the culture category for the Eric Hoffer Award!

The full list is here: http://www.hofferaward.com/HAbookwinners.html#culture

Here is the The US Review of Books: The Eric Hoffer Award:

Rather than write a book exposing modern agricultural practices and promoting animal rights, the editor of a book about farm animals, oddly titled Ninety-Five, explains that he simply decided to introduce readers to farm animals. Ninety-Five consists of a number of portraits of a variety of rescued farm animals-among them, Gilly the hen, Sophie the pig, and Justice the steer-all beautifully written and accompanied by vibrant photographs. The stories of the animals surprise with their revelations of their personalities, relationships and emotions, yet never come across as sentimental. The book's title is a reference to the average number of animals that are saved each year through one person's vegan diet. After reading Ninety-Five, perhaps you will reconsider your eating habits. [http://www.theusreview.com/USRhoffer.html#culture]

Check out our early-order specials, good until June 1st, here.

Ninety-Five NOW AVAILABLE!

2010-05-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! Ninety-Five releases today!

We were out at Towsontown Fest today signing copies. You can stop by the Ukazoo Books tent at the Fest through Sunday afternoon and purchase a copy or visit the store at 730 Dulaney Valley Rd. Towson, MD 21204 (http://www.ukazoo.com)

Order direct from No Voice Unheard and save $5 on one copy, add another of our titles for just $10 more,
or order 5 copies of Ninety-Five for just $60.
Order now: http://novoiceunheard.org/order_individual.html

Great review of Ninety-Five from Our Hen House:

2010-04-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

Livestock. That word is the closest most people get to thinking or talking about live farmed animals. This convenient euphemism makes it easy to imagine all animal agriculture as a vague and vast ocean of faceless, identical beasts. It is perfectly acceptable for many people to eat “chicken” for dinner, but it feels somehow different to eat “a chicken” or “chickens” at suppertime. The animal agriculture industry has spent decades trying to commodify the animals we raise for food, and with alarming success: millions of people only acknowledge these beings when they are no longer animals, but “meat.”

Keep reading: http://www.ourhenhouse.com/2010/04/ninety-five-seeing-eye-to-eye-with-farmed-animals/

Special Pre-Order Offers for Ninety-Five!

2010-04-11T04:10:00.000-07:00

Special pre-order offers for our newest release!

$5 off the cover price!
Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs = $14.95

Add one of our other titles for $10
Ninety-Five + One at a Time = $24.95
or
Ninety-Five + Thought to Exist in the Wild = $24.95

Add both of our other titles for $20
Ninety-Five + One at a Time & Thought to Exist in the Wild = $34.95

http://novoiceunheard.org/order_individual.html

Ninety-Five: Coming Soon!

2010-04-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

After a couple of years of hard work, Ninety-Five will be released in just a few weeks! We'll be posting some special offers for supporters soon.

Men leave their own mark on veganism (Boston Globe)

2010-03-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2010/03/24/men_leave_their_own_mark_on_veganism/

"Perhaps the ultimate hegan is Rip Esselstyn, a veteran firefighter and triathlete in Austin, Texas. He helped the men in his department lower their cholesterol in 28 days by shunning animal protein and then turned his efforts into the best-selling “The Engine 2 Diet’’ (Wellness Central). Though not billed as a vegan diet per se, Esselstyn’s “plant-strong’’ lifestyle helps lower cholesterol by going meat-, egg-, and dairy-free, he says. “Sure there is a stigma attached to it, that it’s for yuppie, tree-hugging, emaciated weaklings,’’ he says. “That is far from the truth. I like to say that real men eat plants.'"

Why A Salad Costs More Than A Big Mac

2010-03-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.alternet.org/story/146013/why_a_big_mac_costs_less_than_a_salad

TAFA Conference

2010-03-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Registration is now open for the Taking Action for Animals Conference - set to take place in Washington DC June 23-26.

http://www.humanesociety.org/about/events/tafa/

Farm Sanctuary's Hoedown May 1st and 2nd

2010-03-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Check out information about Farm Sanctuary's spring hoedown:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/farm/calendar/ca_hoedown/index.html

A Rise in Rabbit Farning?

2010-03-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

Two recent articles look at the rise in rabbit farming: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/rabbit-farms-video-the-ne_n_483985.html and http://www.spin.com/articles/watch-morrissey-fights-cruel-rabbit-farming

New Poultry Press online

2010-02-21T16:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.upc-online.org/winter2010/

Inside This Issue

Interview with Matt Ball of Vegan Outreach

2010-02-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/Jan2010interview.html

Our main goal isn’t to reduce consumption, it is to lessen suffering. For many decades, groups and individuals thought they could trick people into making compassionate choices. But the “health argument” and various environmental arguments have led to many people switching from eating a few large animals to many smaller – and more intensively raised – animals like chickens. This has led to a great deal more suffering.
We focus on the animals because they matter. If we are going to reduce the animals’ suffering, we need people to recognize and consider their suffering. The ethical case for vegetarianism is simple, straightforward, and indisputable. A member recently spoke to a college class and reported:

My talk was was not what they expected. Many said the argument – reducing animal suffering – had no holes or flaws in it, essentially leaving them with no questions about why one should not eat animals. Many of the students decided to write about the issue, and are rethinking the way that they eat.

HSUS has come out with a vegan dog food

2010-02-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Not only is it vegan, but it is also made without corn and wheat for dogs with allergies.
http://www.thehumanechoice.com/

Gene Baur Endorses Ninety-Five

2010-02-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs just received this endorsement from Gene Baur:

"The animal agriculture industry has long treated farm animals like mere commodities, systematically abusing and killing roughly 10 billion each year in the U.S. But after meeting farm animals face to face, and opening themselves up to lessons the animals have to share, many people come to recognize that these beings feel joy, love, fear, pain, and sorrow just like we do. By bringing animal ambassadors forward through stunning portraits and inspiring stories, Ninety-Five offers opportunities for positive change and hope for a more compassionate future."

Praise for One at a Time

2010-01-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

Jim Mason, author of Animal Factories and Unnatural Order, had this to say about One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter “Leigh and Geyer have written a wake-up call to us all and it takes courage and compassion to respond. Summon up yours and read this book.”

Advance Reader Copies of Ninety-Five

2010-01-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Advance copies of "Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs" will soon be available. If you are a reviewer or organization with a store, please contact diane@novoiceunheard.org for a review copy.

Preview interior pages here.

Please Support Our Work

2009-12-27T05:44:00.000-08:00

Because our goal is to educate and inform, we want to make No Voice Unheard publications as accessible as possible. We have set cover prices lower than similar quality books produced by commercial publishers. By ordering directly from No Voice Unheard you are helping to support ongoing outreach efforts.

TO ORDER: Order online using our secure shopping cart http://novoiceunheard.org/order_individual.html OR click here http://novoiceunheard.org/images/pdf/nvu-printable_order_form.pdf for our printable order form.

Additional discounts are available to non-profit shelters, animal control agencies, rescue and educational organizations. Click here http://novoiceunheard.org/order_wholesale.html for more information.

Booksellers, libraries, and retailers, please click here http://novoiceunheard.org/order_wholesale.html.

In addition to selling individual copies of our books, One at a Time and Thought to Exist in the Wild, there are other ways to support No Voice Unheard and our work:

GIVING PACKAGES
This program offers a special discount - 40% off the cover price - on packages of 5 books, to give as gifts or donations to schools, libraries, coffee houses, community centers or any place where our books can reach the public. Other recipients might include teachers, clergy, legislators and policy makers, community leaders, celebrities, activists in other fields and anyone who can affect social change.

DONATION
Your generous donation to No Voice Unheard is tax deductible
and will help us expand our outreach and educational projects.

Please visit http://novoiceunheard.org/order_individual.html to order a GIVING PACKAGE or make a DONATION.

What YOU Can Do....

2009-12-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

In our everyday lives, in the choices we make and the actions we take, we can create change. These are the simple, yet profound, things we can do...

* Understand the commitment we are making when we take an animal into our homes and lives, be ready and willing to accept that commitment in our hearts and minds, and make it a lifelong commitment

* Protect our animal companions from becoming lost by keeping them safely confined and always wearing current identification.

* Spay and neuter our animals so that they do not contribute to companion animal overpopulation.

* Save a life by adopting our next animal companion from a shelter.

* Choose our companions thoughtfully and carefully to ensure we are making a good match that will last a lifetime

* Provide our companions with the basics of food and shelter and medical care, and also provide them with the love and companionship they need to be happy

Include them as part of our families, socialize them so that they are comfortable in human society, train them so that they are safe and good citizens

* Work through problems with them, and include them in our own life changes

* Always demonstrate responsible and loving companion animal care so that others may learn from our example, and so that such care becomes the standard in our society.

These actions honor our animal friends, and show gratitude for the love and companionship they give to us so freely. These actions acknowledge their intrinsic value, and express respect for them as living beings. Moreover, these are the actions that, one at a time, begin to bring an end to the homeless animal tragedy, and they are in your power.

If you want to do more...

Every community is different in its homeless animal problem - in its causes, as well as in its progress toward a solution. To find out how you can best become involved and help, find out what kinds of shelters you have in your community, and what kind of help they need. You may be able to foster an animal who needs extra care or time the shelter cannot give; you may be able to care for the animals in the shelter and give them the love and attention that will help them stay healthy while they wait for a home; you may be able to help the shelter raise funds or educate their community.

There may also be other organizations working outside the walls of the shelter - rescue groups, groups providing low cost spay/neuter, groups working to help feral cats, educational organizations, etc. - that can use your help.

Your time, your action, and your advocacy are incredibly valuable gifts to a shelter or non-profit organization, and to the animals themselves.

All of these organization sare playing a part in building communities that no longer have overwhelming homeless animal problems and have, therefore, no need to kill animals; they're working toward creating communities that find killing to be an unacceptable answer, and that see animals as having value and beauty, as beings with a sacred spark of life and spirit

Whatever you decide to do, we thank you for your compassion, your concern, and your efforts to bring about an end to the homeless animal tragedy and create a better world for animals.

Help us reach out: http://novoiceunheard.org/support.html

http://novoiceunheard.org/what_you_can_do.html

Reasons to Adopt

2009-12-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Animal shelters and rescue groups are full of wonderful animals, but nationally, only 20% of the dogs and cats in homes were adopted from these groups. Animals at your local shelter are eager to join new families and are waiting for someone just like you.

1) Be a hero. Adoption saves an animal whose life literally depends on getting a new home.

2) Adopting a homeless animal is a generous act of compassion, and an expression of the inherent value of animals.

3) You will be assured that you are not contributing to the homeless animal tragedy by encouraging the breeding of even more animals into an already-overpopulated world.

4) There's a large selection of animals to choose from (and not just dogs and cats!)

5) Looking for a purebred? If the animal you want is not at your local shelter, there is a rescue group for virtually every type of purebred dog and cat.

6) Adoption counselors have great expertise about animals, know the specific animals in the shelter, and can help you make the perfect match.

7) Many shelter animals are already housebroken and trained, and have some understanding of what living with a family is like and how to fit in. They have a "head-start" on animals from pet stores or breeders.

8) Most shelters screen their animals for good health and temperament.

9) Save money. Adopting from a shelter is usually less expensive than buying from a store or a breeder. Shelter adoption packages build in the cost of spay/neuter, vaccinations, and microchip identification into their adoption fees.

10) It's the right and ethical thing to do! You will be helping, one animal at a time, to bring an end to this nation's tragic homeless animal problem.

http://novoiceunheard.org/images/pdf/oaat_tipsheet_3.pdf

Everyone can help end America’s homeless animal tragedy

Hello!

2009-12-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

No Voice Unheard has found a niche as an independent publisher of beautiful and creative books that are cutting edge in their content and presentation, giving voice to those who are ignored or disregarded by society, and illuminating important social issues often ignored by profit-driven publishers. In the tradition of great books like Silent Spring, Animal Liberation, Diet for a New America and others, we believe in the power of books to create social change.

Our books include One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos, and the forthcoming Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs

No Voice Unheard is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501(c)3 organization founded and operated by former animal shelter workers with over forty combined years of experience in animal advocacy. We are dedicated to promoting compassion and respect for all living beings and the planet we share.