Gainesville
My book tour recently brought me to five cities across Florida – Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami.  The last time I spent this much time in Florida was during the initiative campaign between 2000 and 2002 to outlaw gestation crates.  It was great to reconnect with activists who worked on that successful effort (enacting the first U.S. law to ban a cruel factory farm confinement system) as well as to see many new faces.

I spoke at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and met enthusiastic activists working to protect animals. The animal rights group on campus was founded to help during the initiative campaign, and I was happy to see it’s still going strong.  The day I visited, the campus group fed hundreds of students free vegan food! 

A woman who came to my presentation said she is studying for a career in animal agriculture and knows the manager of the University of Florida pig farm who I mention in the book.  After my presentation, I told her that I hoped the farm manager was happy with what I wrote about him, and that several industry officials, including a vice president of the National Pork Producer’s Council, have agreed with his insight.  When the pig farm manager and I met during the initiative campaign, he commented that “pigmanship” is missing on today’s farms.

Orlando
It was great to see a burgeoning vegetarian community in Orlando, along with restaurants providing a variety of tasty vegan options.  My presentation was hosted by Ethos Vegan Kitchen, where I had an amazing vegan Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.  I had heard about several places serving vegan Philly Cheese Steaks when I was in Philadelphia, but was not able to try one there, so I was happily satisfied to enjoy one in Orlando.  The owner of another veg friendly restaurant came to the presentation and explained how she was a meat eater when she went into the restaurant business, but after learning more about the food industry, she became vegetarian and has moved her establishment in that direction.

Tampa
I stayed with a friend in Tampa and grabbed a juicy refreshing grapefruit from a tree in his back yard.  I love being able to obtain food in such a direct way.  

At my talk at Borders, a concern was raised about cloned animals entering the food supply, which is shockingly allowed by the Food and Drug Administration despite widespread public concern and opposition to the practice.  The notion of eating cloned animals is upsetting to most people, so in response, the industry has put a “voluntary” moratorium in place.  Let’s hope it becomes permanent.

South Florida
My last two presentations in Florida were in a warm, sunny part of the state with famous beaches.  One was at Sublime Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale and another was at Books & Books near Miami. Both were attended by long time Farm Sanctuary members, as well as citizens just becoming aware of problems associated with animal agriculture. Sublime is a phenomenal vegan restaurant, serving quality food in a spectacular venue, and I enjoyed an amazing meal there after my talk.

I had a chance to visit with several Farm Sanctuary supporters, including some who have lived in Florida since the 1940s.  They described how profoundly the state has changed.  Unspoiled natural areas have been ruined as our human foot print has gotten bigger and bigger.  Sadly, this is too common an experience in many parts of our country. As one of my favorite artists sang, “you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone… they paved paradise and put up a parking lot… .” 

We’re finally beginning to recognize the importance of adjusting our behavior, and taking small steps to lighten our impact, including correcting mistakes.  I recently visited a grassy field that had been covered with asphalt and made into a parking lot.  But given the area’s significance (it was where the University of Georgia played its first football game in 1892) and in an effort to create more green space, the asphalt was removed, and the area returned to a more earthy state.