A Gay Vegan Expo was held on October 11, 2021, in conjunction with #NationalComingOutDay. It celebrated vegan LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual) entrepreneurs while encouraging non-vegan queer-owned businesses to get involved in animal liberation. Project Animal Freedom (PAF), a nonprofit organization in St. Louis, hosted the online event.
Kyle Luyzinski, founder and director of PAF, said the expo showcased ethical businesses and encouraged entrepreneurs to use more ethical business models that do not involve animal cruelty.
In its role as a LGBTQIA-founded nonprofit, Project Animal Freedom takes a special interest in its gay outreach. Kyle said, “We’re not exactly the largest segment of the population, but we have a lot to share with the vegan community and others.”
First Gay Vegan Expo showcases vegan LGBTQIA entrepreneurs
A primary goal of PAF’s first Gay Vegan Expo was to provide a platform to promote the work of gay vegan entrepreneurs from across the movement. Kyle believes it is the responsibility of the LGBTQIA community to recognize that the injustices they face are not unique to them.
“Oppression transcends the human and non-human species barrier. We need to fight for justice for all, including other species. This radical commitment to justice for all is core to our identity at Project Animal Freedom,” Kyle said.
Although the LGBTQIA community has extended compassion to include a wide range of oppressed groups, there is still ethical invisibility about the suffering of non-human animals, a certain ignorance, disregard, and, at times, disdain,” Kyle said.
Kyle presented an example of a lesbian who owns a food truck that serves lamb gyros. While she directs financial resources toward LGBTQIA causes, she also profits from the death of animals.
Ultimately, the Gay Vegan Expo aimed to promote businesses and entrepreneurs who embody what it means to work at the intersection of animal rights and queer liberation. A secondary goal of the expo was to encourage others to start ethical businesses in an effort to build a more humane, queer-friendly economy.
Building a queer-friendly economy
Kyle told a story to explain what PAF means by building a queer-friendly economy:
“I came across a newspaper article titled, “I am the 0.1%.” It was about a gay man running for Congress. There are tens of thousands of politicians in our country, from mayors to senators. However, only a few hundred of them, or roughly 0.1%, are known to be LGBTQIA.
It is no different in the business world; queer entrepreneurs are underrepresented, and gay vegan entrepreneurs even more so. Our Gay Vegan Expo thus served as a platform for promoting queer, animal-friendly businesses while also giving aspiring queer, vegan entrepreneurs role models to emulate when launching or growing their own businesses.
Therefore, this event was equal parts education, inspiration, and empowerment. One of the most powerful actions we can take as animal advocates is not only to reform businesses, but also to create businesses that uphold animal rights. Since no one was doing this vital work at the intersection of queer liberation, animal rights, and entrepreneurship, we decided to fill the void,” Kyle said.
Speakers at Gay Vegan Expo cover a wide array of topics
Award winning journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell served as keynote speaker of the Gay Vegan Expo on October 11, 2021.
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Keynote speaker Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane Unchained News spoke about what it’s like to be a sober, lesbian vegan. She encouraged the LGBTQIA community to extend compassion to all living beings.
She is the founder and content editor of Jane Unchained, a multi-platform social media news outlet focused on animal rights and the vegan lifestyle.
Her reporting on animal issues has earned her four Genesis Awards and commendations from the Humane Society of the United States. VegNews named her “Media Maven of the Year” in 2010. In 2013, Mercy for Animals awarded her its Compassionate Leadership Award, and in 2014, the Animal Legal Defense Fund honored her for fighting animal abuse. In 2015, she received the Nanci Alexander Award at PETA’s 35th anniversary.
For six years, Jane Velez-Mitchell hosted a weekly segment on animal issues on CNN Headline News. Previously, she reported for the nationally syndicated Warner Brothers/Telepictures show Celebrity Justice, covering animal issues championed by celebrities.
Jane Velez-Mitchell has written four books. Her 2014 nonfiction New York Times bestseller, Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias, chronicles the high-profile murder trial of Jodi Arias and offers a psychological analysis of a trial that gripped the American nation.
Pattrice Jones is the co-founder of VINE (Veganism is the Next Evolution) Sanctuary, a 100-acre refuge for farm animals in Vermont.
Pattrice Jones
Pattrice Jones, another speaker at the Gay Vegan Expo, shared insights learned from animals at VINE (Veganism is the Next Evolution) Sanctuary in Vermont.
Pattrice and Miriam Jones co-founded the 100-acre, solar-powered refuge for abused and rescued farm animals. VINE was the first sanctuary to develop a method for rehabilitating roosters used in cockfighting. Their method is now used by sanctuaries around the world. VINE is part of the farm sanctuary movement, which has grown stronger in recent years as more people have learned about the ethics and importance of veganism as well as the direct link between animal agriculture and climate change.
Pattrice has an expansive vision of promoting social justice across species and spoke about LGBTQIA contributions to animal advocacy. She explained how “queering animal liberation” might be the answer to securing justice for animals, queer people, and the planet as a whole.
VINE runs a humane education program for children and maintains a Free Seed Library at a local public library. The organization coordinates a statewide initiative to promote plant-based alternatives to dairy farming.
Nationally, the founders of VINE speak on topics including the links between ableism and speciesism, “eco-logical” activism, and queering animal liberation. Pattrice views queering animal liberation as building bridges between the animal liberation and gay liberation movements.
Pattrice was a social change activist who used diverse tactics in a wide range of movements before co-founding VINE. She has published essays in numerous anthologies and written two books — The Oxen at the Intersection (Lantern, 2014) and Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World (Lantern, 2007).
Christopher Sebastian is an activist and scholar who is at the crossroads of black liberation, queer liberation, and animal liberation.
Christopher Sebastian
Christopher Sebastian of Peace Advocacy Network is at the crossroads of black liberation, queer liberation, and animal liberation. It is often the subject of his writings how people can be allies in both movements — veganism and racism/anti-blackness.
During the Gay Vegan Expo, he contextualized how white identity shapes animal exploitation. He talked about the white savior complex in the animal rights movement and spoke about why building an inclusive community requires more than lip service.
Christopher asked us, for instance, to consider how easy it is to vilify slaughterhouse workers without asking who owns the slaughterhouses and factory farms. What are the top companies that control the food system, he asks? Who are the key legislators that write and enforce agricultural gag laws? Who runs the judicial system that criminalizes peaceful protest?”
Christopher’s lectures at Columbia University focus on how human relationships with animals influence our attitudes about race, class, and sexuality. He uses his social media space to create original and provocative conversations about cultivating a truly radical animal liberation for the 21st century.
Gay Vegan Expo 2022
The success of the Gay Vegan Expo has prompted Project Animal Freedom to host the event annually. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, October 11, 2022. The online expo will again coincide with National Coming Out Day. Contact Project Animal Freedom if you are interested in speaking at the expo.
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