Vegetarian Advocate Speaks at Lawrence University

Pamela Rice, founder and president of the New York City-based VivaVegie Society, discusses reasons for adopting a meatless diet in an address at Lawrence University.

Rice presents “101 Reasons I’m a Vegetarian” Saturday, May 13 at 4 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 202. The event is free and open to the public.

The address is based on Rice’s 2005 book of the same name, in which she details arguments against eating meat from a variety of human health, animal welfare, economic and environmental perspectives. The topics she covers range from animal conditions on factory farms to high incidences of colon cancer and other diseases.

Rice’s book is an expanded version of a self-published pamphlet she began producing and distributing on New York City streets in 1991. The pamphlet has been updated six times since its first printing, with estimates of nearly 200,000 copies in circulation. In addition to directing the VivaVegie Society, Rice is the editor of the organization’s newsletter, The VivaVine, and oversees the Vegetarian Center, a first-of its-kind clearinghouse for information on the vegetarian lifestyle.

Rice’s appearance is sponsored by the LU Vegetarians and Vegans, a student organization that promotes campus awareness and understanding of the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle for moral, environmental, ethical and health reasons.