M. Butterflies Katz Live Guest Chat

Butterflies Katz (M. Butterflies Katz) began her journey over 40 years ago, at age 12, when she learned that "meat" was a dead animal, and immediately stopped eating animals. “In those pre-internet days, I had no other authority/inspiration to follow beyond my own conscience” explains Butterflies.

Jay Dinshah (the founder of the American Vegan Society) wrote eloquently about 'dynamic harmlessness' and inspired her veganism when she was 21 (32 yrs ago). It was the horror of the dairy industry that clinched it, but she rid her closet of leather and began buying only vegan products (which were difficult to source in those days).

At age 24, she met up with a vegan community called Gentle World after discovering their classic cookbook (published in 1981); The Cookbook 

for People Who Love Animals. She felt compelled to meet the authors. Gentle World members helped to elevate and expand her definition of veganism. With Gentle World, she has participated in 3 decades of vegan education. She co-authored Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm (http://www.amazon.com/Incredibly-Delicious-Recipes-New-Paradigm-Revised/dp/0929274253), with 500 vegan recipes from The Vegan Restaurant on Maui, Hawaii (run by Gentle World volunteers; where Butterflies was a head chef). She learned that preparing tasty delicious food was a great tool for vegan advocacy, and so has used it ever since - feeding many people; catering celebrity Banquets in Hollywood (in the 80's), participating in televised cooking demos, public outreach events, etc. She now is a chef at a local vegan/organic café right in the middle of animal-farming (or harming) country called The New Harvest Café, located in the far north of New Zealand. (http://www.happycow.net/reviews.php?id=26068)

Butterflies has created a new concept and practice in vegan events, called ‘Vegan Sharing Circles’ - in Florida, U.S. She and her brother host & cater these forums, which include not only great tasting food, but literature explaining the reasons and benefits of vegan living. She created a pamphlet called "Becoming Vegan" which she distributes (with other abolitionist literature) at these events. (http://www.veganpoet.com/Becoming-Vegan-pamphlet.pdf) 

Her website www.veganpoet.com shares vegan information/inspiration and is where she sells her book of poems and photographs called Metamorphosis: Poems to Inspire Transformation. One of the main features of the VeganPoet site is Dogs Can Eat Vegan Too; an extensive article on feeding dogs a plant-based diet, along with a vegan vet's advice, and photos of dogs thriving on nutrients from the plant kingdom. After more than 30 years of experimenting with feeding dogs a plant-based diet, she is considered an expert. http://www.veganpoet.com/articles/dogs-can-be-vegan-too.htm 

Her essays/blogs on veganism and animal rights can be found here:  Veganism: A Truth Whose Time has Come - http://thevegantruth.blogspot.com  

She uses her Facebook Profile for Vegan Activism - You can find her there daily (and on Twitter). (M. Butterflies Katz) - (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1319873387)

Her articles have been published in numerous vegan publications/sites, including The Vegan Voice Magazine in Australia, 

for which she was a regular columnist.

Her new website in development is http://veganexchange.org/ - a vegan work-trade program.  Butterflies has been involved in vegan-organic gardening for more than a decade in New Zealand.

Butterflies identifies with being an abolitionist, anti-speciesist activist, opposed to all violence imposed on human/nonhuman animals. 

Butterflies welcomes the opportunity to engage ARZone members on a range of topics, from her extensive advocacy for vegan education, her connections with Gentle World to her philosophies in general.

This is an event for which questions must be submitted to ARZone prior to Midnight GMT, Wednesday 15 June via email to Carolyn@ARZone.net.

ARZone is supportive of education, critical thinking, rational discourse, and aims to provoke intelligent dialogue about issues that most concern members of the animal advocacy movement.

ARZone does not endorse or promote the views of its guests and forum participants; ARZone does endorse and promote creative education efforts.

CHAT TIMES:

3:00pm            Sat June 18th             Pacific Time
4:00pm            Sat June 18th              Mountain Time
5:00pm            Sat June 18th              Central Time
6:00pm            Sat June 18th             Eastern Time
11:00pm          Sat June 18th              UK Time

8:00am            Sun June 19th             Australian Eastern Standard Time

To find your time for this chat, please use this conversion site, or feel free to ask for help.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html