Plant-Based Propaganda: Building Climate Awareness and Community by the Forkful

Amanda Franklin

In 2019, I had a spiritual crisis stemming from an overpowering visceral realization of climate change. I changed our family’s diet, eliminating nearly all animal products (except eggs: thank God for not requiring this baker to go that far.) In summer 2023, a Friend suggested I cook three monthly lunches for our Meeting, inaccurately proposing I call them “Vegan Propaganda” (since renamed to avoid disappointed vegans).

I did, and some 40 months later, I haven’t lost momentum. University Friends Meeting hosts a monthly lunch, attended with Quaker riotousness by 25-40 people at a time.

This has been a success for at least these reasons:

I’m a maverick Quaker, and I declined a committee — with all its attendant blessings and complications. I handle all the logistics.

Eaters are greeted by a donation basket and an instructive sign: “Pay as thee is led. Most people are led to give $8-12.” The Divine generally leads us to the break-even point.

Volunteers set up and take down the tables and chairs, wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, and scoop the leftovers into take-home containers. This, along with the table fellowship, is where community shines.

I rarely repeat an entrée or a dessert, so regular eaters have been exposed to many tasty dishes that aren’t part of the standard American diet. I make an exception in December: Seattle Quakers have shown riotous enthusiasm for Impossible meatloaf and mushroom gravy.

I try not to evangelize my religion or my diet, beyond suggesting, “Put this in your mouth. You’ll like it!” Almost four years in, F/friends appear to agree.

Amanda Franklin is a 40-year Quaker, a therapist, and a food enthusiast in Seattle, Washington.