Weekend Brunch Ideas - The Vegetarian Resource Group

Vegetarian ActionPhil Becker By Bobby AllynIN 1985, PHIL BECKER RECEIVED A MAILING FROMTransSpecies Unlimited, inviting him to a vegetarianSummerfest in Allentown, Pennsylvania.Becker graduated from Penn State in 1983, but henever got involved with the campus animal rightsgroup while he was an engineering student there.His decision to attend the North American VegetarianSociety Summerfest radically changed his world view.It was a precursor to a new life driven by a steadfastcommitment to vegetarian activism. “I hadn’t madethe connection between animals on thetable and animals on the farm beforethe Summerfest,” he said, “but withintwo months of attending this conference,I started doing vegetarian outreach.”Becker’s career path has not beenguided in a single direction; his positionshave ranged from engineeringto serving as a letter carrier. However,his vegetarian activism helped himdiscover his perfectly matched futureoccupation. While pursuing a graduate degree inpublic health, Becker worked part-time as a mobileinstructor with AnimalLearn (under the auspices ofthe American Anti-Vivisection Society). Due to thevery positive response he received from schools thathe visited, Becker changed his academic pursuits tosecondary education and received his MEd fromWest Chester University in 1996.Becker left Pennsylvania to teach physics and earthscience at Bel Air High School in Maryland, wherehe started a pro-vegetarian, pro-animal organizationcalled Students Against Animal Mistreatment (SAAM).“I tried to get involved in any groups I could to get themessage out about how diet affects many areas, includingthe environment, health, and, of course, animals,”he said. After leaving Maryland, Becker taught for fiveyears at The Harker School in San Jose, California.There, he started another student club called HEARTthat created a campus-wide recycling program, as wellas sponsored events celebrating World Vegetarian Dayand The Great American Meatout.Phil Becker with his dog Daisy(Photo by Dina Heruty)In 2005, Becker settled in Lafayette, California,and he now teaches at Bentley School. He introduceda mini-course called “Vegy 101” about sustainable diets,which later led to the formation of a new student group.(See pages 11-13.) “You can’t just lecture people, especiallyif you have any kind of regional or cultural bias,”Becker said. “One thing most people can relate to isbad health, so that was my starting place.”Becker teaches his pupils to develop analytical skillsthat will help them make prudent diet and healthchoices. “I try to convey to my studentsthat it’s important we understand thedifference between good science andjunk science,” he said. “Good scienceis good science irrespective of politics.”Phil Becker is only one man, butactivism is embodied in the power ofone. “Individual activism can result intremendous gain,” he said. “It’s about theripple you start—it might not be rightaway, but it’ll eventually cause change.”He had some wise words for every activist who hasever felt jaded or burned out. “A lot of activists feel theentire weight of the world on their shoulders,” he said.“They must spend every moment of their lives engagedwith the cause. People get burned out quickly. It’simportant to understand that you acquired an imperfectworld. You want to move it forward, but you can’tright every wrong.”Becker has accumulated the résumé of a definitivevegetarian activist all-star. In 1986-1988 he was onthe Boards of the North American Vegetarian Societyand the International Vegetarian Union. He’s an activeLife Member of The VRG and the American VeganSociety. Phil spent years organizing and leading severallocal vegetarian groups and continues acting as anenthusiastic educator advocate. He quoted vegan doctorMichael Klaper, “There are millions and millionsof vegetarians out there; they just don’t know it yet.”Bobby Allyn is currently studying journalism and internationalrelations at American University in Washington, D.C.VEGETARIAN JOURNAL Issue One 2009 35