Rayne Pearson, Eli Pearson, Donna Smith-Hursh and Tracy Hurst will be our guests at the April 8, 2015 Green Team meeting at 3 p.m. in the Panorama Auditorium Lobby. They will discuss veganism and share recipes with us.
Rayne Pearson is an administrative law judge, passionate animal rights activist, and self-proclaimed gourmet vegan chef. Rayne has been vegan for almost two years, and is raising her two children vegan as well. In her spare time, Rayne advocates for animals, participates in rallies and protests around the greater Puget Sound area, and cooks delicious vegan meals for her friends and family. Although first and foremost she is vegan for the animals, Rayne also believes that a plant-based diet is the best solution to save the planet, end world hunger, and greatly reduce the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Eli Pearson is a journeyman carpenter and project manager, dedicated animal rights activist, and avid golfer. Eli was vegetarian for almost two years, then decided to go vegan five months ago after watching “Cowspiracy” with his wife, Rayne. Although Eli feels very strongly about animal liberation, he focuses much of his activism and outreach on the environmental impacts of animal agriculture. Eli believes that if big changes don’t occur relatively quickly, his two young children will be competing for resources like clean air and water by the time they reach early adulthood. As long as he’s breathing, he will fight for a better world for future generations.
Donna Smith-Hursh is a Senior Auditor with the US Department of Agriculture.
Tracy Hursh is an Audit Manager with the US Army.
Tracy and Donna have been vegans for just over 2 ½ years. Their journey to veganism started with Tracy’s desire to lower his cholesterol though diet and exercise, but became more focused on animal rights due to their love of animals – especially after viewing Vegucated. They currently share their house with five cats. Donna enjoys doing art and has done many paintings that exhibit the cruelty that is carried out against animals, and how thoughtless and barbaric humans can be. Tracy is an avid cook who made the transition to a plant-based diet very easy for the two of them. He enjoys sharing his food with non-vegans to show that eating a plant based diet can be very satisfying, and is always willing to share recipes. Both of them enjoy being outdoors working in the yard, walking the neighborhood park, biking, and boating. While ending animal cruelty is their main concern, they also recognize the many other benefits of living vegan; better health, less destruction of the environment, a solution to ending world hunger, and the possibility of less violence around the world.