The JIVNITI Women’s Coalition, an initiative of the Virsa Foundation, welcomes new supporters to its campaign calling on the US Vice President to go vegan and spearhead a transition to a more equitable, healthy food system.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, youth activist and Marvel superhero Genesis Butler, and British entrepreneur and media personality Heather Mills are among a growing number of supporters to the JIVINITI campaign which urges the Biden-Harris administration to take a plant-based approach to battling the Covid-19 pandemic and address food insecurity, chronic illness, racial and gender-based structural inequality, and climate change.
Last month the predominantly BIPOC-led coalition penned an open letter (https://www.thevirsafoundation.org/jiviniti-plant-powered-kamala-campaign) to the administration as well as a petition (https://change.org/plantpoweredkamala) to Harris to go vegan in 2021.
Adams – whose political platform includes advocating for reversing inequality and overcoming the health and economic crises – said shifting to plant-based nutritional guidance to start solving the public health crisis is essential.
“I wholeheartedly support the JIVINITI coalition in initiating these vital conversations focused on women of color in the US and for marginalized women worldwide,” says Adams. “We must turn food deserts into food oases, particularly in communities of color where nutritional foods are scarce. Switching to a whole-food, plant-based diet taught me about the transformative power of what’s on our dinner plate. With the new Biden-Harris Administration in office, it’s time we take this conversation national.”
Thirteen-year-old Butler – who in 2019 gained international media recognition when she asked Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent and last year became a Marvel superhero – said: “I urge the Biden-Harris administration to take steps towards shutting down large-scale animal agriculture and ending systemic racism and the health crisis. My generation looks up to our national leaders – especially powerful women leaders like Vice President Harris – to help secure a happy and healthy world for our tomorrow.”
Mills, owner of VBites, who became the fastest disabled female skier in 2015, said: “An animal-based economy oppresses everyone. I pledge my support to the JIVINITI women’s coalition and invite Vice President Harris to support plant-forward policy change and to go vegan.”
Other supporters who have come on board with the campaign include Kim Anderson, co-founder of Plant City, the first vegan dining hall powered by renowned chef Matthew Kenney; Jackie Norman, former beef and dairy farmer in New Zealand; and Claire Smith, creator of the world’s first climate-conscious and vegan-friendly Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) launched on the NYSE. UK-based animal advocacy group Viva!, founded by Juliet Gellatley, has also joined as a coalition partner.
Meanwhile, with the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, with multiple new strains resulting in record-high hospitalizations, the JIVINITI women’s coalition has created a Public Service Announcement (PSA) video reiterating the call for Harris to take urgent action.
Featuring several coalition members, the PSA (https://youtu.be/xsxp_ItUCf0) was created after an online news conference hosted by coalition partner, award-winning broadcast journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell, former CNN Headline News host and founder of the JaneUnchained News Network.
A full list of supporters, along with original PSA videos in 2-min and 4-min versions, is available in the media kit (linked below).
ABOUT JIVINITI & THE VIRSA FOUNDATION:
The Virsa Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation, which advocates for women’s empowerment, especially women of color in underserved communities. The JIVINITI platform advocates for low-income women and women of color who live in food deserts and suffer structural inequalities. https://www.thevirsafoundation.org/
