My name is Grace Turley, and this is my experience with the Scary Dairy day of action. This was my first real time tabling; it was a big day to learn from. And so I’ll take you to my point of view and show you how it went!
My family and I set up outside our local library, and although it was raining on and off, we set up a little pavilion tent, and got to work. At first I was very nervous, fidgeting with my hands as I sat down behind the table. I was expecting more haters than we actually got. And after the first few interactions with people, I realized there really wasn’t that much to be afraid of.
Lots of people were down to talk, and the longer we tabled, we ran into many more Vegan and vegetarian people then I had expected. We discussed and shared our reasons, talked about the animals, the lack of choices in school lunches, and why they chose to either choose plant-based milk, or dairy-based. And although there were quite a few differing opinions, most everyone was respectful of one another no matter their dietary decisions.
Some people said they didn’t like the taste of plant-based milks, whom we urged to sample Ripple and Oatly. And nearly everyone who did found they quite liked them. And not only that, one man was discussing how he did not like high sugar quantities, and he found out the sugar quantity of the Ripple (15gs) was apparently half of the amount of the carton milk he had been drinking.
He still seemed on the fence since it was plant-based and seemed a little annoyed to hear that news and quickly left. But his Vegan friend who was with him thanked us for the information and time we conversed.
Many adults that stopped by to talk and sample were interested in The Raven Corps in general, and happily took a few informational flyers while we conversed. It gives me hope in expanding our operation, and it makes me personally really happy to see so many people open to talk and learn.
The closest interaction we got to hatefulness was some preteen kids, who took some Ripple milk cartons, and promptly after trying it called it “fake milk” and spat it on the ground, then threw the cartons in the trash and loudly complained not too far away from our setup. It made me a little sad and upset, but after all the success we had it was hard to stay unhappy for long.
I was worried tabling wouldn’t have an impact, or wouldn’t be something big enough to really change peoples minds about dairy milk, or if anyone would even talk to us at all. But after this first experience, I’m glad my family and I did it, and it makes me hopeful for the future and other means of activism. And even though it was nerve-wracking at first, talking with my fellow Ravens and hearing about their anxieties about the day of action made me feel more seen and reassured. Discussing plant-based milks wasn’t as scary as I thought it to be.
It’s a new start for me personally, like a Raven who just spread their wings. And I can’t wait to do all I can and fly!
