VEGETARIAN ACTION

Morning Sunday Hettleman, an activist who raises health and environmental awareness in the African-American community in Baltimore, knows that it isn't always easy to find healthful meal options. However, it is even more difficult for members of lower income minority groups who live in the underprivileged areas. "Vegetarianism is a wonderful thing, but it's not available to all people in the city," she said.

Morning Sunday was used to having ripe fruits and fresh vegetables available everywhere she went in her native Hawaii, but once she moved to Baltimore, "I couldn't eat the way I was used to!" She related a story about how she once walked 10 blocks looking for something healthful to eat. She had reason to believe that she was not the only one in her neighborhood who craved fresh fruits and vegetables. She also thought that many people weren't making healthful food choices and wouldn't consider a lifestyle like vegetarianism simply because they didn't know much about it.

She decided to do something about that. She knew that many people who could benefit from her message didn't have regular Internet access, so she wrote to local radio stations for two years, looking for opportunities to share with a large audience how enjoyable eating vegetarian meals can be. Eventually, WEAA 88.9 FM in Baltimore, the radio station owned by Morgan State University, made her the host of her own show, The Environmental Report. The show focused on environmental and health information and advised vegetarians and others who were curious about vegetarian diets about getting proper nutrition from a plant-based diet.

Morning Sunday's next step was to try her hand at television. All this took was calling the county's executive office, and someone simply connected her to Baltimore's public access station. She developed and hosted a show called Cable Crabs that helps viewers avoid having a 'crabby' food experience without meat. In particular, the show addressed an audience that has become vegetarian for health reasons, like Morning Sunday herself. A few years ago, her doctors told her that she needed to lessen the amount of meat in her diet to help control her asthma. Morning Sunday took their advice to a whole new level and decided to share her knowledge with anyone who would listen.

For a project that has the potential to make such a big impact, producing Cable Crabs has required fairly little effort. "It's very easy," she explained. "I record a tape, I send it in, and they play it a few times a week until I send another one."

In addition to these projects, Morning Sunday contributes to other activities that aim to educate all ages. She has started the Urban Conservative Core to teach children in Baltimore about the animals that share Gaia (Mother Earth) with them. She is also working with political organizations, such as the Black Greens of Baltimore, that educate the public and promote healthier eating habits within the community.

The resources that Sunday Morning uses for her shows and outreach activities are easily accessible to the public. Her main sources of information are health professionals and books from the health sections of public libraries. She also takes advantage of resources that can address her questions about nutrition, such as the Call-a-Dietitian Day that The Vegetarian Resource Group sponsors one Friday each month.

Why is promoting vegetarianism in one's community a good thing? "Vegetarianism is like the spokes on the wheel of a bike," Morning Sunday said. "The healthy spokes are necessary to keep the wheel, which is our bodies, in good shape. When the wheels are taken care of, they let the bike move, and the bike is our community." If most people do their parts to take care of the environment, animals, and themselves, their entire community will reap the benefits.