Kimberly Carroll— a veteran Toronto-based animal activist, leader, and consultant—recalls growing up in Manitoba, a sensitive child with a precocious connection to animals, yet like her family members and most fellow Manitobans, she was also an enthusiastic meat eater. 
Carroll recounts that falling for twin calves during a calving season—while pondering what fate befell most of the animals at that farm—triggered her conversion to vegetarianism; 10 years later, after reading an array of books and seeing such films as “Earthlings” and “Peaceable Kingdom,” she went vegan. This launched her on the path of what she called “grassroots activism,” though professionally she was already working as a television host-producer, which gave her activism skills that transcended the grassroots level. For example, Carroll remembers, she devised a subway campaign—“Why Love One, But Eat The Other?—that was enormously successful, going viral before “going viral”
was a phrase. (At my urging, she did touch on a chapter in her life that some might find difficult to square with the Kimberly Carroll we know today: That period when she traveled the world as a street performer….) We discussed some of the multiple hats she wears, including “Coach For Changemakers,” starting with what, exactly, that phrase means—what kind of coaching this typically involves and the scope of her clientele. We delve into what tends to be the needs of activists and other change agents, work where, Carroll observes, the emotional toil is high. She explains another of her multiple responsibilities: leading the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank, like most such facilities, its resources are fervently sought as prices at grocery stores have soared, but this Food Bank aims “to show that you can help people without hurting animals.” Carroll comments on other topics, including that the scourge of Ag Gag laws have been spreading from the U.S. into Canada. (https://kimberlycarroll.com, https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyCarrollPage, https://www.instagram.com/coachkimberlycarroll, http://tvfb.ca, https://www.facebook.com/vegfoodbank)
ALSO: I spoke briefly with Samantha Polk, development director at Animal Coalition of Tampa (ACT), which was throwing a Dogs Day Brunch on Sunday, July 17, at New World Brewery. Polk initially delivered a brief overview of ACT, and its mission—providing low-cost spay and neuter surgeries and limited veterinary care, noting that ACT’s events help underwrite the costs of offering these services. She described the Dogs Day Brunch (no poodles making omelets or retrievers manning the carving station—believe me, I asked). Polk explains the Brunch is an example of the kind of event ACT plans to hold in the run-up to Stride for Strays, its major annual fundraiser: The 21st edition will be held Oct. 23, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Al Lopez Park. (https://actampa.org/, https://www.facebook.com/actampa/, https://www.instagram.com/actampaofficial/, https://actampa.org/stride-for-strays/)
COMEDY CORNER: Aziz Ansari’s “Lady With The Puppies” (DS edit) (https://www.azizansari.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Elvis Presley’s “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear“
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