Extreme Stand Up Paddle Around Tahoe to Promote Conscious Eating

Merryfield on Lake Tahoe in 2011, paddling to raise awareness for farm animals.

(Kings Beach, Calif.) On August 31st, Kings Beach resident John Merryfield and a group of extreme SUP paddlers will embark on a stand-up paddle circumnavigating Lake Tahoe to promote the Vegan One Day project, a challenge for everyone to adopt a vegan diet (no meat, dairy or eggs) for at least one day of the year. To highlight the challenge, a group of extreme SUP paddlers will complete the entire 72 mile trek in one day, paddling all day and all night powered by a vegan diet and a commitment to create a better world. Merryfield says the intense physical and psychological strain of the 72 mile paddle in one day is nothing compared to the extremely cruel conditions endured by animals on factory farms.

"This project is intended to underscore the fact that our food choices play a significant role in helping to solve some of society’s most urgent problems, like marine ecosystem collapse, climate change, poor human health, and global animal abuse," explains Merryfield. "Eating animal products is the elephant in the living room that we all pretend not to see when discussing how we can change the world for the better. I'm asking everyone to make a commitment to go vegan for one day out of the year. If everyone in the United States went vegan for just one day, 30 million animal lives would be saved."

Merryfield is confident that the August 31st full moon paddle will inspire others to see that a whole foods, plant based diet is a celebration of life, not a hardship. "Eating vegan is defined by a sense of care and responsibility to the land and life around us. It’s a principled refusal to add to the violence in the world while creating better health, says Merryfield.

A community, vegan pot luck is scheduled on the beach in Kings Beach on August 31st at 6 p.m. as the SUP paddlers embark on their journey. To learn more about the Vegan One Day project, visit www.vegan1day.org and take the pledge to go vegan for one day.