No pretense of objectivity here: I’m sad that I’m losing a friend and contributor and, perhaps most importantly, a voice for veganism and animal rights in Texas.
Keep in mind, I’m not a vegan, nor even a vegetarian. But because of Eddie Garza, I try to eat at least one day a week as a vegan would, and depend on Eddie to keep me apprised of good vegetarian options and developments in Dallas.
That’ll be harder for him to do; Eddie moved to New York City this past weekend, to take over as New York campaign coordinator for Mercy for Animals, the vegan-animal rights group he’s been associated with for two years, the last year or so as its Texas campaign coordinator. It’s a huge promotion for him, and a testament to Eddie’s success in turning the beef capital of America into a place vegans can feel comfortable.
I’ve written about Eddie, and his group (which is one of the gayest organizations ever — in addition to Eddie and founder Nathan Runkle, the director of investigations and the new Texas coordinator are gay or lesbian), and even run articles by him (about subjects unrelated to MFA). Eddie also contributed to the Observer’s City of Ate blog as well as his own Dallas Vegan site. He’s smart and passionate and knowledgeable and he keeps me aware of vegan issues in a nice way. You never feel shamed by Eddie’s passion, just enlightened.
Eddie promises he’ll be back every month or two to help with the Dallas office and visit friends, which I assume will include me (pictured left) and his best gal-pal Lisa Petty (pictured right). New York’s gain is our loss.