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The magazine of The Vegan Society
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9 770307 481000
0 3
ISSN 0307−4811
“If people go hungry thenpolitical stability goes outof the window. This is akey lesson that Deframust learn from lastyear’s food price hikewhen some countries ran short of food. What happened showed justhow fine the line is betweenfull supermarket shelvesand empty stomachs.”
This quote is from the Rt Hon Michael Jack MP, EfraSelect Committee Chairman, commenting on thereport Securing Food Supplies up to 2050: thechallenges for the UK, 21 July 2009 and it showsthat politicians are taking the issue of Global FoodSecurity very seriously. Indeed there are manyconferences and consultations on this subject and VeganSociety Chief Executive, Nigel Winter, is involved inmany of them giving us a voice with decision makers.This fits well with our new theme which is GlobalFood Security: highlighting the benefits of thevegan diet to overcome world hunger and providefuture food security. We will report further on thenew theme in the Winter magazine.
In this issue we interview the very interesting VeganDeputy Leader of The Green Party in England & Wales,Adrian Ramsay, and Dr Matthew Cole examines issuesrelating to the use of draught animals in thedeveloping world. We will also update you on themost recent studies relating to vegan nutrition.
In future issues we expect to include a round-up ofinformation and legal opinion on animal ingredientsin medicines and vaccines and the rights of vegansunder the Equality Act to show that we’re not ignoringthe swine flu issue and also because these questions cropup regularly for the Information Department.
Wishing you a happy and pro-active World VeganDay on 1 November and World Vegan Month tofollow (for activity ideas take a look at:www.worldveganday.com).
Rosamund RahaEditor
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 1
in this issue
2 HIGHLIGHTS
3 HIGHLIGHTS/FROM THE CEO
4 LOCAL NEWS
5 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
6 VEGANISM AND ‘DRAUGHT’ ANIMALS
9 MR GREEN
10 SHOPAROUND
13 NUTRITION NEWS
14 NEWS AND INFORMATION
16 VEGGIE PRIDE
19 THE VEGAN PLEDGE
20 RAFA’S BIG NIGHT OUT
23 GRENADA - A VEGAN PARADISE
24 RECIPES
26 REVIEWS
29 V-BITES
30 CURIOUS VEG / OUT AND ABOUT
31 GROW VEGAN
33 PAT GRIFFIN
35 YOUTH PAGE
37 POSTBAG
39 VEGANS ANONYMOUS
41 EVENTS
42 LOCAL CONTACTS LIST
44 STAFF AND COUNCIL LISTINGS
45 CLASSIFIEDS
47 NUTRITION GUIDELINES
48 CROSSWORDS
The Vegan Society l Donald Watson House l 21 Hylton Street l Hockley l Birmingham l B18 6HJ l UK
Local rate 0845 45 88244 l Tel. 0121 523 1730 l Fax. 0121 523 1749 l e-mail: [email protected] l www.vegansociety.com
Editor Rosamund Raha
Design www.doughnutdesign.co.uk
Front cover photo Vanessa Clarke
Printed on Recycled paper
by Cambrian Printers
© The Vegan Society
Registered Charity no. 279228 Company Registration no. 1468880
The views expressed in The Vegan do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or of the Vegan Society Council.Nothing printed should be construed to be Vegan Society policy unless so stated. The Society accepts no liabilityfor any matter in the magazine. The acceptance of advertisements (including inserts) does not imply endorsement.The inclusion of product information should not be construed as constituting official Vegan Society approval forthe product, its intended use, or its manufacturer/distributor. Contributions intended for publication are welcomed,but unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a SAE. Contributions will usually be edited.
VEGAN SOCIETYSUMMER 2009 HIGHLIGHTS
THE VEGAN-FRIENDLY PROMISE
The latest caterer to
join our ‘Vegans
Catered for Here’
window sticker scheme is
VBites, the new vegan restaurant in Hove.
They join a steadily growing list including Jyoti in
Birmingham, Word of Mouth in Evesham, Coriander in
Bournemouth, The Warehouse Cafe in Birmingham, and Zouk
in Leeds. Any caterer who offers one good vegan option on
their standard menu is eligible. To take the Vegan-Friendly
Promise, caterers need to contact Amanda Baker in the office
([email protected] or 0121 523 1737). We need to
see an example of their vegan-friendly dishes; then Amanda
can send out the window stickers. Please encourage your
local restaurants, cafes, pubs and other caterers to get in
touch with us. We hope to see Vegan-Friendly window
stickers in every town!
LOW CARBON FARMING INITIATIVE
A new Low Carbon Farming
Initiative (LCFI) has been formed,
with the aim of ‘Making the
Transition to a New Ecological
Farming Era’. LCFI participants
include representatives of: The Soil
Association, Garden Organic, The Permaculture
Association, Sustain and many others as well as individual
growers and academics. The Vegan Society, along with the
Vegan-Organic Network is putting the case to LCFI for a
vegan, stock-free farming future.
J D WETHERSPOON TASTE THE BENEFITS
OF GREAT VEGAN FOOD
Our Media Officer,
Amanda Baker, has
been talking to Lewis
Brigden from J D
Wetherspoon about the
tasty new vegan curry
on their main menu.
The good news is that they plan to keep it on the menu for
a while.
PIZZA EXPRESS UPDATE
We are asking for a good vegan pizza,
clearly labeled, on the Pizza Express
standard menu. This will remove
uncertainty for vegans. Over 200
supporters have sent feedback to Pizza
Express ([email protected]). Thank you if
you have done so - and thank you if you are still planning to
email them. Please copy emails and replies to our PR Officer,
Amanda Baker ([email protected]). Use your own
words, and be concise, polite and constructive (one angry
vegan can alienate a company). Be specific: give the Pizza
Express branch, and your own experiences. Do reply to them,
if necessary. Pizza Express contacted The Vegan Society again
in July. They are taking note of some specific concerns.
Information has been passed to their team which is
developing the next Pizza Express menu, due out in Autumn
2010. We will keep you informed.
VEGAN BEGINNER
The Vegan Society paid 50% of the cost of the Bristol Animal
Rights Collective publication: Vegan Beginner. Check out
www.bristolanimalrights.org.uk for more information.
VEGAN PRISONERS
We continue to work with the Vegan
Prisoner Support Group to ensure
that all vegan prisoners get a
balanced vegan diet. This involves
a lot of phone calls, attending
meetings and sending out
newsletters to prisons (jointly with
VPSG).
REMIND YOUR DOCTOR
We sent out our Plant Based Nutrition booklet to all doctor’s
surgeries in the UK and therefore they should have it on file.
So it wouldn’t hurt to remind them about it if they seem to
be giving you poor diet advice. Remember that many GPs
have very little training in nutrition.
2 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
NEWS ITEMS ON OUR WEBSITE
Keep an eye on our website for the latest news updates
from The Vegan Society for example this quarter we sent out
an open letter to Hilary Benn about pollinating insects and
media releases on the subjects of swine flu, Fiona Oakes in
the London Marathon and enzymes in bread as well as many
others.
VEGAN ORGANIC
FOOD
We were left a legacy
of £5,000 which
stated that it must be
used to purchase land. The money will go to Unicorn
Grocery near Manchester to help fund the purchase of land
that will be used to produce veganic produce for their
shop. In return they will supply us with data on soil
fertility, crop yields, biodiversity and the commercial
benefits of stock-free growing.
www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk
FACESPACE UPDATE
We continue to use online social networking sites and e-
bulletins to stimulate interest in the Society and our activities.
We’ve been using social networking sites to ever greater
advantage and one recent highlight is the success of the Pizza
Express email campaign. Within two hours of the message
going out on Facebook and MySpace we had Pizza Express
on the phone desperate to talk to us! These are a great way
to get information and requests out quickly, and because the
message is in an electronic form people can easily send it on
to their friends, family and colleagues.
We now have almost 9000 fans of our facebook page
(www.facebook.com/thevegansociety) and more than 4000
friends on MySpace (www.myspace.com/thevegansociety).
One of the greatest benefits of these sites, facebook especially,
is the facility to run discussions so you can get the opinion of
all sorts of different vegans from all over the world. We recently
posed the question ‘What’s the best thing about being vegan?’
and within a day we had over 90 responses! We also have a
presence on Twitter: twitter.com/thevegansociety.
For the next year our emphasis will be on raising awareness about the benefits of vegan farming on global food security. Population growth,
availability of land and fresh water and climate change will present a major challenge to providing everyone with enough food.
Vegan farming can make more efficient use of land and water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is increasing debate amongst
government departments to ensure that environmental, economic and social sustainability are considered alongside healthy eating and global
food security. I attended the Department of Health Healthier Food Mark conference which also involved the Food Standards Agency and the
Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs. We discussed plans to introduce a standard for public service caterers to encourage
provision of healthy and sustainable food.
http://www.pasa.nhs.uk/PASAWeb/NHSprocurement/Sustainabledevelopment/Sustainablefood/Health.htm
I also attended the Rural Economy and Land Use Programme conference which presented findings of their latest research. One project
considered the changes to farming if the UK population adhered to the Department of Health guidelines for healthy eating. It concluded
that there would be a 42% fall in the demand for milk and a 28% fall in mutton and lamb but a 55% increase in green vegetables and a
52% increase in fruit. There was discussion about upland areas becoming ‘idle’ without livestock farming but most upland livestock farms
are not economically viable without subsidies. Land managers could be paid to manage the uplands to sequester carbon, manage flooding
and manage habitats for biodiversity and recreation. Another project demonstrated that short-rotation coppice willow can be grown on
marginal land to produce large biomass yields and benefit butterfly and bird populations.
We need to present a positive alternative for farmland that benefits people, animals and the environment. Everyone needs to envisage a
positive future for farming and the rural environment and ensure that no one in the world goes hungry. Over the coming year we will be
helping people to visualise the farming of the future.
FROM THECHIEF EXECUTIVE
Nigel Winter
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 3
Note the new T-shirt! Many people had been asking for the1997 design to be repeated, me included. This design is slightlydifferent but is just as effective at spreading the vegan word.I’ve worn and washed mine several times and it is still soft,stretchy and extremely comfortable to wear. It’s 30% organiccotton and 70% viscose, the viscose being 100% bamboo, andit costs only £9.99. You can order it online and see a betterphoto onwww.vegansociety.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=285.
Our Contacts continue to be busy organizing various events butthere’s room here to mention only a couple. Vegan Campaignsprovided catering at Haringey Independence Day for the secondyear running, serving salads, savouries, hot and cold drinks andof course a good selection of cakes. By the end of the day allthe food had been sold, a lot of vegan literature distributedand some £400 raised for group funds. If you’re in Londonand can help with future events please contact Chrissy (detailson p. 42). Vegan Campaigns also did the catering at theJeffrey Masson book launch.
Lesley Dove’s event for parents went extremely well, with goodattendance and, of course, delicious food, this time providedby Shambhu’s Kitchen.
Free vegan food tastings are particularly popular: see thephoto of one organized by the NE Essex group.
We have four new Local Contacts since the last issue of themagazine – Caroline in Bristol, Linda in Lincoln, Susan inStamford and Julia, who was already listed as a Group Contact,in Donegal. There are five new groups – Vegan Lincs andStamford & Rutland Vegans run by the aforesaid Linda andSusan respectively, and others in Brighton, Edinburgh andMonmouth. The full list is on pages 42-44, and all newentries are shaded to make them stand out. Nobody has yetcome forward to take over as Contact for Reading Universityso if anyone would like to please let me know.
Details of all group meetings used to be listed but there wereso many that in the end there was no room. However thistime brief details of regular meetings are shown, though inmost cases you will still have to get in touch with Contacts formore information. If no details are shown it doesn’t mean thatthe group doesn’t meet but just that meetings are on an adhoc basis. If you have difficulty contacting anyone please letme know because details may have changed. Please supportyour local group because they do a grand job!
I’m giving talks on the work of The Vegan Society in Lincoln atmidday on Saturday 12 September and in Glasgow at 3.30 onWednesday 16 September and any of you are welcome toattend. The aim is to dispel the myths surrounding what the VSis and does, some of which unfortunately seem to be fairlycommon, and there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions,make suggestions and buy VS merchandise (including the newT-shirts) without paying postage. More such talks may havebeen arranged by the time you read this so please let me knowif you’d be interested in attending one, wherever you live.Have Railcard will travel!
Finally a reminder that when getting in touch with a Local orGroup contact please do so by e-mail if possible since phonecalls do not always arrive at a time convenient for a chat. If youhave to phone me, please do not do so before 8 pm.
Until next time, enjoy the rest of the Summer and let’s hopethat the weather is suitable for enjoying your vegan ice-cream!
Patricia TrickerNational Contacts’ CoordinatorCottage 3, Arrathorne, Bedale, N. Yorkshire, DL8 [email protected]
4 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 5
Looking at the International Vegetarian Union website www.ivu.orgto see whether I’d overlooked any major happenings in theveggie/vegan world, I was pleased to note that at least five andpossibly all six of the regional coordinators are vegan. Even as Iwrite, the Regional Coordinator for Latin America and theCaribbean, Marly Winckler, is in Rio welcoming guests to the12th International Vegan Festival, having already organised abrilliant World Veg Congress (also all vegan) in Florianopolis fiveyears ago.
Next up is Susianto Tseng, coordinator for the Asia-Pacific area,who has just launched the Indonesian Vegan Society www.i-v-s.org and will be organising the 39th World Veg Congress inJakarta and Bali from 1 to 7 October 2010. All catering will bevegan, of course, as laid down in the IVU congress regulations.Increasingly these events attract participants from all over Asia,including large numbers from China where the movement isgrowing fast with veggie food fairs sprouting up, if that’s theright expression, all over the country.
What a far cry all this is from the situation a mere decade ago,when vegans were few and far between on the IVU InternationalCouncil because so many vegan organisations refused to joinwhat they perceived as a hostile (i.e. lacto-vegetarian)organisation. As a result, we had very few votes, very littlepower and it was an uphill struggle to achieve anythingspecifically vegan. Indeed, the vote to insist upon all-vegancatering at all world congresses was carried by just one vote –that of the UK Vegetarian Society! Had the “lactos” taken asimilarly enlightened attitude to the aspirations of their vegancolleagues in1944, the course of veg*n history in this countrymight have been quite different.
Many countries have barely enough vegetarians, both vegan andlacto, to support just one small group group anyway, and theyneed all the help they can get. Co-operating with lacto-vegetarians is not the beginning of the end, the slippery slope
towards drinking milk, but a great way to help others give it up (ifwe don’t get patronising and preachy) and, who knows, the samesmall group may soon be organising a world vegan festival.
In Europe the movement continues to prosper. There are plans totranslate the Vegan Society’s Plant Based Nutrition and Eating theEarth booklets into Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene. Christians andMuslims are working together for the animals in Bosnia. And thereare plans for an all-Ireland vegan weekend sometime next year.Finding a venue midway between Belfast and Dublin didn’t lookterribly practical, at least from the point of view of attracting thegeneral public, so the latest thought is to have a dual centre veganfestival with one day in Dublin and one in Belfast and activistsfrom all over Ireland playing a major part in both events. Watchthis space for further news of this and other ambitious schemes.
Finally, the vegan pledgers (see page 19) continue to multiply – farapart geographically, but all with the same purpose and often thesame problems. As international mentor I do my best to answereveryone’s questions and comments on an ongoing basis, but Iwould dearly like to start an international vegan pledgers emailgroup so that they can help and inform one another (and me)rather than relying on my somewhat inadequate attempts to keepin touch with everyone. Next year perhaps...
Far be it from me to encourage long haul flights, but I lookforward to seeing anyone within hailing distance of London at thisyear’s London Vegan Festival on Sunday 6th September.
All good wishes,
Vanessa ClarkeInternational Coordinator17 Kingston StreetCambridge CB1 2NU
There are many issues on which
non-vegans attempt to catch us
out and expose the ‘impossibility’
of living a purely vegan life. Many
of us have experienced accusatory
looks at our non-leather footwear
or disbelief that we can be sure
that our tipple of choice hasn’t
been tainted with isinglass finings.
The motivation behind these
inquisitions into supposed vegan
hypocrisy is usually a way of
deflecting attention from the
discomfort that non-vegans feel
about their own exploitative
relationships with non-human
animals.
However, there are some areas where
the vegan goal of ending all forms of
exploitation of non-human animals is
difficult to achieve in practice. It is in
acknowledgement of this that the
Vegan Society defines veganism as
“a way of living which seeks to
exclude, as far as possible and
practical, all forms of exploitation of,
and cruelty to, animals for food,
clothing or any other purpose”
(emphasis added).1 One such example
is the use of non-human animals as
means of agricultural labour and
transportation in the developing world,
so-called ‘draught animals’.
Most human societies, including the
UK, have long histories of dependence
on other animals, including ‘draught
animals’. The Vegan Society works
tirelessly to untangle the deeply
embedded patterns of non-human
animal exploitation in the UK. While
other animals are less often exploited
for their labour power in the UK today,
there remain instances where it is
extremely difficult to avoid involvement
in the suffering or killing of other
animals, and where it is more difficult
for vegan ethics to have an immediate
effect in alleviating that suffering. For
example, vegans and non-vegans alike
rely on roads for personal transport
and/or delivery of goods and services
in the UK, which entail the death and
injury of millions of non-human
animals every year.2
However, these problems do not
negate the efforts of vegans to avoid
animal exploitation in other areas,
such as choice of diet, clothing,
toiletries or cosmetics. The goal of
living a life that does not cause any
suffering to others is very probably
impossible to achieve. But that does
not give us the right to carelessly act
cruelly or exploitatively to others when
we do have a choice. In most cases,
we most definitely do have that
choice to act compassionately.
The use of ‘draught animals’ is no
exception to these general principles,
and the fact that there may be
difficulties in ending the use of
‘draught animals’ does not undermine
the ethical force of veganism. The
challenge is to research and provide
sustainable development solutions
that minimise the use of ‘draught
animals’, with a long-term goal to end
human dependence on them.
But what of the immediate situation,
where millions of human beings,
especially in Asia, Africa and Latin
America, are currently dependent for
“The goal of living
a life that does not
cause any suffering
to others is very
probably impossible
to achieve.
But that does not
give us the right to
carelessly act cruelly
or exploitatively to
others when we do
have a choice.”
6 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
Veganismand ‘draught’ animals
Dr Matthew Cole
their subsistence on the labour power
of other animals? 4, 5, 6 An analogy
might be drawn with philosopher
Michael Allen Fox’s argument that
exceptions to the moral obligation of
dietary vegetarianism can be made if,
and only if, there is an unambiguous
practical dependence on the use of
non-human animals for subsistence.
Fox’s argument rests on the contention
that “while humans may have no
greater right to live than members of
any other species, they also have no
lesser right to live”.3 The proportion of
the human population currently living
in situations of this kind is relatively
small - Fox gives examples of the
nomadic Nenets of Arctic Russia and
Inuits living in the far north of Canada.
In the case of ‘draught animals’ it can
similarly be argued that exceptions to
the principle of non-exploitation of
other animals can be made if, and
only if, no viable alternatives exist to
their use for human subsistence.
However, the difficulty of the present
problems does not absolve us from the
moral responsibility to seek solutions in
the long term, which can benefit
human and non-human animals alike.
Therefore, The Vegan Society is
interested in working with local
communities, governments,
development agencies, businesses,
academics and others to find
sustainable local transport and
agricultural solutions to dependence
on ‘draught animals’ and plans to do
this over the coming year when our
theme will be Global Food Security:
highlighting the benefits of the vegan
diet and livestock-free farming to
overcome world hunger and provide
future food security.
References
1. Memorandum of Association of The Vegan
Society,
http://www.vegansociety.com/images/ArticlesofAss
ociation.pdf (accessed 10 November 2008)
2.“Neither the Department for Transport, the
Highways Agency nor English Nature keeps
statistics, but the conservative estimate is that at
least 10 million birds and mammals are killed on our
roads each year.” Source: Prince R. Roadkill: One
from the road The Independent 7 September 2006
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/roadk
ill-one-from-the-road-414972.html (accessed 28
April 2009)
3. Fox, MA. Deep Vegetarianism, Philadelphia:
Temple University Press; 1999, p.160
4. Draught animals, “still play a vital role in many
farming systems especially on smaller and poorer
farms.” Source: Lawrence, PR. and Pearson, RA.
Use of draught animal power on small mixed
farms in Asia. Agricultural Systems 2008, 71(1-2):
99-110, p.99
5.“Without draught animals, many African
farmers have no means of transport or power to
pull heavy ploughs. They continue to till the land
with hand hoes.” Source: Okhoya, N. Eradicating
tsetse flies from Africa. Africa Recovery 2003; 17(1): 17
http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol17
no1/171agri3.htm (accessed 28 April 2009)
6. Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine,
University of Edinburgh Draught Animal News
2005; 43: 1-37
http://www.link.vet.ed.ac.uk/ctvm/Research/DAPR/
draught%20animal%20news/Issue%2043/DAN43
%20final%20screen.pdf (accessed 28 April 2009)
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 7
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 9
Adrian Ramsay was born andraised in Norwich. He studied
Politics and Sociology to Master’slevel at the University of East Anglia.At the age of 27, he is now theDeputy Leader of The Green Party inEngland & Wales and Leader of theGreen Party Group on Norwich CityCouncil where the Greens have 13seats and are the second largestparty. At the next General Electionhe will challenge former HomeSecretary Charles Clarke for theNorwich South seat in Westminster.
Can you tell us about your personaljourney to becoming vegan?
Like most vegans, I was vegetarian for afew years before I made the connectionsbetween the dairy industry and animalcruelty. I had been fond of animals foras long as I could remember, but it wasn’tuntil I was 13 years old that I first thoughtabout whether I really wanted to eat meat.As soon as I started thinking about it Idecided to become vegetarian and withina few months I joined the VegetarianSociety and Animal Aid. A couple ofyears later I received a leaflet about thedairy industry from Animal Aid. For thefirst time it made me realise the linkbetween eating dairy products and calvesbeing taken away from their mothers ata very young age and killed. I becamevegan that day. Since then I’ve foundeven more reasons to be vegan – as it’shealthier and much greener too!
What do you most enjoy aboutbeing vegan?
I most enjoy knowing that I’m not causinganimals to suffer. I also love the fantasticvariety of vegan foods. Being veganopened my eyes (and taste buds!) to ahuge variety of new foods I had nevertried before.
What are your favourite veganfoods, meals, drinks, other products,restaurants etc.?
Swedish Glace ice-cream and Booja-Boojatruffles for a luxurious treat! I get anorganic veg box every week and I like thesurprise of not knowing what unusualvegetables will arrive in it. Chickpea andpotato curry is one of my all-time favouritesand anything with butternut squash.
There are some great vegetarianrestaurants and cafes in Norwich – myfavourite is a Fair Trade veggie café calledThe Greenhouse.
How do you find the experience ofeating out as a vegan?
It’s much easier than it used to be a fewyears ago. I find that most places arehappy to adapt something for you if theydon’t have a vegan option on the menu.Indian and Chinese restaurants are usuallya good bet. If all else fails I’ll settle forchips, beans and salad in a pub!
How do you feel about talking aboutbeing vegan in public and in private?
I’m very happy talking about it andexplaining why I’m vegan when peopleask. Sometimes people are surprisedand ask questions when they see meeating vegan food at conferences. Butoften they are jealous if I end up with abetter option than them! People areoften curious but rarely hostile about it.
Do you face any particular challengesas a vegan in politics?
One of the biggest challenges is the waythat other political parties try to trivialiseanimal rights issues. They often try topaint the Green Party as ‘extremists’ andsingle-issue lunatics. But we’ve wonbattles locally such as getting a ban inplace on goldfish being given away asprizes at fares. Residents know that wecare about animal welfare issues andabout improving the lives and environmentof local people.
How does your vegan philosophyinform your political work?
My veganism stems from the same valuesthat underpin my views on human rights,poverty, racism, environmental protection,and social justice everywhere. I believewe should work towards a society wheresuffering is minimised and other lifeforms are cherished, not treated likecommercial objects to maximise profits.In my work as a local councillor I’vemade some small breakthroughs, such as getting kerbs lowered on animportant migratory route for toads and getting the council to commit tonot using foie gras in its services.
If elected to Parliament I could do somuch more. Just one Green voice inParliament would help to get so manyanimal rights issues on the agenda, fromintensive farming to vivisection.
Do you know many other veganpoliticians?
Yes – there are three other vegan GreenParty councillors in Norwich alone!
What do you think of the fact thatboth Hilary Benn, Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food & Rural Affairs,and Jim Fitzpatrick (Minister of Statefor Farming and the Environment),are vegetarian? Do you think thiswill affect their discussions withfarmers in particular?
I’m pleased that there are vegetarianpoliticians in these positions.Unfortunately, I doubt it will affect theirdiscussions with farmers as they willprobably follow the Government line.This Government has made very littleprogress in improving conditions for farmanimals and bringing an end to factoryfarming.
What are your thoughts on thecontribution that stock-free farmingcould play in bringing food securityto the billion undernourished peopleworldwide?
This is a huge issue that is barelymentioned in mainstream politics. Mostpeople in the world’s poorest countrieswould benefit a great deal from stock-free farming as it uses far less water andland than farming with livestock(whether for meat, dairy or fertiliser).Scientific studies show that livestockfarming uses around ten times more landthan plant-based farming and astaggering 150 times more water.
Every year we produce more than enoughgrain to feed all of the undernourishedpeople in the world – but most of thatgrain is fed to cattle for the meat marketin rich countries. When Gandhi said ‘thecattle of the rich eat the bread of thepoor’ he was not being metaphorical! If Governments are serious abouttackling global poverty they need to give a lot more support to stock-freefarming.
Amanda Baker interviews Adrian Ramsay
10 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
Verity Hunt-Sheppard and Charley Roberts
n INCHI NUT OIL RICH IN OMEGA 3
STARSEEDStarseed Sacha Inchi Omega Oilis an extra virgin nut oil that iscold pressed from Sacha Inchinuts. Sacha Inchi nuts or ‘IncaPeanuts’ have been used forthousands of years in SouthAmerica. The oil contains48% omega 3, 33% omega 6and 9% omega 9. StarseedSacha Inchi Omega Oil has apleasant nutty flavour and arich aroma, making it an idealingredient in many SouthAmerican, Mediterranean andAsian dishes. Use it indressings, sauces, dips andmarinades, or pour it on tosalads or cooked vegetables.Priced from £6.95.
For more details visitwww.starseedoil.co.uk or telephone 07854 618749
n HIGH FASHION VEGAN SHOES
NEUAURA SHOESLuxury footwear lovers will adore the collections at NeuAurawho produce high fashion quality footwear. Choose fromtheir exciting range of boots, pumps, sandals, wedges andheels, all lovingly designed and crafted to show that ‘goingvegan’ does not mean ‘going without’. Try their Ines crimsonpump, their Elimia classic dress shoe or their Kiwi Mist peeptoe. NeuAura have an eco-conscious philosophy and theirmanufacturing factory carries a Green Seal environmentalaward. They also claim to source materials locally to thefactory and sponsor a habitat for endangered species.NeuAura shoes are available in the UK throughwww.neoncollective.com telephone 01273 231619
n CURRY SAUCES, PICKLES, CHUTNEYS AND DIPS
ANILA’SAnila’s produce eightpremium curry sauces aswell as pickles, chutneysand dips in 16 flavours. All products are handmade in small batches withfresh ingredients and arefree from preservatives,sugar, dairy, gluten, onionsand garlic. Choose fromtheir Fruity Mild, GoanGreen, Hot Methi, Spicy &Mild and their Mild or theirSpicy Korma curry sauces.Anila’s award-winning SpicyKorma Curry Sauce is madewith creamy coconut,spices and tomatoes. For accompaniments trytheir Lemon or their Carrot& Date pickle, their SpicyApple chutney, or theirSweet Chilli Dipping Sauce.
Products priced from £3.50. For more details visitwww.anilassauces.com or telephone 02085 776162
n VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS
LIFEPLANLifeplan sell a range ofvegan supplements, fromvitamin and mineralcomplexes to herbal-basedsupplements and digestiveenzymes for anyonewishing to give their dietan added boost. Choosefrom their Calcium &Magnesium, ChewableVitamin C, Women’sMultinutrient, CoenzymeQ10, Evening Primrose Oil,St Johns Wort, ChamomileBlend, Dandelion Root andtheir Valerian, Passiflora &
Hops supplements, to name just a few. Lifeplan products areavailable online or contact them for details of stockists in your area.Products priced from £1.71. For more details visitwww.lifeplan.co.uk or telephone 01455 556281
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 11
n CRUSHED JUICE DRINKS
CRACKERFeeling fruity? If you’re looking for a refreshing thirst quencher, Crackerproduce an exciting range of quality fruit juice drinks using crushed juices –they never use juices from concentrates. Choose from their delicious Mango& Passionfruit, Blueberry & Blackberry, Pineapple, Guava & Lime or theirApple, Strawberry & Mountain Cranberry combinations. Available in 750 ml
cartons or grabone of theirhandy 330 mlbottles too.Cracker isstocked atbranches ofAsda, Waitrose,Morrison’s andselectedindependentretailers.
Contact them to find your nearest stockist. Priced from £1.19. For moredetails visit www.crackerdrinks.com or telephone 01189 845378
n SOLID SOAPS, SHAMPOO BARS AND SHAVING BARS
MY HANDMADE SOAPSMy Handmade Soaps is based in Devon producing soaps, solid shampoos andshaving bars. Choose from their Almond Milk, Aloe Vera, Green Apple,Mango and Orange & Cinnamon soaps. For shaving bars choose from Coolor Sea Breeze. Or try their Coconut, Lavender or their Lemon Grass & Limeshampoo bars, to name but a few. If you’re looking for a gift, try MyHandmade Soaps mini bars or their amazing soap gateaux slices in ChocolateIndulgence, Citrus Crush and Strawberry Cream. Handmade soap productsare mild and gentle to the skin. Priced from £1.40. For more details visitwww.myhandmadesoaps.com or telephone 01626 364938
All Shoparound products have been authenticated as Not all products in a range are necessarily vegan.
n GOURMET READY MEALS,
RELISHES AND CHILLI
SAUCES
CALEDONIANCURRYCaledonian Curryproduces a rangeof gourmet readymeals, peppersauces and chillirelishes. Theirproducts claim tobe free fromgluten, additives,colourings,preservatives andare low in saltand sugar. Each dish isprepared by hand using freshly roasted
and ground spicesand then blastfrozen for freshness.Their frozen mealsinclude BaiganTamatar, CaledonianChickpea, BombayPotato, Saag Aloo,or try their HighlandBeetroot Curry.Relishes includeGarlic & Chilli,Rhubarb & Chilli,and Beetroot &Chilli while their hotchilli sauces gounder the names of
Kilt Lifter, Sporran Splitter, After Burnsand Nessie’s Revenge! Hot Chilli saucespriced at £4.50. For more details visitwww.caledoniancurry.co.uk ortelephone 01863 766025
n VEGAN HONEY ALTERNATIVE
SWEET FREEDOMSweet Freedom is a new delicious vegan honey alternative that doubles as a
sweetener. Produced in the UK from 100% fruit – just apples, grapes and carob –Sweet Freedom has a low glycaemic load and can be used instead of honey, sugar,
artificial sweeteners, agave syrup, maple syrup and golden syrup. Great on toast orporridge and for use in baking, sauces, marinades, chutneys, stir fries, ice cream and
more. Sweet Freedom comes in two versions: the Sweetener (Mild) is best forsweetening tea, the Syrup (Rich) is the most honey-like and ideal for toast and
porridge. Both are perfect for cooking and baking and in coffee and cocoa. Priced£2.99. For more details email [email protected] or telephone 0207 328 8490
Order one bottle of Sweetener (Mild) fromwww.sweetfreedom.co.uk and you will receive abottle of Syrup (Rich) absolutely ...FREE! Simply
enter the code ‘vegansoc’ at the online checkout. Special Limited Offer
12 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
n ORGANIC ENERGY DRINKS
NATURAL ENERGYAttitude energy drinks are based on a combination ofthe Brazilian Yerba Mate tea leaf and Guarana seedwhich are said to provide balanced and sustainedstimulation. For an extra boost there’s an addedvitamin B complex including vitamins B6 and B12, aswell as vitamin C and L-carnitine. The addition oflemon and ginger give this golden drink a refreshingtaste. Attitude drinks are free from high fructose cornsyrup, sugar and aspartame and are sweetened insteadwith a low glycaemic index fruit sweetener extractedfrom low GI fruits. Priced from £1. For more details visitwww.attitudedrink.com or telephone 02074 883808
Verity Hunt-Sheppard and Charley Roberts
n POMEGRANATE WINES
RIMON WINERYRimon Winery produce winesmade exclusively from 100%pomegranate with no additionof sugar. The traditionaltechniques used to makepomegranate wines arevirtually identical to thetraditional methods ofmaking grape wine. The pomegranate fruit isharvested at optimumripeness and crushed beforebeing fermented and finallyaged in oak barrels.Pomegranate adds a richcolour and distinctive andappealing flavour. RimonWinery’s award winningrange includes a dry wine,dessert wine and port-style wine. Priced from £21.99. For more details visitwww.rimonwinery.co.ukor telephone 08456
261122
n LUXURY RAW CHOCOLATE
KITCHENBUDDYDelight yourtaste budswith thesehandmadeluxury rawchocolatesand trufflesdesigned byTheresaWebb, Headof the KitchenBuddy Culinary
School. Choose from classic plain, mint, orange and ginger darkchocolate squares, marzipan truffles, florentines andsmooth plain chocolate with fruits, nuts and spices - ororder a selection box if you just can’t decide. The rangeis sugar-free, gluten-free and made from organic and fairtrade ingredients. The products come beautifullypackaged in eco-gift boxes with wrapping and ribbon.Priced from £5 per box. For more details visitwww.purechocolate.kitchenbuddy.euor telephone 0208 697 2755
n ALGAE BASED OMEGA 3 SUPPLEMENT
V-PUREIsn’t it frustrating when youread about the importanceof omega 3 fatty acids andthe only emphasis is on oilyfish or fish oils? Oily fishcontain omega 3 in theirbodies because they eatalgae so V-Pure source theiromega directly from algae,the food that many fisheat. V-Pure’s capsules arerich in EPA and DHA whichmay aid protection againstheart disease. V-Pure algaeare organically grown incontrolled conditions too.Priced from £14.95 or takeadvantage of their current3 for 2 offer.
For more details visit www.v-pure.com
A rticles have recently been published
indicating that a well-planned vegan diet is
not only adequate for all ages but healthy,
and can even protect us against some of the
most serious illnesses afflicting humans
living in many parts of the world.
The American Dietetic Association
has released a paper updating their
position on vegetarian diets.
The paper concludes that vegetarian
diets (including total vegetarian or
vegan diets) if well-planned, are
healthful and nutritious for adults,
infants, children and adolescents and can
help prevent and treat chronic diseases
including heart disease, cancer, obesity
and diabetes.1
The conclusion of another recent study
delivers more good news for vegans, but
bad news for people who consume fat of
animal origin - “In this large prospective
cohort with a wide range of intakes,
dietary fat of animal origin was
associated with increased
pancreatic cancer risk”2
.
The belief in the health
benefits bestowed by a
Mediterranean diet seems
common to most people in the West.
Interestingly, a study on the health effects
of Mediterranean diets concluded:
“The dominant components of
the Mediterranean diet score as
a predictor of lower mortality are
moderate consumption of ethanol
[alcohol], low consumption of
meat and meat products, and
high consumption of vegetables,
fruits and nuts, olive oil, and
legumes. Minimal contributions
[benefits] were found for cereals and dairy
products…and for fish and seafood, the
intake of which is low in this population”3.
That’s a useful one to quote next time
someone tells you about the ‘healthy
Mediterranean diet’!
A study in Japan found that “increasing soy
consumption was associated with a
decreased risk of COPD [chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease] and
breathlessness.”4
The study states that
more research is needed before the same
conclusion can be generalized to everyone.
Good news for soy eaters in Japan and quite
possibly the world over.
Finally, for any reader racing along the
path to being a vegan with a quick
pit-stop at vegetarianism, a study on
cancer incidence in British vegetarians
concluded “...this study suggests that the
incidence of all malignant neoplasms
combined may be lower among both fish
eaters and vegetarians than among
meat eaters. The most striking
finding was the relatively low risk for
cancers of the lymphatic and
haematopoietic tissues among
vegetarians”5
.
References
1. American Dietetic Association. Appropriate Planned Vegetarian Diets AreHealthful, May Help in Disease Prevention and Treatment, Says AmericanDietetic Association.http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/media_22003_ENU_HTML.htm
(accessed 09 July 2009)
2. Thiébaut ACM. Jiao L. et al. Dietary Fatty Acids and PancreaticCancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Journal of the NationalCancer Institute 2009; 101: 1001 - 1011
3. Trichopoulou A. Bamia C. et al. Anatomy of health effects ofMediterranean diet: Greek EPIC prospective cohort study. British Medical
Journal 2009; 338: b2337.
4. Hirayama F. Lee AH. et al. Soy consumption and risk of COPD andrespiratory symptoms: a case-control study in Japan. RespiratoryResearch 2009; 10: 56
5. Key TJ. Appleby PN. et al. Cancer incidence in Britishvegetarians. British Journal of Cancer 2009; 101: 192-197
Dr Philip Bickley
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 13
n ALL-VEGAN TEAM COMPLETES
UK 3 PEAKS CHALLENGE
It took from 13:00 3rd May until 12:25
4th May 2009, for an all-vegan team to
complete the famous UK Three Peaks
Challenge. They successfully climbed the
highest mountains in Wales (Mount
Snowdon), England (Scafell Pike) and
Scotland (Ben Nevis) in less than 24
hours. They walked, ran and limped
some 25 miles (40 km), climbed around
10,000 feet (3,050 m), and travelled
nearly 500 miles between the three
countries, averaging less than two hours
sleep!
http://www.extremevegansports.org
n VEGAN BIRTH
Vegan Society Finance
Officer, Fiona Sylva,
gave birth to Ruben
Jack Rose on Sunday
5th July. Ruben
weighed 8lb 1oz at
birth and will of
course be brought
up vegan.
Congratulations to
Fiona and Jim.
n GOOD NEWS FOR
BREAST-FEEDING MOTHERS
New growth charts coincided with National
Breastfeeding Awareness Week in May.
‘Growth charts’ generically plot ‘normal’
growth from newborns to four years of age.
This was previously based on formula-fed
babies instead of breast-fed babies who
tend to gain weight more slowly, at a
healthier pace and are less likely to become
obese in later life. This meant that breast-
fed babies were previously and inaccurately
registered as weighing consistently less
than they should do. It is good to know
that this error has now been put right
because for too long parents who raise
breastfed vegan children have often been
accused of under-nourishing them.
Art student Emily Deboo recently achieved a Distinction for her very poignant
piece of vegan artwork.
n FUN RUN
Neil Cant participated in the Great
Midlands Fun Run on Sunday 31 May
and raised £85 for The Vegan Society.
Thank you Neil!
14 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
n THE BELGIAN CITY OF GHENT’S WEEKLY VEGETARIAN DAY
You may have heard about this – it appeared in many mainstream newspapers in May. Reuters news website claims that “The average
Belgian eats 1,800 animals in his or her lifetime”. The city of Ghent is trying to change this with a weekly vegetarian day led by public
officials and politicians and followed by schoolchildren with their own veggiedag in September. Around 90,000 “veggie street maps” are
now being printed to help people find the city’s vegetarian eateries.
The goal behind this pioneering move is two-fold. Firstly, to lower the environmentally disastrous impact of livestock, stated by the UN to
be responsible for a staggering 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, and a host of other environmental ills. Secondly, to tackle health-
threatening obesity in Ghent thought to be related to animal products. Other Belgian cities have already shown interest in following
Ghent’s example. Now all we have to do is make it a vegan day, every day, in every city and the world will be a much lovelier place!
www.vegetarismus.ch/klimaschutz/ghent_en.htm
n VEGAN RUNNERS
Anna Flint’s extraordinary achievements
deserve a report in themselves! Aiming
to run in 10 marathon-length (or longer)
events by the end of May, she easily
completed the task, a month ahead of
schedule, on 26 April at the Shakespeare
Marathon, Stratford-upon-Avon. The 10
events helped to raise £15,000 for
campaigns against animal abuse.
Not one to ‘put her feet up’, Anna has
since run a further seven events of
marathon distance or greater including
twice running two events over a weekend!
For more details of Anna’s achievements
see http://annakatfinn.blogspot.com.
Ian Hodge has also focused on ‘ultra-
distances’, running four events over the
space of 5 weeks from 1 March, the
longest being 50 miles near Doncaster.
In the London Marathon on 26 April we
had many of our top runners competing,
with James Meldrum leading us home in
2.36.42 (120th), an improvement of 41
seconds on his 2008 time. Four of our
runners finishing in under three hours
was a notable achievement. Many of
our other members came along with
banners and club kit in evidence, so a lot
of the public noted our presence.
The photo shows, from the left: Ed
Banks, James Meldrum, Ron Franklin
(former 2.25 achiever) and Max Newton.
Ron does consume honey but has
otherwise been free of animal products
since the 1960s and at age 80 still runs
shorter distances.
For details of our other achievements,
including shorter distances such as 10K
and 5K, see
http://veganrunnersuk.blogspot.com
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 15
Veggie
PrideThe 16th of May saw the first ever Veggie Pride event take place in the UK. Since 2001
Veggie Prides have been held in Paris (moving this year to Lyon) with the phenomenon
spreading to Rome, New York and Prague and later to Los Angeles and Milan.
Veggie Pride UK, organised by
Midlands Vegan Campaigns,
took veg*nism to the masses,
transforming Birmingham’s busy
city centre, Victoria Square, into a
loud and proud celebration of
compassionate, eco-friendly,
healthy lifestyles
There were stalls from educational
and campaign groups such as The
Vegan Society (of course!), Animal
Aid, Viva!, Sea Shepherd, Hunt Sabs,
Animals Count and the Campaign for
Eco-Veg*nism. A mix of businesses
with stalls in the square meant that
Veggie Priders could pick up cruelty-
free cosmetics, toiletries, clothing and
books.
Even the most hardened non-vegan
would struggle to say that vegans
“can’t eat anything”. All food at
Veggie Pride was vegan and included
delicious dosas, curries, burgers, “fish”
& chips, battered sausages, pasties and
various cold savouries. For those with
a sweet tooth there were a wide
variety of scrummy cakes as well as
creme eggs, chocolate hearts, sweets,
truffles and millionaire’s shortbread.
A packed entertainment programme
provided something for everyone, from
belly dancers to yoga to poetry to
acoustic folk music to reggae to hip-
hop! A kids’ corner provided activities
for children while Kristoff the clown
provided entertainment for all ages.
16 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
Probably the most defining feature of
all Veggie Pride events is a procession
through the streets. Veggie Pride UK
did this in style with a local samba
band leading the parade while
enthusiastic priders, many in costume,
danced their way along the procession
route handing out leaflets to shoppers
and onlookers. The cover picture of
this issue of The Vegan gives an idea
of the atmosphere of the event.
Despite the intermittent rain, the first
UK Veggie Pride was a huge success
that reached out to a large number of
non-vegans too. Curious shoppers
passing through the square stopped
to take advantage of the entertainment,
queued up for vegan food and left
clutching leaflets from the variety of
stalls.
Veggie Pride is a must for your diary
next year, so keep your eye on the
Veggie Pride UK website:
www.veggiepride.org.uk
Veggie Pride France
This year, on May 16th 2009, the ninth French Veggie Pride took place, for the
first time in Lyon rather than Paris where it had been held for the previous 8
years. Between 300 and 400 vegetarians and vegans gathered for the march.
The activists chanted and many carried banners and signs they had made
themselves.
The following webpage shows the media coverage of Veggie Pride France:
http://www.veggiepride.fr/home/nextVP/medias.html
Veggie Pride Milan
In Italy Veggie Pride brought together 700 people who marched through the
centre of Milan expressing their refusal to eat animals. During and after the
march, participants read texts about the poor conditions that farmed animals
endure. At the Piazza San Babila, some demonstrators lay down on the
ground, attracting the attention of passers-by. The march was filmed by the
national TV and had good media coverage. You can find a series of photos of
the Italian Veggie Pride march on www.veggiepride.it
Veggie Pride Prague
Veggie Pride in Prague was a big success with hundreds of people and a nice
sunny day. Thousands of stickers were given out and hundreds of leaflets and
magazines. In the evening there was a concert in one of Prague’s clubs and a
lecture there for about 70 people. www.veggiepride.xf.cz
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 17
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 19
Inspired by London Vegan Campaign’s vegan pledge scheme, the
Vegan Society has been running a vegan pledge since autumn
2008. The vegan pledge encourages people to try veganism for
one week, two weeks or a month while receiving the support of
an e-mentor as well as an e-pack giving practical tips, recipes and
nutritional advice. These days many people have heard of
veganism as it increasingly appears in the media, whether it be as
part of the debate on animal farming, eco-living, health or
delicious dairy free cooking. This increased level of coverage
means more and more people are curious about trying veganism
without the pressure of committing to it forever. Since running
the pledge it has become clear that there are a variety of reasons
why people take part. Some pledgers have an awareness that
veganism is beneficial on many levels while others are motivated
by a single issue. A good proportion of pledgers contact us after
having their eyes opened to the suffering and exploitation of
farmed animals but feel unsure about how to make the change to
veganism after a life-long, non vegan habit.
A significant number of pledgers cite environmental motivations for
wanting to try veganism which means that the eco-vegan message is
getting through. Health benefits are a popular reason for taking part.
Others give it a go because they have a vegan friend or family member
or as part of a school or college project. A few pledgers have no strong
motivation at all other than to try something different! Pledgers fill in a
brief pre-pledge questionnaire which enables us to give tailored advice
on their own personal sticking points; they are then hooked up to a
personal mentor. Typical pre-pledge concerns are eating out, cheese,
milk in tea and the reactions of other people.
So after taking the pledge how do people feel? By far the most
common piece of feedback is that veganism is far easier than they
thought it would be which is great news, especially as most people’s
perception of veganism is that it is “too difficult”! Many pledge to
adopt veganism permanently while those that don’t nearly always pledge
to decrease their consumption of animal products. People who took the
pledge for health or environmental reasons report a greater awareness
of animal exploitation and suffering and for some this becomes the
motivation to adopt veganism full time. A reoccurring theme is that the
extra support makes all the difference, just knowing that there is a mentor
to turn to helps pledgers to stay on track. As one pledger told us
“I have tried to become a vegan a couple of times in my life and have
always failed. With all your help I am now a vegan. Thank you”.
Since its launch over 140 people have taken the vegan pledge. If you
are interested in becoming a pledge mentor please contact The Vegan
Society office for more details.
After commencing the evening
with a vegan pizza, the RAFA
(Real Ale For All) stomachs
contained sufficient “beer ballast”
for the night ahead. RAFA was
heading to Market Drayton in
Shropshire to visit a pub serving
vegan real ale and it could be a
long night!
RAFA had approached Damion
“Digger” Davis, landlord of the Kings
Arms and he was very receptive to
the idea of trialling isinglass-free ale.
RAFA had advised on the ease of
producing a cask beer with no
animal products in it, and this was
confirmed by Slater’s Ales, a Stafford-
based brewery, who were happy to
supply him.
Digger’s existing regulars love the
isinglass-free ale, and he has
acquired a new “regular” in a local
vegan. The vegan ale is now a
permanent fixture!
It was with great excitement that
we arrived in Market Drayton. As
beer-loving vegans it had been a
long time since we had been able to
have our favourite drink served to
us via a traditional hand pump from
a cask.
In the pub we were greeted warmly
by Digger who was holding court
with his friends and colleagues. At
the bar we asked the barmaid which
beer was vegan and she was able to
tell us. We could hardly believe that
we were about to consume vegan
real ale!
We gazed lovingly at the deep
amber liquid in front of us, noting
the slight haze that was present due
to the lack of additional “finings”.
At RAFA we like to call this a
“natural haze” as it is the effect of
leaving the beer to clear naturally
rather than adding isinglass.
Enough staring, though – time to
get drinking! The taste and texture
is not in any way affected by the
lack of fining. The beer had a
smooth taste to it and the first pints
went down very quickly!
Digger produced another round and
the quality of the beer was
consistent with the first. As we
were drinking these pints and
chatting with the locals, we were
introduced to Yvonne, the pub
manager at the Kings Arms. She
explained that there is no need to
add finings to real ale if proper
cellar management is employed.
Beer settles naturally if left for a
week or so, and if a cellar is
managed with the rotation of the
“We gazed
lovingly at the
deep amber liquid
in front of us,
noting the slight
haze that was
present due to
the lack of
additional
“finings”.”
20 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
beers on the pumps at correct time
intervals real ale can truly be
enjoyed by all. RAFA would like to
add that cellar management is an
art form that the team at the Kings
Arms exhibit perfectly. The use of
isinglass is an additive and a short
cut in a product that is marketed as
“real” and “traditional”.
The evening progressed and we had
a great time, until the natural
effects of the product we love
drinking suggested that we quit
while we were ahead! With big
smiles and bellies full of real ale,
RAFA left with the dream alive
where no animal is killed for people
to enjoy their favourite pint. Clear?
No thanks, we like it a bit hazy!
See www.myspace.com/realaleforall for further details
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 21
If you enjoy warm sunshine, tropicalbeaches and beautiful flora and
fauna, and if you are comfortableclocking up carbon emissions from along-haul flight, then Grenada in theCaribbean could be the idealdestination for your next holiday. I recently spent a week in Grenada,having last visited the island over 25years ago. Despite a four-foldincrease in traffic and a noticeableproliferation of plastic and otherrubbish from new supermarkets andother developments in the south-west of the island (such is ‘progress’),I was pleased to see that Grenadahad retained much of its previousbeauty and charm. It is a lovelyisland, only 21 miles long by 12 mileswide, with friendly people, lushvegetation and a relaxed way of life.
For the visiting vegan, I have threesuggestions. Firstly, if you are cateringfor yourself, then you might like to takea copy of Linda Majzlik’s A Vegan Tasteof the Caribbean with you (availablefrom The Vegan Society). AlthoughGrenada suffered a serious batteringfrom Hurricane Ivan in 2004, in which itlost a number of its fruit trees andsustained damage to its arable land, theisland still has a plentiful supply ofdelicious West Indian ingredients,including bananas, breadfruit, callaloo,mangoes, oranges, plantains, yams andspices. This is your opportunity to enjoysome top quality ital food and give yourimmune system a real boost.
Secondly, if you want to stay in veganaccommodation with stunning 360-degree views of the island and first-classvegan meals provided, then book in atThe Lodge, which is Sunflower registeredand is near the capital, St George’s.The three acre site is 600 feet above sealevel and is surrounded by mountainsand tropical rainforest. From your balcony,you can watch the sun set over theCaribbean Sea and spend the eveningstargazing into a perfectly clear sky.
Mark and Mary Hardy, the veganproprietors, have ensured that theaccommodation is as environmentallyfriendly as possible, and for those who areconcerned about air miles, they plant atree for every person who stays at TheLodge as a contribution towards offsettingthe carbon footprint created by the airflight. Visit www.thelodgegrenada.comfor more information about thisremarkably beautiful vegan venue.
Thirdly, I strongly advise you to try thevegan organic chocolate made by theGrenada Chocolate Company. Grenadagrows one of the finest and richest cocoacrops in the world, partly due to the hotclimate but also due to the super-richvolcanic soil. I’ve enjoyed some superbvegan chocolates over the years but thisone is, I think, the best I have ever tasted.See www.grenadachocolate.com to learnmore about Grenada’s solar-poweredchocolate factory and its deliciouschocolate. We brought back ten bars asgifts for friends and they were gone inno time. Buying some more is theperfect excuse for another visit.
Roger Merenyi
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 23
24 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
MARINATED MUSHROOMS
Serves 3-4 as a starter with bread
300g whole mushrooms
(e.g. chestnut, button or mini portobello)
100ml olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan, mixing well.
Heat until the oil begins to sizzle, then cover and cook over
a low heat for around 10 minutes.
This dish can be served warm as a starter with fresh bread,
or warm or cold as a buffet or potluck dish.
SPINACH AND TOFU “RICOTTA” STUFFED PASTA SHELLSServes 2
175g large pasta shells
500g spinach
1 tsp nutmeg
olive oil for frying
250g firm tofu
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
tomato sauce, either home-made or a
ready-made tomato pasta sauce, enough
to lightly cover the shells
Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Cook the pasta
shells according to the instructions on the pack.
Make the tomato sauce if using home-made.
Finely chop the spinach (use a food processor if you
have one) and fry gently with the nutmeg and a little
olive oil until wilted. Crumble the tofu into a bowl and
mix in the vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Add to the
spinach mixture and fry for a couple of minutes, adding salt and
pepper to taste.
Lightly coat the base of an ovenproof dish with olive oil. Place some of the mixture inside each pasta shell and place in a single layer in
the dish. Spread the tomato sauce over the shells and bake for 15 minutes.
Charley Roberts, www.cookingforvegans.co.uk
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 13The Vegan l Autumn 2009 25
BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM ALTERNATIVE
Prep time 15 mins / Cooling time 30 mins
Freezing time 4 hours
(if not using ice cream maker)
Serves 3 – 4
400ml rice milk
100ml Sweet Freedom (rich)*
100g blueberries
30g organic virgin coconut oil
30g lecithin granules
(available from many health food shops)
Pour rice milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil very slowly.
While the rice milk is heating, add the Sweet Freedom, coconut oil and lecithin granules to the pan.
Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat; when slightly cooled, blend for 20 seconds.
When it has reached room temperature, put the smooth mix into the fridge to cool completely.
When completely cool, gently squash the blueberries with a spoon before adding them to the mixture.
Stir the mixture, add to an ice cream maker if you have one and follow the instructions for use; alternatively, freeze in a container,
regularly stirring through the mixture as it freeze, to ensure a smooth result.
*Low GI alternative to honey, maple syrup, etc – see Shoparound page 11.
Recipe is courtesy of Kirsty Henshaw who has just launched a new
and delicious range of Worthenshaws Vegan Ice Cream alternatives
into the retail market. You can find more information on her website
www.worthenshaws.co.uk
THE VEGAN SCOOP: RECIPES FORDAIRY-FREE ICE CREAM THAT TASTESBETTER THAN THE REAL THINGBy Wheeler ToroPublished by Fair Winds PressISBN-10: 1-59233-392-3ISBN-13: 978-1-59233-392-9Price: £12.99Reviewed by Verity Hunt-Sheppard
Lovers of frozen desserts and homemade fare alike will delight in TheVegan Scoop, which contains 150
recipes for ice creams and sorbets withtwo additional chapters on sauces and accompaniments. Frozendesserts are divided into Classic, Fruity, Healthy, Asian, Caribbean andIsland, Novelty, and Aphrodisiacal (allegedly). Flavours include CherryJubilee, Caramel, Fig, Lavender Mint, Spicy Chocolate Twist, Rocky Road,Almond Cookie, Irish Cream and Champagne Sorbet. The sauces andaccompaniments include recipes for Chocolate Fudge Brownies,Biscotti’s, Sandwich Cookies, Cup Cakes, Hot Fudge Sauce, Sugar Conesand even vegan Twinkies.
For complete beginners there is a section on meeting your ice creammaker and knowing your ingredients which includes some nutritionalinformation on the foods and flavourings used in the book. Althoughthis is an American recipe book the ingredients are stated in metric aswell. The book is beautifully presented with colour photography everyfew pages interspersed with interesting facts. The Vegan Scoop containseverything for the beginner and the experienced dessert maker, awonderful addition to anyone’s recipe book collection.
THE VEGAN TABLE: 200 UNFORGETTABLE RECIPES FOR ENTERTAINING EVERY GUEST FOR EVERY OCCASIONBy Colleen Patrick-GoudreauPublished by Fair Winds PressISBN-10: 1-59233-374-5ISBN-13: 978-1-59233-374-5Price: £12.99Reviewed by Verity Hunt-Sheppard
Award winning author Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is back with her second book, The Vegan Table.This gorgeously presented guide to entertaining is divided into six main sections: Romantic Dinners forTwo, Casual Meals for Four to Six, Formal Dining for Six to Ten, Menus for Special Occasions, Feasts forthe Holidays and finally, Buffets, Heavy Appetisers, and Finger Food. Each section gives ideas for spring,summer, autumn and winter menus.
Recipes include, Pumpkin Curry, Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew, Tempeh and Eggplant Pot Pies, Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce,Blackberry Pecan Crisp, Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies and Red Velvet Cake with Buttercream Frosting. Each recipe is accompanied with abasic nutritional break-down that includes calories and fat per serving, and ingredients are listed in metric and US measurements.
To ensure you entertain with style there is advice on giving toasts, creating settings and designing a centre piece. There are cooking tipsand facts on food and food lore. Finally there is advice for vegans living in a non-vegan world, and advice for the friends and families ofvegans; a very clever idea as this book would make a marvellous gift. The Vegan Table is an exquisite publication that will appeal toanyone interested in food, entertaining or veganism.
MEAT THE TRUTHPresented by Marianne ThiemeAn Alalena production commissioned by theNicolas G. Pierson FoundationAvailable from: www.animalscount.orgPrice £10 plus postageReviewed by Rosamund Raha
Beautifully presented by thecharismatic MarianneThieme, MP for The Party forthe Animals in theNetherlands, Meat the Truthis the first DVD I know ofthat almost exclusivelydiscusses the relationshipbetween ‘livestock’ farmingand climate change.
Meat the Truth uses theUnited Nations FAO reportLivestock’s Long Shadowand other authoritativeresources for its facts andfigures; but it also uses
engaging personalities such as Vegan Cowboy HowardLyman for interest. Classic cartoons such as The Meatrixand Cows with Guns also appear in the film; making itfun to watch.
I recommend this excellent film to anyone who wantsto make the environmental case for veganism.
26 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
THE HERETIC’S GUIDE TO VEGAN COOKERY By Andy MurrayPublished by The Good Elf PressISBN: 978-0-9560868-0-8Price: £12.99Reviewed by Charley Roberts
This collection would suit creative cooks – with dishes such as Malaysian Coconut and PineappleCurry, Moroccan Chickpea and Fennel Tagine and Hazelnut and Celery Risotto – as well as thosewho prefer less complicated recipes such as Celery and Cashew Soup, Roasted HasslebackPotatoes and Asparagus, Lemon and Pine Nut Penne. Above all, it will appeal to cooks wholike to keep their ingredients natural and unprocessed and prefer to avoid recipes which try toohard to replicate traditionally non-vegan dishes.
This book has the feel of being two books in one, with an alternative contents page listing the author’s ‘musings’ on various‘New Age’ topics. The book is written in a very individual style, which is at times almost stream-of-consciousness. This willappeal to some but not all readers. Either way, the recipes alone will speak for themselves.
THE HEALTHY VEGAN (DVD and recipe booklet)Featuring Rose Elliot, John Bayley, Tony and YvonneBishop-WestonAvailable from www.thehealthyvegandvd.comPrice £14.99Reviewed by Stephen Walsh
Whilst I am by no means anexpert in cookery, I enjoy my foodand I enjoy cooking. The HealthyVegan DVD brings thepreparation of many interestingrecipes to life in a way that acookery book cannot and as ademonstration of tasty vegancooking it is very good indeed.I especially enjoyed seeing thecreation of nori rolls made tolook so easy and the way thatbasic recipes such as breaddough were used in variousways.
Indeed, Tasty Vegan would perhaps have been a better title.From the health point of view, the Vegan Society’s free 16-page Plant Based Nutrition booklet is a more reliable sourceof information. The DVD does give some sound adviceabout eating more fruit and vegetables, but also makesunsubstantiated recommendations such as to drink two litresof water a day and, more seriously, the misleading claim thatchlorella is a proven source of vitamin B12 when there are nohuman trials confirming this. It also completely overlooksother key issues for vegans such as vitamin D and iodine.
Whilst there is too much use of salt and white flour in someof the recipes to commend them wholeheartedly for health,the demonstrations bring to life a variety of innovativerecipes for delicious vegan food ranging from quick and easydishes to gourmet creations. I look forward to trying someof them very soon.
VEGAN BRUNCH:HOMESTYLERECIPES WORTHWAKING UP FOR –FROM ASPARAGUSOMELETS TOPUMPKINPANCAKESBy Isa ChandraMoskowitz Published byLifelong BooksISBN 978-0-7382-1272-2 Price: £11.99Reviewed byAmanda Baker
From the co-author of the series Vegan with aVengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the Worldand Veganomicon, the Vegan Brunch cookbook hastriggered a massive wave of rave reviews.
Isa’s writing style is still unashamedly ‘punky’, butdo persist: there are over 150 distinctive anddelicious recipes here. The tofu scramble, frittata,waffle and muffin ideas are all particularly inspiring.The Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes (a savoury ‘burger’spiced with hot sauce, mustard and optional nori)were the most popular with my non-vegan family.
I have a few caveats. Some of the recipes are fiddly,and one or two of the ingredients are confusing - Ihad to look up ‘panko breadcrumbs’ for instance.As she is writing an explicitly vegan cookbook,Moskowitz is not shy about reclaiming the term‘milk’ - she sometimes lists it without any qualifiers.
Even so, this book is a great addition to the sizeablevegan cookbook library. Now I just need a personalbrunch chef to cook these recipes for me everySunday morning.
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 27The Vegan l Autumn 2009 27
THE EXTENDED CIRCLE – A DICTIONARY OF HUMANE THOUGHTCompiled by Jon Wynne-TysonPublished by Centaur Press, an imprint of Open Gate PressISBN: 978-0-9000001-57-4Price: £14.95Reviewed by Vanessa Clarke
This wonderful anthology is finally backin print – a massive 440 pages ofquotations, from the Bible and theKoran to Tom Regan and PaulMcCartney, Gandhi, Pythagoras andSpike Milligan, all dedicated to animalrights in the broadest sense of theterm. Since the first edition appearedin 1985, The Extended Circle has beena key resource for thousands ofpeople in search of a morecompassionate world.
There is sufficient bibliographical information for the interestedreader to follow up any particular entry or author without unduedifficulty. Whilst most of us will inevitably find some favouritequotations unaccountably absent, we shall also find manydozens, hundreds even, that were previously unknown to us. As well as providing quotations for all occasions and purposes,every entry sheds new light on the struggle for justice andcompassion through the ages.
If you don’t have a copy, get one now. If your current copy hasfallen to bits from overuse, now is your chance to replace it. If you’re looking for a useful and lasting gift for someone, lookno further: this is it.
ANI’S RAW FOOD DESSERTS: 85 EASY, DELECTABLE SWEETS AND TREATSBy Ani PhyoPublished by Da Capo PressISBN: 978-0-7382-1306-4Price: £10.99 Reviewed by Charley Roberts
This little book is packed full of all sorts of raw food sweet treats such as cakes, cookies, sorbets,cupcakes, fresh fruit desserts and chocolates, with colour photos accompanying most recipes. The book seems to have two aims – impressing the reader with colourful, delicious-looking creations,and highlighting the health benefits of raw desserts. Many are based on nutritious ingredients suchas cashews, dates, apricots, avocados or other nuts or fruits, so in addition to being tasty they alsoprovide a nutrient boost. Eat your dessert – it’s good for you!
The recipes are largely straightforward to make and, because there is no cooking time involved,many can be served immediately. A food processor or blender is useful for some of the recipes but others can be made without anyspecialist equipment. There is a handy key above each recipe to tell you what you need.
THE BUNNY HUGGING TERRORISTBy Joan CourtPublished by Selene PressISBN: 0-9543452-0-5Price: £10Reviewed by Vanessa Clarke
The second volume of JoanCourt’s colourful autobiography.The first - In the Shadow ofMahatma Gandhi - documentedJoan’s experiences as an abusedchild, through nursing andmidwifery in India and theAppalachians, to her years with
the NSPCC and as a Government adviser on child abuse.
The Bunny Hugging Terrorist begins with Joan’s arrival inCambridge, just shy of statutory retirement age, to study socialanthropology at New Hall. It charts three decades of increasinglymilitant animal rights activism encompassing the closure of Hillgrove,the defeat of Cambridge University’s primate research plans andthe ongoing campaign to achieve a similar victory in Oxford.
When not chained to the Senate House railings in Cambridge, onhunger strike in Oxford or sailing as crew with Sea Shepherd,Joan runs an animal helpline, writes letters to the press and looksafter her cats and the band of friends who form her “fictive family”.
This latest volume takes us up to Joan’s 90th birthday with nosign of any diminishing of her lifelong commitment to thoseleast able to stand up for themselves. Watch out forConfessions of a Campaigning Centenarian in due course...
28 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 29The Vegan l Autumn 2009 29
Imagine a lovely summer’s day. At the end of the
lagoon, which is bordered by a lawn and pavilions
there is a large audience gathered, seated around
tables. The tables are covered with plates of French
fries, salads and baps with a variety of meaty-looking
fillings, cakes and beverages, all of which are
completely vegan. Gathered with their families within,
there are Directors of Animal Rights charities, Vegan
Runners and other personalities with their Public
Relations experts. Does it sound like a dream?
I found myself competing for space with the staff at the
three ‘bars’ inside, but it was a convivial way to say hello to
some great vegans. A team of chefs put together the
cooked meals and salads behind one counter. Cakes and
beverages were served from another surrounded by high
stools. A bar in a separate room had more relaxed seating.
As a Vegan Society member and local contact, even I was
given a taste of the “V-Bites” VIP treatment to mark the
occasion, and was instructed by Heather to help myself to
whatever I liked from the bar. I requested a well-chilled
Almond Milk, and waylaid a wholesome apricot flap-jack as
it jostled around the table amongst fairy cakes and other
vegan delights on a twirling mini-conveyor belt. I warmly
recommend “V-Bites” to you all.
There is a website with more information: www.vbites.com
Eleisha C Newman
Vegan Society Local Contact for Lewes
4th July 2009
Why do we use the same word, pepper,for a favourite salad vegetable and forthe seasoning offered by Italian waiterswhen they bring us a bowl of pasta?The black grains that pack the waiters’pepper mill come from a climbing vinenative to India and look nothing likethat mainstay of the salad bowl, thebell, bullnose, or sweet pepper. TheirLatin names show both ‘peppers’ areseparate too: Piper nigrum for the blackpepper, and Capsicum annuum for thesalad vegetable.
What curious twist of history caused thispeppery mix-up? Black peppercorns are thereal peppers. They were known in ancient
times: 3,000 pounds of pepper was one ofthe ransoms demanded for the release ofsome Romans 1600 years ago. In theMiddle Ages pepper, possibly from theSanskrit pippali, was dubbed King Spiceand traded like silver bullion. ThenChristopher Columbus reached the WestIndies in the 1490s and discovered thenative ‘capsicum peppers’, all closelyrelated to those other American natives,the potato and the tomato. The mostfamiliar of the capsicum ‘peppers’ are thegreen, red or yellow bell peppers.Paprika, a delightful spice essential to anyvegan version of Hungarian goulash, ismade from dried and powdered capsicumannuum. Then there are the red hot chilli
peppers (Capsicum fructescens), a favouriteaddition for curries and used to maketabasco sauce and cayenne pepper. Thenative American word for the hot ‘peppers’was chilli, but when the Spanish invaderstasted them they gasped for breath andwater and declared them just like pimento,
or pepper. Confusion hasreigned ever since.
Bill Laws is the author ofSpade, Skirret and Parsnip –A Curious History ofVegetables and of Boots,Byways and Blisters – AHistory of Walkers andWalking.
Bill Laws
30 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
THE GREAT CUPCAKE INVASION
In April the Chorlton area of Manchester held its first ever ‘Big Green Festival’ and theManchester Vegan Group asked to have a stall. Inspired by the current fashion forcupcakes they chose the little decadent treats as the focus for the stall. The fabulousrecipes in the book Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitzand Terry Hope Romero gave them inspiration and they produced flavours such asGreen Tea and Almond, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Lemon Macadamia Nut, Rum andRaisin and many more. Alongside the cakes was literature to promote the dairy andegg free message and lots of people asked questions about vegan baking.
They literally sold like hot cakes! Every single one went, in total over 400. They hadcake boxes for people to fill that held any 5 cakes (1 free!). The pick n mix element ofthis was really popular. One group member who went to have a look round the festivalcame back to find the stall almost emptied surrounded by what they described as a‘scrum-like cake grabbing scene!’ All in all a highly recommended fun way for groupsto spread the vegan message. They will definitely be doing it again.
Manchester Vegans can be found eating cupcakes and other vegan delights on the lastSaturday of each month at Mod Pop café on Oldham Street from 1.30pm.http://www.manchester.vegangroup.co.uk/index.html or join their Yahoo Grouphttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/manchester-vegan-society/message/2667
“ECO EXTRAVAGANZA
IS HAILED A SUCCESS”
An article about the fourth annualRedditch Green Fair, accompaniedby 3 big photos, was splashedacross the Redditch Advertiser on24 June 2009:http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/4442329.Green_Fair_was_great/It especially mentioned thatmembers of Redditch Vegetariansand Vegans put on an impressivefeast of free vegan food samplesalongside recipes, nutritioninformation and details of theenvironmental benefits of plantbased diets and that furthercatering was provided by GreenGarden Cafe, a not-for-profit vegancatering business from Coventry.Well done to the Redditch group!
Peter White
THE COMPOST CONNECTION
The big question for vegan-organicgardeners: where to obtain decent
ready-made vegan-organic seed andpotting composts without spending afortune? Vegan-Organic Network(VON) members are constantly on thelook out and below are the latestsuggestions from VON. Rememberthat formulations can change so checkbefore you buy.
First, two animal free products that used tobe available, Gem compost and B&Q peatfree organic seem to be no longer offeredalthough there may still be stocks around.
‘Fertile Fibre’s’ Vegro, based on coir isavailable (‘Fertile Fibre’:www.fertilefibre.co.uk 01432 853111).The possible down side to it is all thosecoir miles from Sri Lanka. According totheir website, “considerable effort andtechnology ensures that coir is shippedvery efficiently.” Only sea transport isused, with 285 cubic metres in a container.There are three kinds of Vegro: seed,multipurpose and potting composts. VONmember and advocate, Graham Cole ofHampshire, has used all three in the statelyhome garden he manages and is verypleased with it. The coir used is processed,making it better than some other coirbased products. VON members reportgood results with a few precautions –watering from below, protecting pots fromheavy rain to avoid the nutrients washingout, and feeding with liquid comfrey orliquid seaweed after about 3 to 4 weeks.
‘Pro-Grow’ soil conditioner, with a SoilAssociation certificate, is good for soilimprovement and planting trees, shrubs,etc; it has been successfully used as a seedcompost by some VON members. ‘Pro-Grow’ general-purpose compost is a“specially formulated mix of Pro-Grow PeatFree Conditioner and natural materials”. It is an animal free mix, containing smallamounts of inorganic nutrients. Thesecan be delivered in bulk quite cheaply.See www.pro-grow.co.uk or ring CPLat 0845 6789955.
The Co-operative Society now sells a peat-free, animal-free compost ‘for use inorganic systems’. The compost isformulated from a blend of sustainablerenewable resources, containing compostedbark finds, coir and clay. It has the FSCmark. An approved non-organic fertilizerhas been incorporated. Stated usesinclude sowing, pricking out, growing on,cuttings, and outdoor planting of trees andshrubs. VON members have had mixedresults raising seeds and potting on withthis new product - adding some sieved(fine) garden compost or suchlike willimprove it. If you try it, please let VONknow how it worked for you. Available inmany larger Co-op stores countrywide; ifnot in stock you should be able to order itfrom your nearest store. Contact Co-opCustomer Relations: 0800 0686 727 formore information.
You can of course make your own mixes;good mature sieved garden compost with
an equal part ofhorticulturalsand is a goodstart forsowing seeds.
IN THE AUTUMN VEGAN-ORGANIC GARDEN
Some ‘green manures’ (no animal inputs)can be planted quite late into September(weather permitting). These include fieldbeans, crimson clover, mustard, winter taresand phacelia. Sow these on any emptyland and they will benefit the soil. Fieldbeans, tares and crimson clover are nitrogenfixers; they won’t do this over the winterbut if the ground is not needed until laterin the next year they will add some nitrogenbefore you dig them into the soil. Valuablenutrients are washed away by winter rains;now is the time to protect your bare soil bycovering it with green manures, leaf mould,straw or indeed any organic material.
Over-wintering onions can be planted untilmid-October in most regions, which willprovide bulbs in the following June and thesmaller ones can be used as spring onionstoo.
Late autumn is the time to plant fruit trees,soft fruit bushes, shrubs and hardy perennialsso work out which ones to buy and ordernow. Fill the planting hole with a mixture ofgood compost and soil adding grit to improvedrainage on heavy soil. The conventionaladvice is to add bone meal for slow releasenutrients; instead of this grim stuff vegangrowers can add seaweed meal or 5Fcompound fertiliser from ‘Fertile Fibre’(contact details as before).
VON members can access a free gardeningadvice service by phone, letter or email.
Joining Vegan-Organic Network is anexcellent move for the vegan-organicgardener and for anyone interested in animalrights and the environment; the twice-yearlyVON magazine is packed with helpfulinformation. Remember, there is a world ofdifference between vegan-organic (stockfree)and conventional organic – support VON andhelp get real vegan-grown food in the shops.
Write to: VON, 80 Annable Rd, LowerBredbury, Stockport SK6 2DF phone 0845223 5232 (local rate, 10am to 8pm) oremail [email protected] visit theVON website and join online at
www.veganorganic.net
Grow Vegan PuzzlerQuestion; What plant family does clover
belong to; pea, brassica or borage?
Send your answer on a postcard to: The Vegan Society (address on page 1)
by 1 October 2009. The winner receives a box of beautiful
vegan soaps.
The answer to the Summer Grow VeganPuzzler is: Sweet violet (Viola odorata)
and the winner is Anna Merenyi
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 31
Never one to mince her words
when it came to cruelty and
injustice, for thirty years Pat was
a courageous and outspoken
campaigner for the animals,
– a true voice for the voiceless.
It was therefore fitting that she
chose the Ella Wheeler Wilcox
poem on that theme which was
read by her great friend and
fellow activist Joan Court at her
funeral.
It was also a poignant reminder of
one of the most frustrating and
isolating aspects of her two-year
struggle with motor neurone disease:
the gradual but inexorable loss of her
ability to speak (though not of her
ability to think and to feel and to care
– we exchanged emails long after
phone calls had become an
impossibility). The months of steady
and irreversible decline were hard for
her family, hard for her friends and
above all hard for Pat herself. Yet the
radiant smile we all knew so well
never faltered or faded, as the photo
– taken just a few weeks ago – so
clearly shows.
When I first moved to Cambridge
nearly a decade ago I knew just three
people in the vegan/animal movement
there: Joan Court, whom I knew from
live exports demos in Dover, and the
whirlwind of activity known to activists
far and wide as Pat’n’Sue. Despite her
respectable appearance and glorious
grey hair, Pat was the headstrong,
impulsive side of a partnership that
struck terror into the hearts of vivisectors,
turkey breeders, seal clubbers, puppy
farmers and anyone else treating other
lives with violence or disrespect.
Both Sue (Hughes) and Joan tell of
many occasions when Pat witnessed
animal suffering and simply piled in
without a thought for her own safety
or what anyone else might think.
On one such occasion, driving back
from a school talk, they spotted a
crowd of farmers shooting at pheasants.
Pat jumped out of the car, marched
into the field and confronted them.
Undeterred by the insults, the shots
into the air, the threats of “We know
where you live,” she stood her ground
and called the police. An officer duly
turned up, to find two smartly dressed
middle aged ladies up to their ankles in
mud. “So where are all these men
with guns, then?” The motley gang in
the field were indignantly pointed out.
Unusually in such circumstances, the
officer looked absolutely horrified:
“Oh no - we’ve called the armed
response unit from Oxford!”
On another occasion, leafleting in
Cambridge, Pat came across a pigeon
hobbled by tight twine. She picked up
the bird and marched into the city
centre branch of Boots the Chemist
demanding to see their chiropodist.
After a moment of stunned silence, a
sharp pair of scissors was produced
and the unfortunate bird duly treated
with all the skill the Pharmacy
Department could muster.
Pat’n’Sue also doubled as the
Granarchists, running a mobile soup
kitchen known as Granarchist Grub
from the back of Pat’s camper van – a
kind of mini-Veggies providing cakes
and ale for the protest vigils outside
Huntingdon Life Sciences, vegan hot
dogs for East Anglia Animal Rights
meetings and coffee and walnut cake
for everyone.
Pat also found time to write a book,
Lost Identity: Memoir of a world war
two evacuee, published just a year or
so ago. This describes her traumatic
experiences as a young evacuee from
a deprived area of South London
adapting to life on a Welsh farm, her
love for Rosie the pig whose slaughter
she witnessed and never forgot, and
the dawn of the passionate concern
for animals that would motivate her
till the end of her life.
The next East Anglia Animal Rights
Network meeting, on Sunday 20th
September, will be a celebration of
Pat’s life and a tribute to her work.
Meanwhile, Sue has won an hour on
the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square
on 11th August from 7 to 8 pm.
Speaking, as ever, for the voiceless
victims of human cruelty she will
dedicate her efforts to Pat.
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 33
Portrait of a CampaignerP a t G r i f f i n 1 9 3 3 – 2 0 0 9
Vanessa Clarke
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 35
Write to: The Vegan Society, YOUth, Donald Watson
House, 21 Hylton Street, Birmingham, B18 6HJEmail:
[email protected] Call: 0121 523 1738
www.vegansociety.com/teach_and_learn
Families at Veggie PrideVeggie Pride was held in Birmingham on 16 May and agreat day was had by all. I caught up with a few ofthe younger vegans to see what they made of the day.
Roy-AndreRaen said “I am proudto be a vegantogether with my Mum. It is great to meet up with other people whoare also proud to be vegan as so many people do not know what itmeans. I don’t use any animal products because of the crueltytowards animals in making or preparing them.”
Lucy Dove said “I am proud that weare vegan because we are nothurting animals.” Lucy is only 7years old, but has been wearing hernew vegan badges pinned to herbookbag, insisting that she shouldshow her non-vegan friends.Joe added “I am proud to be veganbecause I’m helping to stop thecruelty to animals.”
There was also a vegan parents meet-up in London in June - a day ofinformation and support on looking after vegan children with advicefrom a range of expert speakers on some of the issues that pop up.With delicious food by Shambhu’s and about fifty vegan parents andchildren present, it was also an excellent chance for some youngervegans to hav around, of theirown! Contact to find outmore, or requ on at the VeganSociety office.
Families at Veggie Pride
Planet Cannibal - £8.95 An interesting new book fromDorreya Wood, suitable for youngteenage readers. Set on an alienplanet where the inhabitants eat‘creef’ and ‘crork’, the flesh oftheir fellows! The book showshow greed has got the better ofthe ruling class and led them to doall manner of unspeakable things, and at thesame time helps to show the worth of animalsin relation to humans. To buy a copy contact:
Youth Contacts are aged 16-25 and are here for youngvegans to connect with. If you would like to chat to a
Youth Contact or if you would like to be one please get in touch with Rob (contact details above). If you are under 16 please talk to your parents first!
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 35
Photo by Shari Black Velvet Photo by Shari Black Velvet
Photo by Shari Black Velvet
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 37
I was pleased to read that Daisy in your Summer 2009 edition of PostBaghad healthy vegan baby boy, congratulations.
I too had a great pregnancy (no morning sickness at all), birth (nopainkillers), breastfeeding and post-birth (running around and movedhouse the next day) experience as a long-term vegan, and one year laterbaby Louis is doing fabulously. I was strongly influenced by Dr GowriMotha’s “The Gentle Birth Method”, her book is pretty much pro-healthand anti-dairy and I easily adapted the bits that weren’t vegan to suit me.
The key thing I think is crucial to the vegan mindset, it is not what youDON’T eat - but what you DO. One has to be well-informed and activeabout nutrition and health. Being pregnant is not an excuse to sitaround eating flapjacks with one’s feet up getting fatter by the day, butrather walking, stretching, doing yoga, taking extra vitamins / omegas,and eating a rainbow of fabulous fresh foods.
The NHS staff I came across had no problems with my vegan diet - andmost were actually pleased I was aware of nutrition, and pro-active in myresearch into the best way to achieve a great pregnancy/birth/baby.
If more omnivore pregnant women were as aware of their diet as Daisyand myself then maybe the NHS would be a richer place. Of course I’mnot perfect, and I’ve not had one good night’s sleep in a year, but at leastI’ve got the fuel to keep me going at my usual 100mph pace.
LisaLondon
Awareness needs to be raised that some vegans whodecide never to eat anything on any line thatproduces dairy food are ruining it for those of us thathave lives where that sort of strict regime just is notpossible or desirable.
I’ve been told by Green and Blacks that they do notstate vegan products as vegan anymore because avegan complained that vegan items were producedon non vegan lines. This has meant that Green andBlacks now list dairy as an item on their previouslyvegan ingredients list because there is a risk of cross-contamination especially with chocolate machinerythat cannot be washed out with water and is flushedinstead with plain vegan chocolate. This could reallyundermine the Vegan Society’s work in gettingsupermarkets and other suppliers to go out of theirway to label vegan products.
A reaction I get all the time about being vegan is thatnon-vegans expect me to be stroppy about it andthey have this view from previous bad experienceswith vegans. I hope that I leave them with a morepositive view of veganism but it is a shame that theirview had previously been clouded by militant vegans.
RebeccaHailsham
Contributions to Postbag are welcomed, but accepted on the understanding that they may be
edited in the interests of brevity or clarity
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way.
Taken daily, VEG 1
ensures adequate
supplies of selenium,
iodine, vitamin D, folic
acid, vitamins B2, B6 and, of
course, B12. Based on extensive
research by Vegan Society health and nutrition
spokesperson Stephen Walsh, author of Plant Based
Nutrition and Health, the supplement is ideal for vegans
of all ages. Available only from The Vegan Society
VEGANPASSPORT – 2nd EditionISBN: 0-907337-30-9
Cover Price: £3.99
The Vegan Passport now
boasts 56 languages,
accounting for an
incredible 93% of the
world’s population. Slip it into your pocket,
and you’ll find that wherever your travels take you, you’ll
have no problem explaining your dietary needs (also
handy for clarifying your needs when visiting restaurants
in the UK). And if you do find somewhere where none of
the 56 languages apply, the fail-safe pictures from the
previous edition have been retained. It’s never been easier
to travel the world without compromising on your
vegetarian or vegan diet.
See www.vegansociety.com/shop
Toquote Green Day, and belie my awful teenage angst years,‘summer has come and passed.’ But fear not, because I’ve got yetanother Vegans Anonymous to inject a little sunshine into theotherwise dreary autumn days. We’ve got recipes, more reader’sproblems and a new section guaranteed to please – my favouritevegetable. It is with a heavy heart that I have to let you know thatmy career as a Vegan Burlesque dancer didn’t work out – but I’mturning my hand to running. Me + fatigue + indecently short shorts –what’s not to love? I’m going to be running the Birmingham halfmarathon with my partner in crime in aid of The Vegan Society,Midlands Vegan Campaigns (fundraising for the West Mids VeganFestival 09 – be there or be square!) and Vegan Campaigns(London) – if any kind souls would like to sponsor us for our efforts
I’d be eternally grateful. You can drop me aline at [email protected] or theVS office will kindly accept sponsorship monies!
‘Til next time,Love, lentils & lycra,Alex
TO: [email protected]: [email protected]: This charming man…
Dear Alex,
How did you getso ridiculouslygood-looking? Where can Imeet you and getyour autograph?
from,
Alex’
Well, gentle reader. Thank you for yourkind words. You’re making me blush! Iput it mostly down to my vegan diet.Maybe you should go vegan? If you arehankering for a close encounter of thevegan kind, you might want to drop by theWest Midlands Vegan Festival inWolverhampton’s Wulfrun Hall onSaturday October 24th 2009. One event inour calendar when all us anonymous vegantypes come crawling out the woodwork fora party-cum-festival! For more detailscheck outhttp://www.veganmidlands.org.uk/festival/.See you there! X
READERS’ PROBLEMS
Now as hip urbane vegans, we already knowthat there are all manner of wonderful vegancreams on the market (of the edible kind…)but what does one do when stuck in a tightone and craving the cream? Store cupboardstaples a go-go for a quick trick to fakecream…
1 x pack of silken tofu (349g)6 – 8 heaped tbsp icing sugar (or to taste)Lemon/Lime juice1 – 2 tbsp vanilla extractSoya milk
STEP ONE: Place your silken tofu in a largebowl.
STEP TWO: add initially 4 – 5 heaped tbsp oficing sugar, and 1 – 2 tbsp of vanilla extract tothe bowl and get your stick blender going.
STEP THREE: Using a spoon (hygieneplease, no fingers) taste. Adjust sweetnessaccording to your palate, add more icing sugarif you like. Or don’t – it’s a free country…Also start adding soya milk slowly to get thethickness as desired. More for a runny stylecream, less for a thick cream.
STEP FOUR: When you are happy with thesweetness and thickness, add just a splash of acitric juice (lemon or lime) and finally, use awhisk or fork to fluff the cream up.
STEP FIVE: Chill until ready to use. Yum!
Punk rock cooking at its best, and ready inless than 5 minutes. Take that generichealth food store!
I L0VE CREAMCREAM LOVES ME,IT TASTES SO GOOD…
MY FAVOURITE VEGETABLE IS....MY FAVOURITE VEGETABLE IS...This issue we turn ourattentions to the humbleaubergine. It is native toIndia but now grown acrossthe Asian continent – foodmiles-wise this isn’t yourbest behaved of food stuffsso... whoops. Technicallynot a vegetable, but a fruit –a berry – and closely relatedto tobacco and deadlynightshade. Americans mightknow it as eggplant, Indiansas brinjal and in Trinidad themeloongen. InBirmingham it is known asthe ‘oroight mayte whazzatbab?’ (sorry Dad, couldn’tresist)
Because of its seeds the fruitcan be quite bitter, which iscommonly countered withsalting in the preparatorystages of cooking whichsupposedly removes bothexcess moisture and bitterness.
You can fry it, oven roast it,use it to vanquish LordVoldemort and it tastessimply divine cut intochunks, drizzled with oliveoil, oven-roast for 30 – 40minutes or so at 200C andthen seasoned with sea saltand black pepper. A goodprice is 50p per auberginedown yer local (market),rising up to £1 and above insupermarkets.
Andwhy else do I dote onthis delicious delicacy?Well, believe it or not, theaubergine is fast gaining areputation as a purveyor ofgreat spiritual comfort and
enlightenment. In recentmonths, two gentlemen (yes,two!) have on two separateoccasions discovered a sacredsign or symbol within theseeds. To ebay with youaubergine!
My advice: if you haven’talready, get your hands on anaubergine and learn to love
again.
��
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 39
THE VEGETARIAN CHARITY
Needy young vegetarians up to and include the ageof 25 years can receive grants from the Charitywhich also provides funds to promotevegetarianism among the young.
Donations and legacies are most welcome toensure that we can continue with our valuablework.
Our fully funded vegan cookery course, held everyAugust, is open to vegetarians and vegans aged16-25 years.
Visit our website www.vegetariancharity.org.ukfor more information
Or contact: Grants Secretary, PO Box 473, CreweCW3 OWU
Registered Charity No 294767
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 41
� AUGUST
First French Vegan Festival
Wednesday 19 August - Wednesday
26 August
Largentière, in Ardèche
There will be concerts, discussions, food
etc
Vegan Venture Course
Saturday 22 August, 9 am to 5 pm
Vegan cookery day for veg*ns aged 16
to 25 at the Vegetarian Society Cordon
Vert cookery school near Manchester,
funded by The Vegetarian Charity in
memory of the late Maxwell Lee.
Application forms from The Vegetarian
Charity, PO Box 473, Crewe CW3 0WU
www.vegetariancharity.org.uk
� SEPTEMBER
London Vegan Festival
Sunday 6 September, 11 am to 8 pm
Sponsored by The Vegan Society
Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street,
London W8.
Speakers, music, stalls, food, a great day
out for everyone. Entrance £2, under-
16s free
www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/festival
Tel. 020 8670 9585,
Festival of Life (raw food)
Saturday 26 September, 10.30 am to
11.30 pm
Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square,
Holborn, London WC1R 4RL.
Party from 7.30pm. All-Day tickets £10
(concessions £8), day or evening £6
(£4). Stalls, music, organic market, raw
kitchen gadgets, clowns, songs, poets,
talks on eco and raw living, meditation
etc. www.festivaloflife.net
The Incredible Veggie Roadshow
Saturday 26 September 10.30 am to
4.30 pm
Town Hall Cheltenham
Food tastings, cookery demonstrations,
talks, free diet and health advice, stalls,
competitions, beauty products, books,
vegan food products, information, and
campaign news. FREE entry.
www.viva.org.uk/roadshows09/cheltenham
.html
�OCTOBER
Leicester Vegan Fair
Saturday 10 October
Christchurch, 105a Clarendon Park Road,
Leicester, LE2 3AH
Leicester’s largest vegetarian and vegan
event. www.leicesterveganfair.co.uk
Veggies 25th Anniversary Weekend
Saturday 17 October to Sunday 18
October
http://www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=
1304
Tel. 0845 458 9595 / 07870861837
West Midlands Vegan Festival
Saturday 24 October, 11am - 5pm,
Wulfrun Hall, Wolves Civic, North Street,
Wolverhampton WV1 1RG
Featuring 50+ stalls, several caterers; 3
separate rooms each with a full
programme of talks, cookery demos,
entertainment etc. £1 admission.
Organised by Midlands Vegan Campaigns -
01527 458395
www.midlandsveganfestival.org.uk
2nd West African Veg Congress
Thursday 29 October to Sunday 1
November
Accra, Ghana
With festival on World Vegan Day
www.ivu.org/africa
� NOVEMBER (World Vegan Month)
World Vegan Day
Sunday 1 November
www.worldveganday.org
4th Asian Vegetarian Congress, Batam,
Indonesia
Friday 6 to Tuesday 10 November
www.avc2009.org
Vegan Society Annual General Meeting
Saturday 21 November
Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square,
London, WC1R 4RL
This is a chance for members to vote on
resolutions that have been put forward
prior to the meeting. Refreshments will be
available.
Start and finish times will appear in the
Winter Vegan
� DECEMBER
Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre
Sunday 6 December
Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street,
London W8
10am – 5pm
Admission £1, children under 11 free
http://www.livingwithoutcruelty.org.uk
Tel. 01732 364546 [email protected]
12th International Animal Rights Day
Thursday 10 December
Tel. 0114 272 2220 [email protected]
East Midlands Vegan Festival
Saturday 12 December
Tel 0845 458 9595
www.veggies.org.uk/veganfestival
Global Day of Action
Saturday 12 December
International Demonstrations on Climate
Change
http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org
Updated diaries and events information can be viewed at www.vegansociety.com
This information has been provided by the event organisers.
THE VEGAN SOCIETY LOCAL CONTACTS
Local Contacts are Vegan Society members who actvoluntarily as a point of contact for thoseinterested in the Society’s work. They are notofficial representatives of the Society and theirlevels of activity and knowledge vary according totheir individual circumstances.
Some Local Contacts run groups, in which casedetails are below their names. Groups not run byLocal Contacts and non-geographic groups arelisted separately. New Contacts are shaded.
Veg*ans = vegetarians & vegans.
For details of group activities please check thewebsite or get in touch with the Contact.When writing to a Contact please enclose a sae.If you’ve been a full member of the Society for atleast six months and would like to be a LocalContact please get in touch with the Coordinator,Patricia Tricker (see under Yorkshire, no phone callsbefore 8 pm please).
VEGAN SOCIETY LOCAL CONTACTS & GROUPS
42 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 43
ONTACTS & GROUPS
44 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
PATRONS
Freya DinshahManeka GandhiRebecca HallDr Michael KlaperMobyGordon NewmanCor NouwsWendy Turner-WebsterBenjamin Zephaniah
COUNCIL
Philip Bickley (Nutrition andHealth Spokesperson)Alex Claridge (AssistantNational Contacts’ Coordinator,Assitant Treasurer andAssistant InternationalCoordinator)Vanessa Clarke(International Coordinatorand Information Consultant)Matthew Cole (InformationConsultant)Graham Neale (Chair)George Rodger (Vice Chairand Information Consultant)Patricia Tricker (NationalContacts’ Coordinator)Stephen Walsh (Nutritionand Health Spokespersonand Treasurer)
STAFF
PR/Media OfficerAmanda Baker
Sales and Membership AssistantClaire Burrows
Head of BusinessDevelopment George Gill
Information OfficerVerity Hunt-Sheppard
Education OfficerRob Jackson
Office Manager / Finance OfficersDiana and Howard Knight
Head of Sales & ITDave Palmer
Head of Information ServicesRosamund Raha
Trademark AssistantSandrine Revert
Information OfficerCharley Roberts
Chief Executive Officer Nigel Winter
VolunteersDean BracherJohn DavisLenka PaganDave ShortlandShari Black Velvet
VEGANISM may be defined
as a way of living which
seeks to exclude, as far as
possible and practical, all
forms of exploitation of, and
cruelty to, animals for food,
clothing or any other
purpose. In dietary terms it
refers to the practice of
dispensing with all animal
produce — including meat,
fish, poultry, eggs, animal
milks, honey, and their
derivatives.
Abhorrence of the cruel
practices inherent in an
agricultural system based on
the abuse of animals is
probably the single most
common reason for the
adoption of veganism, but
many people are drawn to it
for health, ecological,
resource, spiritual and other
reasons.
If you would like more
information on veganism a
free Information Pack is
available from the Vegan
Society.
THE VEGAN SOCIETY was
formed in England in
November 1944 by a group
of vegetarians who had
recognised the ethical
compromises implicit in
lacto-vegetarianism (ie dairy
dependent). Today, the
Society continues to highlight
the breaking of the strong
maternal bond between the
cow and her new-born calf
within just four days; the
dairy cow’s proneness to
lameness and mastitis; her
subjection to an intensive
cycle of pregnancy and
lactation; our unnatural and
unhealthy taste for cows’
milk; and the de-oxygenation
of river water through
contamination with cattle
slurry.
If you are already a vegan or
vegan sympathiser, please
support the Society and help
increase its influence by
joining. Increased membership
means more resources to
educate and inform.
LISTINGS
CUMBRIA
DEVON
DORSET
HAMPSHIRE
NEW FOREST - The Barn Vegan GuestHouse. En Suite rooms, evening meals.Perfect for walking/cycling etc 023 80292531 or www.veggiebarn.net
ISLE OF WIGHT
B SUSSEX
WALES
B YORKSHIRE
WHITBY B&B FALCON GUESTHOUSE.Vegan/Vegetarian Quiet location, sevenminute’s walk from centre and harbour.Lounge and sunny breakfast room. Tea making facilities. Non smokingthroughout.Ample breakfast with organic fare. £24p.p.p.n(for couple) tel 01947 603 507
Pyrenean mountain village in southernFrance. Enjoy our vegan B&B. PhoneKaren or Matthew on 00 33 56166 9195www.veganholidayfrance.com
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 45
people animals environment
Donald Watson House
21 Hylton Street
Hockley
Birmingham B18 6HJ
Tel: 0845 45 88244
Fax: 0121 523 1749
www.vegansociety.com
THE VEGAN DISCOUNT CARD
DISCOUNT CARD
PUBLICATIONS
HOLIDAYS ABROAD
(UK) HOLIDAYS
CLASSIFIEDS
PERSONAL
ORGANISATIONS
SANCTUARY IN DESPERATE NEED
Hillfields Animal Sanctuary, near Bromsgrove West Midlands, has 300mouths to feed. The owner is battlingagainst almost impossible odds anddesperately needs help, both practicaland financial. Please contact
Website www.hillfields-animal-sanctuary.com
Save A LifeAdopt A Goat
The ideal gift for the person who has
everything. We take into care those
who have suffered from neglect,
abuse and abandonment. Providing a
loving home for the rest of their days
Buttercup Sanctuary for goats,
Maidstone, Kent, ME17 4JU
Tel: (01622) 746410
Registered Charity: 1099627
www.Buttercups.org.uk
The Christian Vegetarian Association UK(CVAUK) promotes a plant based way oflife as it represents good, responsibleChristian Stewardship for all God’screation. For further information on ourwork or to join us visitwww.christianvegetarian.co.uk or
“Jesus was a vegetarian”www.donoteatus.org
Divine Frog Web Services. Veganstandards compliant website design,development, implementation,maintenance, email, domain nameregistration, hosting and eco-hosting.FREE website health check for yourcurrent site.
www.divinefrog.co.ukthe professional choice.
Whom this may concern,Ready made polenta which is available inyour local Wal*mart – Asda, makes apassable substitute for cheese insandwiches and salads when grated. Be kind to your Karma today, try it!With love from Christopher M
DISCOUNT CARD
REFERENCE CODE
This card entitles the
bearer to discounts at
a range of outlets,
restaurants and hotels.
A full list of discounts
is available from
The Vegan Society.
Ref:TIB 009
VALID FROM
UNTIL
THE VEGAN
AUGUST 2009
NOVEMBER 2009
INTERNET SERVICES
SHOPPING
CLASSIFIEDS
46 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
ADVERTISEMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED
BY 7 OCTOBER 2009
FOR INCLUSION IN THE WINTER
2009 ISSUE OFTHE VEGAN
CONTACT:
0121 523 1733
CONDITIONS
OF ACCEPTANCE:
Advertisements are accepted
subject to their satisfying the
condition that the products
advertised are entirely free from
ingredients derived from animals;
that neither products nor
ingredients have been tested on
animals; and that the content of
such ads does not promote, or
appear to promote, the use of
non-vegan commodities.
Books, records, tapes, etc.
mentioned in advertisements
should not contain any material
contrary to vegan principles.
Advertisements may be accepted
from catering establishments that
are not run on exclusively vegan
lines, provided that vegan meals
are available and that the
wording of such ads reflects this.
MISCELLANEOUS
TheVeganSocietytrademarkis theauthenticinternational standard forvegan products.
Our logo provides an easy andtrusted way to promote yourcruelty-free goods and servicesto the growing number ofvegans in the UK andworldwide.
Trademark holders benefit frominstant recognition, promotionin The Vegan magazine,discounted advertising rates,and a listing on the VeganSociety website.
It’s good for you, good for theVegan Society, and good forvegans.
For more information on thetrademark, contact George Gill on (0121) 5231733 or [email protected] can also read about thetrademark on our website atwww.vegansociety.com
APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEESThe Vegetarian Charity would like to hear fromcommitted vegetarians and vegans who are givingthought to becoming trustees.Throughout the year trustees consider applicationsfrom young vegetarians and vegans in financialneed, as well as those applying to attend our fullyfunded annual vegan cookery course.Trustees are expected to attend two meetings ayear – one in London and one in Manchester.Reasonable expenses will be reimbursedIf you have the time to commit we would beinterested to hear what you feel you can contributeto the running of our Charity.In the first instance please contactThe Grants Secretary PO Box 473, Crewe CW3 OWUOr e-mail: [email protected] information on our Charity can be found onour web site: www.vegetariancharity.org.uk
manashantii.com
WANTED10 VEGANSFORECO HOMETel: 0118 9875234EM: [email protected]: 07762 904079Skype: telepathicmichael
DISCOUNT CARD
MEMBERSHIP / RENEWALI wish to become a member and support the work of the Vegan Society.
I wish to renew my membership.
Membership No. (if known)......................................................................
Name:................................................................................Address:..........................................................................................
Postcode:........................................Tel:..........................................................Email:..................................................................
Date of Birth: (for security purposes)........../.........../..........Occupation:.....................................................................................
Please tick this box if you are a dietary vegan. This entitles you to voting rights in the Society’s elections if aged 18+.
Please treat my membership subscription as Gift Aid. I have paid UK income or capital gains tax equal to the amount the Society reclaims.
My income is less than £8000 per year and I qualify for the low income discount of 33%.*
I wish to enrol other members of my household for an additional £7 each.**
A copy of the Society’s rules (Memo & Articles of Association) can
be viewed on our website or at our office. Alternatively you may buy
a copy for £5.
Please give full names of additional members and specify if dietary vegan and / or under 18. (If more than four additional members please attach separate sheet.)
Individual £21
* Less £7 low-income deduction (if applicable)
** Add £7 per additional household member
Under 18 years old £7
Memo & Articles of Association £5
Overseas: Europe +£5 / Rest of World +£7
Donation
Total:
Cheque / PO payable to The Vegan Society
Credit / Debit card (enter details below)
Direct Debit (phone for details)
Website: www.vegansociety.com
Payment may be made by
credit card, sterling
International money order
or sterling cheque drawn
on a British bank.
Membership How to pay
Please debit my Visa / Mastercard
Access / Visa Delta / Connect / Switch
Solo card number
Name on card:.........................................................................Signature:..................................................................
Today’s date........./........./.......Start date:......../........Expiry date......../........Switch Issue No.:.....................
�������������������
21
The Vegan l Autumn 2009 47
� Eat plenty of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables
including dark green leafy vegetables.
� Eat plenty of wholefoods (brown bread, brown rice etc).
� Include in your diet each day at least three micrograms of
vitamin B12 from fortified foods or 10 micrograms from a
supplement.
� Expose your face and arms to the sun for 15 minutes per
day whenever you can (if your shadow is much longer
than you the sun is not strong enough). If your sun
exposure is limited (for example in a British winter), or if
you are dark skinned, make sure that you get 10 to 20
micrograms of vitamin D2 each day from fortified food or
a supplement.
� Ensure your diet includes a source of iodine such as kelp or
take a supplement. It is important to take neither too
much nor too little, since both overdose and underdose can
be harmful. A good iodine intake is 15 to 30 grams of kelp
(kombu) per year or a daily supplement containing 100 to
150 micrograms of iodine.
� Try to get at least 500 mg per day of calcium from calcium
rich foods or supplements.
� Consume a tablespoonful of ground flaxseed or a teaspoonful
of (uncooked) flaxseed oil each day if possible or consume
other omega 3 rich oils. For example you could use two
tablespoons of rapeseed oil (which does not have a strong
taste) in place of other vegetable oils such as sunflower or
corn oil.
To ensure that vegans maintain good health it is important to:
VEGAN NUTRITION GUIDELINES
Kate Sweeney & Vega
48 The Vegan l Autumn 2009
CROSSWORD
QUICK CROSSWORD
set by Kate Sweeney
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD
set by Vega
Solutions to the summer crosswords (Quick:left/Cryptic:right)
The winner of the Cryptic crossword: Helen Baxter
The winner of the Quick crossword: Christine Ansell
Across1 Plant with pinkish leafstalks usually eaten cooked and sweetened (7)5 Light meal (5)8 Outside paved area (5)9 Yarrow (7)
10 Black _ _ _ _ bean (4)11 Fruit-flavoured soft drink (7)13 Shrubs having white flowers and berrylike fruit (6)15 Harvest from the ground (3,3)18 Liquorice-flavoured (7)19 Sharp, tart (4)23 Type of primrose; flattening (7)24 Channel made in the soil for seeds (5)25 Tagliatelle, for example (5)26 Pudding (7)
Down1 Full, satiated (7)2 Undo (5)3 _ _ _ _ vera (4)4 Kind of shoots used in salads
and Asian cuisine (6)5 Dressing for plates of cold
vegetables (5,3)6 Pear-shaped tropical fruit (7)7 Cabbage with coarse curly leaves (4)
12 Mustard and cauliflower genus (8)14 Suppers (7)16 Small baked dish, canape (7)17 Packed in, squeezed together (6)20 Ovoid fruit which yields oil (5)21 Large brown seaweed (4)22 Mixes in, supplements (4)
Please send in solutions to eithercrossword along with your name, addressand T-Shirt size by 7 October 2009Prizes next issue for both crosswords:Our new T-Shirt in your size.Across
1 Intrigue cheat, lie endlessly but highly moral like veganism (7)5 Crystal forces hold back low heels (5)8 French one the German followed beneath (5)9 Original lot envy originality (7)
10 Scottish mountain eats a legume (4)11 Fit round queen on pound for singular 22 (7)13 Green divers devour herb (6)15 Acid in tea - big ship sunk without it (6)18 Galley I somersault nimbly (7)19 Record 99 is long story (4)23 Guillotine havoc before fuss for fruit (7)24 Vase containing you familiar French volte face (1-4)25 Gnat truncated dwarf (5)26 Like Kate’s 26 across: just pudding (7)
Down 1 Placid - a lake Quebec mixed up after losing century (7)2 Hercules - you decapitated really ancient heads of many-
headed monster (5)3 Edible ears of commanding officer, Royal Navy (4)4 Pulse fast? One pound (6)5 A fab nave collapsed - Hannibal’s vegan accompaniment to a
fine Chianti? (4,4)6 Plane control surface or alien innovation (7)7 Second old year a vegan staple 10 (4)
12 Move population to safety, lose 100, gain 50 instead, appraise (8)14 Cornus tail club (3-4)16 Clown raised barrel for vegan meat and milk producer (7)17 Singular 22 from crazy old man (6)20 Cut back dried plum (5)21 Medicine ball lost pound but gained metre (4)22 Insane knock out rises (4)