n TRUTH OR DAIRY – NOW ON DVD Thanks to Vegan Society Patron Benjamin Zephaniah, The Vegan Society’s documentary Truth or Dairy is now available on DVD. Presented by the poet himself, and featuring Moby, River Phoenix, Heather Small, Martin Shaw and others, including Daisy the pantomime cow, Truth or Dairy was first produced on video in 1994. More than a decade on, it has more than stood the test of time and remains an excellent introduction to veganism and a great resource for convincing people of the benefits of a vegan diet. Truth or Dairy is available from the Vegan Society, priced £7.99 www.vegansociety.com/shop T. 01424 427 393.
n WILD FISH PUT AT RISK BY FISH FARMS
photo: Jashu Shah, Mumbai, India
Please send submissions to: The Animal Charity Book 5826 92nd St. Lubbock, TX 79424 USA
Please note that all submissions become the property of the editors, so authors must be willing to relinquish copyrights.
n VEGAN FIRM AWARDED ETHICAL COMPANY STATUS
n VEGAN SOCIETY HISTORY – CAN YOU HELP?
Material should be sent to the Vegan Society offices, c/o Dave Palmer, or to George Rodger, 17 Howburn Place, Aberdeen, AB11 6XT.
Heather Killough-Walden, a member of the Go Vegan Texas! collective, is accepting submissions of prose, poetry and short essays about veganism, animal rights and animal welfare, to compile into a new book, the proceeds of which will be donated to no-kill animal shelters. All submissions will be entered into a contest and the winners will be chosen by the end of August and announced in September 2005. Deadline for submissions: 31st May 2005. Maximum length: 1500 words.
A study conducted at the University of Alberta, Canada, has found that fish farming is having a detrimental effect on stocks of wild fish, by producing massive increases in sea-louse infection. It had been previously thought that fish farms contain parasite levels. In large numbers, sea-lice act by sucking nutrients from fish faster than the fish themselves can feed. In a salmon farm in a fjord in British Colombia, sea-louse production was 30,000 times normal ambient levels. Over 5,500 wild pink and chum salmon were tested by researchers on their route from freshwater spawning grounds to the Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity of the farm, parasite levels were found to be 73 times higher than normal, and remained raised 30 km downstream. The researchers believe the results to also be relevant to fish farms in America, Ireland, Norway and Scotland.
A history of The Vegan Society is being prepared. This will take the form of a small book, and parts of it will also feature in a DVD. We have appealed for archive material before, resulting in the loan of several items and the unearthing of new information, including details of the photo of an early committee used in a recent issue of The Vegan. Thanks to Christina Harvey and all contributors. We are still looking for suitable loans or gifts. In particular any former Society badge, especially the first-ever (1962). Also photo(s) of the Garden Parties at Kathleen Jannaway’s home.
n CONTRIBUTIONS INVITED FOR NEW VEGAN BOOK
Vegan Society Trademark holder and winner of The Vegan Society Best Food Product 2004 award, The Redwood Wholefood Company, has been awarded ethical company status by the Ethical Company Organisation. The ECO analyses companies on 15 specific criteria under the headings of environment, animals and people. Keith Stott, managing director of Redwood, was delighted: ‘Redwood has long been renowned for its ethical stance and this accreditation endorses our philosophy of producing delicious natural plant-based healthy foods that help protect people, the environment and animals’. Redwood joins Green People, Honesty Cosmetics and Mooncup as Vegan Society Trademark holders with ethical company status. www.thegoodshoppingguide.co.uk
n MAXWELL LEE 1931 – 2005
A familiar figure at Vegan Society AGMs as well as at congresses around the world, Maxwell was best known as President of the Vegetarian Society (which he served in various capacities for half a century) and for his work with the International Vegetarian Union and the European Vegetarian Union. Vanessa Clarke attended the funeral in Stockport on behalf of the Vegan Society and the European Vegetarian Union. After the service, Maxwell’s wife Sylvia and his three daughters welcomed guests with a lavish variety of refreshments to the background of Maxwell’s last musical request: Edith Piaf’s Je ne regrette rien. A particularly apt reminiscence came from a close friend who had been best man at Maxwell and Sylvia’s wedding 45 years ago. The young Maxwell, who desperately wanted a motor car but only had a motorcycle licence, discovered that he was legally entitled to drive a bubble car provided the reverse function was disabled. He accordingly acquired a trendy little Heinkel and never looked back. The image of Maxwell bombing along in a rotund little vehicle that was absolutely not for turning (the only way to do this was to get out and push rather hard) was not lost on the many friends who at one time or another had experienced how difficult if not impossible it was to deflect Max from a course of action that he believed to be right and intended to carry through. The funeral was attended by about a hundred people, including many from Parkdale, headquarters of the Vegetarian Society, where a tree planting ceremony will be held and Maxwell’s ashes scattered on 17th September between the AGM and supper. The Vegan l Summer 2005
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