The Vegan Summer 2012

£2.50 The magazine of The Vegan Society Summer 2012

Still two flavours but now available in two sizes

New Look VEG 1 Supplement news * events * recipes * reviews * articles * and much more

One world. Many lives. Our choice. vegansociety.com

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£2.50 The magazine of The Vegan Society Summer 2012

Still two flavours but now available in two sizes

editorial

in this issue 2 4 7 8 11 13 15 16 18 21 22 24 27 30 32 35 37 39 41 42 44 45 48

Highlights From the CEO New Initiatives AGM 2012 and Trustee Vacancies International News Vegan Advocacy NOPE SHOW HIPPO Active Vegans Vegan Runners Shoparound Recipe Jewellery Youth and Education VEG 1 Hamster Care Vegan Nutrition Guidelines Postbag Events Local Contacts List Staff and Council Listings Classifieds Crosswords

Antibiotic resistant superbugs and a lack of new antibiotics means that common infections could turn into untreatable diseases Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. She called for measures to tackle the problem including suggesting restrictions on the use of antibiotics in farmed animals. However, most people are still not realising that farming animals is a big part of the problem. Our film Making the Connection is on our website (Chapter 7: Ethics) and discusses this topic and so if you hear anyone mention superbugs please do send them to our site to take a look.

In this issue we are calling for individuals with relevant skills to join our board of Trustees: we do hope that some members will step forward for this. We also feature an article about the show stopping Vegan Pavilion that we recently had at the Natural and Organic Products Europe show, an article about the amazing work done by HIPPO in Samburu, an article about avoiding non-vegan jewellery, an item about our plans to try to increase membership of The Vegan Society and an article about our vitamin supplement VEG 1 which has a new look.

I hope that you have a lovely summer.

Rosamund Raha Editor

The Vegan Society

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Donald Watson House

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21 Hylton Street

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Hockley

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Birmingham

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B18 6HJ

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UK

Local rate 0845 45 88244 l Tel. 0121 523 1730 l Fax. 0121 523 1749 l e-mail: info@vegansociety.com l www.vegansociety.com

Editor Rosamund Raha Design www.doughnutdesign.co.uk

© 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 liability for any matter in the magazine. The acceptance of advertisements (including inserts) does not imply endorsement.

All contributions sent in for publication are considered, however, because more materials are received by the Vegan Society than there is space available in the magazine not all will be published. Contributions intended for publication are welcomed, but unsolicited materials will not be returned. Contributions will usually be edited.

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highlights WEBSITE Our new ‘cakes’ page is the second most visited page on our website and receives around 20,000 visits per month. It seems that people like vegan cake!

VEGAN GP FEATURED IN THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL

MAKING HISTORY In fulfilment of our ‘Animal Ethics’ theme, we have launched a great new video clip called Making History where we point out how the social movement evolved: two hundred years ago human slavery was abolished in the USA. One hundred years ago women were given the right to vote in many countries including the UK and the USA. Fifty years ago the civil rights movement won their battle in America.

But despite this progress for human justice, non-human ‘farmed’ animals are still used and abused. We call on viewers that if they believe all animals seek life and freedom, they should have the strength to follow their convictions, and try veganism. We ask non-vegans to sign up at www.veganpledge.com for free vegan mentoring so that they too can be part of Making History.

Vegan Society Nutrition and Health Spokesperson Philip Bickley made a rapid response to a British Medical Journal (BMJ) article: The Greening of Medicine which was published on line: http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.d8360?tab=responses# The article was later published in the print version of the BMJ. BMJ 2012;344:e869 http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.e869

Check out the Making History video clip here: www.vegansociety.com

VEGAN FOR THE ANIMALS BOOKLET Our great new Vegan for the Animals booklet is available to download here: www.vegansociety.com/resources/ downloads.aspx or contact The Vegan Society for free copies.

MARATHON DES SABLES EGGS AND DAIRY LEAFLET Our new Eggs and Dairy leaflet is available to download here: www.vegansociety.com/resources/ downloads.aspx or contact The Vegan Society for free copies.

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On 6 April to 16 April Fiona Oakes raised money for The Vegan Society, as well as her sanctuary and her team, by entering the Marathon des Sables (154 miles across the Sahara in temperatures of up to 50 degrees C°. More details to follow in the Autumn magazine. We publicised this widely including getting a three-page photo feature on Fiona’s run into Top Sante magazine.

NEW WORLD VEGAN DAY AND WORLD VEGAN MONTH LOGOS We have two new logos which can be used by The Vegan Society and affiliated groups.

FOOD ETHICS COUNCIL'S 'BEYOND BUSINESS AS USUAL' ONLINE SURVEY We commented on the Food Ethics Council's 'Beyond Business As Usual' online survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/84 7826/Beyond-Business-As-Usual

MUMSNET We ran a Feeding Your Vegan Infant - with confidence competition on Mumsnet to emphasise that well planned vegan diets can be suitable for babies and children.

RADIO INTERVIEWS Our PR/Media Officer Amanda Baker was interviewed by BBC WM (West Midlands radio) about healthy vegan diets, triggered by questions around the health of lapsed vegans and labgrown meat.

Amanda was also interviewed by talkSport radio for their weekly roundup on Sunday 26 Feb about healthy vegan nutrition, and practical tips on vegan living.

On Tuesday 13 March our Head of Information, Rosamund Raha, was interviewed on the Adrian Goldburg show BBC Radio West Midlands about the Red Meat and Mortality report that came out that day. A butcher also appeared on the show to put the other side of the argument.

MEDIA STATEMENTS We commented on Daily Mail online on the EU plan to research insects as food: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article2093813/Four-legs-good-legs-better-EU-offers-3million-Euros-research-using-insects-foodsburgers.html (highly rated out of 90 comments, with 50 ‘rate ups’).

We commented on Huffington Post UK online on research on dairy milk in adult human diets: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/social/treaclemine?action= comments We commented on The Independent online, responding to Michael Mansfield on abolition of meat: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/micha el-mansfield--abolishing-meat-is-an-ethical-issue-thatrequires-everyones-attention-6294225.html (top rated by readers out of 417 comments, with 30 ‘likes’).

We posted on The Guardian Word of Mouth blog about vegan recipes from non-vegan celebrity chefs: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/j an/24/vegetarian-cookbooks-pick-crop (highly rated out of 176 comments, with 24 ‘recommends’).

VEGAN PAVILION The Vegan Society Business Development team had a Vegan Pavilion featuring our trademarked companies at the Natural & Organic Products Europe trade show on 1-2 April at London’s Olympia. See pages 14 and 15 for more details.

We secured the publication of two vegan recipes on the Climate Week Cuisine website.

VEGAN SOCIETY CEO BLOG Vegan Society CEO Jasmijn de Boo has started a blog on diet and the environment which is published on the Transition Network website: www.transitionnetwork.org/stories

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from the chief executive

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have clear objectives. We have identified indicators of success for each output, making monitoring and evaluation of our work easier.

ummer means time for change, and opportunities. You may have noticed some changes in The Vegan and on our website recently. Last year a rebranding process was started, aimed at giving the Society a modern, professional and positive look. We are now starting to plan our work differently.

We have identified long-term outcomes aimed at improving knowledge and practice, and behaviour change in the public and private sector, and at individual consumer and citizen level.

We have used medium-term outcomes to guide the project plans. The exact wording in the logical framework is still being finalised, but the outcomes include:

Vision and mission Our vision is a world in which humans do not exploit other animals. To achieve this, the result of our work should be that people believe all exploitation and cruelty to non-human animals should end, and that respect for all living beings should be increased.

The mission of the Society is to make veganism an easily adopted and widely recognised approach to reducing animal and human suffering and environmental damage by means of meaningful, peaceful and factual dialogue with individuals and organisations.

The Society aims to promote a way of life 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.

It sets out to do this by: 1. Furthering knowledge of and interest in sound nutrition and in veganism and the vegan method of agriculture as a means of increasing the potential of the earth to the physical, moral and economic advantage of humankind.

2. Encouraging the development and use of alternatives to all commodities derived wholly or partly from animals.

Logical pathways to a vegan world Using a ‘logical framework’, in which activities lead to desired outputs, leading in turn to desired outcomes, and ultimately help to achieve our vision, staff members prepared their project plans for July 2012 – June 2013 in January. On 21 January we had a project planning day where these plans were discussed with Council. The plans include budgets and

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“Our vision is a world in which humans do not exploit other animals.

To achieve this, the result of our work should be that people believe all exploitation and cruelty to non-human animals should end, and that respect for all living beings should be increased.”

n A focus on food labelling and other policies, regulations and legislation relevant to vegans; n Attitudinal changes in wider society towards the use of non-human animals for human purposes, the environment and social justice issues related to food production and consumption; n Consumers buying more vegan products; and n A strong worldwide organisation that is competent and pro-active in addressing vegan issues in an efficient and appropriate manner.

Where do we start?

Having a baseline of information helps to inform our approach. For example, it is important to know what the current level of provision of vegan catering is in schools, so that we can advocate for more options to become available.

Our Education Officer Daniel Therkelsen, contacted several catering providers, including Sodexo and 3663 and found that the list of vegan options is actually quite impressive. Understanding that the supply is not the bottleneck, we can now contact school chefs, and encourage uptake of more options in school menus.

On another level, through Freedom of Information requests to around 60 local authorities our Advocacy Officer, Rebecca Henderson, recently obtained information about the level of vegan catering to older people in different communities.

The results of her short survey showed that many caterers provided vegan options, but that demand for vegan catering could not be identified.

Whether older vegans are not aware of the services offered in their community, or whether there are simply not sufficient numbers of older vegans in need of such services is yet to be established.

Themes and expanding the Society The existing strategic plan started in 2010 and will run to 2013. The project plans for next year are in line with most strategic objectives agreed in 2010.

However, we will be working on a new strategic plan later this year.

The strategic plan identified three themes that could be used to focus our outreach activities, although we are still using messages from different themes each year.

The theme for last year was “How veganism benefits global food security and the fight against climate change”.

Currently the focus is on our main beneficiaries, the other animals (“animal ethics”). In addition to several leaflets and posters, we have developed an innovative engaging tool to reach nonvegans online (see highlights pages).

Next year we will work to “Improve the quality and availability of vegan food by caterers, manufacturers and retailers (including improved labelling)”.

From September, staff members will be attending hospitality and catering

shows to take the vegan message to mainstream audiences. Staff members came back with positive experiences after attending these types of shows during the first half of 2011.

At the same time we hope to empower local groups to run events. The grants and sponsorship budget will be increased compared to this year, with the aim of supporting more initiatives by a wider range of individuals and organisations. The grants are a helping hand for many grassroots groups who will often supplement the Vegan Society sponsorship with funds received from other sources and funds raised directly.

Running Vegan Society stalls at vegan events, or organising local activities are just some of the possibilities. The more such initiatives, the more staff time can be diverted to activities that can be beneficial for the movement as a whole. More details on the grants will follow in the Autumn issue.

The theme for next year is also ideal to highlight the value of the trademark.

Our Head of Business Development, George Gill, and his team are continuing to grow the brand (see highlights pages). So much so that we will be recruiting a new Trademark Assistant on an initial one-year contract from July.

United positivity I would like to share more of our plans with you, our valued members and supporters, but unfortunately I am running out of space in this magazine.

Once the projects have started in July we hope to make more details available. I am excited about the plans and am looking forward to their implementation. I hope that our impact next planning year will be even bigger than this planning year.

I believe the vegan movement has come a long way, and living as a vegan today is already so much easier than 10-15 years ago. Unfortunately, however, the movement has sometimes been plagued by infighting. The only beneficiary of this negativity is the animal exploiting industries, who simply ignore our fragmented movement. Rather, they just get on with their propaganda and are well-resourced, professional and a force to be reckoned with when lobbying and influencing decisionmakers. Let’s turn that around and become an effective movement ourselves. We all want the same end goal: to end exploitation of other animals. Let our common beliefs unite us and let’s leave our differences behind us.

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new initiatives on society membership Matthew Cole, Chair of Council

We’re delighted to be able to report that there has been a modest increase in the membership numbers in recent months. We’ve been working hard to think about how we can build on that upturn, in light of what we’ve learned from the current members’ survey (which we reported on in the Winter 2011 issue of The Vegan).

We’ve decided to introduce the following changes, which we believe will make membership of the Society more inclusive and make membership more attractive across the vegan community: n A new reduced life membership fee of £200 for members aged 65 or over will be trialled for 6 months. This represents a saving of £150 compared with the standard life membership fee of £350. It is also possible to become a life member by paying by Direct Debit: £15 per month for two years, or £30 per month for one year. Another option or a possibility to combine the two is to join a ‘Payroll Giving’ scheme. A monthly donation is deducted from your gross salary, and the taxman adds 20% at the lower tax rate. For example, it would cost donors who pledge £10 per month and pay 20% tax only £8 while the charity will receive £10. For tax payers at the higher tax rate, a £10 donation would only cost you £6 with £4 added from tax.

(Gross Domestic Product).1 As part of this initiative, £3 of this membership fee will be donated to our International Outreach Fund, to support vegan groups and initiatives in developing countries. Previously members from these countries would have paid £28 per year. n Due to charity law we can only offer a token gesture in terms of a material gift but from now on all new and renewing members will be offered a free copy of The Vegan Passport, one of the Society’s most popular publications and a handy tool for vegans on the move!

The current members’ survey revealed very high levels of satisfaction with the current cost of membership, and in light of that, we’ve decided to maintain all other membership fees at their current rate for the time being, but we will keep that situation under review.

n The ‘low income’ threshold will be increased from £8000 per year to £12000 per year, so that many more members can take advantage of the low income membership rate of £14 per year (compared to the standard rate of £21 per year).

These changes will take effect from 1 July 2012, at the start of our new financial year. We are also planning a survey of former members of the Society, combined with an invitation to them to renew their membership. This will help us to better understand former members’ reasons for leaving, how we can attract former members back, and how we can improve our retention of existing members. Taken together, we hope that these measures will help us accelerate the upturn in membership. A strong and growing membership is crucial to maintain a vigorous Society, with as loud a voice as possible to advocate for vegans and veganism. Many thanks again to everyone who took part in the members’ survey and for your continued support as Vegan Society members! Your suggestions on how we can best provide a service to you and new members are also welcome.

n We will introduce a reduced membership rate of £20 per year for members from countries with a low level of GDP

1. African countries; most Asian countries; Latin American countries, and some countries in Europe

n A new concessionary rate of £14 per year will be introduced for full-time students.

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vegan society AGM 2012 and Trustee Vacancies Annual General Meeting of The Vegan Society on Sunday 2 December 2012 in London from 1-4pm he Vegan Society is excited to announce the venue of our next AGM. It will be held at the Kensington Town Hall in London, which is the same building as where the Animal Aid Christmas Fayre will be held on 2 December, although there is a separate entrance to our AGM.

argument from the proposer, and, where warranted, comments of equal maximum word length (200 words) in response from Council.

Vegan Society members are encouraged to attend the AGM and have their say, elect or meet new trustees, and share their thoughts with other members. The location makes it very easy to attend the Christmas Fayre and our AGM, so we hope to see many of you on 2 December. We have set up a free page where people can register for the AGM: http://www.amiando.com/TheVegan SocietyAGM2012.html

The Vegan Society has vacancies for up to six skilled and effective trustees. We are seeking to recruit individuals with the expertise, time and commitment to become a trustee to provide strategic direction and act as an advocate for The Vegan Society.

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PROPOSALS FOR RESOLUTION Proposals for resolution, to be considered

by Council for inclusion on the AGM agenda, must be received at the Society’s office not later than 5pm Monday 30 July.

For your guidance Ordinary Proposals should: n be proposed and seconded by paidup full (not supporter) members; n in the interests of economy and clarity, not exceed 200 words, including any supporting material; n propose some form of action; n propose one single action i.e. they must not be composite proposals; n not simply comprise a statement of opinion.

Members considering submitting Special Proposals (those seeking to change the Memorandum or Articles of Association) are advised to contact the Company Secretary (Jasmijn de Boo) or the Chair (Matthew Cole) c/o the Society’s office.

Special Proposals must not exceed 200 words. Proposers are requested to limit their proposals to two.

At the Council meeting of 22 January 2012, Council decided that in the case of proposals for the AGM, there shall be an original proposal and supporting 8

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JOIN OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND VEGANISE THE WORLD

Commitment Trustee roles are voluntary and unpaid (although genuine expenses can be claimed). Some travel to attend meetings may be required, though the Society is currently investigating the possibility of making more use of telephone and/or video conferencing to ease the travel demands for trustees who are located a long way away from the Birmingham office. Within 6 months of becoming a trustee, new Board members are expected to attend a one-day training event, which will familiarise you with the key aspects of the trustee’s governance role. The Society will pay for this.

Why you Being a trustee provides you with the opportunity to help build a stronger vegan movement, and shape the strategic direction of this vitally important institution. If you have a vision of where veganism should be going, we want to hear from you!

Being a Board member also provides you with valuable personal experience, and the satisfaction that your professional skills can be applied in a charity context.

The minimum time commitment totals around 14 to 16 days per year, which is made up of 8 to 10 meeting days a year, plus time between meetings to contribute to governance and strategy via email/post/telephone. Trustees may also be invited to work on subcommittees, especially in areas that match their professional expertise, to prepare documents for Council to consider.

What is it like to be a trustee Who Trustees are ultimately responsible for the charity and are also Directors of the Vegan Society as a limited company.

We are looking for experience in one or more of the following areas: n Financial/investment management/ICT n Mobilising funds and support through personal and professional networks n Human behaviour change campaigns / (social) media and PR n Legal and policy development n Nutrition and environment experts and scientists n Influencing at international level or with national institutions n Governance, particularly in the notfor-profit sector, including strategic planning

Essential trustee qualities are a cooperative and team-spirited work ethic, an understanding of good governance (see http://www.ncvovol.org.uk/governanceandleadership and http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/pu blications/cc10.asp) and a strategic way of thinking to advance veganism.

A large part of the role is managing the charity including risk management, strategic and financial planning and review, health and safety policy etc.

Candidates need a clear understanding of the difference between the role of staff and trustees. Being a trustee is about nurturing an environment in which staff and volunteers can fulfil the Society’s strategy effectively. A Council of Trustees is there to provide oversight, and agree policy and strategy.

For prospective trustees without prior experience of a governance role, these issues will be covered in the trustee induction/training funded by the Society, and experienced existing trustees are on hand to provide friendly advice and guidance.

Past minutes of Council meetings can be read here: http://www.vegansociety.com. You will need to register in the members’ area to access the minutes.

How to apply Candidacy is open to all members of the Society meeting the criteria outlined above. We are particularly keen to achieve a more diverse board of trustees and we welcome applications from all sections of the vegan community.

Each candidate must: n have been a full (not supporter) member of the Society for 12 months or longer (as at 2 December 2012);

n not be disqualified under company or charity law from being a trustee/director; n submit a written nomination duly signed by a proposer and seconder who are both paid-up full members; n submit a profile of him/herself stating his/her full name (and any previous names). The profile should provide your background in up to 500 words which may include what skills, qualifications and experience you have that will benefit the Society; what you hope to achieve as a Trustee; what your reasons are for being vegan; what experience you have of managing people and working on committees; if you were previously a Trustee, what you achieved during this time and any other information that you consider relevant.

We look forward to your applications for election at the AGM. Please address the above needs of Council that are relevant to your abilities in your personal statements as well as giving a glimpse of your personal vision for the future of promoting veganism. If you think

your skills are suited to wider outreach activities, please consider becoming a Local or Group Contact, training to be a School Speaker, becoming a mentor for the Vegan Pledge, or volunteering to help on stalls, or in the office.

If you would like to informally discuss the trustee role before making an application, please contact the Chair of Council, Matthew Cole, at: matthew.cole@vegatopia.org, ViceChair, Karen Morgan, at: Karen.vegansoc@vegatopia.org or the Company Secretary, Jasmijn de Boo, at: ceo@vegansociety.com.

For further details ask for a ‘Prospective Candidates’ Nomination Pack’ by writing ‘PCNP’ in the corner of your envelope to: The Company Secretary, The Vegan Society, Donald Watson House, 21 Hylton Street, Birmingham, B18 6HJ or by emailing ceo@vegansociety.com Nominations should be sent to the same address to arrive not later than 5pm Monday 30 July. Please mark the envelope or email ‘CONFIDENTIAL’.

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international news The latest venture by the Grundtvegans (an EU adult education project on diet, climate change and social exclusion) was a six-hour vegan cook-up for homeless people on the streets of Copenhagen in February. For a multinational bunch of amateurs arriving from various parts of Europe with just a day to get things together, the learning curve was steep, but the result was well worth the effort.

We brought an army-type stove from Paris, borrowed an enormous cooking pot from Copenhagen’s poshest vegan restaurant (www.go-firefly.com) and set about begging unwanted food from shops at closing time. Big stores turned us down flat even as they dumped huge quantities of unsold food in locked rubbish bins. Smaller shops were more generous, donating large quantities of high quality organic vegetables while individual shoppers spontaneously contributed packets of rice, chickpeas and other dry goods. This mini food mountain was loaded on to a poster-bedecked tricycle and trailer lent by animal protection group Dyrenes Alliance (www.dyrenesalliance.dk) and wobbled through the icy streets to our rented flat, where we spent hours washing, peeling and chopping veggies while Jasmine from Paris cooked 300 chocolate muffins. After filling our borrowed cooking pot, plus another one donated along the way, we had enough left over to surprise the manager of a sheltered hostel for young people with a large bag of ingredients for their cookery sessions.

The next morning we loaded everything back on to the tricycle and set up our improvised field kitchen, plus a table with leaflets, in a public square near both a main shopping street and a hostel for the homeless. Many of the recipients of our culinary efforts enjoyed discussing veganism, climate change and other topics as individuals rather than having attention always focused on their “problems”, and we learned a lot from them. Not surprisingly, perhaps - though it came as a surprise at the time - they often identified more powerfully than the general public with starving humans and even farmed animals.

A further surprise was discovering more than a hundred Danish veg*ns meeting nearby, including our friend Kirsten Jungsberg, organiser of three international vegan festivals and founder of the Danish vegan society (www.vegana.dk). Indeed, Copenhagen was full of surprises: we even found a street stall selling vegan hot dogs (www.d¯p.dk) in front of the famous Round Tower.

For our next trick we shall be cooking a vegan meal in a Swiss prison, assisted by prisoners and staff - more about this next time.

The commonality between human and animal rights and also among human belief groups becomes ever more apparent as we venture into new areas with food for all to share and find ourselves learning at least as much from others as we hope that they may learn from us.

A London University conference on Biodiversity Conservation and Animal Rights recently brought together eminent academics from a wide range of countries and disciplines, including Andrew Linzey, founder of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Sarra Tlili on animal rights in Islam, Lu Feng from Beijing on Confucian ecology and many more. The amount of knowledge on tap in the tea breaks and around the vegan lunch buffet was both inspiring and daunting, especially as I had just somewhat rashly agreed to speak on multiculturalism and animal rights at the world veg congress in San Francisco in October (see Events page). Vegan Society CEO Jasmijn de Boo will also be speaking at this event about the work of The Vegan Society.

The more deeply one probes the various belief systems in human society, including veganism, the more it appears not only that so many apparently conflicting systems share a similar ethical base, but that much of what humans think of as our “better” or “higher” nature is in fact shared with other animals. Theology becomes anthropology becomes ethology, and I find myself back at square one as I struggle to put together a contribution worthy of Golden Gate Park. Hopefully I shall be able to take inspiration from our next house guest Susianto Tseng, organiser of the 2010 world veg congress in Indonesia, together with his wife, teenage daughter and baby Vegania now two and a half. Having succeeded in bringing together Buddhists and Muslims in their thousands and founding one of the world’s most active vegan societies, he clearly has much wisdom to contribute.

Finally, former Vegan Society intern Till Strecker joins me in hoping that some of you will be able to attend the Fifth Vegan Summerfest in Berlin on Saturday 18th August (See Events page and www.berlinvegan.de) With good wishes to all, Vanessa Clarke

THE VEGAN PASSPORT The Vegan Passport is available from The Vegan Society for just £2.50. It is a pocket-sized book, with a simple message explaining what vegans do and don't eat, and why in seventythree different languages.

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vegan advocacy Rebecca Henderson

In my column in the spring edition of the magazine, I explained that The Vegan Society holds dedicated funds to be used for the relief of elderly vegans who are in conditions of need, hardship, or distress. In order to identify better their needs and so make our projects more effective, I asked older vegans to contact me, telling me about their lives and the services that they would like to use. Thank you to those older vegans who did get in touch. I was very interested to learn about your experiences of being vegan. Your input will be useful to us in shaping our programmes in the future.

None of the older vegans who contacted me thought of themselves as being in conditions of need, hardship or distress, but all identified various ways their lives could be easier. These concerns were often very similar to those of younger vegans. Some said that they found it difficult to access vegan convenience foods in their local area. The range and availability of vegan food products is something that we are working on.

We are already in contact with major manufacturers and supermarkets.

We regularly attend trade events to speak to food manufacturers directly and we also enable consumers to lobby manufacturers and retailers more

effectively themselves. Commercial organisations are always most responsive to requests for products from consumers.

Some of the older vegans who contacted me reported having difficulty finding medicines that are free from animal ingredients. This can be a problem for vegans of all ages. We have previously run articles in The Vegan on the subject and The Vegan Society website contains information on how to find and identify animal-free medications. For those without internet access, we can also provide a paper information sheet.

Several of the older vegans who contacted me mentioned being troubled by feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Research suggests that this can be a concern for older people generally.

For older vegans the problem can be particularly acute as many opportunities for older people to socialise do not cater well for vegans. We are considering a number of ways to make services aimed at older people more vegan-friendly.

These include working with professional bodies to run a seminar on vegan catering at their training and development conferences.

Older vegans may also have fewer opportunities to meet other vegans.

Those older vegans who contacted me mentioned that they do not use the internet.

That means that they miss out on one of the major opportunities to connect with other vegans. At the office, we hear from many older vegans who do not know any other vegans. One of the projects that we are considering is a telephone befriending service. Such schemes are run by various other charities (such as Deafblind UK) and they can make a real difference to users’ quality of life.

Volunteer befrienders would undertake to make regular telephone calls, usually once a week, at an agreed time and then talk to the befriendee about topics of mutual interest.

Forming links between older vegans and younger vegans could be invaluable, helping to challenge preconceptions and foster understanding. The scheme would also provide older vegans with a new opportunity to connect with other vegans.

For such a scheme to be successful, we will need volunteers who are willing to commit to making regular telephone calls. Do you think that you would be interested in participating in the scheme as a befriender? We also want to be sure that the scheme would be providing a useful service. What do older vegans think? Would such a scheme be of interest to you? Do you think that it is a service that you would want to use?

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natural and organic

products europe In April 2012, the Natural & Organic Products Europe show was held at Olympia, London.

In conjunction with two of the show’s hard-working organizers, Carol Dunning and Steven Baker, The Vegan Society Trademark team, expertly led by George Gill, arranged the first ever Vegan Pavilion at a major international show, composed of three ‘streets’ of Vegan Trademark holder stands and more than 40 Vegan Society Trademark holders around the full exhibition space.

This was a wonderful opportunity to both promote Trademarked products from just some of our Trademark holders and to present veganism in a mainstream context. The Trademark team exploited the opportunity to the full.

Trademark holders generously donated samples for complimentary bags bearing the familiar Vegan Trademark logo.

Hundreds of these bright, eye-catching, logo-bearing bags were soon visible around the exhibition and beyond.

The Vegan logo, on its yellow bag, sets out to travel the world.

The Vegan logo spreads far and wide from stand to stand and out onto the Underground. People asked:

where

did you get that Vegan Trademark bag?

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HIPPO

Help International Plant Protein Organisation

"Feeding the world with compassion – food aid with a purpose"

n Samburu, the spell of rainy weather was all too short.

So the HIPPO plant protein feeding programme had to continue. But the people of Samburu also have plenty of lovely fresh vegetables, which they’ve grown themselves.

The vegetable gardens were set up with generous help from dozens of HIPPO supporters.

Over 400 people in Samburu now have access to clean drinking water, since HIPPO helped re-commission several disused boreholes. Why were the boreholes broken and disused?

At the time, there had been nobody who was directly responsible for maintaining them. So when the boreholes broke, no one fixed them.

Instead, the women of Samburu reverted to walking up to two miles to the river for water. When the river dried up, the women dug holes in the river bed to find a little muddy water.

“For generations, the Samburu people have lived with domesticated animals but now they are turning toward crop-based farming instead.

The impulse for their new direction has come from among themselves – nothing has been imposed on them.”

The borehole in the picture is being repaired with the help of the young men. This is unusual, as the Samburu women normally do all the manual labour. Who says cultures can't change?

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HIPPO have also supported the people of Samburu to form co-operative selfreliance groups. These co-ops have in turn instilled a new spirit, heart and enthusiasm to the community.

Previously, the people of Samburu were ground down with the seeming hopelessness of their difficult environment.

For generations, the Samburu people have lived with domesticated animals but now they are turning toward crop-based farming instead.

The impulse for their new direction has come from among themselves – nothing has been imposed on them.

HIPPO aims to do far more than just helping people to physically survive.

Priscillah, the local point of contact for HIPPO, has enthused the young men to set up their own co-operative growing group. They have already fenced the new growing area.

They have also been happy to accept the responsibility for looking after the borehole. This will benefit not only the co-op group members, but also the whole local community.

HIPPO is a vegan support and aid charity. Registered in England and Wales, it is run by vegans Neville and Hazel Fowler. They work by helping local organisations such as orphanages, mainly in Africa.

Although HIPPO do send food aid, they focus on fostering self-sufficiency.

HIPPO promotes vegan diets and farming, with the aim of ending animal use whilst improving human health. They wish to greatly improve

our use of land, water and energy to produce food.

Their vision for the world is that everyone should be well fed. In this world, human farming of other animals has ended, woodlands and other habitats are restored, and water is carefully used and conserved.

HIPPO is involved in projects mostly in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda), but also sends vegan food aid to Russia, Bosnia, and Croatia.

HIPPO takes practical help to the people of poor countries. They collaborate with local people who are working to improve the nutrition of the needy, through the provision of good plant protein foods. Human and non-human animals are HIPPO's concern. The work of HIPPO is entirely dependent on voluntary donations and volunteer workers.

Registered Charity No 1075420 www.hippocharity.org.uk/ Email: hippocharity@btinternet.com HIPPO, The Old Vicarage, Llangynog, Carmarthen, Wales, UK SA33 5BS

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active vegans n Llangollen Vegan Cafe Funded by donations and sponsorship from The Vegan Society Eat Out Vegan Wales hosted another Vegan Cafe 4 the Day, this time in Llangollen. It was very busy from start to finish and everyone involved thought it was a great success with loads of food and literature given away free to the appreciative Llangollen public.

They served breakfast rolls containing vegan ‘bacon’, sausage and mushroom. This was followed by a selection of main meals including a duo of Welsh rarebits, a veganised version of the traditional Welsh dish of ‘cig eidion’ mewn cwrw (‘beef’ in beer) and pizza. The Welsh theme continued with bara bryth and Welsh cakes and there were other cakes too.

The group take the event all over Wales, and have been getting great responses everywhere they go. Llangollen (pronounced Thlangothlen) is a tourist town and it was full of visitors on the first Saturday of September, which made it an ideal venue for the vegan event. The old hall was packed, with a mixture of vegans glad of somewhere to eat and meet other vegans and a lot of curious locals and tourists who came in just to try what was on offer.

Above: some of the happy eaters with their free food, about 1.00pm - it had been full since opening at 10.00am, with lots of visitors coming and going.

n New York City Vegetarian Food Festival 2012 This vegan event was held on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 March 2012 at The Metropolitan Pavillion, New York City.

Thousands of people from all over the USA and particularly from neighbouring New Jersey and Pennsylvania states attended the second NYC Vegetarian Food Festival.

The festival featured food sampling and meals from New York City’s top vegetarian restaurants and food companies. Their mission was to attract a wide range of visitors - so-called ‘foodies’, ‘locavores’, and ‘flexitarians’, and those who simply want to find out more about living a healthy, sustainable lifestyle - as well as existing veg*ns.

Meat-eating food critic Daniel Aronoff said on his blog, Blind Taste Test, “I haven’t seen a crowd this big since I attended a playoff game at Yankee stadium last October... [The] vegan desserts were amazing: I sampled the ‘smores’, ‘rocky road bark’, and ‘peanut butter smores’. I would never have guessed that these were vegan; the ‘bark’ in particular was great with a shell of dark chocolate and fluffy marshmallow on the inside... The vegetarian food festival has inspired me: starting today I plan to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my diet...” http://blindtastetest.net/2012/03/07/what-i-learned-at-the-newyork-city-vegetarian-food-festival/ 18

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n Meatout UK 2012 The Vegan Society co-ordinated the 2012 Meatout UK event. We helped our supporters and Local Contacts to distribute free vegan food samples to non-vegans across the UK on or around Tue 20 March 2012. Meatout is a successful grass-roots programme, which runs in two dozen countries and started in the USA nearly 30 years ago. There were events in Lincoln, Wakefield, Llandudno, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Sheffield, Glasgow and more in the UK alone.

In Lincoln Vegan Society Local Contact Linda Wardale tempted the local butcher to sample vegan cakes, pizza, burgers and more and he loved them.

Maybe the power of vegan food may change his mind and occupation?

n Cruelty-Free Festive Fair in Bristol Held on 10th December 2011 the event was sponsored by The Vegan Society, Animal Aid and VegFund and organised by Bristol Animal Rights Collective.

590 people were counted in on the door and of those 97 people filled in evaluation forms.

36 of these were vegan, 33 vegetarian, 26 meat eaters, 2 others, one of whom was freegan. The good news is that 60% of the vegetarians said they would try eating more vegan food as a result of the fair and 54% of meat eaters said they would try eating more vegan food.

Linda also gave the chef from the White Hart apricot scones to try and he said: “I was really surprised at how good they tasted!” This was a general theme at the Meat Out Event - all the meat eaters said how good the food was, and they didn’t expect it to taste so great. A group of youths came for veggie burgers and one said “It was the best meat burger he had tasted.” Linda replied “It isn’t meat” and he said “I mean it tastes better than meat!” All the lads agreed they were great!

Everyone loved the Vegan Society’s recipe for Red Pepper and Courgette Mini Quiches. Linda also made pizzas, pate on crackers, sausages, sausage rolls, savoury tofu swirls (Gluten Free and regular), soup, veggie burgers, crisps and assorted cakes.

Starting at 11am and finishing at 3.30pm and giving away lots of vegan literature, magazines and recipe booklets as well this was a fantastic Vegan Outreach Day.

More Vegan Outreach Vegan Outreach Lincoln and East Midlands (VOLE) held a free food stall as well as a free food event and film screening to mark “Meatout 2012.”

They gave out alternatives to various animal products; mock meats, vegan cheeses and chocolate. They also offered free cupcakes and cookies to show how delicious animal-free baking can be.

The university stall was met with great interest, they gave away vegan leaflets, had many discussions and received compliments for the free food.

There was a huge spread available for the screening of The Animals Film and nearly everyone returned to load their plate with seconds. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and overall, VOLE reached almost 100 nonvegans during the day.

n Vegan festival in Hove attracts thousands of people Thousands of people have attended one of Europe's largest vegan festivals in Hove.

The free two-day VegFest, in the Hove Centre, included 100 stalls, cookery classes, music and theatre.

The festival's organiser, Tim Barford, estimated 5,000 people attended the festival, which he hoped would encourage people to go vegan.

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vegan

runners Sophie Ashdown Coady

Many of our runners spent hours in the cold and dark of winter training for marathon events this Spring and Summer. We expect to have members running UK marathons in Brighton, London, Llaneli (Wales), Edinburgh, Milton Keynes and Belfast.

Internationally we have runners competing at marathons in Rotterdam, Dresden, Barcelona, Rome, and even Jerusalem! VRUK members will be proudly wearing their distinctive green and black Vegan Runners kit, so give them a cheer if you see them.

Fiona was recently the first vegan woman to compete in the 154-mile Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert. The article also highlights the amazing work she puts in at her Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary (www.towerhillstables.com) in Essex.

Further publicity for the club came at the Bath Half Marathon in March where our runners were interviewed by BBC Radio Bristol. They received a lot of support along the route and were spotted by the BBC, thanks largely to their matching “Vegan Runners” tops.

Several of our members competed in Cross Country Championships at different locations around the UK. Peter Simpson, John Bateson, Chris Simms, John Fulham and Sam Wilson all braved the cold conditions to put in solid performances.

Dave, Paul and Martin Brighton half mararthon Not all of our runners are at marathon level. We welcome members of any ability, age, or location. Nine of our members competed in the Brighton Half Marathon recently and one of our new members is none other than the CEO of the Vegan Society, Jasmijn de Boo. Jasmijn has entered the Karrimor Great Trail Challenge Half Marathon for June and is encouraging a meet-up at the event.

VRUK often holds a stall at vegan and vegan-related events, which provide an opportunity to meet some of the members in that region, raise awareness of our activities with visitors, recruit new members and contacts, and sell some kit. We will have a stall at the Bristol Vegfest on 26/27 May so please stop by and say hello.

If you know of any vegan or related events that you think would be appropriate for VRUK to be at, please let us know through the website.

We have regular sessions around the country for our members to meet up and go for a training run. Members, supporters, or indeed anyone who would like to try out our sessions are more than welcome. We have regular monthly meet ups and training runs in London at Regent's Park and in Birmingham at Cannon Hill Park. The South Wales group meets up at open events including the Cardiff Parkrun on Saturdays.

The Brighton group meets at open events and the Hove Park 5K Parkrun on some Saturdays. We are also establishing local Vegan Runners groups in Bristol, Bath, and Leicester. Check the VRUK diary on the website to join us at your nearest session!

VRUK is as much about socialising as it is about running. We welcome members of any age or ability.

For more information about the club, please visit www.veganrunners.org.uk

Fiona Oakes was featured by Runners World magazine in their March 2012 issue. The article describes some of Fiona’s fantastic running achievements such as completing more than 20 marathons and placing in the top 20 overall for both London and Berlin marathons.

Brighton VegfestUK - Paul, Jonathan, Anna, Peter, Sam and Dave The Vegan l Summer 2012

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All of these wonderful products now carry The Vegan Society Trademark Logo so you can see at a glance that they are truly vegan.

n Empress Gourmet Natural Cosmetics Empress Gourmet Natural Cosmetics are hand-made in Ireland using seaweed, shea butter and plant and herbal extracts. They are nourishing for the skin and they smell lovely. The popular seaweed and shea face creams are very rich and a little goes a long way. Watch out for the Vegan Trademark on most of the products.

Prices range from €10 for eye creams. Face creams from €25 (Sterling prices via web shop).

n Really Indian Really Indian products are made from the best quality ingredients and the unique blend of 15 spices in their Really Indian Original Curry Sauce are a taste sensation. Delicious, vegan, simple to use and just the thing for creating an authentic curry at home, it is also gluten and wheat-free.

Each sauce feeds between 2-4 people. Prices start at £2.99.

Available at independent wholefood stores, at events attended

by Really Indian or can be purchased online; visit www.reallyindian.com

Empress Cosmetics are currently available from some outlets in Ireland (contact store@empresscosmetics.com for details) and are available world-wide from the on-line shop at www.empresscosmetics.com Contact also: www.facebook.com/EmpressCosmetics and twitter.com/#!/empresscosmetic Tel.: Eire 086 88 99 168 or international: 00 353 86 8899 168

n Specialist Supplements Ltd Specialist Supplements Ltd is a supplier of meal replacements, protein powders, organic blends and digestive health supplements.

Our review panel tried out some of the Vegan Trademarked samples, including the GreeNourish blend, HempPRO protein powder and COL-Clear colon cleanser: they reported back that the products ‘did exactly what it said on the box’.

Contact: www.specialistsupplements.co.uk, services@specialistsupplements.co.uk Tel: 0845 094 3627

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n Barrow Boys Crisps Barrow Boys is a new brand of hand-cooked crisp, aiming to increase the variety of flavours available to the vegan market while bringing Vegan Trademark-registered products into the mainstream shopper’s basket. They currently offer a variety of 6 flavours to try, ranging from Cheese & Onion to Adventurous Bombay Spice.

The crisps are nut free and made in a nut free environment.

Contact: Sales@BarrowBoysCrisps.com, www.barrowboyscrisps.com Twitter: @BarrowBoysCrisp www.facebook.com/barrowboyscrisps

n E Top Up E Top Up is a new stimulation energy drink. E Top Up promotes their energy drink to all sports activities taking place this year in London and around the United Kingdom.

E Top Up say that although most energy drinks have common ingredients, E Top Up has its own special secrets which give it an amazing taste.

E Top Up are looking for local distributors but can be contacted at sales@etopupdrink.com www.etopupdrink.com

n Walking and Working Shoes.com The 7R Comfort brand is launching a new range of Eco-vegan walking and working shoes. The company works only with materials and companies which subscribe to ethical business practices, and they pledge to return 25% of their net profits back to local community charities near to their suppliers.

n Premae Skincare Premae Skincare is an allergyfree vegan natural healthy skincare brand and is produced in the UK. They have 6 face care ranges and 4 new bath and body ranges and health supplements launching in July 2012.

Prices start from £10. They currently have a Father’s Day offer on the Mens Gallant Range: Mens set for £30 (Save £11) plus free shaving brush worth £10.

Contact: www.premaeskincare.com Tel. 0800 612 0928

n Vegan Faces

Their 7Rs are: Respect Responsible Research Reliable Resilience and Rock & Roll - see the website for further details!

Vegan face paints for festivals, children’s parties and other occasions. Vegan Faces customized formulation is free from lanolin and beeswax. The paints are dye-free and portable, as no water is required. In addition, these paints incorporate hypoallergenic skin care ingredients.

There are 25 Eco-vegan shoes in the range, with prices from £50.

To mark the launch of the range in the Summer 2012 they are running a Golden Ticket event, details on the website.

Contact: walkingandworkingshoes.com facebook.com/walkingandworkingshoes Twitter: @wandwshoes Tel. 0207 112 4900

Cost £3.95.

Contact: www.veganfaces.co.uk info@veganfacesuk.co.uk

n Creative Nature Creative Nature offer a range of raw foods, natural supplements and invigorating herbal teas. The products are sourced from around the world. The company’s ethos is encapsulated in the phrase, “Let nature be your guide”. Their range includes powders, capsules, whole foods and teas. Visit the website for more product information and prices.

Contact: www.creative-nature.uk.com, info@creative-nature.uk.com Twitter: @creativenature, Tel. 020 8979 0903

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Recipe from BENESSERE well-being: vegan & sugar-free eating for a healthy life-style

Cape Malay Chickpea Patties

by Laurinda Erasmus

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in 4 cups of water 2 garlic cloves, finely grated 1 tsp ginger, finely grated 1 tsp turmeric powder 2 tsp curry powder 4 tbsp rolled cooking oats 1 tbsp ground almonds 3 tbsp mixed fresh herbs (e.g. basil, marjoram, parsley), finely chopped 6 dried, moist apricots, chopped very finely 1 medium carrot, finely grated – about ¾ cup ½ cup toasted, unsalted cashew nuts, roughly ground 5 tbsp orange juice 2 tsp pomegranate molasses 2 tsp soy sauce Coating: 2 tbsp corn starch 3 tbsp oil for frying

Bring the soaking water to a boil and simmer the chickpeas for ½ hour. Remove the pot from the heat and let the chickpeas cool down in the little liquid that is left.

Drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the chickpeas until coarse (or do this in batches with a pestle and mortar).

Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the garlic, ginger, spices, oats, almond meal and herbs. Mix well. Stir in the apricots, grated carrot and cashew nuts. Pour in the orange juice, pomegranate molasses and soy sauce. Mix well.

Shape palm-sized round, flattened patties with wet hands.

Set aside.

Refrigerate the patties, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Have a shallow oven proof dish ready (no need to oil).

Heat some oil in a large pan: pour in just enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a few millimetres of oil. Drop a few patties in the oil. Brown them a little on both sides. With tongs, turn the patties around on their sides for just a few seconds to brown the sides as well. Drain the patties on absorbent kitchen paper.

Place the patties in the oven dish and place in the oven to cook the centre of the patties, about 15 minutes.

Makes 8 patties.

When you have shaped all the patties, mix the corn starch and oat bran together on a plate. Roll each patty around in the coating mixture and set aside on a plate.

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Soft Herb Nut ‘Cheese’

By Angelette Müller Pre-preparation - soak nuts overnight or for 4-8 hours.

Preparation time 15 minutes 1 cup of blanched almonds nuts soaked overnight (discard water) 100ml of filtered water ½ a lemon squeezed ¼ teaspoon of salt 1 clove of minced garlic 4-5 teaspoons of chives, parsley and dill chopped (reserve 2 teaspoons to roll moulded ‘cheese’ in) ½ teaspoon of probiotics (optional) ½ teaspoon of xanthum gum (optional)

Blend almonds, water and lemon juice using a high-speed blender until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and mix.

You can use a ring mould to shape the cheese. Place all the mixture into the ring mould and push down to create a flattened surface; remove ring mould gently (can use a cookie cutter). Spread chopped herbs on a chopping board, then roll moulded cheese on herbs to decorate.

Serving size: 6-8

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Cruelty Free Jewellery: Your Guide to Accessorising with a Conscience Alison King

M

any people don’t give a second thought to the jewellery they wear. It is simply an accessory; an expression of their personality which complements a particular outfit.

As a vegan, jewellery is yet another way to express the choices you’ve made in life and the strong ethical code you adhere to.

There are several things a vegan needs to watch out for when purchasing jewellery. Here is a quick guide to the types of materials you ought to avoid.

Bone/Horn Bone and horn are often used for making beads. The bone usually comes from cows and bulls and is commonly imported from India or Africa. Beads made from these materials have smooth surfaces with a slight shine to them.

They can be dyed a variety of colours and are sometimes carved with tribal patterns.

Ivory Similar to bone, ivory is traditionally harvested from the tusks and teeth of elephants. However, in the past it has also been taken from the hippopotamus, walrus, pig, mammoth (that’s right, mammoth!), sperm whale and narwhal. The sale of elephant ivory is currently under a global ban but be aware when shopping abroad as it is being sold illegally in some countries including China.

Pearls There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the pearl industry, with many people believing that freshwater pearls are the real thing whilst cultured pearls are synthetic and therefore, environmentally friendly. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Pearls form when a mollusc shell is damaged and the formation of the pearl itself is part of the natural healing process. Cultured pearls are created by human interference. The molluscs are farmed in intensive conditions, implanted with tissue grafts from other oysters, mussels or scallops which causes a pearl to form. Sometimes they are injected with coloured dyes and other chemicals, to ensure a pearl looks a certain way. When pearls are harvested, the animal is killed to retrieve the pearl. Make no mistake, cultured pearls are not cruelty free.

Glass pearls are a good alternative, available in a variety of colours and sizes and well known for their long lasting finish.

Mother of Pearl Mother of pearl has a distinctive iridescent appearance and is often used for jewellery, watches and buttons.

Also known as nacre, it forms the inner layer of the shell of certain types of mollusc and covers the outer layer of pearls. Mother of pearl is often “harvested” when sea creatures are killed for their flesh.

Coral Coral colonies made up of many tiny animals called polyps create great structures of limestone over many generations; we know these structures

as reefs. The destruction of these reefs due to human activity is threatening ecosystems around the world.

Shells Shells are the hard outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea.

When shells are offered for sale, the likelihood is that they have been collected alive, then killed and cleaned for the commercial trade. Paua shell, taken from a New Zealand sea snail, is a popular material in jewellery. Paua are both taken from the wild and farmed for their shells. In both cases, they will be killed. Besides causing pain and distress and death, the use of sea creatures for their shells can have a negative impact on local eco-systems and can reduce the distribution of rare species.

Leather Possibly the most obvious non-vegan jewellery material, leather is made from the skin of slaughtered animals, often cows. It is often used as a cord for pendants or as the primary material in woven bracelets but thankfully there are lots of alternatives available. These are growing in popularity as they are more durable than leather and more versatile. Such alternatives include organic cotton and hemp cord.

Shellac Shellac is the flaky resin secreted by the Coccus Lacca insect found in the forests of India and the Philippines.

Until the 1970s Shellac was used to make small moulded items like beads and trinkets. These days, it is more likely to be used as a kind of varnish.

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Feathers Another of the more obvious nonvegan materials, feathers used in jewellery originate in the factory farming of birds for their meat. They are plucked from the birds’ slaughtered carcasses. There are feathers available from people who keep birds for pleasure and not for meat but shed naturally or not, they can’t be considered vegan.

Waxed Cord Sometimes jewellery cord is treated with a conditioner or wax to make it

more durable and more flexible.

Although some conditioners are vegan friendly, it’s always worth checking as there are some which contain beeswax.

Labelling Be aware that the terms ‘fairtrade,’ ‘organic,’ ‘ethical,’ ‘green,’ ‘eco’ or ‘natural’ do not guarantee a vegan or cruelty-free product.

The key to successful purchasing of jewellery as a vegan is to ask questions.

Ask as many as you can think of and if you’re not happy, ask again.

Trust your instincts and if you still have doubts, walk away. The crafts website www.etsy.com allows you to search for vegan items. Online, you will also find many websites which are run for vegans, by vegans and are easy to locate using a search engine. Yet even vegans can make mistakes about the origin of a particular material, so for extra reassurance you may wish to seek out products that are registered under The Vegan Society’s trademark scheme.

You can find trademark companies using the trademark search facility on our website.

PLANT BASED NUTRITION AND HEALTH Stephen Walsh Paperback: £7.95 Hailed by The Sunday Times as an ‘accomplished databuster’ Stephen Walsh cuts through the maze of conflicting dietary recommendations with simple guidelines for healthy living on a balanced and enjoyable diet.

Emphasis is on individual choice rather than a ‘one-sizefits-all’ approach. All the recommendations are backed up with evidence from human studies and none from experiments on animals. No expensive supplements or exotic foodstuffs are required and everything recommended can be easily and cheaply obtained.

‘Particularly well researched and presented’ - The Vegetarian.

‘Excellent value for money’ - The Pharmaceutical Journal.

ANIMAL FREE SHOPPER The 9th edition of The Animal free Shopper is now only £3.00 (dropped from £4.99). You can buy it from our website shop: http://shop.vegansociety.com/ or by phoning 0121 523 1731.

Containing thousands of vegan products, listings of common animal derived products to watch out for as well as contact information for vegan related groups, the AFS has been a must-have for UK vegans for decades.

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and

YOUTH education

Write to: The Vegan Society, YOUth, Donald Watson House, 21 Hylton Street, Birmingham, B18 6HJ

Wordsearch!

Email: youth@vegansociety.com Call: 0121 523 1738 www.vegansociety.com/vseducation

Circle all the hidden words and either scan and email, or post it to me for a chance to win a delicious bag of Goody Good Stuff sweets!

You can buy egg-free, milk-free and meat-free: CAKE CHOCOLATE SOYAMILK CURRY CHIPS PANCAKES ICECREAM BURGERS SWEETS PASTA FRUIT BREAD STIR FRY Post to: 21 Hylton Street, Birmingham B18 6HJ Email to: youth@vegansociety.com Check back here in the next issue for more games and prizes!

Typical Question: But how can you LIVE without cheese?

Clever answer: Well, human breast milk is for human babies. Cows’ breast milk is for their babies (calves). Since I’m neither a baby nor a calf, I don’t need it so why would I drink it?

Cheese is from animals’ breast milk, just processed differently. You might enjoy cheese, but there are lots of things we don’ t do every day that we might otherwise want to, because it is just wrong to do it. I think that dragging a baby away from their mother so we can drink their mother’s breast milk instead of them is wrong…

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check out our educational materials www.vegansociety.com/vseducation/ and ask your teachers and group leaders to invite us to visit!

Hello, my name is Sophie. I'm 14 years old and live in Stuttgart, Germany.

We're doing nutrition in a science class at the moment and we were talking about the ideal diet and my teacher was saying that the meat-based diet wasn't the only way to eat healthy and that against all prejudice vegetarian and vegan can also eat healthily. I sit in the front row and I was grinning my head off and he asked me whether I was vegan and I nodded. The whole class exploded with "What's!?" and "Why's!?" and there was a lot of explaining afterwards.

Ever since I've gone vegan I've discovered a huge passion for cooking.

Every Sunday I cook dinner for my family which reassured my parents.

I've tried the Chickpea & Mushroom Curry, a recipe I got from the Vegan Society.

I also tried a vegetable chilli and some black bean burgers, both turned out really nice.

Not all my experiments work out that well but all in all it is loads of fun.

Two of my friends have become vegetarians since I became vegan and at the moment I'm doing a report on Vegetarianism and Veganism for our school paper. It's so much fun finding out which of the teachers are vegetarian or vegan and interviewing them.

I really love being vegan it just makes me feel good every day.

Fun facts: A healthy goldfish can live for more than 15 years and grow over 30 cm in length.

The world’s oldest goldfish, called Goldie, lived until he was 45 and the world’s longest goldfish was more than 47cm long!

Look, classy

new logo!

D Speaker Training

ay

With input from experienced Speaker Dean Bracher our Education Officer, Daniel, delivered a Speaker Training Day in The Vegan Society offices, Birmingham. It was a long and intensive but very rewarding day.

The lunch was also great thanks to caterer “ChangeKitchen.”

We can now give talks on veganism in even more locations around the UK. If you are over 18 and speaking about veganism on behalf of the Vegan Society sounds like your thing, email education@vegansociety.com to book a place on January 2013’s Training Day.

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VEG 1 Stephen Walsh

V

EG 1 was first produced for the Vegan Society by HealthPlus in August 2005 and has grown in popularity both in the UK and beyond. The aim was to provide a reliable, convenient and low-cost source of the few nutrients not reliably provided by a typical vegan diet.

First among these is vitamin B12, which is produced by bacteria but not found in adequate quantities in hygienically prepared non-fortified vegan diets.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is the most serious risk associated with vegan diets.

While outright deficiency (nerve damage in adults and failure to thrive in infants) is not commonplace, typical B12 levels among vegans are low enough to raise health concerns.

The second is vitamin D. As vitamin D stores decline during winter, when sunlight is too weak to be an effective source in non-tropical latitudes, dietary sources become significant and dietary intakes among vegans are often lower than those of omnivores.

The third is iodine, as about half the iodine in the UK diet comes via dairy products due to iodine in cattle feed concentrates.

The fourth is selenium as the rather modest intake of selenium in the average UK diet has been found to be somewhat lower in vegans.

Low B12 raises homocysteine levels.

As this is associated with multiple health problems, we included the other B vitamins - B2, folic acid and B6 which work with B12 to keep homocysteine levels low.

On the basis that more is not necessarily better, the daily dose of each ingredient is generally close to the recommended

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daily allowance (RDA). For B12, however, we set it higher (four times the current RDA) to compensate for lower absorption from a single daily dose compared with multiple intakes from food across the day. A further increase to 25 or even 50 micrograms would have little effect on the absorbed amount.

“VEG 1 was designed to be a complement to a healthy vegan diet, including nutrients only to address specific concerns.”

For vitamin D the level was set at 10 micrograms (twice the European Union RDA of 5 micrograms), due to uncertainties at that time about the relative effect of D2 (derived from plants or yeast) and D3 (derived from animal foods or sunlight), with significant scientific support for a higher RDA. Since then, it has become clear that D2 is equally as effective as D3.

However, the United States RDA has been increased to 15 micrograms.

The UK and EU are still reviewing the evidence, but if they too raise the RDA we will consider increasing the level in VEG 1. In the meantime, for those wishing to take a higher level of vitamin

D supplementation a few companies now produce 20 - 25 microgram (800 1,000 IU) D2 supplements that appear to be vegan and can be purchased by mail order (e.g. from bigvits.co.uk or veganicity.com).

As well as not including more of any nutrient than we considered solidly justified, we also did not attempt to include all the vitamins and minerals required for health: VEG 1 was designed to be a complement to a healthy vegan diet, including nutrients only to address specific concerns.

There is an argument for including calcium, as there is evidence that intake in many vegans is lower than desirable and this may increase the risk of fractures. However, there are many vegan dietary choices that can boost calcium intake as well as plenty of supplements available. Moreover, calcium is bulkier than other nutrients and often results in tablets that are unpleasant to chew. Chewing to break up the tablet is important to maximise absorption of B12 and possibly other nutrients.

One ingredient that has led to some comment is sugar, which some people regard as harmful even in small amounts.

VEG 1 contains about half a gram per tablet (less than a teaspoon a week for an adult). Scientific evidence suggests that this is far too small to have any adverse effect, so long as the tablet is taken with food to ensure that it does not act on teeth like a sweet taken between meals. Using natural fruit extracts rather than purified sugar was considered but found to be impractical due to instability. A significant consideration was that VEG 1 must be suitable for children, who are often reluctant to chew some unpalatable lump just because they are told it will do them good.

Having formulated the supplement, the Society relied upon the expertise of HealthPlus to ensure that it contained the right quantities of all ingredients in an appropriate form for absorption. Over the past couple of years we have arranged additional testing through RSSL and Eurofins to check for ourselves that all is as it should be. Iodine was tested twice (132 and 144 micrograms per tablet compared with an expected 150 micrograms), B12 twice (8.8 and 12.3 micrograms per tablet compared with 10 micrograms expected) and vitamin D once (8 micrograms compared with 10 micrograms). The other nutrients have each been tested once and also came in close to the expected quantities. Slight variations in tablet content are to be expected, so all these results confirmed that the contents of the tablets were as intended. We intend to make a further test on a tub near its bestbefore date to check that the contents remain adequate at this stage.

Vitamin B12: take it, it’s important Very low vitamin B12 intakes can cause anaemia and nervous system damage.

The only reliable vegan sources of B12 are foods fortified with B12 (including some plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals) and B12 supplements. Vitamin B12, whether in supplements, fortified foods, or animal products, comes from micro-organisms.

Achieving an adequate B12 intake is easy and there are several methods to suit individual preferences.

To get the full benefit of a vegan diet, vegans should do one of the following: n eat fortified foods two or three times a day to get at least three micrograms of B12 a day or n take one B12 supplement daily providing at least 10 micrograms (for example VEG 1 which is available from The Vegan Society) or n take a weekly B12 supplement providing at least 2000 micrograms. More of the vitamin is needed if you only take it weekly as it is absorbed more effectively when consumed in smaller amounts but at more frequent intervals.

New Look VEG 1 The Vegan Society VEG 1 vitamin tablet which has been developed especially for vegans has a great new look. It still comes in a choice of blackcurrant or orange flavour but it will now be available in two sizes:

We have not been able to conduct formal tests on absorption levels, as this would require a substantial and costly effort along the lines of a small medical trial, but we have had some limited informal feedback from users of VEG 1 who have had blood tests.

The feedback has been reassuring on B12 and iodine, but inconclusive on vitamin D with some low values reported.

We intend to carry out some further investigation on vitamin D. Response to vitamin D supplements is known to vary between individuals and some recent research suggests that they may be more reliably absorbed if taken with a large meal. We have had no feedback from individuals on blood levels of the other nutrients.

We believe that VEG 1 continues to meet a need not addressed by the general supplement market for a supplement designed to meet the particular needs of vegans as a complement to a varied and healthful diet. Formulating such a supplement and ensuring that it is produced to high standards is no trivial task. We hope that our members and the many other VEG 1 users will agree that we have created a good and reasonably priced product to meet a real need.

90 tablets: £5.48 (three months’ adult supply) 180 tablets: £10.98

This supplement provides at least the EU recommended daily allowances (RDAs) of: n Vitamin B2 n Vitamin B6 n Vitamin B12 n Vitamin D n Folic Acid n Iodine n Selenium One tablet per day for adults. Half a tablet per day for children 2-12.

Always chew or crush tablets for maximum absorption.

Do not exceed recommended intake.

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Naturally delicious, naturally meat & dairy free

r u o k c Che or f e t i s web s t s i k c sto

www.createagoodlife.co.uk www.facebook.com/joinourrevolution

Hamster Care for rescued hamsters Sammy Keetley

W

hen I was asked if I could help to rehome some hamsters, I expected two or three would arrive. I had no idea that there would be as many as six male Chinese hamsters, all housed together in one tiny tank.

Living together in such a confined space, the hamsters had formed a hierarchy where the most dominant character ruled. The result was one very fat hamster and five who were bullied, injured and underweight.

Moved into larger enclosures, they made themselves at home immediately, with the five smaller hamsters enjoying free access to food for the first time in their lives. Axl, Linc, Ronnie, Reggie, Squirrel and Winko all went on to find loving homes.

An introduction to hamster care The five types of hamster most commonly seen in captivity are the Syrian, the Chinese and the Dwarf breeds Campbell, Winter White and Roborovski. While Syrian hamsters must always be housed individually due to their territorial nature, some Chinese and Dwarf hamsters will live happily in same-sex, single-species pairs or small groups.

Plenty of space is essential when keeping hamsters together and they must be monitored closely to ensure that they are co-habiting happily.

Separate wheels, water bottles, nests and toys should be provided for each hamster and they should be scatter fed to prevent conflict.

Housing

Diet

‘Rotastak’ style cages and unventilated tanks should not be used due to their poor ventilation, which can cause them to overheat and allows ammonia smells to build up. ‘Rotastak’ cages also only provide a small amount of useable space and larger hamsters can have difficulty moving through the attached tunnels.

A good quality prepared hamster food should form the basis of their diet.

This can be scattered throughout their enclosure and inside hidey holes to encourage foraging activities.

Large cages with narrow bars designed for small animals, are ideal for hamsters. Choose an enclosure which offers lots of useable floor space (a minimum of 60cm wide x 60cm long) and has a solid base. Wire floors should not be used as hamsters can injure their feet and legs by slipping through the bars. Large, ventilated tanks can be used to provide secure housing for dwarf hamsters. http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/pet_adv ice/557_hamster_accommodation

Bedding Small animals should not be housed on sawdust, which irritates their eyes, skin and respiratory tracts. Dust-extracted woodshavings can be used, however Carefresh and Megazorb are preferable substrates as they are hypoallergenic.

Cross-shredded tissue and crossshredded paper make comfortable bedding for nest boxes. Avoid cotton wool-type beddings and anything made of long strands, as these can easily tangle around legs and tails. http://openrescue.weebly.com/uploads/ 1/3/4/0/1340472/emor_guide_to_choo sing_a_substrate.pdf

Hamsters have fast metabolisms and require constant access to food, so follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and be careful not to under or over feed.

Their diet can also include small amounts of soft hay (sharp or rigid hay can injure eyes and cheek linings), fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, leafy greens and untreated, edible flowers such as campanulas. http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/pet_adv ice/552_feeding_your_hamster

Enrichment Providing plenty of hidey holes will help hamsters to feel more secure in their environment and encourage them to use all available space. Toys made from willow, compressed hay and animal-safe wooden blocks provide excellent enrichment and help to keep their teeth in good condition. Apple tree branches and twigs can also be used for climbing and nibbling. http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/pet_adv ice/553_hamster_enrichment A solid wheel, with raised ridges for grip, will enable hamsters to run over a much longer distance than their enclosure could otherwise provide.

Slatted wheels should not be used because of risk of injury.

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vegan nutrition guidelines To ensure that vegans maintain good health it is important to:

n Eat plenty of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables including dark green leafy vegetables. n Eat plenty of wholefoods (brown bread, brown rice etc). n Include in your diet each day at least three micrograms of vitamin B12 from fortified foods or 10 micrograms from a supplement. n 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.

n 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. n Try to get at least 500 mg per day of calcium from calcium rich foods or supplements. n 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.

will power Vegans have it.

Leaving a donation in your will is an excellent way to provide support to our educational charity.

Each year we engage with over 700,000 people with an interest in veganism.

The Vegan Pledge, our advocacy and educational work, our informative publications, our strong social media presence and our trademark are just some of the tried and tested methods that The Vegan Society uses to help people to become and stay vegan.

It is only with the help of people like you that we can continue to succeed.

Please contact us to find out more about leaving a legacy to The Vegan Society 0121 523 1730 0845 45 88244 (local rate) info@vegansociety.com Thank you for all your help The Vegan Society: the leading authority on veganism since 1944

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No fish were harmed in the making of this Omega Oil...

The vegan choice for Omega Oils Omega 3 and 6 Essential Fatty Acids are essential for life. We have to include them in our diets as the human body cannot produce them itself. However, much of today’s Western diet contains damaged Omega 3 and 6 fats in an unbalanced ratio, and it is vital for optimal health that these are replaced with healthy fats in a more balanced ratio.

Omega oils are commonly used for weight management, joint mobility, boosting the immune system, improving energy, keeping skin, hair & nails looking great, and more.

Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend is a blend of organic seed oils that provides you with all the healthy essential fats you need in an ideal 2:1 ratio of Omega 3 to 6 for optimal health.

So fish are happy that it remains the UK’s favourite Omega Oil blend!

For recipes and information on how Udo’s Oil can help you, visit udoschoice.co.uk/vegan Available in your local healthfood store, gym and online.

Visit www.udoschoice.co.uk/locator to find your nearest retailer

The Vegan Society and many of its members and supporters put much effort and time into trying to make people aware of the horrific cruelty in the dairy industry, as well as the many health benefits of an animal-free, dairy-free diet and the many health dangers of dairy products, so it is especially annoying and frustrating when someone in the animal rights movement or anyone who, at least, claims to care about animals and who claims to be opposed to cruelty to animals helps promote the dairy industry and its products.

I was astonished to see Jane Goodall, in the Winter 2011 edition of The Vegan magazine, referred to an "iconic animal protection hero" and that "her words and vision closely match that of the Vegan Society", not to mention the double-speak, double standards and hypocrisy in that "she emphasized that each of us have a role to play and that it can begin with thinking about the choices we make, including how we treat animals." The American saying, about not just talking the talk, but needing to walk the walk, springs to mind here.

Surely the Vegan Society is well aware of the fact that Jane Goodall has been helping to promote dairy products for many years. The websites nomilk.com, notmilk.com and milksucks.com are known to the Vegan Society and surely must have been read by all members of the committee. My only disagreement with Robert Cohen's comments about her, including the conversation he had with her about it, is that he listed her under the heading the "clueless"; if one thing Jane Goodall is not it's clueless; she knows all about the cruelty in the dairy industry and the shocking way in which the calves and cows are treated, from birth to death. And she says "thinking about the choices we make", so this wasn't some rash, rushed into decision, she has presumably thought about the choice that she made in promoting the dairy industry and has had many years to go on thinking about it, but still chooses to go on promoting it. Her words may closely match those of the Vegan Society but as they are so far apart from her actions, when it comes to calves and cows anyway, I fail to see how these words about her are justified. Also, they are very misleading for any of your readers who are unaware of Jane Goodall's promotion of dairy products.

Sandra Busell Edinburgh

Response from Jasmijn de Boo, CEO We were unaware of the concerns raised by Sandra Busell.

I checked with Jane Goodall’s personal assistant, Mary Lewis, whether Dr Goodall was still involved in promoting organic dairy. The reply I received included: “Years ago Jane and JGI did work with Stoneyfield Farm on a short term yoghurt project. At that time there were some concerns raised about the dairy issue and we passed them all to Stoneyfield. That relationship ended years ago. […] we are not currently working with the dairy industry in the United States.”

S L A I C E P S R E M M SU www.veganicity.com Save a massive 30% off some great Veganicity products this summer!

EVERY product in our Energy, Digestive Health, Weight Control and Women’s Health categories - all 30% off when you quote code VEGSUM12. offer valid until 31 August 2012

eganicity

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It is unfortunate Jane's support for this company was overlooked. However, it was limited, and many years ago.

Overall I believe that Jane Goodall has done a great deal to promote compassion for animals worldwide.

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events

Updated diaries and events information can be viewed at www.vegansociety.com This information has been provided by the event organisers.

n May

n July

London Vegan Pledge 19 May - 16 June The London Vegan Pledge is a free, annual event organised by London Vegan Campaigns to give help and support to people who are interested in trying a vegan diet. Participants of the 2012 pledge will be invited to meetings at the start and end of the vegan month in central London. On arrival they will receive an info pack and be introduced to their “vegan buddy”, an experienced vegan who offers support during the month.

These informative events will also include speakers, films, delicious vegan food, cookery demos, free recipe booklets and basic health and nutrition advice. www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/pledge. html

Minding Animals Conference 3-6 July in Utrecht, The Netherlands VS CEO Jasmijn de Boo will be speaking about Vegan Society activities. http://www.uu.nl/faculty/humanities/en /CONGRES/MINDINGANIMALS/Pages/ default.aspx

Bristol VegFest Friday 25 May 2pm - 8pm Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May 11am - 8pm The Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square, Bristol Always a spectacular vegan event.

Admission is free and this year the festival will be run over three days.

There will be lots of stalls, specialist vegan caterers, live music, cookery demonstrations, competitions and performance artists. www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk/

n June Toronto Veggie Pride Parade 2 June A parade through the city of Toronto to celebrate a compassionate vegan lifestyle followed by an area of stalls and vegan caterers. http://veggieprideparade.ca/

Twin Cities Veg Fest 14 July Offering an introduction into the vegan lifestyle, the Twin Cities Veg Fest in Minneapolis will have 60 exhibitors, a selection of speakers giving lectures and cookery demonstrations and plenty of free vegan food samples and delicious vegan cuisine. http://www.tcvegfest.com/

n August Fifth Veg SummerFest in Berlin 18 August Place: Alexanderplatz A day filled with delicious vegan food, live music, inspiring speakers, thrilling raffle prizes, a children’s area. www.berlin-vegan.de Satvik Indian Vegan Festival 2012 Saturday Aug 18 to Monday Aug 20 Sthitaprajna Vegan Centre, Byndoor, Udupi Dist., Karnataka, India www.indianvegansociety.com

n September Portland VegFest 22-23 September VegFest celebrates and promotes sustainable, compassionate and healthy food choices and lifestyles.

This low-cost, educational, and fun event welcomes everyone. There will

be a selection of expert speakers, food exhibits and samples, a restaurant area, cooking demos, a bookstore and much more.

Entry is $6 and children under 10 get in free. http://nwveg.org/vegfest

n October 40th IVU International Vegetarian Congress 5 - 11 October County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA Hosted by the San Francisco Vegetarian Society, there will be international speakers, talks, workshops, events, visits and sightseeing tours in various locations around the city and beyond. All food will be vegan. www.ivu.org/congress/2012/index.html

n December Annual General Meeting of The Vegan Society Sunday 2 December 1-4pm Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 This is the same building as where the Animal Aid Christmas Fayre will be held on the same day although there is a separate entrance to our AGM. Vegan Society members are encouraged to attend the AGM and have their say, elect or meet new trustees, and share their thoughts with other members. The location makes it very easy to attend the Christmas Fayre and our AGM, so we hope to see many of you on 2 December.

Animal Aid’s Christmas Fayre Sunday 2 December Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 More details to follow in the Autumn magazine.

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vegan society local contacts & groups THE VEGAN SOCIETY LOCAL CONTACTS Get in touch with vegans near you – for information, socialising, mutual support and more.

Our Local Contacts will be glad to hear from you.

Local Contacts are Vegan Society members who volunteer as ‘points of contact’ for vegans. Some Contacts run local groups, as listed here, many of which hold regular activities – please contact them to find out more.

Veg*n = vegan and vegetarian.

If emails and phone numbers are not convenient for you please write to us at the office and we can pass your message on. Please include an SAE.

NORTH ENGLAND

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vegan society local contacts & groups/listings PATRONS Freya Dinshah Maneka Gandhi Rebecca Hall Dr Michael Klaper Moby Gordon Newman Cor Nouws Wendy Turner-Webster Benjamin Zephaniah

COUNCIL Philip Bickley (Nutrition and Health Spokesperson) Matthew Cole (Chair) Catriona Gold Nicola Martin (Treasurer) Karen Morgan (Vice Chair and Information Consultant) George Rodger (Information Consultant)

STAFF PR/Media Officer Amanda Baker Chief Executive Officer Jasmijn de Boo Office Manager/Finance Officer Blaine Cannon Head of Business Development George Gill Advocacy Officer Rebecca Henderson Business Development Assistant (Trademark) Sarah Hoyle Information Officer Sammy Keetley Business Development Assistant (Trademark) Paul Philbrow Head of Information Rosamund Raha Information Officer Charley Roberts Outreach Coordinator Zoe Smith Education Officer Daniel Therkelsen Once you’ve been a full member of the Vegan Society for six months, why not ask Daniel (cc@vegansociety.com) about becoming a Local Contact?

Local Contacts are not official representatives of the Vegan Society, and their levels of activity and knowledge vary according to individual circumstances.

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Sales and Membership Coordinator Mike Tomkins SPECIALIST ADVISORS Stephen Walsh (Nutrition and Health Spokesperson) Sandra Hood (Nutrition and Health Spokesperson)

VEGANISM may be defined as a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, 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 lactovegetarianism (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 deoxygenation 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.

classifieds (UK) Holidays Cumbria

Holidays Abroad Pyrenean mountain village in southern France. Enjoy our vegan B&B. Phone Karen or Matthew on 00 33 56166 9195 www.veganholidayfrance.com

Publications

CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE:

Available NOW!

Cornwall Michael House, vegetarian and vegan guest house, vegan evening meals, North Cornwall, 01840 770 592 www.michael-house.co.uk email: info@michael-house.co.uk Sleeps 2, self-catering barn in quiet, Idyllic location with parking.

Near main line station St Ives / Penzance.

Tremellin Barn, St Erth, West Penwith, Cornwall.

Tel: 01736 756006 / 798704

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.

Shopping Internet Services Organisations

Devon

Divine Frog Web Services. Vegan standards compliant website design, development, implementation, maintenance, email, domain name registration, hosting and eco-hosting.

FREE website health check for your current site.

Please contact Ian - tel: 07981 057697 email: i.nicoll@divinefrog.co.uk. www.divinefrog.co.uk the professional choice.

Hampshire NEW FOREST - The Barn Vegan Guest House. En Suite rooms, evening meals.

Perfect for walking/cycling etc 023 8029 2531 or www.veggiebarn.net

Discount Card

Sussex

Donald Watson House 21 Hylton Street Hockley Birmingham B18 6HJ

Advertisements to be submitted by 9 July 2012 for inclusion in the Summer 2012 issue of The Vegan Contact: advertising@vegansociety.com 0121 523 1733

Tel: 0845 45 88244 Fax: 0121 523 1749 info@vegansociety.com www.vegansociety.com

One world. Many lives. Our choice. vegansociety.com

The Vegan Discount Card

The Vegan l Summer 2012

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FRY'S RANGE NOW AVAILABLE FROM GIANT CATERING SUPPLIER Fry's entire range of vegan products are now available from 3663 - the biggest food service supplier in the UK. The Fry's range includes tons of fantastic products including Chicken Style Strips & Vegetarian Polony. If you have contact with any schools, hotels, colleges, universities, hospitals, cafés, leisure centres etc you can ask the catering manager if they are supplied by 3663 and, if so, request that they order Fry's products to add to their range. www.frysdistribution.co.uk

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The Vegan Society trademark is the authentic international standard for vegan products.

Events

The Gallery London

Raw and Living Foods Classes Presented by Theresa Webb, Chef at Kitchen Buddy

Trademark holders benefit from instant recognition, promotion in The Vegan magazine, discounted advertising rates, and a listing on the Vegan Society website.

A complete introduction to natural plant foods: dairy, wheat, soya and refined sugar – free.

Make simple and gourmet recipes bursting with delicious new tastes and flavours.

It’s good for you, good for the Vegan Society, and good for vegans.

6 fun and informative Organic hands-on workshops 1. Sprouting: grow your own mini indoor garden 2. Starters: Dips, dressings and sauces 3. Drinks: Juices, dairy-free milks and shakes 4. Lunches 5. Main meals 6. Puddings and Desserts Monday evenings 7pm-9pm 14th May - 25th June 2012 Individual Class £35.00 Full 6 Weekly Classes £210.00 Discount Group Bookings To book contact Gradle Gardner Martin Tel. 07592 341 051 www.thegallerylondon.org/ or Theresa Webb Tel. 07734 166 738 workshops@kitchenbuddy.eu www.kitchenbuddy.eu

Discount Card

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.

The Vegan Discount Card VALID FROM

MAY 2012

Ref:PYM 012

The Vegan l Summer 2012

For more information on the trademark, contact George Gill on (0121) 5231733 or email trademark@vegansociety.com You can also read about the trademark on our website at www.vegansociety.com

FEEDING YOUR VEGAN INFANT - WITH CONFIDENCE £6.99 Special Offer - purchase a copy of Feeding Your Vegan Infant and receive a free copy of our Educational CD worth £4.99!

Written by State Registered Dietician Sandra Hood, Feeding your vegan infant - with confidence is an essential guide for parents and health professionals on nutrition for vegan infants, and provides reassuring guidelines on creating a wellbalanced diet, covering from pre-conceptual nutrition for both men and women through to children's pre-school years.

The many areas covered include simple food guides, problem solving, menu ideas and recipes. Also includes vegan parents' real life experiences in bringing up their children.

UNTIL

AUGUST 2012

REFERENCE CODE

46

Our logo provides an easy and trusted way to promote your cruelty-free goods and services to the growing number of vegans in the UK and worldwide.

This clear, practical, easy to follow guide answers all the frequently raised questions: n Will my child have enough energy? n What about protein? n How about essential fatty acids? n Where will they get calcium and vitamin C from? n Is soya safe?

crossword Quick crossword set by Kate Sweeney Across 6 Wild stinging plant from which soup is made (6) 8 Constituents of proteins - _ _ _ _ _ acids (5) 9 Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice (4) 10 A leavened accompaniment to curry (3,5) 11 Potatoes may be served in them! (7) 13 Portion of ice cream, perhaps (5) 15 E.g. cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger (5) 17 Kind of leaf or gooseberry (7) 20 Maybe stems are cooked in these (Anag.) (8) 21 Bean curd (4) 23 Savour, appreciation, try (5) 24 Sheets; parts of a terrine, for example (6) Down 1 2 3 4 5 7 12 14 16 18 19

22

It gives carrots their colour and is converted to Vitamin A in the body - _ _ _ _ carotene (4) Monkey nuts (7) Bouquet _ _ _ _ _ - a tied bundle of herbs used for stocks and soups (5) Acid found in oranges and lemons (6) Pink fir apples are long ones (8) Dense, viscous (5) Hunger (8) Milk_ _ _ _ _ _ _, used in herbal medicine to support the liver (7) Not fine (6) Tasting of pecans perhaps; crackers! (5) Describes an unrounded spoonful (5) Item of cutlery (4) Please

Cryptic crossword set by Vega

send in so lutions (b e-mail to y post or the addres s on page along wit 1) h your na me and po address by stal 2 July 20 12.

The winne r of each crosswor win a co d will py of The Vegan Ta ble by Colleen Pa trick-Goud reau.

Across 6 Portable appropriate in slice (6) 8 Feudal lord of Belgian city? (5) 9 Other books contain 4 or 22 for example (4) 10 Van elder crashed into purple shrub (8) 11 Pepper father embraces Mayall (7) 13 Popular song may be golden endlessly about one (5) 15 Greek character swallows 49 Roman hot pepper (5) 17 Chaps in confusion: dark green leaves to eat (7) 20/23 Bond producer Cubby’s fruit or piece of brassica (8,5) 21 Grasslike plant to speed recklessly (4) 23 See 20 24 Fruit Free State in South Africa? (6)

48

The Vegan l Summer 2012

Solutions to the Spring 2012 crosswords (quick: left / Cryptic: right) Winner of quick crossword: Bobby Balfour Winner of cryptic crossword: Janet Sales

Down 1 2 3 4 5 7 12 14 16 18 19 22

Spice carried as a symbol of office came about (4) Anthropoid found in circulating pie lake (7) Nothing to be green or black fruit (5) Feel around new pole for 9 (6) Clear ice splinters into aromatic root (8) Potato, for example, we hear in the horn section (5) Shaking as I morph into pithy instructive saying (8) Fruit eaten in Capri cottages (7) Chinese fruit makes fly cheer after losing extremities (6) Lady wife of Major rotated after exchanging middle for new starter (5) God encompasses old city with hard rind - bottle perhaps? (5) Wise 9 saved a green endive initially (4)

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