The Vegan Autumn 2015

The Vegan Autumn 2015

The Vegan Society magazine

TAKE ACTION Inspiring vegans are changing the world

FEATURING TIM SHIEFF Where athletics meets activism

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Editor's Letter & Contents

Editor’s Letter

A

s vegans, we take positive action every day by aligning our actions with our moral beliefs. We embody a compassionate and sustainable lifestyle, and represent the fact that veganism is an achievable and desirable way to live. We show ourselves, the people around us, and big companies that we don’t want to take part in practices that harm others. But how can we make these positive effects ripple outwards?

How can we maximise our impact on the world around us?

activist (page 8) by lifelong campaigner Kim Stallwood. Get ready to Meet Genesis (page 26), an eight-year-old vegan from California who has achieved local celebrity status for speaking up for animals. Athlete Tim Shieff takes time out from freerunning to speak to us about his preferred method of promoting veganism in A Greater Purpose (page 12). And look out for Positive Action (page 18), which will give you some ideas on how to help us create a more vegan world.

Individually, we can make a difference.

But together, global change is possible.

In this issue you will find inspirational stories of activism from some wonderful individuals. We open with Memoirs from a vegan animal rights

Contents 03

Achievements

07

Media Highlights

08

Activist memoirs

12

Sport

14

Recipes

18

Positive action

26

Meet Genesis

28

Active Vegans

33

Reviews

36

Survey results

39

A fruitful event

12

Essential updates on Vegan Society news

The Vegan Society in the press

Kim Stallwood’s campaigning career

Tim Shieff – professional freerunner

14

Featuring Lee Watson’s Peace and Parsnips

Tips on creating a more vegan world

Words from an eight-year-old activist

Keeping up with our amazing volunteers

26

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13/02/2015 04:04

New recipe book and a children’s story

The results of our members’ survey

Our CEO reviews a fascinating conference Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 1

From the CEO Editor Elena Orde Art Director Lia Cumming Contributors Kim Stallwood, Lee Watson, Helen Long, Diane Smith, Penny Veitch Cover image: Pip bypip.co.uk

From the CEO Moving forward with a new council

W

Print kingsdown.uk.com

e are working on an exciting report encouraging the government to support farmers to make the transition from animal farming to crop farming. We are launching this at the Labour Party Conference in September. Please make a donation today to help us influence policy makers and campaign for substantial change in agriculture. Thank you for your continuing support.

Submissions We welcome articles on a range of topics relating to veganism, as well as photographs, images, and illustrations.

Please email editor@vegansociety.com for more information.

Staff Chief Executive Officer Jasmijn de Boo Head of Communications & Programmes Peter Smith Head of Business Development George Gill Finance & Resources Manager Heather Graham Senior Advocacy & Policy Officer Amanda Baker Senior Campaigner Andrea Speranza Volunteering & Engagement Manager Alex Douglas Media & PR Manager Jimmy Pierce Office Manager & Fundraiser Sarah Cook Sales & Merchandise Officer Spencer Harris Finance Officer Allan Oakes Web & Digital Communications Officer Ali Ryland Communications & Campaigns Officer Elena Orde Business Development Officers Paul Philbrow & Grace Shuck Business Development Assistants Abigail Stevens, Laura Faliveno, Rhiannon Delo, Jo Connop, Dean Bracher Research Officers Dr Terri Holloway, Dr Lorna MarquesBrocksopp Supporter Services & Event Co-ordinator Jessica Payne Supporter Services Assistant Debbie Latham Council Alex Kapila (Chair) Edward Daniel (Vice-Chair) Ruth Jenkins (Treasurer) Menna Jones (Assistant Treasurer) Tim Barford, Stephen Walsh, Jenifer Vinell, Paul Crouch, Helen Wright, Sagar Shah, Felix Hnat, Constantin Imbs 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 The Vegan Society's 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.

2 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

We held our Annual General Meeting on 27 June, and were happy to see that it was well attended. We would like to welcome the 10 new elected trustees: Tim Barford, Stephen Walsh, Ruth Jenkins, Jenifer Vinell, Paul Crouch, Helen Wright, Sagar Shah, Edward Daniel, Felix Hnat, and Constantin Imbs. On 19 July the trustees elected Alex Kapila as chair, Edward Daniel as vice chair, Ruth Jenkins as treasurer and Menna Jones as assistant treasurer.

Several proposals were passed at the AGM: 1. Proposals from members or council put to the AGM may in the future be accompanied by a counterargument from a well-informed member.

2. Council will look at the feasibility of establishing a trading subsidiary. This could allow the society to carry out more political campaigns. As we are a charity, this work is currently restricted. This would also allow us to set up trading activities to fund those campaigns and our charitable work. Relevant legal and financial advice will inform the decision.

3. We will adopt, in principle, the Charity Commission Model Articles of Association, which are based on best practice. Several Articles have various options, and the advantages and disadvantages will be discussed with members.

We hope to contact you soon you to gauge your views.

Staff Updates We would like to welcome Dean Bracher and Jo Connop, who have joined the Business Development department. Jo’s background is in sustainable transport, and Dean has been a longstanding volunteer for various vegan organisations.

Trademark Assistant Alix Meek left in July. She enjoyed working at The Vegan Society and we wish her all the best with her future career. Spencer Harris is also moving on, and we would like to thank him for his contribution to membership, sales and improving the office facilities..

Donald Watson House 21 Hylton Street Birmingham B18 6HJ UK

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Achievements

Achievements New trademark search launches Our Vegan Trademark can be found worldwide, and signifies that a product contains no animalderived ingredients and has undergone no animal testing. This includes unlisted ingredients, bulking agents and processing aids used during the manufacturing of the product.

We are very pleased to announce that our new trademark search is up and running. This is a user-friendly feature on our website, allowing you to see which products are registered with the Vegan Trademark at the click of a button. To find our trademark search, go to vegansociety.com and click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner.

This feature signifies The Vegan Society’s ongoing work to make life easier for people to go and stay vegan. Making it more straightforward for vegans, as well as those shopping and cooking for vegans, is an integral part of this.

We are also keen to support our trademark holders, driving the growth of vegan-friendly businesses and increasing the options on the market. We want to show that vegans are an important demographic for a company to cater for.

Which of your favourite products haven’t yet been registered with our trademark?

We encourage you to reach out to those manufacturers, and point out what a valuable asset our trademark would be to their product.

Show them that the vegan market is growing, and that it is here to stay.

Jasmijn and her partner Andrew – triathletes!

Vegans take on a triathlon In May, CEO Jasmijn de Boo was cordially invited by the founders of Mallorca Vegan to sample the many vegan menus across the island. The quality of the vegan cuisine was fantastic and actually better than most UK restaurants – helped, of course, by the wonderful Mediterranean climate.

Jasmijn’s blog on our website details how Mallorca is becoming Europe’s number one vegan holiday destination.

During this trip Jasmijn was roped into doing her first ever triathlon. Far less prepared than the other participants, as many of them had trained for months or years, Jasmijn took on the full Olympic distance. A 1.5k swim, 39k bike ride and 9k run later, Jasmijn finished in the very respectable time of just under three hours, despite only five weeks’ minimal training. She attributes her success, and the absence of aches and pains in the following days, to being healthy on a vegan diet. Who would like to join Jasmijn in an all-vegan Mallorca 2016 triathlon team?

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 3

Achievements

Just V Show a success

Volunteer Adam receives his award

As partners of this event, we’re always really excited to take part in the Just V Show. The organisers, as ever, were eager to showcase veganism and make it a main focus of the show, allowing us to reach new audiences and talk to the thousands of vegan and vegancurious visitors.

The three days were jam-packed, with all of our talks completely filled. Kirly-Sue, professional food demonstrator, hosted a beautiful cooking demo for us. Vegan Society ambassador Fiona Oakes spoke about her world record goals and her animal sanctuary. April Chandler hosted an engaging talk about the importance of good health and veganism. We also held our second annual Vegan Society Volunteer of the Year awards, which was a great celebration.

With our volunteers’ help, we signed up many new members and raised valuable donations for the society.

Bristol VegFest hits the mark A fun community event with a festival feel, Bristol Vegfest is one of The Vegan Society’s calendar highlights of the year.

Over 14,000 people attended over two days, staying late into the evening to enjoy great food, company, music and entertainment. We had a fantastic time talking all things vegan and signing up plenty of new members.

Volunteering and Engagement Manager Alex Douglas hosted a workshop on volunteering with the help of Dean Bracher. Senior Campaigner Andrea Sperenza facilitated a workshop on vegan campaigning, aided by volunteer Sahra Ucar.

Thanks to all of our amazing volunteers who pitched in over the weekend.

We continued our celebration of the Vegan Trademark’s 25th anniversary by working with registered companies to produce a Vegan Society loyalty card. Visitors had a great time filling up their stamp cards and winning goodie bags filled with donations from our trademark holders.

Volunteers are kept busy

Volunteer-run events

Vegan Society stall welcomes visitors

4 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Unfortunately we can’t make it to every event we would like to – but with the help of our wonderful volunteers, The Vegan Society can have a presence at more events than ever. Thank you to Philippa Lennox who hosted a stall for us at the Great Yorkshire Vegan Festival, Michelle James who attended the Manchester Vegan Fair with the Vegan Organic Network, and Patricia Tricker who represented The Vegan Society at the North East Vegan Festival. With your support, we are able to share our message even further.

Achievements

Represented in Parliament Vegan Society staff represented vegans at the British Dietetic Association’s Parliamentary reception at the House of Lords. This was a great opportunity to talk to dietitians and hospital caterers, and to identify the challenges which they face in catering for vegans in hospital.

Building strong relationships with key decision makers is invaluable for our vegan-friendly hospital catering campaign (see page 20). We know that, along with around two thirds of all patients, many vegans still struggle to secure suitable meals during hospital stays.

We supported the BDA’s Trust a Dietitian campaign, which encourages doctors and other healthcare professionals to rely upon Registered Dietitians for advice. Dietitians are all trained in plant-based diets.

B12: not just a vegan issue In May our Research Officer, Dr Terri Holloway, attended a conference entitled ‘B12, thyroid and your patient’. Health professionals travelled from across the UK, Europe and the US to take part.

Terri was eager to hear the latest developments in vitamin B12 research, and to discover recommendations which would be beneficial to vegans.

The conference began with a thoughtprovoking talk on B12 deficiency by expert Sally Pacholok. This discussion positively reaffirmed a fact which many vegans have known for a long time – that B12 is not only an issue for vegans and vegetarians, but something that everyone should be mindful of. Many non-vegans are B12deficient, and it is recommended that everyone over the age of 50 should supplement B12.

During a break, Terri met a nurse who had been diagnosed with B12 deficiency. Terri asked what piece of advice she would give to vegans. She replied, “I’d tell them that they have the healthiest diet in the world. But they must supplement B12.”

For more nutritional information, or to order our multivitamin Veg1, head to our website: vegansociety.com.

We are working to influence EU policy-makers

Vegans’ rights upheld In June, we met in the shadow of the European Parliament in Brussels with representatives of other vegan groups in the EU, as well as SAFE: Safe Food Advocacy Europe lobbyists.

We discussed ways in which we can increase our effectiveness by working together. Senior Advocacy and Policy Officer Amanda Baker is acting as a Policy Adviser to SAFE and their Vegan Working Group. Amanda presented policy advice on crucial food-related issues, including helping farmers to move away from animal farming to sustainable crop farming.

The Vegan Society is working to influence EU policy-makers on issues ranging from the use of animals in farming to accurate labelling of foods suitable for vegans. With 25 years’ experience using the Vegan Trademark we are uniquely qualified to guide decision makers on clear, accurate vegan labelling.

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 5

Facebook milestone reached

Chickpea water an unusual blog hit

In July we reached 250,000 Facebook likes – an important milestone that demonstrates our global reach. It’s fantastic that over a quarter of a million people have ready access to the work we share with them, such as campaign updates, the new trademark search and our Vegan Pledge.

While our Facebook supporters most enjoy videos and photos of non-human animals being cared for, many have proven themselves to be immensely valuable as we ask them for help lobbying companies regarding vegan labelling, staffing our stalls at events and contacting MPs regarding important legislation. You can like our Facebook page at facebook.com/ thevegansociety.

The best of the blog

Website updates

Since its creation at the end of May, our ‘13 amazing things you can do with aquafaba’ blog has garnered more than 25,000 hits, making it our most shared post since the blog’s inception in February. In case you haven’t heard, aquafaba (water-bean) is a magical ingredient found when you boil dry beans or when you drain beans such as chickpeas from a can. It’s shaping out to be a perfect egg-replacer, most notably for vegan meringues!

Going from strength to strength, our blog relies upon our fantastic volunteers with great ideas – if you’d like to contribute to our blog, head to vegansociety.com/blog to check out our submission guidelines and take a look at what we’ve achieved so far.

Our new and improved ‘Health and Nutrition’ section is now out, thanks to the work of our Research Officer, Dr Terri Holloway. Our updated ‘Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients’ section joins our B12 article, with a breakdown of key nutritional information and suggestions.

Find out about the factual ins and outs of Calcium, Iodine, Iron, Omega 3 and 6, Protein, Selenium and Zinc with our handy guides, or just peruse the basic information laid out on each of the separate pages.

Vote for us for ‘best vegan website’!

We are delighted to have been nominated for a VegFestUK award for ‘best vegan website’. Our new and improved website launched last summer, to a great many positive comments. If our online resources have been helpful to you, please do head over to vegfest.co.uk/vote to show your support.

6 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Media Highlights

Media highlights

Top picks of our increasing coverage in the press

On the radio

Vegan Trademark in Germany

Following a statement we issued to the press on the Yulin dog-eating festival, we were invited to speak on three radio shows. The first was Newstalk 106-108 FM – the biggest talk radio station in Ireland. Ed Long, a Vegan Society Local Contact, spoke on our behalf to discuss the hypocrisy of opposing the festival while consuming other animal products. Senior Advocacy and Policy Officer Amanda Baker spoke on both Gateway 97.8 FM and Spark FM about a range of vegan issues, including those raised in China.

Our Vegan Trademark has been the source of significant interest from the German media.

Women’s Health magazine in Germany reproduced the trademark logo in a piece on the labelling of environmentally friendly makeup. Natur Magazine devoted a quarter of a page to explaining the trademark in an article on the increasing demand for more naturally made cosmetics. Another major German publication, Natürlich Gesund Und Munter magazine, featured the trademark in a piece titled ‘Vegan cosmetics are trendy’.

Listeners: 86,650

Readership: 714,640

Uncovering veganism in snooker

Best of the rest

In the lead up to the World Snooker Championships, Media and PR Manager Jimmy Pierce secured exclusive interviews with two vegan former World Champions; Peter Ebdon and Neil Robertson. He discovered that five professional players on tour are vegan – a higher proportion than in any other sport – with many other top players expressing an interest. Jimmy wrote up his findings in a piece published on the BBC Sport website, and subsequently picked up by The Sun. He also appeared on BBC Radio Solent discussing how and why snooker has embraced veganism.

Quotes from CEO Jasmijn de Boo improved a feature in The Daily Telegraph in which the journalist went vegan for 60 days. This trend is on the rise, and one we wish to support. The Vegan Society was mentioned in the introductory paragraph of a piece in The Daily Mirror on vegan labelling. Head of Communications Peter Smith was quoted on the importance of accurate labelling, and called for consumers to look out for the Vegan Trademark on shelves. An interview with our CEO formed part of a four-page feature on veganism in Netball magazine. This included a page describing what a vegan is, and why people choose to go vegan. The article also made reference to our website and the 30-Day Vegan Pledge.

Reach: Tweeted to over 4 million followers and shared over 1,100 times on social media

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 7

Activism

8  The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Activism

Memoirs of a vegan animal rights activist Next year Kim Stallwood celebrates 40 years’ full-time work for animal rights The many forms of activism In 1973 I was a student working in a chicken slaughterhouse in England. Three years later, I was a vegan campaigning against factory farming.

Next year I celebrate 40 years of working full-time for animals in leadership positions with some of the world’s foremost organisations. Today, I’m an author, an independent scholar, and a consultant with client organisations in the UK and USA. For the past 40 years I have considered myself a vegan animal rights activist at heart. My activism has ranged from standing with a couple of others protesting the circus when it came into town, to organising national demonstrations with thousands of protestors in London’s Trafalgar Square. I have interviewed Paul McCartney and presented papers at academic conferences.

There isn’t much in the way of animal rights campaigning that I haven’t done myself or been involved with in some way.

Four key values The nature of my work has involved searching to understand what it really means to care deeply about animals. I believe that there are four key values that must be at the core of any animal rights campaign: • Compassion: our motivation for helping animals • Truth: our ethical relations with animals • Nonviolence: our value in the relations we have with animals • Justice: our commitment to all animals.

I see these ideals as being at the heart of everything I think, say, and do – not only when I campaign for animals, but also in how I live my day-to-day life. Being vegan is more than just a cruelty-free lifestyle where one set of products and services is replaced by another – it’s a way of

life. It’s an embodiment of who we are and how we are to live. This understanding was not an instant realisation on 1 January, 1976 when I went vegan. It grew over time and continues to do so.

These principles are more powerful in combination than singularly. In addition to this, they possess a certain strategic value in that they are largely accepted and can be understood by everyone, including people who may not share our dedication to reducing animal suffering.

Our progress My years of personal commitment and professional experience give me some authority to assess our work for animals, but despite my experience I am constantly discovering new ways in which we not only abuse animals but also how we save and protect them.

My assessment of the animal rights movement is mixed. To be sure, there is significant progress to report – much has improved in the last four decades for vegans and those who aspire to become vegans. There’s more awareness among people about how we treat animals and what should be done about it. Considerable progress has been made in that some companies have implemented changes in how they use animals.

The emergence in academia of animal law, animal welfare science and animal studies are good indicators that a generational shift in awareness is underway. These are all significant accomplishments, given the vast challenge to liberate all species from our subjugation of them.

However, much has not improved for nonhuman animals throughout the world.

Although the thousands of groups that make up the animal advocacy movement have made significant progress in public education, an unimaginable number of animals still suffer and die to make products and perform services for Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 9

Activism

humans. The animal advocacy movement has a long way to go. It’s in the public policy arena, and specifically legislation, that we should focus more of our efforts. Our challenge is to understand that the problem of animal exploitation is not only about persuading people to change how they live but also how governments make public policy and pass laws.

The animal rights movement Whenever I’m asked about whether I think we’re making any progress I’m always prompted to ask three important but often overlooked questions: Is animal rights the duty of the individual or the responsibility of society? Is the animal rights movement a moral crusade or a social movement with a political agenda? Which will achieve moral and legal rights for animals: a moral crusade or a social movement?

I believe we’re simultaneously a moral crusade and a social movement, which pursues a strategy combining together idealistic objectives of abolition with pragmatic goals embedding the values of animal rights into public policy. But in reality, what does this mean?

We will all have our way to answer this question. For me, it means that everything I think, feel, say and do for animals is grounded in the four key values of animal rights: compassion, truth, nonviolence, and justice. It means that I function simultaneously in achieving change on a small scale every day and rededicating my life to the long-term mission of animal liberation.

Memoir and manifesto My book, Growl – Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate, was published by Lantern Books in 2014, and is part memoir, part manifesto. Growl is dedicated to the reader, because you can make a difference. We may not be able to save the world. But we can save the world that is ours.

Kim Stallwood Follow Kim’s activities on kimstallwood.com and on Twitter @grumpyvegan

10 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

The five stages of social movements There are five basic stages that social movements, including the animal rights movement, must pass through to move from obscurity to victory. These stages are: 1. Public education, when people are enlightened about the issue and embrace it in their lives 2. Public policy development, when political parties, businesses, schools, professional associations, and other entities that constitute society adopt sympathetic positions on the issue 3. Legislation, when laws are passed on the issue 4. Litigation, when laws are implemented and enforced 5. Public acceptance, when the issue is embraced by the majority of society

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Sport

A Greater Purpose Elena Orde catches up with athlete and activist Tim Shieff

12  The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Sport

When I became vegan I stopped training for myself and started training with a purpose greater than my own. I do this to liberate animals

T

im ‘Livewire’ Shieff is a professional freerunner and winner of the World Freerunning Championships.

If you’ve not yet heard of this particular athletic field, think of it as a kind of urban gymnastics, with an emphasis on imagination, strength and grace of movement. Picture hanging off and jumping between buildings, performing handstands at dizzying heights, and you’ll be close to visualising the kind of tricks Tim gets up to.

Veganism as mindfulness Since he became vegan, Tim has been passionate about promoting the lifestyle from an animal rights perspective. “I prefer to engage people on an emotional and compassionate level. When I became vegan I stopped training for myself and started training with a purpose greater than my own. Veganism for me is about mindfulness. I do this to liberate animals.”

The healing diet That said, as a result of Tim’s change in diet, he has seen a real improvement in his athletic performance. “Before I went vegan I had tendonitis, and I would get joint aches and ligament strains, and my knees would be sore. All that went away as soon as I switched to a wholefood plant-based diet. It’s anti-inflammatory, and your digestive system gets a break. Eating meat takes a lot more energy to digest, and so that energy can’t be spent healing other areas of your body.”

Tim believes that he wasn’t really an athlete until he went vegan. “I didn’t understand what it meant to be an athlete. I was big, muscularly, but I was swollen; it wasn’t ‘healthy big’. Now I’m leaner, sharper, quicker, and my mind’s sharper too.”

The running bug Tim has recently been enjoying the more traditional kind of running – that which doesn’t involve backflips or scaling buildings. “I just got hooked on it,” he says, “and now I want to do it all the time.” I don’t have difficulty believing this, as Tim is out on a jog during our phone interview.

Having only started running less than a year ago, Tim’s progress has been nothing short of phenomenal. Completing his first marathon in April this year, he then took on the 100k London to Brighton ultramarathon in May. Taking 12 hours exactly, Tim wore a ‘Vegan Runners’ vest for the duration of the race, in the hope of inspiring interest in vegan living.

What’s next?

You may have seen Tim on the Ninja Warrior UK series this year, making it further through the obstacle course than any other competitor.

Looking to the future, Tim is captaining Team Europe on the USA Ninja Warrior ‘USA vs the World’ competition, defending the title they won in 2014.

Tim is also focusing his efforts on his YouTube channel, uploading athletic commentary, quick and easy recipe videos, and thoughtful meditations on veganism and animal rights.

Check out youtube.com/livewire.

Tim agrees that it’s an exciting time to be involved in the vegan world. Commenting on the mainstreaming of veganism, he believes we’re reaching a tipping point. “It’s time.

The next two or three years are going to be very interesting.”

You can find Tim on Twitter and Instagram @TimothyShieff Find out more about plant-based athletes on greatveganathletes.com.

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 13

Peace & Parsnips Eating vegan is a statement of positive change, it’s activism Lee Watson

Sweet & Sour Aubergines

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Ingredients 1 tsp salt 8 baby aubergines, quartered lengthways 3 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger 2 cloves of garlic, crushed ½ tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp paprika Handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped 3 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil Juice of ½ a lemon 3 tsp brown sugar

13/02/2015 03:50

Directions Rub ½ tsp salt into the aubergines and leave them to drain in a colander for 30 minutes.

Put the chickpea flour, cumin seeds and coriander seeds into a heavy frying pan and toast on a medium heat until the seeds pop and the flour becomes darker. Scoop out into a pestle and mortar and roughly crush the seeds. Add the ginger, garlic, cayenne, paprika, fresh coriander, ½ tsp salt and bash into a thick, sticky paste.

Pat the aubergines dry with kitchen paper, then rub the paste into them.

Put the oil in a large frying pan. When it is hot add the aubergines and begin to fry, browning them on all sides for 3 or 4 minutes. Add 3 tbsp water. Pop a lid on the pan and leave to simmer for around 15 minutes.

Whisk the lemon and sugar together and pour over the aubergines.

Continue to cook for a few minutes, turning them once, until there is a thick sauce and the aubergines are almost falling apart. Serve warm, topped with chopped coriander.

Serves 4

14 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Glazed Tempeh, Bok Choi & Soba Noodles Ingredients 200g tempeh, seitan or firm tofu 2 tbsp vegetable oil 250g bok choi leaves, halved lengthways Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped 2 spring onions, sliced For the maple and orange glaze 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 2cm fresh ginger, finely grated 1 clove of garlic, crushed ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced 3 tbsp tamari 2½ tbsp maple syrup Zest and juice of ½ an orange 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

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For the miso noodle broth 135g soba noodles 1 tbsp tamari 1 star anise 3½ tbsp brown rice miso

Directions Drain the tempeh, dry and press out the excess liquid with kitchen paper. Warm the sesame oil in a small pan and add the ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute, then add the rest of the glaze ingredients.

Slowly bring to a boil, then gently simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tempeh and cover. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, and when hot add the tempeh, keeping the marinade. Fry for around 2 minutes, adding the marinade gradually until the glaze becomes sticky – this should take around 10 minutes. Set aside, cover and keep warm.

13/02/2015 Cook your noodles according to the instructions on the pack. Drain, reserving about 500ml of the water, then keep the noodles warm in a bowl, stirring in a little oil.

Pour the noodle water back into the pan, put back on the heat and add the tamari and star anise. Put the miso into a small bowl and mix in a couple of tbsp of the warm water. Add this paste to the pan and keep covered, simmering the broth on a low heat. The flavour should be strong – add more tamari and miso if needed.

Heat ½ tbsp oil in your frying pan and add the bok choi. Cook for 2 minutes on a high heat, then add 3 tbsp of the miso broth and continue cooking for 1 more minute. Bring the broth to a slow boil.

Divide your noodles between warm bowls, top with bok choi and ladle over some of the broth. Then stack on a pile of tempeh, topped with some sliced spring onions and a scattering of fresh coriander.

Serves 2 Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 15

03:54

Recipes

16  The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Recipes

Raw Spiced Apple & Date Pie Ingredients For the crust 200g macadamia or cashew nuts 150g pecans or walnuts 50g dates Large pinch of sea salt For the filling 150g dried apples, roughly chopped 480ml apple juice 375g apples (about 3 or 4) 1 tbsp lemon juice 8 dates, soaked ½ tsp cinnamon Large pinch of nutmeg 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp maple syrup Small pinch of sea salt For the topping 90g pecans or walnuts, finely chopped 4 medjool dates, finely chopped ½ tsp vanilla extract Large pinch of ground cinnamon

Directions Soak the dried apples in the apple juice for an hour.

To make the crust, pulse all the ingredients in a blender until a rough, sticky crumble is formed.

Gently press the crust down into a shallow pie dish or plate roughly 23cm in diameter. Pop it into the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.

Drain the dried apples, which should now be soft and plump. Core and chop the fresh apples, leaving the peel on, and put them in the lemon juice.

Put half the fresh apples into a blender with the dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, maple syrup and salt, and pulse until well combined. Pour in a little of the apple juice from the dried apples if the filling is too thick. Add the rest of the fresh and dried apples, then spoon on to the pie crust and smooth out.

To make the topping, mix together the pecans, dates and vanilla in a bowl and spread over the top of the pie to form a crust. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.

Cover and place in the fridge for an hour to chill. Serve at room temperature.

Peace & Parsnips by Lee Watson is out now, published by Michael Joseph

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 17

People

Positive action Small steps to creating a more vegan world Projecting change University student Luke Kitchel from the USA got in contact with an inspiring story of vegan outreach. Upon receiving a bursary, Luke was keen to use the money to promote veganism – a cause close to his heart. He set about thinking up the most effective, and most efficient, way to share this message with as wide an audience as possible. Luke says, “I wanted to promote my strongest ethical belief, and to show that some things are more important than money.”

Remembering the positive results of sharing vegan documentaries with friends, Luke decided to organise his own public screening. He chose the film Earthlings, saying, “It’s a film that gets people thinking and feeling. It gets people feeling on a topic that they have become numb to.” He approached his university organisation advisers, and was approved to use the largest lecture hall on campus. Luke wanted to ensure the event was a success, and so promised free vegan food and $5 for every attendee. “The way I viewed it was that if one student went vegan, over their lifetime they would save thousands of lives.”

After handing out flyers and sending out invites on social media, over 200 people attended the screening. Before the film, Luke made a short speech. “I let the audience know that it is a graphic film, but that as adults and especially as students, they should try not to push away information because it is disturbing. I reminded them that they could handle it, and said how important it was for them to watch.”

Luke expected many viewers to leave during the film, due to the upsetting content. However, almost every viewer stayed all the way through.

He says, “I believe that having a large crowd there helped commit students to staying until the end.”

Many people in the audience were visibly moved, and some stayed to discuss what they had seen afterwards. Despite the fact that many had been drawn by the $5 reward, most of the students decided against collecting this before they left.

18 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

After the success of the viewing, Luke is now looking to organise similar events in other institutions. Why not take inspiration from Luke’s story and organise your own? Try to make contacts with local universities, schools or cinemas, or if you want to think smaller, you could set up a screening for friends and family at home. You could organise the viewing with some like-minded friends, or through a local vegan group. In Luke’s words, “All it takes is a few dedicated individuals to start a movement.”

I wanted to promote my strongest ethical belief

1

1 Two happy children now have vegan school dinners 2 Melbourne’s Happy Fun Vegan group enjoying a beautiful day hiking

People

2 School meals for all

Vegan meet-ups

When Michelle Cudd sought vegan school meals for her children, Isabelle and OIiver, she was told that this option wasn’t available. Upon becoming eligible to receive free school meals, Michelle decided to enquire further. Getting in contact with the school’s catering company, she discovered that a vegan menu was in fact available to every school in their county. The company arranged to meet Michelle in person and go through the menu, which included several dessert options.

Michelle says that her children are already staunch animal advocates, and that the family takes care of several adopted animals. Isabelle, aged 11, is very happy to be able to receive vegan meals. She says, “I think everyone should have the vegan meals because they are yummy and don’t kill animals.” Oliver, aged six, is happy that this school caters for his lifestyle, saying, “I like having school dinners because I can sit with my friends and I don’t have to eat animals.”

If you find yourself in a similar position, remember that schools have a duty of care to their children, and that there is an extra responsibility if a child is eligible for free school meals. Michelle’s story shows that perseverance, and being aware of your rights, is key. This kind of work is also vital for helping the next vegan child that comes along.

Are you the only vegan you know? While the Internet is great for keeping us connected, sometimes this just isn’t enough. You could see if there are any vegan groups in your area, but what to do if there isn’t one? Don’t despair – we’ve put together our top tips on starting your own.

Firstly, get the word out. Social media is a great way to reach people – try Facebook or meetup.com. You could also go along to local events to drum up interest. It’s always a good idea to have a few flyers handy for people to take away, and vegan cake never goes amiss either.

Make it inclusive. Try to plan events which are free for others to attend. Ensuring that nonvegans feel welcome will greatly increase your outreach, and you’ll be able to help those who are interested to make the transition.

And finally – do fun stuff! Encouraging members to plan or host events themselves will maximise your group’s activities. Try potlucks and picnics, and support local vegan-friendly cafes and restaurants. If you don’t have any nearby, many pubs will be happy for you to reserve a room and bring your own food – as long as you don’t neglect the bar. Why not branch out and try dance classes, countryside walks or volunteer days at sanctuaries? Let us know how you get on, and please contact us for resources and advice.

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 19

Vegan food in every hospital The time has come to address the structural causes of this problem

I

t is natural to feel vulnerable during a stay in hospital. As a patient, nobody wants to have their health struggle complicated with added difficulties. Sadly, this is the experience of most vegans in hospital, who face an extra challenge: that of securing a suitable meal.

Although the situation is slowly improving, and there are cases of hospitals providing expert catering for vegans, it is unfortunately still the case that most vegan patients are not provided suitable meals as quickly and easily as other patients. In many cases, they may not be able to get a suitable meal at all.

This is a subject that the vegan community rightly has a lot to say about. This was reflected clearly in the avalanche of comments we received on a recent Facebook post about the topic. Many people shared their difficulties finding suitable meals in hospitals, with most relying on friends or family to bring in food for them.

Not restrictive but inclusive Through our advocacy work, we have been helping individual vegans facing dietary difficulties in hospitals for many years. Alongside this, the time has come to address the structural causes of the problem. As well as assisting with the practicalities involved in offering vegan options on hospital menus, we need to correct the myths surrounding vegan diets and to ensure that from caterers to nurses, doctors to dietitians, veganfriendly food is understood and available.

20 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

A meal that excludes animal products is a suitable option for a vegan patient – but we now have enough evidence to be able to show that it can also be a perfectly suitable and healthy option for many non-vegan patients too. Hospitals’ menu planning can be simplified rather than complicated by catering for vegans, especially since well-planned vegan meals can make economic savings and also present a much more sustainable option. A vegan meal is not restrictive but inclusive, so let’s start encouraging hospitals to see them in the same light.

Your help is needed Along with the British Hospital Catering Association, we are preparing some informative material to ensure that vegans’ needs are met.

This resource will be available a few months from now, and we would be delighted to have your help to ensure this material gets into the hands of those working in your local hospital. We would also love to hear stories about the experiences of vegans in hospital. If you would like to share a past experience, please email Lorna MarquèsBrocksopp: lorna.brocksopp@vegansociety.com.

This will allow us to put together case studies to show how vital this campaign is. Alongside this work, we are always available to advocate on behalf of individuals. If you currently require support, please contact advocacy@vegansociety.com.

By Andrea Speranza, Senior Campaigner

Events

Events Exeter Green Fair Saturday 5 September, 10am – 4pm Cathedral Green, Exeter, Devon, UK facebook.com/events/1595972457316066 Nottingham Green Festival Sunday 6 September Arboretum, Waverley Street, NG7 4HF, UK veggies.org.uk/events/nottingham-green-festival Vegan Fest Saturday 12 – Tuesday 15 September Bologna, Italy veganfest.it Norwich Veggie Fair Saturday 19 September, 11am – 4pm Quaker Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich, NR2 1EW, UK facebook.com/NorwichVeggieFayre Hull Vegan Festival Saturday 19 September, 10am – 5pm Mercure Royal Hotel, Ferensway, Hull, HU1 3UF, UK facebook.com/pages/Hull-VeganFestival/1558613154407153 Chicago Vegan Mania 7 Saturday 10 October, 10am – 5pm Broadway Armory, 5917 North Broadway, Chicago, USA chicagoveganmania.com Vegfest London Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 October, Saturday 11am – 7pm, Sunday 11am – 5pm Olympia Central, Hammersmith Road, London, W14 8UX, UK london.vegfest.co.uk Northern Vegan Festival Saturday 17 October, 10am – 6pm Sachas Hotel, Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1SH, UK northernveganfestival.com Kent Vegan Festival Saturday 24 October, 11am – 4pm St Peters Methodist Church, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2BE, UK facebook.com/events/269778456564510 West Midlands Vegan Festival Saturday 24 – Sunday 25 October, 10am – 6pm The Wolves Civic, North Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1RQ, UK veganmidlands.org.uk/festival

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 21

Campaigning

Conscious campaigning Our movement is strengthened by being inclusive and showing awareness of other oppressions Privilege

Consumption

Humans are privileged in that we are not commonly thought of as a species. We are the standard against which other species are judged.

While humans are free to ignore that we are a species, other animals are defined by theirs.

Some humans are more privileged than others. For example, in western society it is unusual for white people to be spoken about as a race, similarly to the way humans are rarely referred to as a species. While individual experiences vary, structural and institutional injustices still exist and are presented as normal through language, history books and the educational curriculum.

Humans, like other animals, are currently kept as slaves to produce everyday goods such as cotton, electronics, chocolate and other drugs. Buying fair trade is one way to make a stand against this, and to avoid benefiting from slavery.

It is harder to be vegan when you are unwell, have a low income or live in an area without access to good food shops. Conversely, more meat is consumed by the wealthy. Therefore, we can see that class is a vegan cause.

Vegan action should not replicate the power structures that make animal exploitation possible Intersectionality Speciesism keeps animals in farms and other sites of nonhuman animal exploitation. The farm and slaughterhouse exist with the help of economic injustice and classism – many slaughterhouse workers are from poor, working class backgrounds. While no oppression is experienced in the same way, multiple oppressions can be experienced at the same time.

‘Intersectionality’ is a term coined by Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in an essay on how the oppression experienced by black women overlaps with other oppressions. Crenshaw states, “Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability, and ethnicity.”

Group organisation Vegan action should not replicate the power structures that make animal exploitation possible.

Some good tips to follow are to use a meeting structure that encourages participation and questioning to benefit from a diversity of voices, and holding meetings in places where people of all ages, and with different abilities, feel welcome.

Campaigning We should not elevate certain species above others by single issue campaigning, for example about dog or bush meat. These campaigns appeal to a western superiority complex. It should also be noted that it is possible to explain animal exploitation without reference to the Holocaust.

Commonly, both meat marketing and vegan marketing use images that sexualise and objectify women, by conflating women’s bodies with pieces of meat. They operate by assuming the viewer accepts the comparison of a woman with an animal as degrading. The vegan message is better promoted with appeals to empathy, logic and compelling arguments.

Social justice movements can be either divided and ruled, or united and empowered.

By Helen Long Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 23

Buy Online

Buy Online Promotional Merchandise Launched in the summer 2015 edition of The Vegan, our new promotional range continues to be popular, especially at events. Featuring our keyrings, pens, window stickers, coffee mugs, travel mugs, jute bags, enamel badges, button badges, wristbands and water bottles – they are selling out fast. Head over to vegansociety.com/ shop/accessories to purchase yours before it’s too late!

Clothing Look sharp this season with our discounted range of varsity jackets, sweatshirts and T-shirts.

To view the full range of our sale clothing go to vegansociety.com/shop/sale-items and grab yourself a bargain while stocks last.

New Books The Great Vegan Protein Book - £10.99 “How do you get your protein?” As a vegan, you’re sure to get asked this question often.

Perhaps you’ve even wondered yourself. Vegan protein comes from foods like tofu and tempeh, beans, nuts, and some whole grains like quinoa.

There are loads of options available, but how to prepare them? What to put them in? These are questions that can feel daunting, especially if you haven’t used these ingredients before.

Never fear. The Great Vegan Protein Book takes you step-by-step through each protein-rich vegan food group, providing you with valuable information on how to prepare the ingredient, along with more than 100 delicious and easy recipes (many of them low-fat, soy free, and gluten-free).

Each recipe included within this cookbook uses whole food ingredients that can be easily found at most grocery stores or farmers’ markets. Say yes to protein and eating better with The Great Vegan Protein Book.

Offer Buy any of our 70th anniversary clothing, promotional items or books listed here between 1 September 2015 and 31 October 2015 and receive a discount code for 10% off your next order. Please note that discount code does not apply to membership, donations or magazine subscriptions.

24 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Discount List

Discount List The Vegan Society’s Discount List is a network of vegan and vegan-friendly businesses offering a discount to The Vegan Society members and The Vegan subscribers. Over the coming months, new businesses will be joining us, so check back regularly to see the latest offers available to you.

For full details on discounts and our complete list of participating businesses, please visit us online at vegansociety.com/resources/discount-list.

Our newest participants include: • Omnutritionist – Nutritional support and personal training for vegans • Hornett Wholefoods – Vegan-friendly wholefoods shop in Wellingborough • Opificio V – Italian handmade luxury vegan shoes • Rose Glover Nutrition – Nutritional therapist providing individualised dietary guidance for vegans and vegetarians • Viva la Veggie – A vegan delivery service mainly focused on food • Wholefood Harmony – Cookery classes as well as the online Pure Cook’s Training course • BodyMe – Nature’s finest superfoods and teas from around the world • Bells Shoes – Online multi-brand shoe stockist with a dedicated vegan section • Blue Labelle Skincare – 100% natural skincare, handmade on the Isle of Wight. Use the code vegansoc15 at checkout • Does Not Contain – Your online free-from shop • Aroma Foods – Award-winning deli snacks and sandwich fillings • Yuve – Superfood based nutritional powder • Debs’ Pantry – Provider of sweet treats for specific dietary requirements • Ecowings – International vegan lifestyle accessories • Patricia Tricker Freelance Translator – Freelance translator working into English from French, German, Italian and Spanish • The Vegan Counsellor – Life-changing guidance and empowerment for vegans • PHB Ethical Beauty – Multi-award-winning range of ethical beauty products • The Vegan Shop – Online vegan shop including organic and glutenfree products • The Calabash of Culture – Gift shop and vegan cafe in London • Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Large online store selling vegan cosmetics • Wild Orchid Cottage – Vegan self-catering cottage on the Isle of Skye • Regime Vegan – Online store selling protein powders, supplements and accessories • Kuli Kuli – Vegan, gluten free, raw Moringa superfood products sustainably sourced from farming cooperatives • Vegan Dog Lifestyle – Information on plant-based lifestyles for dogs, including a recipe book Do you have a great vegan-friendly business near you?

Why not ask them to join the discount list? They can find out more at vegansociety.com/your-business/discount-list or email us on discount@vegansociety.com.

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 25

Interview

Meet Genesis This eight-year-old shows the next generation of activists are starting early

Photo: Sarah J. Hardt 26  The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Interview

Often children want to be just like their parents when they grow up.

Personally, I want to be just like my daughter. Genelle, Genesis’ mother

G

enesis Butler made the link between the animals she loves and the food she was eating at a very young age. Going vegan with the support of her family, these are her experiences being a voice for animals.

How old were you when you decided to go vegan?

I was six years old. I found out animals were killed for food, and the milk mama cows make for their babies was taken from them. I believe we shouldn’t kill animals for food or steal their milk, so I went vegan.

Do you think that children and adults think about animals differently?

Yes! Children seem to really love animals and care about them. An example is my baby brother who is six. Mom said it was up to him to decide if he wanted to go vegan too. One day he got upset when he saw a dead squirrel in the street, and I explained why me and Mom are vegan. Ever since that day he has been vegan and he is so happy to not eat animals. He gets it.

Do people react differently to you as a young activist?

I think they take me more seriously because they know I am speaking from my heart. They listen to me more than adults. When my Mom tells people she doesn’t believe in killing animals for food, they give her lots of excuses. When I tell them the same thing, they listen and want to know more.

Tell us about the speech you made to your local council I talked about the environment because California is in a drought and all you hear is to take shorter showers or take less time brushing your teeth, but this only saves a little bit of water. People not eating animals can save thousands of gallons of water. I want people to know how the food they eat has an effect on everyone, and I wasn’t scared because I always do public speaking. Now people in the city see me and recognise me, and I tell them about being vegan.

Are people surprised that you’re such an athletic vegan?

Yes, because they thought I wouldn’t be strong or get enough protein. I play soccer, basketball, and football now and I have more energy than the other kids. I even got Most Valuable Player for my football team, and I wore my Vegan Power shirt to get my award. I became a lot stronger when I went vegan. All athletes should be vegan because it doesn’t only make them stronger physically but also mentally, and it makes your heart stronger and that’s what matters most.

What has been your favourite memory of campaigning for animals?

This was protesting a circus, because I was able to stand up for the animals even though the owners of the circus tried to bully me and be mean to me.

The circus animals were right next to me in cages so I was able to talk to them and tell them I was going to help free them and make sure they can live in peace.

What would you say to others who want to get involved in animal rights?

Whatever you put your mind to, you can do. If you want to go vegan, you can. If you want to get involved in protests then you can look online and find demos. Try going to a demo and you will see how many people also care about animals. Don’t be afraid, the animals need us.

What are your plans for the future?

I am also working on my foundation, Genesis for Animals, which will help people who rescue animals and need money for vaccinations, food and vet bills. I want to save as many animal lives as possible. I will also help fund private farmed animal sanctuaries like my favourite sanctuary, Busters Barn. I even have a goat named after me there! I want to make the whole world go vegan – and I know I am getting there.

Follow Genesis’ story on Facebook at A Vegan Child’s Journey and Genesis for Animals.

You can visit her foundation page at genesisforanimals.org Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 27

Volunteers

Active Vegans Alex Douglas, Volunteering & Engagement Manager Events season is well underway. We’ve had a great summer so far, attending VegFest Bristol and the Just V Show, as well as overseeing a host of Vegan Society stalls run by volunteers across the country. Each event that staff or volunteers attend is getting busier and busier each year, and we feel lucky that we’re able to witness and take part in veganism becoming mainstream.

Vegan outreach in a beautiful setting Early in the summer, Italian organisation Essere Animali took part in a two-week project, Progetto Vivere Vegan (the Live Vegan Project), in the centre of Florence. They hosted an exhibition and outreach event about veganism and animal rights in a large space in one of the city’s most historical buildings. Thousands attended, and within two hours of opening over 400 people viewed the exhibition. The event gained media attention across the area, with four of the biggest regional newspapers picking up on the story.

Alongside the main exhibition, the group also organised 12 smaller events across the city at veg*n restaurants and other important buildings, in which they hosted renowned Italian speakers as well as vegan author and speaker, Melanie Joy. Claudio, one of the organisers, says, “The exhibit was well attended every day and all related conferences were interesting and crowded.”

The group displayed Vegan Society resources and leaflets because they knew the event would attract English tourists as well as local Italians. It sounds like a beautiful setting for an excellent and diverse event.

Vegan Do It Scotland Two friends, Sarah and Claire, have started a not-for-profit tea room in a café in Aberdeen.

Their ultimate goal is to open Aberdeen’s first fully 28 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

vegan cafe. Claire says, “We know that there are vegans in Aberdeen crying out for a place that serves exclusively vegan food – a place where they feel at home.” Sarah adds, “We hope to become an important part of the community,” explaining that their plans include hosting vegan cookery classes and work experience schemes.

They are also passionate about vegan outreach, displaying Vegan Society leaflets to encourage visitors to learn more about veganism. Check out facebook.com/vegandoitscotland.

Sunny Moseley Festival In July, South Birmingham Vegans participated in some worthwhile vegan outreach at the Moseley Festival. The group had a great spot, situated between Lakeside Ethical Treats and West Midlands Badger Group. The stall saw many visitors, and the group spent the day answering questions from vegan-curious people and distributing Vegan Society recipe leaflets. Local Contact for the area, Frank Thunder, says “Plenty of people now have lots to think about, and lots of recipes to try too. A lot of people were pleased to see that there is a local group and many wanted to join our Facebook group for further information and help to go vegan.” They also collected donations for The Vegan Society, and encouraged people to become members. It’s great to see a local community festival with so many pro-vegan and animal rights organisations taking part together.

Angus Vegans go Australian Angus Vegans met up for lunch at their local Australian restaurant, Roos Leap. The restaurant prepared a vegan menu specially for their visit, which included several choices for starters, main meals and dessert. The group were very pleased with how they were catered for and are planning a return trip. It’s a great idea to show local restaurants that there is a demand for vegan meals – perhaps they will even incorporate some of these options into their main menu. Keep up the good outreach, Angus Vegans.

Volunteers 1 The Live Vegan Project exhibited in the centre of Florence 2 A member of the public taking in the vegan message 3 Who could resist visiting Claire and Sarah’s vegan tea room?

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2

TeenVGN summer camp a success As TeenVGN is now two years old, co-founders Laura and Kylie decided to put their heads together and create a plan for what the organisation would be known for. With so many wonderful and successful vegan festivals already on the market, they thought that hosting their own wouldn’t necessarily meet their goal of benefiting the young, compassionate vegans they interact with every day. They wanted to create a space where young vegans could have fun and learn about becoming inspirational activists of the future – whether that be through campaigning, public speaking, writing or entrepreneurship.

That is when TeenVGN announced the UK’s first ever vegan summer camp for teenagers, and what a success it was. Location and date preparations went ahead, and when it went live in February the team were overwhelmed with bookings. Within 34 hours all of the spots for camp had been filled! Kylie and Laura of TeenVGN had to email unsuccessful campers and parents, and quickly set up a reserve list for all of the extra people who didn’t manage to get a spot in time.

3

VGN Summer Camp 2015 boasted a jampacked itinerary with the aim of exploring different aspects of a vegan lifestyle. Campers attended campaigning workshops with prominent animal rights organisations, and cooked their own vegan food with renowned blogger Little Miss Meat Free. They also had the experience of making handmade skincare products with Heavenly Organics founder Mary Anne Mills, and listened to tips on how to organise their own vegan event at school with events manager Lizzi Shaw. With plenty of time for games and fun activities, the campers were able to meet like-minded young people and build lasting friendships. Not only that, but the campers gained skills in leadership, confidence, eco-crafts and much more.

With the vast success and interest in this camp in 2015, TeenVGN plan for future years’ to be even bigger and better. They will be finalising a location and date in just a few short months and hope that they are able to take double the number of campers in 2016. To avoid missing out, visit teenvgn.com/camp and register your interest to be the first to hear when bookings are available.

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 29

Volunteers

The Vegan Society Volunteer of the Year Awards

O

ur second Annual Volunteer of the Year Awards was a wonderful celebration of all of the work our dedicated Vegan Society volunteers do throughout the year. Hosted by the Just V Show and presented by Ms Cupcake and Vegan Society CEO, Jasmijn de Boo, there was a huge buzz leading up to the awards and a real air of excitement throughout the day. There was plenty for the attendees and winners of the awards to enjoy, with entertainment from vegan comics Chris Stokes and Alasdair Beckett-King, as well as goodie bags and tasty treats to indulge in.

Volunteering and Engagement Manager, Alex Douglas, says that every one of the winners was humbled to be recognised for their achievements and hard work promoting veganism. In her speech, Alex said, “Volunteers don’t expect to get recognised for all the effort they put in because they are so passionate about veganism and about helping The Vegan Society in any way they can. But we want to honour all Vegan Society volunteers by highlighting how hugely important they are, and to make it known to everyone that there wouldn’t be a Vegan Society without our volunteers.”

Meet the winners Dean Bracher has done so much for The Vegan Society over the past eight years, and has delivered over 500 talks about veganism.

Adam Duncan has been volunteering in Vegan HQ for over two years, helping us with tasks in the office, using his graphic design skills, and now coordinating the distribution of leaflets to people all over the world, enabling us to reach many tens of thousands of people.

Edward Daniel has supported Vegan Society staff in many ways for the past 18 months, volunteering at events and using his legal knowledge and skills to help staff in the office.

Chasity Nao and Sahra Ucar are committed events volunteers, helping The Vegan Society at shows in London. They both have a welcoming and energetic presence on the stall and are 30 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Chasity Nao delighted to receive her award

Mellissa Morgan, AKA Ms Cupcake: I was honoured to be a part of the Volunteer Awards – The Vegan Society has some of the best volunteers I’ve ever met! Their hard work and passion are crucial to helping spread the good work that the society is doing. becoming a valued part of the team. Sahra also supported Andrea, our Senior Campaigner, facilitate a workshop about vegan campaigning at Bristol VegFest.

Laura Cochrane started a volunteer placement in Vegan HQ as part of her degree and never left!

She proved invaluable in our policy work in the lead up to this year’s General Election.

A huge thank you must go to all of the trademark holders who generously donated products and vouchers to the volunteer winners and runnersup, as well as treats that went into the goodie bags for attendees to enjoy on the day.

If you’d like to promote veganism and you want to know how you could get involved with The Vegan Society, visit the ‘Take Action’ section of our website vegansociety.com/take-action or email volunteer@vegansociety.com.

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32  The Vegan | Autumn 2015

Reviews

Reviews

1 Dave Loves Chickens by Carlos Patiño, reviewed by Diane Smith In this humorous children’s picture book, we are introduced to Dave, an intelligent three-eyed purple monster from another planet. The gist of the book is a familiar and powerful concept – that of a being from outer space puzzling over our treatment of other animals. Compassionate Dave questions why humans feel the need to eat certain animals and call them meat.

In this book, which is the first of a series, Dave highlights the amazing abilities of chickens in a factual yet comical way. Children will relish the impressive facts about chickens, such as them being “living relatives of the T-Rex” and, like Dave, will wonder why they are thought of as food.

The colourful and highly original illustrations and use of rhyme make Dave Loves Chickens an appealing read. It’s a great book for adults to share with children, although the use of capital letters could make it tricky for some new readers to tackle themselves.

The positive angle means the book is appropriate for young children. There are no details that would upset them – just logical statements such as, “Chickens are great and they don’t belong on our plate.” We tread a fine line when talking to young children about eating animals. We’re able to give children in our own care more information than we’d give others in, for example, a classroom situation. With this in mind, this book is ideal for vegan parents to use with their own children, who will find it reassuring and empowering.

2 Mouthwatering Vegan by Miriam Sorrell, reviewed by Penny Veitch

1 Meet Dave – a three-

Despite the poor quality of the cover image, the title of Miriam Sorrell’s beautifully illustrated Mouthwatering Vegan is no mis-nomer. It’s full of wonderful recipes ranging from the very quick and delicious Blackberry Muffins (I’ve used frozen blueberries and mixed berries very successfully) to more complicated – perfect if you are looking to impress non-vegan friends. However, if you’re someone who isn’t keen on ‘fake meats’, there are quite a few recipes that won’t appeal.

A favourite of mine was the Sundried Tomato, Bean and Pasta Stew. This is a spicy and interesting blend of Italian and Indian cooking. I suggest cooking the pasta separately and then adding it to the stew. If you add it directly to the stew, it will take far longer than the suggested 8-10 minutes to soften.

Even better was Shepherd’s Pie with Mapled Parsnips. (I didn’t have any parsnips, but sweet potatoes worked very well, instead.) This is one of the mince recipes, and was absolutely delicious, the addition of slices of vegan cheese under the mashed potato making it extra scrumptious.

Miriam’s chocolate cake, made with the unusual addition of cola, is the most chocolatey cake I’ve ever tasted. It does need a touch more salt than suggested – about three-quarters of a teaspoon makes all the difference. I’m slightly ashamed of how much I ate in one sitting!

eyed vegan alien 2 From everyday recipes to showstopping creations

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 33

Nutrition

Rethink Food Research Officer, Dr Terri Holloway, interviews the co-author of a pioneering book on nutrition

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t is now well known that many of the most life-threatening diseases of our time, such as heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and several cancers, are all linked to dietary choices. Despite this, the lack of nutrition training among medical professionals has been equally noted, and sadly continues to decline due to a lack of resources and commitment from medical educators.

100+ doctors can’t be wrong Vegan authors Shushana Castle and Amy-Lee Goodman have taken the responsibility of educating medical professionals into their own hands. Their book, Rethink Food: 100+ doctors can’t be wrong, compiles the health benefits of plantbased diets from more than 100 practising vegan doctors.

These professionals prescribe a vegan diet to patients as a cure for disease, rather than relying solely on traditional pharmaceutical solutions.

Before writing Rethink Food, Amy-Lee had no idea that there were so many practising vegan doctors. The book includes just over a hundred doctors; however, when they began their international search, Amy-Lee and co-author Shushana discovered thousands – a pleasant surprise, and extremely encouraging for the future of medicine.

An inspiring testimony Co-author Amy-Lee Goodman told The Vegan Society that this project was very close to her heart. Her younger sister Jessica was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when she was just seven. For years, Amy-Lee’s sister lived on Methotrexate, a form of chemotherapy, in addition to other prescribed drugs which were injected twice daily. As her condition worsened, doctors told Amy-Lee’s mother that they believed 34 The Vegan | Autumn 2015

that Jessica would be unable to walk by her late teens.

This diagnosis was rejected by Amy-Lee’s mother, who began to research alternative cures for this degenerative disease. Her research soon led her to a book titled The China Study written by Cornell University Professor, T Colin Campbell, and his son Thomas M Campbell II, MD, which examines the relationship between the consumption of animal products and chronic illnesses. The China Study concludes that people who eat a whole-food, plantbased diet will escape, reduce or reverse the development of numerous diseases.

Amy-Lee’s mother felt so inspired that as a final attempt to save her daughter, she instructed her to refrain from all animal products. To make the transition easier, Amy-Lee’s entire family also went vegan to show their support.

Their efforts soon paid off when, in just three short months, she was 100 percent arthritisfree and completely void of all symptoms.

Today, Jessica is still healthy, happy and strong.

“She went from a skeleton of her former vivacious self to really reclaiming and regaining her life,” Amy-Lee recalled.

Amy-Lee said that since writing Rethink Food, she’s heard from patients from across the world with stories similar to her sister’s experience.

“It’s a great testament to the fact that a lot of the diseases that we are seeing today are a matter of our lifestyle choices and not genetics,” AmyLee says.

The popularity of Rethink Food and similar books brings us closer to a world where doctors recommend a well-planned vegan diet before medication – a day that so many of us eagerly await.

Survey results

Survey Results Responses confirmed our members are vegan for the animals

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hank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our members’ survey.

Due to the fantastic response rate there was a lot of information to process, but the results are invaluable to our work, and the feedback was a great inspiration for everyone here at Vegan Society HQ. We couldn’t do any of our valuable work without the support of our members.

Reasons for going vegan Animal rights once again ranked as the most important reason for our members to go vegan.

90 percent of you rated animal rights as ‘very important’ in your decision to go vegan, and 97 percent of people rated it as ‘somewhat or very important’. The environment was the second most important factor with 85 percent of people rating it as ‘somewhat or very important’, followed by health at 71 percent. This interestingly shows that animal rights remain the most important reason for going vegan, but health and the environment are becoming increasingly important to our members.

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Survey results Reasons for becoming members The majority of you said that your top reason for joining The Vegan Society was to support our work. The second and third most popular reasons for joining the society were ‘Accessing information about veganism’ and ‘feeling part of a community’. Knowing how important these two factors are to our members helps us plan future improvements. We are currently improving our online information to keep our resources up-todate, and we hope to continue connecting you to the vegan community through the magazine, the e-newsletter and the arrival of our online members-only area later this year.

The magazine An amazing 91 percent of you rated the magazine as ‘somewhat or very important’ to you as a member. Several suggestions have been taken on board, from including more stories about young vegans to providing more information on campaigns we are working on. Elena, Editor of the magazine, would love to showcase more members’ views. We receive letters to the editor very rarely, so please do remember to send any comments to editor@vegansociety.com or to our usual address.

Our work When asked, less than half of you were aware of our work advocating on behalf of vegans in vulnerable situations, as well as our work lobbying policy-makers and elected politicians to consider vegan-friendly solutions. These lines of work really are key to bringing about major change, and our advocacy and policy team are hard at work supporting people, and educating decisionmakers. The survey results have shown us that we need to work more effectively to keep you upto-date with this line of work, and show you how your membership subscriptions and donations are making a huge difference.

Looking at the areas you would like us to focus on, 31 percent of you ranked ‘working with manufacturers to increase the number of well-labelled vegan friendly products’ as the top priority. This area of work also had the highest average ranking overall. Our Trademark Team are hard at work registering new vegan products every day, and we hope to continue to grow the availability of clearly labelled vegan products by providing information and support to businesses worldwide.

The future of the society We asked the question ‘How would you like to see The Vegan Society effectively educate nonvegans on the ethical, environmental, health and food security benefits of veganism?’ Over two thirds of you commented with your ideas. Here are the most common suggestions:

• Improve and extend our leaflet range and have them displayed in public places as much as possible • Attend more non-vegan events • Increase our presence in the media • Engage more with schools, universities and young people • Engage more with hospitals, GPs and other medical professionals

It was encouraging to hear that your suggestions aligned with the ways we are hoping to develop over the next few years. We are currently working on a new range of leaflets and have plans to attend non-vegan events later this year. We’re pleased to say that our media reach has trebled in a comparatively small timescale, with appearances on ITV and Radio 4 being notable highlights.

An amazing 80 percent of you said you would definitely renew your membership, and another 13 percent said you would probably renew. It is really encouraging for everyone involved with The Vegan Society’s work to see the vast majority of our members giving us the thumbs up.

Joyce and Gaby – survey winners

Survey winners We were delighted to announce the winners of our survey prize draw. Adam Druett and Gill Cook were very happy to receive their runner-up hampers filled with vegan treats.

First place went to life member Joyce D’Silva.

Joyce gave her blender to her granddaughter Gaby who has been vegan since birth. Gaby says, “I received the Froothie and have used it quite a few times already. It’s brilliant! I’ve made some lovely fruity soya milkshakes, hummus and other dips and a few fresh juices. I call them Froothiesmoothies of course!”

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 37

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Research

A fruitful conference The role of fruit and vegetables in health for the individual, society and the planet Childhood nutrition Several speakers discussed nutrition in childhood, and how choices made by the pregnant mother influence the child’s later food preferences. Eating a range of fruit and vegetables during pregnancy and following birth increases the likelihood that children will eat more fruit and vegetables, provided the child is breastfed. For example, if the mother consumes many carrots the child’s taste preference for carrots increases.

To improve children’s fruit and vegetables intake they need dietary variety and repeated exposure – up to eight times, whereas many parents give up after trying two or three times. This is alongside parental and peer modelling. Most vegan parents will have first-hand experience of this, although it was quite astounding to hear that some speakers were struggling to get their own children to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Prevention the best intervention

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hen I learned about this conference, organised with the support of the French Ministry of Agriculture and French fruit and vegetables associations Aprifel and Interfel, I was intrigued. I attended the event, where I was able to ask questions and have meaningful conversations with European researchers, policy makers, fruit and vegetable marketing representatives and health professionals.

It was fascinating to learn more about how issues relating to food – including public health, inequality, obesity, malnutrition, politics, food advertising, sustainability and climate change – are linked. However, references to ‘rabbit food’ (vegetarian or vegan) were made by various speakers, along with the comment that it is not necessary to go vegetarian or vegan. During lunch, nearly all food was based on animal products, and out of over 250 delegates only two were vegan.

The influence of the womb is more important than previously thought. New research suggests that an unborn baby may be predisposed to a range of health threats such as heart disease, obesity and other non-infectious diseases. Early changes in a less-than-ideal environment – e.g. temporary malnutrition, poor lifestyle or toxins – can have a lasting effect later in life, even if the child is then placed in an ‘ideal’ environment. Prevention was thought to be the most important intervention. It is crucial for adolescents and future parents to have access to education about healthy nutrition. This is the most effective solution, and economists have confirmed it is the cheapest too.

The general consensus was that agricultural policy has incentivised the wrong food crops, such as sugar, wheat and oil, while fruit and vegetables ought to be promoted and subsidised. We agree, and we will use the latest research to influence and lobby UK and EU politicians to move away from animal farming.

Please contact our office if you would like to receive a PDF copy of the abstracts.

By Jasmijn de Boo, CEO Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 39

Shoparound

BLOOM Teas The BLOOM Tea range, newly registered with the Vegan Trademark, is a tasty and welcome addition to your diet. The green tea powder boasts several beneficial properties, being naturally high in fibre, fat-free, salt-free and allergen-free. A functional product, it can help to target energy levels, enhance cognition, boost immune support and promote relaxation.

There are different varieties of BLOOM Teas which target and support your body’s changing needs, including Ultra Cleanse, Mind Power, Super Charge, Brain Boost and Absolute Matcha.

Available at Holland and Barrett, Selfridges and Wholefoods or online at bloomtea.co.uk.

Shoparound Shop with confidence for products registered with our trusted Vegan Trademark

Healthy Oils The Healthy Oils range is produced using entirely Bulgarian ingredients, which accounts for their high quality. Products include Rose Water, a variety of cold pressed oils for skin and hair, body scrubs and more. Healthy Oils products use all-natural ingredients rich in vitamins, in order to nurture your skin the healthiest way. The products hydrate and nourish skin and hair, and are suitable for all ages to use directly or add to homemade cosmetics. The range of products is available to purchase online at lovelula.com.

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LemonAID If you’re looking for a soft drink that doesn’t cost the planet, German company LemonAID produces a range of vegan soft drinks and three vegan iced teas using sustainable ingredients and materials. Sourcing organic, fair trade produce from independent farmers, from brew to bottle, these drinks have a clear conscience. Furthermore, every bottle sold supports their charitable organisation that helps fund development projects in their farmers’ local communities. Available from Selfridges and a number of independent cafes and shops in the UK, you can find more information on their charitable organisation online at lemon-aid.com.

Shoparound

Nula Soy The Nula Soy range of products are an allround sensory experience, encompassing original design, high-quality materials and rich unique fragrances. Each candle represents a different journey, inspired by locations including Maui Beach, Elizabethan Gardens and Bali. The environmentally-friendly organic soy wax is perfectly fragranced, encased into unique crystal glassware and set inside beautifully illustrated gift boxes. The three sizes to choose from include Piccolo (small), Mezzo (medium) and Alto (large). For more information about the variety of scents or to experience Nula Soy candles, visit nulasoy.com.

Mr Organic Mr Organic have wowed our palettes with their range of vegan pesto. The Basil Pesto is packed full of the best organic ingredients, perfect for spreading on bruschetta, coating on roasted veggies or stirring into pasta. Similarly, the Tomato Pesto combines sundried tomato with sunflower oil and basil to form the ultimate vegan version of the Italian staple. We’ve also heard rumours about a Red Pepper pesto that should be available later this year. The Mr Organic range is available both on Ocado and in independent health food shops. For more information visit mr-organic.com.

Raw Halo This chocolate can help to nourish your body and boost energy levels, and is packed full of vitamins and flavour. Offering eight varieties in pure, dark or mylk chocolate, Raw Halo is sugar-free and uses half the amount of sweeteners compared to other leading raw chocolate companies with milk chocolate alternatives. Raw Halo also has a range of superfood packs including cacao and coconut sugar that you can use in your creations. A perfect gift for your loved ones, the bars can be purchased individually or as a gift box from rawhalo.com. Use the code ‘LOVEVEGAN’ for a 20% discount off your next purchase.

Autumn 2015 | The Vegan 41

Noticeboard

Noticeboard Inspiring members We were saddened to hear the news of life member Mabel Cluer’s passing away. Mabel became vegan in 1949 and, together with her husband Alan, founded vegan-friendly groups and hosted vegan cookery demonstrations.

Mabel enjoyed music and poetry throughout her life, taking up the recorder at the age of 64 and publishing a book of poetry, with the aid of her family, at the age of 100. Enjoying a daily walk up until the age of 103, Mabel was a testament to the health benefits of vegan living. In an interview in The Vegan she said, “I would like to be remembered for being thoughtful to people and animals.” This legacy lives on through her family, friends, and everyone who encountered her positive ways.

Member Harold Everett sadly died at the age of 91. Harold was an ardent vegan for 25 years along with his beloved wife June. Harold spent much of his life outdoors, finding a career in managing fruit farms and climbing mountains in his leisure time. He loved gardening and at one point had three allotments. Harold and June were happily married for 63 years, and had four children, and many grandchildren. Several of these are following in their grandparents’ footsteps, and living vegan. Harold will always be remembered for his kindness, and his willingness to help anyone in need.

Share your stories Do you, or any of your family or friends, have a particularly interesting story about veganism?

Maybe you know someone who was vegan during rationing, or someone who regained their health on a vegan diet. Perhaps you’ve travelled the world and sampled vegan delights from every continent. We would love to hear from you.

Email editor@vegansociety.com Write 21 Hylton Street, Birmingham, B18 6HJ Phone 0121 523 1738

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Vegan celebrations Our congratulations go to Media and PR Manager Jimmy Pierce, and Vegan Society volunteer Laura Cochrane, on the news of their engagement. They both have our very best wishes, and we look forward to a vegan wedding next year!

Who said that laundry is woman’s work?

Find us at Stand A151

Find Ecozone at these retailers:

www.ecozone.com

Your Views

Your views Personal activism I have been involved in many, many protest marches, including those against circuses, hunting, and badger culls. I am now 68 and have done this since my 20s. I am alarmed that I am still protesting about some of the same things so many years later. I rescued old donkeys for 20 years, and have helped at rescue centres to rehome dogs.

I find that the best way to inspire people to go vegan is to keep chipping away, introducing them to your brilliant magazine, asking them to attend vegan festivals, telling them about the new foods that are available.

I am now on Facebook and, some of the posts I see are quite upsetting, at least it gets the truth out to the public and makes people think.

Pam Lightfoot

Survey responses A selection of comments from our member survey: I think The Vegan Society is trying to appeal to two different audiences: those who have come to veganism because of their interest in animal rights and those who have been attracted by the health benefits ... The key to the society’s ongoing success is in ensuring that both audiences feel that their interests and concerns are being addressed.

David I am housebound with severe long term health problems which also leave me mostly unable to see other people. The Vegan Society is a vital connection to the community that stops me feeling so isolated. It is also helpful in practical ways, because your work is helping food manufacturers produce more and better vegan food, which in turn makes it much easier for me to eat since I am unable to prepare normal food from scratch. It also gives me hope that there might be some support if I were to go into a hospital or care setting.

Julia I would like to see more in-depths articles in the magazine.

Veronica Singleton-Lawley

Have your say!

Write Donald Watson House, 21 Hylton Street, Birmingham, B18 6HJ Email editor@vegansociety.com Facebook /TheVeganSociety Twitter @TheVeganSociety Comments may be edited for publication.

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I very much support your drive to make veganism mainstream and support and encourage more people to become vegan, rather than through tactics based on fear and guilt. I would like to see the previous factsheets on nutrition e.g. iron, calcium, etc. back on the website.

Jo Kidd These fact sheets have now been updated and are up on the site again.