Highlights

Teen Hub

At the end of September we launched our Teen Hub, a new section of our website aimed at vegans and vegan-curious teens aged between 14 and 17. There is huge interest in the vegan movement from younger people, so we have pulled together resources to address some of the specific questions people of this age may have.

On our Teen Hub you can find fun, affordable recipes and nutritional information specific to teens. There are stories and tips from a fantastic group of young vegans who wanted to share their vegan journeys and provide advice for their peers. You can also find tips on how to live in a non-vegan household, navigating social situations and the rights of young vegans in education and the workplace.

Visit the Teen Hub at vegansociety.com/teenhub and let us know what you think by emailing editor@vegansociety.com. If you are a young person who would like to take part and share your personal story, we would love to hear from you.

Veganism in the workplace

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism (VegAPPG) is sponsored by The Vegan Society along with V for Life, the charity for older vegans and vegetarians. The VegAPPG provides a forum for discussing issues around vegetarianism and veganism with political decision makers.

In September we held our first online VegAPPG meeting, which was on the topic of veganism in the workplace. This choice was prompted by a landmark employment tribunal in January of this year, which confirmed that veganism as a belief is protected by law against discrimination.

First, we heard from Peter Daly, a Principal Employment Lawyer who represented Jordi Casamitjana in January’s landmark tribunal. Peter laid out the implications of the court ruling for vegans facing discrimination in UK workplaces.

Dr Jeanette Rowley, The Vegan Society’s legal expert and Chair of our International Rights Network, followed. Jeanette covered the range of workplace issues that she hears about from vegans and the society’s Guide for Employers, which was produced to help both employers and employees.

Finally, we heard from Sadie Cable and Jack Barber, CoChairs of Suffolk County Council’s Vegan Staff Network, about how their organisation supports vegan staff, promotes understanding and seeks to influence decision making in their workplace.

For updates on the VegAPPG visit vegappg.org.uk. Learn more about vegan rights at vegansociety.com/rights.

Photo: Saoirse Clohessy

Episode 2 featured the amazing work of animal sanctuaries

The Vegan Pod

Our podcast, The Vegan Pod, is going from strength to strength, with a brilliant new episode out each month.

Our episode featuring animal sanctuaries focused on how these incredible organisations have coped with the challenges of coronavirus. Guests included Wenda Shehata from Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary, Poonam Doshi from Lola’s Sanctuary and Chris Williams from Elephant Nature Park.

You can listen to The Vegan Pod on Podbean, Apple iTunes and Google Podcasts. You can email your feedback and suggestions for future episodes to podcast@vegansociety. com.

Live Vegan for Less

Live Vegan for Less launched in the spring, with the aim of highlighting how cost-effective a vegan lifestyle can be and supporting vegans on low incomes with resources and advice. We ran several live cook-alongs on Instagram with Chef Day Radley, which had hundreds of people tune in to learn how to make several delicious affordable meals.

Thanks to those of you who got in touch and shared your own tips and suggestions for living vegan on a budget. We are continuing to develop the campaign by collating lowcost recipes and personal stories from people with lived experience of following a vegan lifestyle on a very restricted income. Please email campaigns@vegansociety.com if you would like to share your experience.

VegfestUK Summerfest Online

In August, The Vegan Society attended our first online festival event – VegfestUK Summerfest Online.

Although VegfestUK online was a far cry from the bustling VegfestUK we all know and love, it was a great opportunity for us to interact with vegans and vegan-curious people in a new way. Visitors had the chance to view the stalls through their mobile or computer. As well as observing social distancing measures, this allowed people who may not have previously been able to join the physical events to visit VegfestUK.

We hosted a range of talks, including a nutrition mythbusting session with our Dietitian. From our virtual booth, visitors were able to download recipes, special offers and videos, and chat to Vegan Society staff over the weekend. Access to the event and its resources was then available for the duration of the following month.

Welcome to our new members who joined us during the event and took advantage of our membership prize draws! Thank you for your support.

Our virtual stall at VegfestUK Summerfest Online

Alternatives to Commercial Grazing report

The Grow Green campaign seeks to encourage a transition towards plant-based farming and land management in the UK for the sake of our climate and environment. Recently, we have collaborated on a much-needed new report, Alternatives to Commercial Grazing, which supports the messages of Grow Green.

The report is written primarily for those in farming and conservation communities, and focuses on ‘marginal’ land – that which isn’t suitable for conventional crops. Alternatives to Commercial Grazing outlines many different land management practices that farmers and landowners could adopt, instead of using land as grazing pasture for farmed animals. It also provides practical advice on alternative sources of funding and income.

The report shows that animal farming is not the only productive land use – in fact, marginal land is incredibly valuable for a range of different uses, and there are lots of climate and nature-friendly options that could support rural businesses without the exploitation of animals.

Find the report on the Grow Green page of our website: vegansociety.com/growgreen.

Working with HEART UK

The Vegan and Thriving campaign launched in 2019 to promote the British Dietetic Association’s message that no matter your age and stage of life, you can be healthy and thrive on a well-planned vegan diet. Our Pathways to Veganism research showed that there are many people who have pre-existing conditions who would love to go vegan, but who have questions about how to make it work for them. This year, as part of our Vegan and Thriving campaign, we have been reaching out to relevant health organisations to share this message with people who have pre-existing health conditions.

Following on from our collaboration with the Royal Osteoporosis Society earlier this year, we were very pleased to work with HEART UK on their Cholesterol Awareness Month. Cholesterol is an important issue which vegans and nonvegans alike can benefit from learning about. HEART UK state that over half of UK adults have raised cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease.

Well-planned vegan diets have many heart-friendly qualities and fit well with the guidelines of the Ultimate Cholesterol Lowering Plan offered by HEART UK. We collaborated with HEART UK’s nutrition experts to create a vegan-suitable version of the Ultimate Cholesterol Lowering Plan, which is completely free from animal products. This plan is available at heartuk.org.uk/uclp.

Our work with HEART UK ties into our health campaign Vegan and Thriving