Membership

Remembering Jon

Jon Wynne-Tyson, who died earlier this year at age 95, was an author and publisher best known in vegan and animal rights circles for his books Food for a Future and The Extended Circle: A Dictionary of Humane Thought. First published in 1975, Food for a Future included a chapter entitled ‘The Further Step’, described in the Winter 1985 issue of The Vegan as “the most forceful presentation of the logic of veganism ever committed to paper.”

Mark Gold, vegan author and former director of Animal Aid, recalls: “Jon was a civilised and sympathetic man with a passion for promoting the causes of animal rights, veganism and humanitarianism. As well as writing skilful fiction and non-fiction with a pro-vegan message, he set up his own publishing company, Centaur Press, to bring other important books to wider public attention. His ‘anthology of humane thought’, The Extended Circle, remains an invaluable resource for anybody who wants to know a little more about all the great men and women who have spoken out for compassion and non-violence – from ancient times to the end of the twentieth century.” Paul Appleby

Star Letter

I am a secondary school teacher from Herefordshire and I am very grateful that you included the Vegan Eatwell Guide in the last edition of the magazine. I teach cooking and nutrition to students aged 11–16 and the Eatwell Guide is a massive part of the current curriculum. I have displayed the Guide in my classroom along with other vegetarian and vegan resources so students can refer to it throughout their learning. Rebecca

Congratulations to Rebecca, who has won some skincare goodies from Naturally Tribal Skincare. The Star Letter Prize for Issue 1 2021 will be a Lifestyle Box from TheVeganKind (image below shows an example box but please note that products will vary). For Issue 1 we are looking for letters about how an adopted companion animal has enriched your life and reinforced your veganism. We would love to see photos too!

Discount List

In return for supporting The Vegan Society, we offer our members 10% off our multivitamin, VEG 1, and over 130 third party discounts. These include 10% off at Holland & Barrett and 50% off Vegan Food and Living magazine.

New discounts include 15% off Nourish London skincare, 15% off Abakus Foods and 15% off ProGroom dog care. TheVeganKind Supermarket has extended their discount until the end of December and Munchy Seeds are now offering 15% off. Vegan Tipples continue to provide a 10% discount on their range of wines, beers and spirits.

You can find all of these and more in the Members’ Area of our website at vegansociety.com/my-account/ shop-discounts. We would love to hear from you on any suggestions you might have on improving the Discount List. You can email us at membership@vegansociety.com or call on 0121 523 1730. Alternatively, do you run a business that would like to offer a discount to your fellow members? Contact discount@vegansociety.com or apply online at vegansociety.com/yourbusiness/discount-list.

The Vegan Society launches Youth Membership

Do you know anyone aged 26 and under who is vegan or vegan curious? In October we launched a new Youth Membership!

We want to amplify the voices of young people in the vegan community, which is why we are offering people aged 26 and under the opportunity to join The Vegan Society for just £5 for 12 months. This promotion will run for 3 months and is only available for new members aged 26 and under. Thank you to our current members for your continued support, and for helping us reach where we are today!

If you refer a friend and they join as a Youth Member during 5 October 2020 – 5 January 2021, you can enter into a prize draw for the chance of winning a vegan chocolate hamper from Moo Free Chocolates! (Visit vegansociety.com/getinvolved/join/youth-membership for terms and conditions). To secure your entry, contact membership@vegansociety. com with the name of the person who joined following your referral. The winner will be randomly selected and contacted shortly after 15 January 2021.

Annual General Meeting

This year’s AGM was held online on 15 August. Congratulations to our new trustees Joel Bravette, Michele Fox and Sally Anderson and re-elected trustees Salim Akbar and David Gore. The AGM approved Council’s proposals to require all new trustees to have been members for at least a year and to place limits on the use of trading subsidiaries.

Thanks to everyone who participated in voting and those who attended the AGM. To view the results of motions, visit the Members’ Area of our website or contact the office for a paper copy. AGM 2021

The 2021 AGM will be held at 1pm on Saturday 22 May 2021. We will provide online access but will also have a physical venue if appropriate. Election of Council members

Applications to become a trustee are invited by Monday 1 March 2021. The role is voluntary, but reasonable expenses can be claimed.

The most important qualities for trustees are commitment, enthusiasm and the ability to consider issues thoughtfully and to communicate and work well with others. To ensure an effective and diverse board, members from a wide range of backgrounds and with a broad base of skills and experience are sought. Experience in successfully managing expanding organisations, policy development, charity law and audit or risk management are particularly welcome.

The time commitment is about nine days per year for attending face-to-face meetings and training events (currently online). Email correspondence may at times take up several hours per week, particularly in the approach to a Council meeting, but usually much less.

Candidates must be proposed by two full members. Candidates must also have been full members of the society for at least a year, and be aged 16 or over, on the date of the AGM. Candidates should support the society’s objectives and mission and be committed to a vegan lifestyle. Members’ proposals

We welcome members’ proposals to the AGM. These should: • Be proposed and seconded by full members • Not exceed 300 words, including any supporting material • Propose a single form of action (and not be a composite proposal nor simply a statement of opinion).

Proposals must be submitted by Friday 8 January.

For a candidate pack or further information about becoming a trustee or submitting a proposal, please contact the Chair of Council Stephen Walsh (chair@vegansociety. com) and the CEO George Gill (ceo@vegansociety.com), by email or by post (Donald Watson House, 34–35 Ludgate Hill, Birmingham B3 1EH).