The Vegan Autumn 1986

In this issue: Mushroomania A writer's dilemma

A look at veganic gardening Children's parties

Shoparound Recipes and reviews

Information Editor:

Colin Howlett Advertising and Distribution Manager:

Barry Kew Design by Three's Company, Oxford Illustrations by Juliet Breese Typeset by Brains, Reading Printed by L.J. Print Services Ltd., London SE8 3DX The Vegan is published

quarterly by The Vegan Society Ltd Published:

21st February, May, August, November Copy Date:

1st of preceding month ISSN 0307-4811 © The Vegan Society Ltd

The Vegan Society The Vegan Society Ltd

Registered Charity No. 279228 33-35 George Street Oxford OX1 2AY Tel: 0865 722166

For the benefit of new readers some general information is provided below:

Veganism may be defined as a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practical, all forms of exploitation o f , and cruelty to, the animal kingdom for food, clothing or any other purpose.

In dietary terms, it refers to the practice of dispensing with all animal produce - including m e a t , fish, poultry, eggs, (nonh u m a n ) animal milks, and their derivatives. T h e status of h o n e y in a vegan diet has varied over the years; whilst remaining contentious, its use is currently left to individual conscience.

The Vegan Ethic challenges all w h o preach compassion yet acquiesce in institutionalized animal abuse, especially the cruel practices inherent in dairy, livestock and poultry farming. A b h o r r e n c e of these practices is probably the single most c o m m o n reason for the adoption of veganism, but many people are also drawn to it f o r health, ecological, spiritual and o t h e r reasons.

President:

Serena Coles Deputy President:

Chris Langley Vice-Presidents:

Eva Batt Jay Dinshah Council:

Paul Appleby David Barrett Serena Coles Vincent FitzGerald Colin Howlett Lis Howlett (Chair) Gavin Jones Chris Langley Anthony Mumford Lorraine Munn Hon. Treasurer:

Vincent FitzGerald Secretary:

Barry Kew Office Manager:

Susan Kew Information Officer:

Philip Brown 2

For those in d o u b t , the words 'vegan' and 'veganism' are p r o n o u n c e d ' V E E g a n ' and ' V E E g a n i s m ' with a hard 'g', as in 'gorilla'.

T h e Vegan Society was formed in England in N o v e m b e r 1944 by a group of vegetarians who had recognized and c o m e to reject the ethical compromises implicit in lacto-vegetarianism and consequently decided to renounce the use of all animal products. Since those early days it has grown considerably in both size and influence, reflecting the increasingly wide recognition of veganism's ethical, health, ecological and o t h e r advantages. T h e Society now has the status of an educational charity, whose aims include encouraging the development and use of alternatives to all commodities normally derived wholly or partly from animals.

If you would like more information please send a large S A E to the Society at

If you are already a vegan or vegan sympathizer please support the Society and help increase its influence by joining. Increased membership means more resources to educate and inform. The current membership fee is £6.50 for an individual (£4 if unwaged) and £8.50 for a family (£6 if unwaged). Full membership is restricted to practising vegans, as defined above, but sympathizers are very welcome as associate members. Both full and associate members receive The Vegan free of charge.

Applications for membership should be sent to the Oxford office, with the envelope marked 'Membership Secretary'.

Local Vegans The Vegan Society has an expanding network of people throughout Britain who act as local vegan contacts (LVCs), providing support for new members and co-ordinating promotional work at local level. For the name and address of your nearest L V C see the Contact section in the magazine.

Vegan Publications Apart from The Vegan magazine, the Vegan Society publishes a wide range of free leaflets and low-priced books and booklets of interest t o the newcomer.

See the section in the magazine entitled Publications & Promotional Goods. This section also lists a number of useful and informative works produced independently of the Society.

The Vegan Self-Sufficiency Network, an organization independent of the Vegan Society, was established to provide a focus for all those interested in, working towards, or practising self-sufficient lifestyles based on vegan principles. T h e Network produces a quarterly newsletter

in which members can share ideas and experiences and discuss subjects related to the many aspects of vegan selfsufficiency. There are sections devoted to vegan gardening, and to crafts and selfsufficiency skills. If you would like further information on VSSN please write to

A subscription to the newsletter costs £2 a year (overseas, surface mail £2.50) - cheques payable to 'The Vegan Self-Sufficiency Network'.

Vegan Magazines In addition to The Vegan, please note the following publications which are produced independently of the Vegan Society: Vegan Views 6 Hayes Avenue, Bournemouth BH7 7 A D . An informal quarterly with articles, interviews, news, reviews, letters, cartoon strip.

Subscription rate for four issues: £2.40 (Europe and surface mail overseas: £2.80).

Vegan Times 25 Tabley R o a d , London N7 0 N A ' Veganism, spiritual growth, healing, ecology, etc. 50p in stamps for sample copy.

Y Figan Cymreig (The Welsh Vegan) 9 Mawddwy Cottages, Minllyn, Dinas Mawddwy, Machynlleth SY20 9LW, Wales. 35p in stamps for a sample copy.

Veganism Abroad There are active vegan societies in Australia, Sweden and the U S A , as well as contacts in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

The views expressed in The Vegan do not necessarily

reflect those of the Editor or the Vegan Society Council.

Nothing printed should be construed as Vegan Society policy unless so stated. The Society accepts no liability for any matter in the magazine. The acceptance of advertisements does not imply endorsement.

Contributions intended for publication are welcomed, but unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by an SAE. The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

THE RIGHT MIX

One gloriously sunny afternoon a few weeks ago I was sat in a quiet upstairs room keying information into the family's recently acquired personal computer. Despite the inviting sunshine outside and the fact that it was a weekend, my nose was well and truly to the grindstone; I was hard at work on the contents and design of the current issue of the magazine. Perhaps it was the weather, or the frequent telephone interruptions, but I wasfindingit tough going. Will so-and- so's piece come through on time? Can I squeeze in an extra review? Will there be the usual exasperating last?minute hitches?* Can I drum up a decent cover? These were among the questions buzzing in my head. But buzzing loudest of all was a question I ask myself repeatedly: can I get the 'mix' right, can I succeed in the somewhat schizophrenic task of appealing both to the uncommitted, casual reader, who may pick up the magazine in, say, a health-food shop or public library, and to members of the society, receiving it regularly through thenletterboxes? The two classes of reader look for different things in the pages of The Vegan and it's no easy matter ensuring that either is satisfied, let alone both.

The mushrooms on the front cover (all edible) are, from top left to bottom right: 1 St. George's Mushroom 2 Giant Club 3 Parasol 4 Shaggy Ink Cap 5 Cep 6 Honey Fungus 7 Fairy Ring Champignon 8 Oyster Mushroom

It should be made clear at this point that the time is long past when vegans accounted for a majority of the magazine's readership, currently estimated at around 30,000. This fact, perhaps startling to some, needs to be emphasized and to be more widely appreciated, for it has a direct bearing on the whole style and content of the magazine. Above all, it accounts for its present cultivationof a broad, rather than restricted, appeal - an appeal which contrasts sharply, and unashamedly, with that deriving from the advocacy of an essentially elitist, 'morefrugal-than-thou' brand of veganism. This latter approach has alienated too many, nonvegans and vegans alike, for too long.

Predictably, this more opendoored policy does not suit all tastes: from time to time letters arrive at the editorial office from readers who fail to grasp, or flatly reject, the reasoning behind this 'broad-appeal' approach. The gloomy view that the hearts and minds of the general public are unwihnable - or, worse still, are not worth winning - would seem to underlie their summary dismissal of the current editorial policy. Attempting to achieve the right mix is just so much wasted effort, they would

have us believe; better to return to the 'good old days'. But, as I would hope all but the most blinkered and backwardlooking would see, The Vegan of those 'good old days' was simply not up to the challenges facing the Society in the mideighties. A modern vegan movement requires a modern magazine.

An effective Vegan Society should be in the business of looking forwards and not back, at least not perpetually and through rose-tinted spectacles.

As an educational charity, its prime task is to make the facts of institutionalized animal abuse and its attendant evils as widely accessible as possible and to bring them onto the centre-stage of informed public debate. If we don't carry the public with us, we are doomed to eternal impotence, for no lasting change is possible without broad public support.

That's what achieving the right mix is ultimately about, getting the public in on the act with us and keeping them there.

C.H.

Contents

News Healthwise Sugar and disease

• Mushroomania The confessions of a fungus hunter • A Writer's Dilemma A vegan author's quandary • Veganic Composting A horticultural pioneer leads us up the garden path • Shoparound

•There.were, several in factincluding a local power cut and postal strike!

• Family Matters • • •

Children's parties Postbag Noticeboard Publications & Promotional Goods Classifieds

• Contact

Cover illustration by Jamie Coglan 1986

10 12

13

In the Vegan Kitchen 14 ... where it's mmm for mushrooms and a cookbook treat is in store Reviews

•

3 The Vega/i, Autumn

4 7

20 21 22 24 26 27

News

a d e q u a t e level of o u t s i d e financial s u p p o r t , a r e n e w e d a p p e a l is m a d e to m e m b e r s a n d r e a d e r s to mine o n c e m o r e t h e i r reserves of generosity.

G i v e what you c a n , i n d e e d as m u c h as you c a n , and d o so in t h e k n o w l e d g e that every p o u n d given is in a real sense a blow struck, albeit p e a c e f u l l y , f o r t h e cause of c o m p a s s i o n .

Bestseller T h e latest, and fullest-ever, e d i t i o n of The Vegan Shopper's Guide (ÂŁ1.50 incl. p & p ) has b e c o m e the fastest-selling publication in t h e Society's history, with almost 1.000 c o p i e s s n a p p e d u p within a w e e k of printing. D e s p i t e its d e l a y e d launch, the new Vegan Holiday <6 Restaurant Guide is also selling strongly.

Smash Hit T h e n e w r a n g e of V e g a n Society p r o m o t i o n a l leaflets h a s p r o v e d a s m a s h hit, w i n n i n g high acclaim b o t h inside a n d o u t s i d e t h e Society. T h e first p r i n t run w a s e x h a u s t e d within d a y s of t h e p u b l i c a t i o n of t h e s u m m e r Vegan, in which t h e range's launch was announced, a n d m o r e t h a n 80,000 c o p i e s have been despatched to date.

Renewed Appeal T h e 1986 f u n d - r a i s i n g a p p e a l t h e m o s t critical in t h e Society's 4 2 - y e a r h i s t o r y - r e m a i n s , alas, in t h e d o l d r u m s . D o n a t i o n s from m e m b e r s have reduced to a tiny trickle in t h e last q u a r t e r and n o n e whatever have been reported from the many companies and grant-making trusts a p p r o a c h e d . T h e latter r e s p o n s e is p a r t i c u l a r l y d i s a p p o i n t i n g at a time w h e n manufacturers, shops and p u b l i s h e r s a r e e x p e r i e n c i n g an u n p r e c e d e n t e d b o o m in sales of v e g a n g o o d s - a b o o m n o t u n c o n n e c t e d with t h e Society's promotional efforts over a s p a n of m o r e t h a n f o u r d e c a d e s . A b r e a k t h r o u g h is b a d l y n e e d e d , f o r t h e overall r e s p o n s e t o d a t e places in j e o p a r d y t h e S o c i e t y ' s ability e v e n t o s u s t a i n its p r e s e n t level of activity, let a l o n e e m b a r k o n the essentially modest expansion p r o g r a m m e outlined in t h e A p p e a l 1986 l e a f l e t .

G i v e n o u r f a i l u r e to s e c u r e an

4

Frey Ellis Lecture T h e 8th Frey Ellis M e m o r i a l L e c t u r e - ' A n Epidemiological S t u d y of V e g e t a r i a n s a n d V e g a n s ' - was delivered in L o n d o n on 10 July t o a standing-room-only audience

by D r . Jim M a n n and M a r g a r e t T h o r o g o o d . D r . M a n n is h o n o r a r y consultant physician at t h e J o h n R a d c l i f f e Hospital a n d University lecturer in Social and C o m m u n i t y Medicine at O x f o r d , a n d M a r g a r e t T h o r o g o o d is an epidemiologist at the University of O x f o r d .

Oxford office early in July during a brief visit to the U K .

Notes were c o m p a r e d with General Secretary Barry Kew and other staff and recent d e v e l o p m e n t s in the U K Society w e r e discussed. Freya spoke approvingly of the 'new look' materials and wished the Society well in its continuing efforts to secure a d e q u a t e funding.

Obituaries Winifred Simmons Winifred Simmons, VicePresident of the Vegan Society, passed away in Brighton on 1 July at the age of 94. Longerstanding m e m b e r s of the Society will r e m e m b e r with gratitude h e r period as Honorary T r e a s u r e r in the early 1960s.

In addition to her achievements in the vegan sphere, Winifred was a distinguished civil servant and was made a F r e e m a n of the City of L o n d o n in appreciation of her work.

She is survived by an elder sister, authoress Victoria

Lidiard, to w h o m we offer our condolences.

Serena Coles Roy Mclntyre Smith Friends of Roy Mclntyre Smith will be sad to learn of his d e a t h on 8 May following a long illness in hospital at Epsom.

Roy joined the C o m m i t t e e of the N a t u r e C u r e Clinic in 1953 and went on to b e c o m e its Honorary Treasurer. The V e g a n Society owes much to him for interesting the Clinic in vegans and for the hospitality freely extended to it for holding Council meetings and some small functions there in its early days.

O u r sympathies are with his family and friends.

Serena Coles

YFAR Folds Y o u t h for Animal Rights, f o u n d e d in late 1982, has

T h e s p e a k e r s r e p o r t e d that t h e provisional findings of their 10-year study of t h e health of v e g e t a r i a n s and vegans, b e g u n in 1980, show that a typical v e g a n diet a p p r o a c h e s most closely the levels of f a t , p r o t e i n and carbohydrate consumption r e c o m m e n d e d by t h e 1983 N A C N E report a n d that vegans h a v e fewer of the risk f a c t o r s associated with m a n y of the socalled 'diseases of civilization".

T h e r e m a i n i n g f o u r years of t h e study will b e of crucial i m p o r t a n c e in e n a b l i n g a scientific c o m p a r i s o n to be m a d e of the p a t t e r n s of disease a n d mortality of m e a t e a t e r s , v e g e t a r i a n s and vegans.

Dinshah Visit Freya Dinshah, co-founder a n d stalwart of t h e A m e r i c a n V e g a n Society, called in at t h e

[SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS]

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ceased to exist following a financial crisis. "The success of Y F A R has proved to be its 'downfall' - having reached the stage where one or two members of staff are no longer enough to cope with all the work that is flooding in, and the money just isn't there for us to be able to take Y F A R into the next stage of development (i.e. with more staff, office-space and so on)", stated founder Penny Goater in the organization's final newsletter. Penny went on to express gratitude to the animal rights and welfare societies, including the Vegan Society, that have sponsored Y F A R during the three and a half years of its existence.

Animal Aid has taken over the membership of the defunct organization, whose title has reverted to the Animal Aid Youth G r o u p (from which it sprang in late 1982). Former Y F A R Co-ordinator Helen Cruddas is to take charge of the Youth Group's administration from the Animal Aid office: 7 Castle Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BH

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a t Cranks Vegetarian

Kangaroo Slaughter Care for the Wild is organizing a petition - to be presented to the President and Members of the European Parliament against the brutal killing each year in Australia of over two million kangaroos to supply luxury leather markets in E u r o p e , Asia and North America. The cruelty of the slaughter includes impaling live kangaroos on posts and lopping off their heads, and skinning alive. Care for the Wild is asking for the help of Vegan Society members and supporters in obtaining signatures for this petition, copies of which can be obtained from:

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Games Ban A Kangaroo Campaign calling for an E E C import ban on all kangaroo products was also launched earlier this year by Greenpeace. As part of the campaign a Greenpeace advertisement in a pull-out Commonwealth Games chart showed a running shoe with the label 'real kangaroo'.

"Kangaroo skin won't make you a winner. Don't buy it", ran the text, headlined the Killing Shoes. The ad was, however, banned by the advertising agents as not being in keeping with the spirit of the 'friendly Games'. Kangaroo Campaign Director Lorraine Thorne comments: "Athletes do not need shoes made of kangaroo. T o point that out is not offensive. What it amounts to is that they did not want to offend the makers of the shoes.

We shall just have to find another way of drawing public attention to the problem."

[Ed. - The latest edition of The Vegan Shopper's Guide confirms the accuracy of Lorraine's statement: more than 20 models of top-quality non-leather running shoes are listed. The vegan winner of the recent Plamil Half-Marathon also wore non-leather shoes]

Mulesing Campaign The Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies ( A N Z F A S ) , whose patrons include Spike Miiligan and Professor Peter Singer, seeks to publicize the cruel and barbaric practice of Mulesing slicing away the folds of flesh under the tails of Australian Merino lambs and sheep, bred for maximum fleece, regardless of the climate or the animals' welfare. A European protest campaign was launched in London in May by Federation Secretary Christine Townend, who says: "Would the British public continue to buy jumpers and cardigans made with Australian wool if they were aware of the animal cruelty involved?"

Morinaga Out Following enquiries m a d e with the Edinburgh-based Realfoods company, it appears

that Morinaga Silken T o f u , which is now sold in branches of Boots, as well as through whole and health-food outlets, is not suitable for vegans, the offending ingredient being glucono delta-lactone. Given this product's popularity, it is to be hoped that a n o t h e r manufacturer will soon bring onto the market a version that will be acceptable to vegans.

Hadwen leaflet The D r . Hadwen Trust for Humane Research has issued an eye-catching and informative new leaflet entitled Replacing Animal Experiments, which gives emphatic and affirmative answers to those who ask 'can non-animal research w o r k ? ' , 'does it really save animals?' and 'are the techniques valid?'.

The leaflet can be obtained in bulk for displays, stalls, f u n d raising events and leafletting at the following rates: £1 per 100, £5 per 500 and £9 per 1,000.

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Cranks Opening On 1 May the Cranks vegetarian restaurant chain, taken over by Guinness late last year, opened its latest restaurant and take-away at 17-18 G r e a t Newport Street, London - just around the comer from Leicester Square Underground station.

Readers will be pleased to hear that the chain is currently exploring ways of improving its service to vegans.

Meat Slump Continues Results of the 1986 Realeat ( m a k e r s of the Vegeburger) Survey show a continuing m o v e away f r o m meat c o n s u m p t i o n . T h e survey, which looked at Britain's meat-eating habits over the past three years, was conducted

by G a l l u p and polled over 3,8(X) adults aged 16 and over f r o m all over the country. It reveals that: •

The Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Paediatrics has acknowledged that there are many unanswered questions concerning the use of whole cow's milk in the second half year of life.'In the light of this uncertainty', the author asks, 'why give it at all - then or ever?'

Milk is not necessary for child or adult, and this article indicates that this fact has finally penetrated orthodox minds.

(Journal of Alternative Medicine, June 1986)

Far and Wide

W o m e n still o u t n u m b e r men in the non meat-eating stakes by seven to four, with young women between 16-24 leading the way

•

T h e n u m b e r of students opting out of eating meat has been growing at nine times the national rate, with a doubling of their numbers in one year.

G r e g Sams, Realeat's f o u n d e r , thinks the move away f r o m m e a t will continue as m o r e a n d m o r e evidence c o m e s to light linking high levels of meat consumption with many of our 'modern plagues'. Peter Cox's new b o o k Why You Don't Need M e a / [ S e e Reviews, p l 8 - E d . ] will, of course, help focus public attention on the health aspect of meat eating, despite being attacked by the Meat and Livestock Commission as 'inconclusive'.

Health Hazard W h o l e bovine milk should not be fed to infants during the first year of life; and any c o n s u m p t i o n of whole milk should be discouraged, says an article in Paediatrics (Oski, F. A . , 'Is bovine milk a health h a z a r d ? ' Paediatrics 75S: 1826, 1985). T h e author contends that infants fed whole bovine milk are p r o n e to a number of disorders, including iron deficiency and allergic reactions. Potential hazards, such as lactose intolerance, milk-borne infections and high s e r u m cholesterol levels, associated with ischemic heart disease, remain in the postinfancy period as further hazards.

6

Lynx Boost A London-Land's End-John o" Groats-London fund-raising and promotional walk by the Lynx anti-fur group has been backed with a cash donation by supplements manufacturer Larkhall Laboratories. Shops organizing sponsorship and promotion of Lynx walker David Hattersley, who began his 'Blood, Sweat & Tears Round-Britain Walk' on 6 July, have also received packages of Cantassium products worth £50. The walk is due to end where it began, outside the offices of the British Fur Trade Association, on 22 October. For sponsorship forms contact: Lynx, PO Box 509, Dunmow, Essex CM6 1UH.

Scar Campaign

The Vegan Society's current promotional efforts are making an impact as far afield as Mar Del Plata, Argentina, where excerpts from the restyled Vegan magazine have appeared - in translation - in the magazine Naturaleza. What's more, the magazine's Editor, Damasia Halbach, has requested advice on how to start a vegan Society in Argentina.

Vera Doig and Hilary Jago of

According to a report in Farmer's Weekly (2.5.1986), biotechnology and automation, coupled with further 'progress' on breeding and husbandry, will increase average Dutch milk yields to an astounding 10,000 litres (2,200 gallons) by the end of the century.

Nothing will stop the evolution of the super cow, Dr. Freerk De Boer told a meeting of the European D S A - b u r e a u , an organization pledged to promote 'efficient and healthy livestock production methods'.

Vegeburger Press Home-made burgers can now be perfectly shaped, thanks to Realeat, who have introduced the Vegeburger Press - a strong, yet light-weight press which is simple to use and easy to clean. It retails at around £3.60 and is available from branches of Holland & Barrett and other health-food shops.

Welcomes Vegans For 25 years the STRICTL Y VEGETARIAN guest house in the Lake District has enjoyed delicious international vegetarian cuisine. Orchard House, known for its comfort and serene atmosphere, enjoys a quiet inviting garden, is close to mountains, streams and lakes. For those who seek the peace and beauty of the Lake District, Orchard House is for you. OPEN ALL YEAR! Stamp appreciated for brochure to: Borrowdale Road Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5DE Tel: (0596) 72830

The Student Campaign for Animal Rights has launched a campaign to increase animal rights awareness among students. As part of this campaign it is intended to saturate the National Union of Students Conference with motions aimed at ensuring that the N U S has a policy on the issue. Details from: SCAR, PO Box B20, Huddersfield HD1 1XS.

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Vegetarian Matchmakers hold regular social events aimed at bringing together unattached vegetarians and vegans, as well as running an introduction service. People do not have to be members of VMM to attend, only vegetarian/vegan and unattached. Being single themselves. Vera and Hilary are very conscious of the need for the service their organization provides and would be delighted to help any unattached vegan in the search for satisfying companionship.

Just drop a line to Vera at: 14a Woodlands Road, Isleworth, Middlesex.

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The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Healthwise Dis Chris and Gill Langley take a vegan view of current medical writing on diet and health

Sugar and disease

A

ny sort of sugar, if eaten in excess, can cause tooth decay. This is true of fructose (fruit sugar), maltose (from malt), lactose (milk sugar) and glucose, as well as sucrose, which is the table sugar obtained from cane or beet.

Tooth decay Sugar didn't become a threat to health until the sucrose extracted from sugar cane became widely available in the late nineteenth century. In its natural form sugar is combined with fibrous plant material and is diluted with water; but extracted, concentrated and added to foods such as cakes, biscuits, sweets, drinks and pies, as well as many processed foods, it is the main cause of tooth decay.

Many human studies have proved the link between tooth decay and sugar. The children of parents who restrict sugar at all times have much less decay than those whose sugar intake is only restricted at bedtime.

Children who are chronically ill and regularly take syrupy medicines have more tooth decay too. O n e early study at a children's home in Australia' showed that children who ate a lacto-vegetarian diet based mainly on wholemeal bread, beans, oats, rice, potatoes and fruit, with some treacle and molasses developed fewer and

7 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

smaller cavities than other children of their age, but those who ate more sugar on leaving the home developed more tooth decay.

Some scientists believe that all types of sugars are equally damaging to the teeth and that starchy foods (which are common in the vegan diet) also contribute. However these conclusions are based on animal experiments whose results contradict human experience a common problem with animal experiments, which is one of the reasons we don't quote them in this column.

Diabetes Less well understood than the sugar and tooth decay link are the connections between sugar consumption and diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, some cancers, Crohn's disease (inflammation of the gut) and gallstones.

While some studies of populations in a number of countries have suggested a link between a high sugar diet and the onset of diabetes, others have shown no connection. However, people who eat a lot of sugar often also have a high-fat diet, because sugar makes fat more palatable and is frequently combined with it in cakes, sweets, biscuits and many processed foods. These two ingredients together provide a concentrated source of

calories which contributes to obesity, and Dr Jim Mann (1986 Frey Ellis Memorial lecturer) believes, as do many scientists, that obesity is the key to adult diabetes - although there may be a genetic factor involved as well.

In diabetes the body is unable to control the level of sugar which stays in the blood.

A f t e r a meal the blood sugar shoots up and may stay dangerously high. An experiment with healthy human volunteers showed that a junk food meal of chocolate and tea, or crisps and a cola drink, causes much greater changes in levels of blood sugar than the same n u m b e r of calories taken in the form of raisins, peanuts and tea, or bananas, peanuts and tea. The two types of meals had the same proportions of fat and sugar in them, so it seems that unprocessed, high-fibre foods are less likely to stress the pancreas - a result which is reflected in the advice currently given to diabetics to eat a wholefood diet.

Heart disease Human studies have also suggested a link between eating too much sugar and heart disease, but the evidence isn't conclusive. O n e investigation 1 has shown that populations with a high sugar consumption have higher rates of breast cancer but again, because sugar and fat are so closely linked, it isn't yet clear if either or both are the culprits. Certainly, fat and sugar are known to be connected with cancer of the bowel, this disease being more common in people whose diet is high in fat and sugar, high in calories, low in fibre, and who become overweight'.

There have been few published reports of the sugar intake of vegans and vegetarians, or of their susceptibility to sugar-related illnesses. Intuitively we might expect vegans, being more aware of diet/ health connections, to eat considerably less sugar than meateaters but this may not be the case. A Swedish study 1 looked at the diet and health of six vegans and found that their consumption of all types of sugar was only slightly below average, although sucrose didn't feature so highly and more fructose was consumed. Dried

and fresh fruits, and vegetables such as carrots and peas, may have been the main sources of sugar since the Swedish vegans used no added sugar at all.

A recent investigation of ten vegans, conducted by the University of Surrey 5 , showed that they consumed, on average, more natural sugars as well as more added sugars in drinks and sweets than the vegetarians and meat-eaters also studied.

Two thirds of the vegans took sugar in tea and coffee, and two thirds drank soft drinks of some kind.

Cutting Back The Vegan Society has always said that a varied, wholefood vegan diet will sustain good health. Although such a diet is likely to be quite high in natural sugars, studies indicate that these are less likely to cause tooth decay or to contribute to other illnesses than processed, added sugar. A wholefood vegan diet, being also high in fibre and low in fat, helps protect against many of the same diseases. However, until a larger study of vegan diets provides more reliable statistics, we might review our sugar intake and cut back on added sugar if it features highly in our diet: the vegan message sounds less persuasive coming f r o m a mouth of filled or missing teeth!

References 1 Harris, Australian Dental Journal, vol 8 p 5 2 1 , 1963 2 Seely & Horrobin, Medical Hypotheses, vol 11 p319, 1983 3. Bristol & others, British Medical Journal, vol 29\ p l 4 6 7 .

1985 4 Abdulla & others, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol 34 p2464, 1981 5 Lockie & others. Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, July 1985, p334

MISIIR00MANI4

CONFESSIONS Or A MUSHROOM HUNTER ention mushrooms to most people in Britain and they'll conjure up an image of crisp white little buttons, neatly shrunk in PVC packaging and rarely tasting as good as they look; ask about wild mushrooms and you'll hear of fields suddenly whitened overnight with huge plate-sized specimens of the Field Mushroom, tasting delicious and capable of feeding whole families. Beyond that - except in certain circles where the so-called 'Magic Mushroom' is revered - nothing. All other fungi, you'll be told, are "poisonous toadstools" to be scrupulously avoided. there are upwards of t w o dozen edible varieties in Britain which range J n flavour from the good to the excellent.

But why is this so in our country? It is certainly different on the Continent, where wild fungi, fresh or dried, are readily available in shops, some of them, like the Oyster Mushroom, even having been raised semi-commercially. After all, we share most of the same species and we do not have to reject all but the bland offerings on the supermarket shelves. It seems to be a mixture of reasons. Partly it derives

from fear; partly it may relate to the magical associations that these mysterious life-forms have with the fairy folk, the elementals, the old gods; and in rural areas wild food has so often been connected with poverty, with memories of shaming hunger, of poor people living off berries, leaves and the odd rabbit taken in a snare.

Yet much of the reluctance to use what is available stems from ignorance. Whereas in France, Italy and elsewhere large numbers of people can easily recognise the safe and edible varieties (and organise regular family outings to the woods in autumn to search for specimens for the pot) only a few people in Britain do the same.

Their numbers are growing, however, and they have recently been encouraged by the production of some very high quality guides for identifying the various species. Chief amongst these must be Mushrooms (Pan Books) by Roger Phillips, which not only has superb colour photographs of most of our main varieties, but also comprehensive notes on shape and form as well as on habitat. (Collectors should not rely on one book alone, however.

Personally, I cross-check specimens by using three different guides, or consult a local expert, or, if I am still in any

doubt about what I have found, I treat it with healthy respect and do not eat it!)

The element of risk undoubtedly puts some people off collecting wild mushrooms. Some varieties, such as the Death Cap and the chillingly named Destroying Angel, are lethal.

These belong to the family of the Amanitas and include the beautiful Fly Agaric, the red mushroom with white spots so beloved of children's storybook illustrators. For safety, none of them should be eaten and indeed nobody should collect wild fungi for food if he or she cannot identify common roadside species like the Shaggy Ink Cap make a superb mushroom soup

members of this family. Most of them have a characteristic 'volva', a sac often buried in the ground at the base of the stem. As a general rule nothing with a volva should be taken. Unfortunately the converse does not hold good - not everything without a volva is safe!

Truth to tell, however, only a few wild mushrooms are very dangerous.

Some others may cause gastric illnesses and many are inedible because of

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The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

an unpleasant taste or coarse texture or because they are just too small to be worthwhile. But there are upwards of two dozen edible varieties in Britain which range in flavour from the good to the excellent. Fortunately, although caution should always be exercised, many are easy to recognise, like the aptly-described 'Chicken of the Woods' with brilliant yellow fans rising in tiers on trees like willow or oak.

This fungus, a great delicacy in Germany, has a flaky texture a bit like chewy bread and an agreeable, slightly sour taste. The Field Mushroom is well enough known (although it must not be confused with the related, and poisonous, Yellow Stainer) and the The Boletus family contains what is perhaps the most tasty wild mushroom of them all, the Cap or Pen ay Bun.

Giant Puffball cannot really be mistaken for anything else, if only because of its enormous size. Common roadside species like the Shaggy Ink Cap make a superb mushroom soup, too, and the Fairy Ring Champignon which grows in rings in short grass is a great find. Fairy Ring not only has an attractive bouquet when fresh but it retains it when dried. It is very commonly sold in European shops in dried form, being a handy additive to soups and

stews. Like many wild mushrooms, its flavour seems to increase with drying.

Honey Fungus, again, is good sauteed in oil as is the most handsome of our edible species, the Parasol Mushroom.

The Boletus family contains what is perhaps the most tasty wild mushroom of them all, the Cep or Penny Bun. Ceps are splendid mushrooms when fresh, or dried, when they take on the flavour of yeast extract. Indeed they are so highly prized that they are used in commercial soups to 'beef up the rather insipid savour of their domesticated cousins. In the same woods where the boletes grow you can sometimes come across the Chanterelle, a pretty little trumpet of egg-yolk yellow. It smells of apricots and when sauteed with garlic, potatoes and parsley is out of this world!

To find any of these mushrooms requires, of course, a certain amount of good luck as well as experience. Their appearance depends on several factors, climate being only one. A wet, cold summer will inhibit growth of many species in the autumn. And do not waste time looking for them where any sorts of chemicals have been put down; wiser than us perhaps, wild fungi will not tolerate pesticides and fertilisers. The fields around my house, which are devoted entirely to increasing the EEC's surplus barley stocks, and which are routinely doused

THINKING AHEAD? T h e r e m u s t b e m a n y of o u r r e a d e r s w h o w o u l d like to s u p port t h e V e g a n Society in its w o r k b u t h a v e l i m i t e d m e a n s at p r e s e n t . T h e r e is, h o w e v e r , an easy w a y of g i v i n g v a l u e d financial s u p p o r t regardless of p r e s e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s - b y i n c l u d i n g a legacy to t h e Society in y o u r will. Great or small, s u c h legacies can m a k e a real a n d lasting c o n t r i b u tion to t h e p r o m o t i o n of v e g a n ideals. W h a t b e t t e r w a y can there b e to h e l p t h e Society w i t h o u t loss of i n c o m e ? For t h o s e w h o w o u l d like to r e m e m b e r t h e Society in t h e i r will t h e f o l l o w i n g f o r m of b e q u e s t is s u g g e s t e d :

"1 b e q u e a t h to t h e V e g a n Society Ltd, R e g i s t e r e d C h a r i t y no. 279228, presently at 33-35 G e o r g e Street, O x f o r d OX1 2AY, t h e s u m of £ , a n d I declare t h a t t h e receipt of t h e T r e a s u r e r or o t h e r a u t h o r i s e d officer of t h e said Society shall b e g o o d a n d sufficient d i s c h a r g e of s u c h legacy."

P r o p e r t y left to t h e Society is a n o t h e r v a l u a b l e c o n t r i b u tion to o u r cause. If y o u w i s h to will land o r p r o p e r t y to t h e Society please w r i t e for details to t h e T r e a s u r e r , at t h e reg i s t e r e d office.

with chemicals to this end, are wholly barren of fungal life. Similarly, some varieties of tree are useless as hosts, many wild fungi being very choosy as to where they set up shop; I have never seen anything of interest near sycamore, for instance, with the exception of Honey Fungus. And that, being a dangerous arboreal pest, was only there to destroy its host anyway ...

But the delight is not merely in finding edible varieties. Many inedible ones are fascinating in their own right: the brilliant scarlet Russullas, the striking but deadly Amanitas, the bizarre Earth Stars, the compellingly revolting Stinkhorns, to name but a few. And there is in it all the thrill of The Chanterelle... a pretty little trumpet of egg-yolk yellow. It smells of apricots and when sauteed with gatiic, potatoes and parsley is out of this world!

the hunt, yet without anything having to die in the process (unless, like one of my friends, you believe that a plucked mushroom feels pain!). There is the pleasure of coming upon the unexpected, too, and even if you find nothing in your foraging, well, at least you'll have had the fresh air, the smell of the woods, and the good earth turning beneath your feet. Try it!

Stephen McGrail

Why not? ... give your support to those working positively towards an end to all animal abuse and the widespread adoption of a more compassionate and eco-logical way of life. Simply fill in the form below and send it to: The Membership Secretary The Vegan Society, 33-35 George Street, Oxford OX12AY Please tick as appropriate: • I wish to become a FULL MEMBER of the Vegan Society Ltd and undertake to abide by its rules as set out in the Society's Memorandum and Articles of Association. I declare that I am a practising vegan as currently defined by the Council of the Vegan Society Ltd (see Information, p2) • I wish to become an ASSOCIATE MEMBER of the Vegan Society. Although not a practising vegan, I agree with the Society's aims and would like to support its work.

I enclose payment as follows (please tick): • £6.50 Individual • £4.00 Unwaged individual • £8.50 Family • £6.00 Unwaged family • £100.00 Life Membership • I wish to SPONSOR your work, for which purpose I enclose a donation of: • £5.00 • £10.00 • £25.00 • £50.00 • £ Please make cheques payable to The Vegan Society Ltd Name Address

Postcode.

Signature

9 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

A

s a practising vegan and a writer for children and young adults I was interested to read the article

by Naomi Lewis, Animal Trap, which appeared in the Autumn 1985 Vegan.

For any writer of fiction who holds strong views on such fundamental issues as the eating of meat and human abuse of animals generally, the dilemma all too often arises: does one perform what might be called one's moral duty or listen instead to the voice of one's artistic conscience?

The concepts both of 'moral duty' and 'artistic conscience' tend to make one cringe: they sound pretentious, to say the very least. But the dilemma is a real one and I personally have only managed, thus far, to go part of the way to solving it.

Does one perform w h a t wight he called one's moral duty or listen instead to the voice of one's artistic conscience?

The part way which I have gone is an uneasy compromise, by being on the one hand negative - for example, simply not mentioning what people are eating or wearing, or letting the very occasional animal product 'slip through the net', almost as a cliche; and on the other being positive - actively going out of my way to draw attention to the plight of animals even though it plays no integral part in the story. Thus in a book for 11-year-olds I have the heroine reflect that "She didn't like Jenny's mother: she was loud and bossy and wore horrid fur coats that had once belonged to animals".

10

It is rather more difficult to bring in the (artistically irrelevant) fact that people are vegetarians, though this, too, can be done, as in You Win Some, You Lose Some, a 'romp' for young adults, where the heroine says: "I'm thinking of turning vegetarian". "Oh, yes?" replies the hero. He is not, at this stage, particularly interested in the heroine's doings; but a chapter later he is hooked: he is in love. He goes out to buy her a Chinese takeaway, and "just to show that he not only listened to what she said but actually took note of it he ordered nothing but vegetable dishes and rice". '"Yes, and you see ...' she gazed earnestly at him across the table 'one doesn't actually miss not having meat, does one? I mean, if you didn't know you wouldn't have noticed. Or would you, do you think?'"

At that moment the hero of the book wouldn't have noticed what he was eating; but the point has been made and is later reinforced. I suppose it amounts to what might be termed 'residual propaganda'. At no point do I ever consciously preach at or lecture readers, but certainly I do strive wherever I can to put the message across, albeit sometimnes sublimiiially, and to get them thinking. On the other hand - and this is where one's conscience does not rest entirely easy - in the interests of artistic reality one cannot make all one's characters vegetarians (never mind vegans) and one is therefore left with the choice: does one simply, as a matter of course, refrain from ever mentioning what these non-vegetarians consume, or does one take the line of least resistance, which I'm af-

raid is what I have so far done, and permit them upon occasion to eat sausages and mash or fish and chips?

I am definitely growing more troubled on this point. There is not the same problem when it comes to less pervasive areas of life - blood sports, for instance. One can quite easily write a book without ever mentionig blood sports; and if one does, one can take great pleasure in having one's characters condemn the practice.

Food is a decidedly trickier problem - meals do seem to play an awfully large part in the lives of one's characters! I have long since gone beyond the stage where I can happily set down on paper that someone "tucked into roast lamb" or "enjoyed a lobster patty" but are sausages and mash and fish and At no point do I ever consciously preach at or lecture readers but certainly I strive wherever I can to pat the message across, albeit sometimes subliminally, and to get them thinking

chips any less to be condemned? No, of course they are not. And even as I write this I have a sudden horrible misgiving ... did I, in a book I completed a few months back, actually have someone eat steak? I just may have done.

By way of compensation, in my most recent book, for a younger age group, I have deliberately avoided all mention of people eating meat meals and have tended to make my heroine, without added comment, exist on apples, crisps and health-food crunchy The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

bars. And yet ... and yet she eats a boiled egg for breakfast...

How can anyone, you might ask, who calls herself a vegan possibly permit her characters to do these things?

Well, as I have frankly admitted, I do grow more troubled in my mind as to how to cope with this problem. It is interesting that the only book which I have so far written in which vegetarianism as a way of life is actively, and indeed vigorously, promoted (If It Weren't For Sebastian, a young adult book) is the product of my just-prevegetarian days. The eponymous hero of this book is a young man dedicated to both socialism and vegetarianism (he belongs to a party called the Vegetarian Socialists) and one of the main themes of the book is his 'conversion' of the heroine, Maggie, to his beliefs.

In a typical scene Maggie is about to cook herself a piece of rump steak: '"You're not eating that?' (demands Sebastian.) '"Yes, I am,' she said. She snatched at it, defensively. 'Why shouldn't I?' '"You know why you shouldn't. It's wicked, it's cruel - that was a live animal - a healthy, living creature look at it now! Just dead flesh on a plate! You ought to be ashamed.' '"Well, I'm not. I didn't kill it.' A specious argument. She knew it didn't stand up. But really Sebastian

was enough to try the patience of a saint."

By the end of the book I too had been converted... another year and I had followed the arguments through to their inescapable conclusion and become a vegan.

But halfway through the book "Occasionally, guiltily, she would smuggle herself in some sausages or a few sGces of ham, and now and again at Chislehurst she would have a blowout on one of Dot's roasts. But then, damn and blast Sebastian, she would suddenly find herself thinking, 'This was a living creature you're eating ... this was a healthy, happy, innocent animal,' and she would start having visions of little fluffy lambs and squeaking pink piglets, and the meat would begin to taste bloody and fleshly and she would have to force herself to swallow it."

By the end of the book, Maggie has been converted. By the end of the book I too had been converted ... another year and I had followed the arguments through to their inescapable conclusion and become a vegan. The power of the printed word is great indeed: I came to veganism not only via my own book but via Jon WynneTyson's Food for A Future, which has

altered the thinking of so many of us: a 15-year old schoolgirl reader came to vegetarianism via Sebastian, which she told me had changed her whole life.

She is now intent on progressing to veganism as soon as she starts at university.

So... where does that leave me, as a writer of fiction for young people? I think where it leaves me is in a position a bit further advanced than when I started writing this article. I think I have succeeded in arguing myself into a position where for the future my books must be populated by people who either eat vegetables or do not eat at all! They may be vegans by default, but that at least will be a step in the right direction.

Jean Ure

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection is a radical campaigning organisation which is committed to the total abolition of all animal experiments. We have a busy office situated in Islington, North London. As part of our programme of expansion we wish to fill the following vacancies:

Press Officer

To be responsible for dealing with local and national media. To improve links and contacts with the media both nationally and regionally. To assist other members of staff with their media presentation and encourage and develop media skills of local groups and contacts. Must be willing to travel. Driving licence an advantage.

Salary £8,000-£9,000.

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11 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Financial Controller A suitably qualified and/br experienced person is required to positively transform the management of the BUAV's financial affairs. Areas of responsibility include those more normally associated with this post (budgeting, payroll preparation,"making payments, etc), but the successful applicant will also be expected to work closely with all staff on the financial implications of the BUAV's campaigns and activities. Experience of computers and an ability to supervise staff preferred.

Salary £9,000-£12,000.

Both positions are for a 37 Vi hour 5 day week with 20 days holiday per year. Team spirit and a sense of humour are essential. Additional attendance at evenings and weekends will be required. Applicants must be either vegetarian or vegan and committed to the total abolition of vivisection.

The BUAV is an equal opportunities employer.

Please write or phone for an application form:'British Union tor the Abolition of Vivisection, 16a Crane Grove, Islington, London N7 8LB. 01-607 1545. Closing date for applications 26th September 1986.

Veganic Composting and its role in the early vegan movement

O

n 25 September Thorsons are due to publish Kenneth Dalziel O'Brien's Veganic Gardening, in which he describes how anyone fortunate enough to have a garden or an allotment can grow salads, vegetables and fruit of fine quality and flavour using veganic compost and the Dalziel O'Brien technique of surface cultivation. In the short article which follows Kenneth acquaints readers both with the rudiments of the system and with an early chapter in the history of the vegan movement.

Veganic composting by the Dalziel O'Brien family goes back to 1940 when a heap made from vegetable waste and trimmings was assembled and treated in the manner described

by Maye Bruce in her book From Vegetable Waste to Fertile Soil. The resulting compost was a success and the rich dark humus was applied to a vegetable plot in our back garden. The quality and flavour of the vegetables were greatly appreciated, especially in those days of 'digging for victory'.

It was while employed on various market gardens in the East Riding that the younger members of the family became intensely interested in how vegetables and fruit were being grown.

Most growers, including the Dutch, believed in using plenty of animal dung on their land in order to grow salads and other crops. As we came to realise that perfectly sound, healthy vegetables could be grown without dung and other animal manures, we began to question this practice.

The growers admitted that, despite heavy annual dressings of dung, often of 60 tons per acre, their soils and their

12

crops were not improving, while the pests and diseases were increasing.

Some, hoping to improve their crops and maintain their productive levels, had already started to supplement animal manures with chemical fertilisers.

In this they were partly successful, although, of course, their costs increased. Another, although less obvious factor, in this was that they repeatedly ploughed the land. We have since learned that to disrupt the soil profile by digging, ploughing or rotovating is detrimental to a sound soil structure and hence to fertility.

We derived benefit from our experience when we began to market our own crops of vegetables and fruit, produced using only compost from the vegetable kingdom. When we moved to Leicestershire we made further progress, refining and simplifying our composting methods, cultivating the soil without digging, and evolving a new routine for both removing and using weeds. This nine-year episode is fully described by my late mother, Rosa Dalziel O'Brien, in her book Intensive Gardening, unfortunately now out of print.

In Leicestershire a further and vital link in our approach to the land was forged when we met, among others, Donald Watson and Tom and Pearl Rawls. They had begun to consider progressing from lacto-vegetarianism to omitting every animal product from their diet, having realised that the production of milk depends on the slaughter of the bull-calves and the production of eggs on the slaughter of the young male birds. It was therefore entirely logical that these pioneers of

veganism should want to know whether animal dung could be dispensed with. If so, their case against domestic livestock, and the three Ms' of meat, milk and muck, was complete. There was never a case anyway, before livestock was introduced as no original nutrients were removed from the soil to necessitate replacement with dung, which is only residual leftover matter. There were many lively discussions between those who had conceived the idea of eliminating milk and eggs from their diet and our family, which had been able to confirm that animal dung was unnecessary, indeed a pollutant, on the land.

When these pioneers broke away from the mainstream of vegetarianism and formed a separate and distinct group the word 'vegan' came into being. The word was obtained simply by contracting the word 'vegetarian'.

We Dalziel O'Briens, on the other hand, called our compost, and the system of gardening built upon it, 'veganic' - a compound of VEgetable and orGANIC, which both described the way the compost was made and distinguished it from traditional organic manures, which are wholly or partly composed of materials of animal origin.

Un our heavy land we needed a method of cultivation other than the conventional one of digging, ploughing or rotovating. So we formed the cropping areas into beds 4V2 feet across with intersecting paths 15 inches wide. Nobody had to walk on the beds, and the soil was thus saved from compaction.

Shortly afterwards we learned to cultivate the soil without inverting it by using a small but widebladed onion hoe or 'scrapper' tilted to one side and drawn evenly through the soil to penetrate the top few inches only. We never again used the spade or fork for cultivation.

We also removed and composted all the weeds without turning them under. We soon discovered that fewer of them flourished on the land, and after three full seasons hardly a weed grew. Left out of cultivation and raked over, the land produced fine grasses a transformation indeed.

Traditional habits die hard, but in gardening veganically, we are regaining our ancestors' original independence from domestic animals, whose presence in large numbers on the land is detrimental both in terms of pollution and to the environment as a whole, for where herds are kept the natural tree cover disappears or is vastly reduced. Surely the most important requirement from a long-term environmental point of view is not to reduce, but to vastly increase the forests of the planet, which could have untold benefits both for mankind and for the soils of the world.

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

£150

S h o p a r o u n d

—The VeganShopper's Guide

Lis Howlett surveys the latest vegan products Catching on Competition among rival food manufacturers is hotting up all the time, with the proliferation of eye-catching labels, flashes, stars and suchlike proclaiming products to have the benefit of being 'Natural', 'Wholegrain', 'Stoneground' or 'Organically Grown' and so on, or of being 'Free from ...' or having 'No added ...', 'No artificial or what have you. Healthy foods that vegans have been enjoying for years are finally 'catching on' with the general public. After years of having to seek out many of these products in obscure and expensive outlets, or in some cases growing and grinding their own, old hands at the vegan shopping game are now finding their shopping trips a whole lot easier, with vegan foods becoming cheaply and conveniently available in a whole host of new outlets. Wholefood and healthfood shops, with their wider ranges of specialized foods, and (generally) greater ability to advise on specific aspects of diet, continue to occupy an important niche in the field but are, inevitably, unable to compete seriously with supermarket chains and multiples when it comes to cost and convenience. Although of secondary importance to the committed vegan, these two factors nevertheless weigh heavily with the (uncommitted) general public and have until very recently been a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of more enlightened eating habits.

Ill Wind It's an ill wind that blows nobody good, goes the saying, and so it has proved with the recent nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, which apparently prompted an unexpected, but very welcome, swing to mineral waters and soya milks by many UK shoppers unconvinced by Government assurances concerning the safety of consuming contaminated drinking water and animal milks. As if in response to this upsurge in demand, two new brands of soya milk have just been launched: Cereal Mate (produced by Alpro), which is available from larger branches of Tesco, and Boots' ownbrand liquid soya milk. Also available from Boots is a soya milk powder in a light-weight plastic jar, which is ideal for keeping in the store cupboard and using when you just need a small 13 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

amount for adding to drinks or for cooking. Talking of small amounts, Plamil has just broken new ground by bringing out a tiny, 14ml version of its sugar-free soya milk. Called 'minipots' and sold in packs of 10 for 55p, they are just the job for those occasions when mini-portions of soya milk are required for the traditional 'cuppa'. Their handy format also makes them a natural choice for the restaurant and guest-house trade.

Snacks As pointed out above, one of the vogue words doing the rounds right now is 'organic'. You can even get crisps made from organically grown potatoes - sold under the brand name Hedgehog. Another brand of crisps well worth trying, especially if you like a fuller flavour, is Tuckers' Nature's Choice 'jacket' potato crisps, made from (non-organically grown) potatoes with their skins on. Like soya milks, snacks are another booming sector of the health-food trade, which is good news for variety-seeking vegans, since many of the new confections coming into the shops are free from all animal ingredients, even the milk powder and honey so beloved of health-food manufacturers. But do beware, for many of these products are poor value, with fancy packaging being used to mask meagreness of content . Soft-baked cookies from Allinson and Barbara's Bakery fall into this category. Much better value for money is to be found in some of the nutritious fruit and nut bars now appearing. Shepherd Boy have a wide variety of flavours in their range (in which only the banana has added honey), to which a Carob Fruit & Nut Bar has just been added. If you prefer a bar without nuts try their Multi-Fruit Bar, which seems to go down particularly well with children. Neilson, another firm with a good variety of vegan bars, is also expanding its range and relaunching its existing flavours with a delicious carob coating. And if

you enjoy figs then the excellent little triangular slabs of fig-cake made by Wilcox & Lomer are a must. These are now available in four flavours - Traditional Spanish, Apricot & Almond, Raisin & Coconut, and Spiced Walnut & Ginger. For those with a more savoury tooth, however, Hatfield Wholefoods have just brought out a new snack called Savoury Sesame Sticks, which have the added advantage of being gluten-free.

Stuck for ideas on what to put in the sandwiches in the lunch-box? No need to be nowadays as the choice of both sweet and savoury spreads is ever-increasing. Three new products that are both really tasty and full of goodness are Sunwheel's Hazelnut Spread and Meridian's Almond Butter and Choco-Nut Spread. The last-named, which is flavoured almost entirely with carob rather than cocoa, is really scrumptious and good value at 89p for a 340g jar.

Savouries Another mix-and-bake Nut Roast is now available, from Ethos Health Products. Priced at 99p, it can be served hot or cold. In common with so many similar products, it is rather bland to my palate but can be considerably improved with a tasty sauce. Tomorrow Foods have made three additions to their Savoury Mix range. Although this company's products require more preparation than some the end results are usually very tasty and make the extra time and effort well worthwhile.

Of the three newcomers, all retailing at £1.20, the Dal and Chapati and Mexican Burger Mixes are both very good, but the Adzuki Bean Loaf Mix is distinctly weaker. By the way, if you are making burgers at home I can warmly recommend Realeat's nifty new Burger Press. It makes the job much less messy and encourages you to make up batches for the freezer.

Frozen Dessert And finally to pud! A tasty new frozen vegan dessert called Vive is now on the market. Selling at 89p for a one-litre pack, it comes in three flavours - vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. Look out for it in branches of Sainsbury, the Co-op and Morrisons. You or I would call it an ice-cream, but because of its non-animal ingredients and EEC regulations it has to be termed a frozen dessert. Still, a rose by any other name t

Hot Cakes The new Vegan Shopper's Guide (pictured above) is going like hot cakes, with almost 1,000 copies sold within a week of printing. Order yours (see pp 24-25) now.

In the Vegan Kitchen A regular column on vegan cookery and food preparation

Mmm...for mushrooms S

ince this issue's autumnal theme is mushrooms a selection of mushroom recipes is offered for readers' delectation. All except the last - a personal favourite of the Editor - are slight adaptations of originals in The Vegan Cookbook by Alan Wakeman and Gordon Baskerville (see review on opposite page), to be published this September by Faber & Faber.

Creamed Mushrooms Serves 4-6 3 oz (85g) margarine 1 clove garlic 1 lb (450g) button mushrooms 3 tbs wholewheat flour 3 /4 pt (425ml) soya milk salt and pepper to taste

1 '/2 lemons salt to taste parsley for garnishing Put the bulgur in a saucepan and pour the boiling water over it. Stir in the salt, cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Meanwhile, put the margarine in a large saucepan over a low heat.

While it is melting, skin and finely chop the onions, add them to the pan and saute until transparent. Wash and finely chop the mushrooms, add them to the pan and continue to saute for a few more minutes. As soon as the bulgur is ready, stir it into the pan, together with the cashew nuts, and continue heating gently. Grate the lemon rinds and stir the grated peel into the mixture. Squeeze the lemons and add the juice to the mixture, stirring continuously. Remove pan from heat, check the seasoning and add a little salt if necessary, transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish and warm through in a moderate oven (350F/ 180°C/Gas Mark 4) for 20 minutes.

Garnish with sprigs of parsley and serve.

Put the margarine to melt in a large saucepan over a low heat. Skin and crush the garlic, add it to the pan and cook gently for a few moments. Wash and drain the mushrooms, add them to the pan and saute till tender (about 1520 minutes). Stir in the flour and allow to cook gently for a few minutes before adding the soya milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously till the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, season and serve.

Mushroom Soup Serves 4 x /i lb (225g) mushrooms 1 '/2 pts (850ml) soya milk 1 clove garlic 1 tsp salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Mushroom ft Barley Casserdle Serves 4 10 oz (280g) mushrooms 7 oz (200g) pot barley 2 medium onions 2 oz (60g) margarine 3 /» tsp salt 3 /» tsp freshly ground black pepper Vi pt (275ml) stock

Wash and coarsely chop the mushrooms and put them in a large saucepan with the soya milk. Bring quickly to the boil then reduce beat and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile, skin and crush the garlic, add it to the pan and stir well in. Remove pan from heat, transfer the mixture to a blender, add the salt and pepper and blend to a smooth, frothy liquid. Return to pan, reheat gently and serve. Adding wholewheat croutons at the last moment before serving gives the soup extra dash and verve.

Melt the margarine over a low heat, chop and add onion and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown. Wash and slice mushrooms, add to onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add barley and seasoning, pour in stock and stir to mix. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, and then transfer to a large, greased casserole. Cover and place in a moderate oven 350F/180°C/Gas Mark 4) until the barley is tender and the liquid has been absorbed (about 45 minutes). Serve with colourful combination of cooked and/or raw vegetables.

14

Cashew ft Mushroom Roast Serves 4 l/2 lb (225g) bulgur (cracked wheat) 1 pt (550ml) boiling water 1 tsp salt 1 oz (30g) margarine 2 medium onions V2 lb (225g) mushrooms */4 lb (115g) cashew nuts

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

T

he vegan cookbook boom continues, with two major new titles appearing in recent months and a third scheduled for publication on September 22nd. A personal assessment of all three is offered below by food and wine writer Roger Baker.

The Compassionate Gourmet

by Janet Hunt Thorsons £4.99 Pbk

The International Tofu Cookery Book

By Leah Leneman Routledge & Kegan Paul £4.95 Pbk

GOURMET

The International

Janet Hunt

Cookery Book

The Vegan Cookbook

By Alan Wakeman and Gordon Baskerville Faber & Faber £4.95 Pbk (publication date: 22 September)

The Vegan Cookbook

Hie VarytatoI International Vagan Cvraim ——

LEAH LENEMAN

It is, I think, time to stop being pathetYou may think I'm being picky, but ically grateful for any cookery book I contend that this approach perthat crosses our path which has 'vegan' petuates the idea that if you're vegan in the title. It is, I think, time to assert you have to mess about with food and some cooking standards, some basic make special efforts. This is simply not culinary decencies. Vegan cookery is true: all the word's great cuisines not the poor, makeshift relation of the (even the French) contain dishes standard western diet, it has its own which are, willy nilly, vegan. All of style, its own principles and its own in- these must be reclaimed as the foundategrity. tion of an authentic vegan cuisine.

Janet Hunt does not seem to have Whilst appreciating the need for more grasped this. Her book, sub-titled books with new ideas for enriching 'The Very Best of Internatioal Vegan vegan cuisine, some of the ideas ofCuisine', may leave one breathless fered by Ms Hunt are, I think, overwith anticipation but turns out, in fact, complicated and suspect. to be something of a disappointment.

Leah Leneman is an altogether Although her recipes are immacu- sharper operator.

'International' lately vegan they are, too often, effort- crops up in her title too, but she is defiful imitations and distortions of estab- nitely not one to throw in an olive and lished dishes. Let me give you a couple call it Provencal. No, Ms Leneman solof examples. We find something called ves the problem by using the suffix 'Kedgeree'. This is a perfectly reason- style' which, while not entirely satisable matter of onions and smoked factory, is honest and shows she knows tofu, sauteed and served on brown her cooking. Her book is all about tofu rice. Nothing wrong with that - very — what it is, the categories we can buy, nice in fact. But why call it how to make it and dozens of ways we 'Kedgeree'? The original recipe for can use it. In many of them, of course, this dish was quite simply a mixture of the curd is used as a substitute for meat rice and lentils; the smoked haddock or eggs, but when she gives a dish was a foreign, western addition. Ms which actually does use tofu (such as Hunt completely ignores the vegan Gado-gado) then, quite properly, she source of a charming dish and presents offers an authetntic recipe. Since tofu a vegan imitation by replacing the al- is one of my favourite things and I'm ready spurious fish with tofu. Simi- always seeking different ways of using larly, she offers a completely unexcep- it, this book is welcome on my kitchen tionable recipe for Leeks Vinaigrette, shelf. one of which Escoffier would have apWakeman and Baskerville's The proved - but then tarts it up with Vegan Cookbook is quite a different 'bacon bits'. catgory. For on thing, the recipes and there are more than 200 of them - rich, varied, luxurious and reach the demonstrate that a vegan diet can be highest culinary standards. Good in15 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

gredients are used freshly and simply and, as with all successful cookery books, the imagination, as well as the tastebuds, is stimulated. There is considerable emphasis on flavours which, when not half stifled by meat and dairy products, sing out loud and clear: pear and ginger, celery and coconut, peach and cauliflower, lemon and carrot ... found in soups, salads, mousses and bakes.

Many different cooking techniques are used and my authenticity test showed no evasions: gazpacho, guacamole, baby ganush, falafels and other international classics are given correctly with no messing.

One of several unique features of the book is that the recipes are graded, from quick and cheap to dearer or more complicated. Some of the dishes do demand time and care (and they are worth it) but the majority are simple, using easily available ingredients and taking little time. And there is more than recipes. The authors have included useful notes on nutrition, a low-key but well-expressed section on reasons to be vegan, and a resource section which includes useful addresses and a bibliography. So whether you have always been a vegan or are just trembling on the brink, this book will offer you a great deal.

Editor's note: for those who feel that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so to speak, sample recipes from the above cookbooks are given opposite and overleaf.

Put the tofu, soya milk and vinegar in a liquidizer and blend thoroughly.

Chop the onion and ginger and add to the liquidizer. Blend until smooth Add the liquidized mixture to the mashed potatoes, along with the ground sesame seeds and the cashew pieces. Add sea salt to taste and mix thoroughly.

Put into an oiled baking dish and bake at 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4 for about an hour or until the top is lightly browned.

Gingered Potato and Tofu Savoury (from The International Tofu Cookery Book) Serves 4 1V2 lb (675g) potatoes 2 oz (50g) sesame seeds 8 oz (225g) of firm tofu 4 fl.oz (115ml) soya milk 1 onion small piece (1-2 inches) fresh ginger 3 oz (75g) broken cashews sea salt to taste Cook the potatoes. Cool and mash.

Set aside.

Grind the sesame seeds. Set aside.

—The Vegan—50 Holiday and Restaurant

Guide

MORE THAN 300 UK ESTABLISHMENTS LISTED £1.50, i n c l p & p , f r o m :

The Merchandise Dept The Vegan Society 33-35 George Street Oxford OX1 2AY Please make cheques/POs payable to: The Vegan Society Ltd

16

Pissaladidres (from The Compassionate Gourmet) Serves 4 For pastry: V-2. lb (225g) wholemeal flour pinch of salt 4 oz (115g) margarine 3-4 tbs cold water

3 onions, finely chopped 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 lb (450g) tomatoes, peeled and chopped 2 tbs tomato puree seasoning to taste 24 black olives Sift together the flour and salt. Rub in margarine to make a crumb-like mixture, then stir in the water to make dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out dough and cut into 8 fairly large circles, using these to line lightly greased tartlet tins. Prick the bases.

Bake at 375°F/190°C/Gas Mark 5 for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. Heat the oil and fry the onions with the garlic for 5 minutes, or until soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes with the puree and seasoning. Stir well and cook for no more than 5 minutes, just to soften and heat the tomatoes.

Spoon hot filling into the hot or warm cases and decorate with 3 olives for each tartlet. Serve at once. Can also be served cold.

For filling/decoration: 3 tbs vegetable oil

Day Courses in Vegan Cookery To be held at The Vegetarian Centre, 53 Marloes Road, Kensington, London W8 6LA.

September 20th - November 8th November 29th (Details of themes and demonstrators still being finalized at time of going to press) Each session will last from 10.30am 3.30pm Fee: £12.50 per session, including morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea.

Full details on how to find The Vegetarian Centre will be sent to applicants on receipt of their fee. Send the completed form below to the Oxford office, marking your envelope 'Cookery Day Courses'.

The number of places available on these courses is limited so as to keep them friendly and informal, with plenty of time for questions, so early booking is strongly advised.

Please enrol me/us on the following course(s): September 20th No. of places November 8th No. of places November 29th No. of places Name(s) Address

j

Tel: I enclose cheque/P.O. for£ made payable to The Vegan Society Ltd.

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

A classified listing of vegan food products, toiletries, cosmetics etc. Appendix on food additives.

£150

—TheVegpn— ShopperS Guide

£1.50, incl. p&p, from: The Merchandise Dept., The Vegan Society 33-35 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AY Make cheques/POs payable to: The Vegan Society Ltd.

INGREDIENTS; WATER'SUGAR • COCONUtOIL MODIFIED STARGH • GLUCOSgSYRUP ISOLATED SOYA PROTEIN^ STABILISERS E466, Eii 2.E407, E4I0 NATURAL FLAVOURING EMULSIFIER E471 - NATURAL COLOUR ANNATTO.

ALLIED FOODS ICE CREAM CO DAIRY TOPS, HENWOOD.ASHFORD, KENT STORAGE'.TIMES: » 1 WEEK . . 1 MONTH • ••3 MONTHS.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION VIVE VANILLA PER 100g FAT

6.7g

SATURATED FAT PROTEIN

229 2.3g

CARBOHYDRATE

20.9g

ENERGY

155k cols/640 ki

1 LITRE

Available in Sainsbury, C o - o p and M o r r i s o n The Vegan, Autumn 1986

17

Reviews Why You Don't Need Meat Peter Cox Thorsons ÂŁ2.50 Pbk

WHY YOU

1

DON'T NEED

MEAT

Gives you the straight facts they don't want you to know about ? â&#x20AC;˘ What is in today's meat * Medical evidence on meat and your health _

PETER

COX-

P e t e r Cox p r e s e n t s a wealth of w e l l - d o c u m e n t e d evidence on the d e t r i m e n t a l effects to h u m a n health of a meat-based diet. Historically, he argues, little m e a t w a s included in the diet, a n d o u r bodies are not e q u i p p e d to cope with the large q u a n t i t i e s of meat c o n s u m e d in the West. T h e m o d e r n plagues of cancer, h e a r t attacks, hypertension a n d d i a b e t e s a r e shown to occur to a much lesser extent in t h o s e p e o p l e w h o d o not include flesh in their diets.

Most of t h e evidence has b e e n a c q u i r e d through epidemiological studies of h u m a n p o p u l a t i o n s . I f o u n d it r a t h e r sad that amidst all these excellent studies Peter Cox had f o u n d it necessary to include t h e results of animal e x p e r i m e n t s . Of all areas of animal e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n dietary e x p e r i m e n t s must necessarily be the most absurd.

E a c h species is e q u i p p e d to c o p e with d i f f e r e n t types and quantities of f o o d , and to f e e d an u n n a t u r a l diet to an animal is not only i m m o r a l , but can give us n o indication of the effects of f o o d on the h u m a n metabolism. These e x p e r i m e n t s should be treated with the c o n t e m p t they deserve.

In fact the whole issue of animals is sadly lacking in this b o o k . O n l y o n e c h a p t e r out of t h i r t e e n is d e v o t e d to the s l a u g h t e r h o u s e . T h e morality 18

of eating meat is scarcely touched upon.

It is very much in vogue at the m o m e n t to concentrate on the human aspects of animal cruelty and ignore the ethical issues. This is no doubt a m e t h o d of reaching those who will never care about anyone but themselves, but I feel we d o o u r fellow h u m a n beings a disservice if we consider that few can be moved on compassionate grounds. We also d o the animals a disservice if we d o not constantly push for their rights to be recognised. By all means show people that flesh eating is not natural or healthy, but I would have liked to have seen a little m o r e included on the appalling suffering of animals in the meat trade.

T h e book includes a nutrition checker, advising those who abstain from meat how best they can achieve the necessary dietary requirements. This will n o doubt be invaluable to those who are concerned that leaving meat out of their diet will somehow leave them lacking in vital requirements.

It also shows that the whole issue of vegetarianism has been thoroughly researched and makes it rather foolhardy for the meat trade to argue that meat is necessary. For those who speak publicly, or to friends, on the issue, it is a good source of information.

It is a shame that this nutrition checker included eggs and dairy products to such a large extent. Having shown that saturated fats and cholesterol are harmful to health, to have animal products f e a t u r e d in the dietary guide seems rather illogical. I am not suggesting that the book should have p r o m o t e d veganism, as that is too big a step for most people to take at once, but there are ways of expounding vegetarianism without d r u m m i n g up support for the dairy industry.

T o devote an entire book to vegetarianism f r o m the health aspect is quite a new idea, and doubtless has an important part to play. T h e whole style of the book smacks of high-

pressure advertising and is written in a chatty style, which in parts I found distasteful.

However, it does treat the subject of non meat eating (vegetarianism is considered an old-fashioned word) from a positive point of view, and therefore in many ways is a useful addition to the literature already available on the subject.

Kathryn Reynolds

Pulling the Wool Christine Townend Hale & Iremonger (Australia)* Price $10.00 Pulling The Wool

Sheep don't belong in Australia. Their introduction into the arid and semi-arid areas has been a disaster for both them and the environment. That an entire continent has 'developed' on the backs of these longsuffering animals illustrates yet again the illogic of livestock agriculture, which in this case seems to have come about as much by accident as by design.

It was in similar fashion that the Australian government shambled into its grotesque trade in the export of live sheep (7.2 million in 1985) some 5,000 miles to the Middle East for ritual slaughter.

Like any other livestock enterprise, it was wrong right from the start and is wronger than ever today unmanageable without genetic manipulation; creating countless diseases and then relying on numerous operations/mutilations to remedy t h e m ; creating a mess, helped by agribusiness and reduced labour, and expecting praise for the barbarism, ravages and oddities by which it seeks to clear it up. This thoroughly researched book surveys these and other points to provide the reader with enough evidence, drawn often from official sources, to damn the entire industry.

Explained in detail here is the horrific breech Mulesing operation (named after its inventor, J. H. W. Mules), in which the skin and flesh around the tail are sliced away, literally skinning the animal alive, until a huge wound results. Other mulesing 'operations' deal similarly with the pizzle and jowl.

Unfair though it may be to criticise what was obviously written with great heart and intelligence, and unrealistic perhaps to impose certain beliefs and philosophy on another country's peculiar culture and circumstances, this book's honourable attempt at promoting animal welfare is marked by considerable shortcomings. The call for a return to a more 'harmonious' agriculture seems to be more and more unsatisfactory.

Christine Townend is right to urge radical economic reform to reshape land ownership and agricultural structure but if the gain for animals is limited to more 'humane' systems then a massive opportunity is being ignored. Improvements yes, greater respect for animals yes; but it can be strongly argued that this fight for animal welfare and vegetarianism actually holds back the progress of animal rights and veganism.

Curious too how sheep shearing is not dealt with here, the only reference being this oddity: "... the shearers whose labour and whose culture has (sic) enriched our history."

It is regrettable that at the end of this powerful book the author's vision of small-scale federations of communities, as an alternative to the dominance of agribusiness, still features animals. In such an 'ethical agriculture' they would "... be used for wool, perhaps milk, transport, companionship, guarding etc." A disappointing picture of a future Australia based on vegetarianism: half a dream. But perhaps Christine Townend is just being clever.

Maybe no-one in Australian agriculture would read anything more radical.

Barry Kew ' E d i t o r ' s note: Copies of Pulling the Wool are available from C I W F , 20 Lavant Street, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3 E W , price ÂŁ4.95 incl p&p.

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Vegetarianism A set of 4 audio-visual programmes Mark Gold Drake Educational Pubns £34 the set*

Vegetarianism

Vngcur driam ana North

DRAKEEsSsS, Vegetarianism is the title of a new pack of 4 audio-visual programmes scripted by Mark Gold, Campaign Director of Animal Aid. Each programme consists of 12 slides, accompanied by a cassette commentary lasting some 1012 minutes. The programmes, which may be used singly or in combination, comprise 'Vegetarianism and Animal Suffering', 'Vegetarianism and Human Hunger', 'Vegetarianism and Health' and 'Living Without Cruelty'.

They are designed for use with groups aged 15 upwards.

'Vegetarianism and Animal Suffering' considers the cruelty involved in the production of meat, milk and eggs, emphasizing the barbarity of the slaughter process, and concludes by asking whether the exploitation of animals for food can be justified when animal products have been shown to be unnecessary to health.

'Vegetarianism and Human Hunger' highlights the stupidity of a food system which devotes 40% of the world's grain to feeding animals, mostly for consumption in the rich countries of the 'North', whilst 500 million humans are severely malnourished.

'Vegetarianism and Health' looks at another aspect of malnutrition, that of the overconsumption of fat (often from animal products), sugar and salt in countries such as Britain, emphasizing the health advantages of a diet low in animal fats and high in fibre, found only in plant foods.

19 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Finally, 'Living Without Cruelty' examines a new concept - that of a lifestyle free from the exploitation of animals, whether for food, clothing, entertainment or research.

My main criticisms are the lack of any decent teacher's notes (a typescript of the commentary would be useful); the shortage of slides (12 per programme is, in my view, rather too few to sustain visual interest); and the high cost.

Nevertheless, Mark Gold is to be congratulated for providing a valuable addition to the animal rights armoury, and one which vegans can use to good effect.

Paul Appleby ' E d i t o r ' s note: Vegetarianism can be bought or hired from Animal Aid, 7 Castle Street, Tonbridge, K e n t T N 9 1BH. Purchase price: £34 the set, £9 per programme. Hire charge: £3 for one programme, £4 for two, £5 for three or four. All prices are inclusive of p&p.

The Real Cost Richard North Chatto & Windus £7.95 Pbk

ecology. Similarly, severe criticism of the gross inefficiency of the fishing industry is followed by the hope that greater investment can yield a better return. Like using a heavier and heavier hammer to drive in a screw: the results might improve but it's still not the right way to do the job. Above all, the job itself should come under scrutiny, not just the method.

This is nonetheless a tremendous p o p ecology reference book, full of excellently presented facts.

Each chapter is a model of economy, the longest running to just eight pages; the one on milk is especially good, concluding: "... milk cannot be part of a properly vegetarian diet. Its inevitable by-product - a dead calf or beef animal and eventually a dead cow, which was probably an overstessed one..."

Whilst neither definitive (how could it be?) nor a Doomsday Book ('the partly good news' features regularly as a subheading) it highlights the hidden costs - human, economic, social and environmental - of the things we take, or leave, for granted.

If only they didn't cost so much.

Barry Kew

Thorsons' Complete Guide to Alternative Living "Think of the thousands of everyday objects we use or consume without thought. A jar of coffee, for instance; a cigarette; a pair of jeans or a cup of tea; a car or a computer; a hamburger or a battery. We know what they cost to buy, but what is their real cost, in terms of the exploitation of human, animal or global resources?"

So runs the blurb. But when will it be more widely recognised that humans and animals are not resources?

Few of us would go along with the sentiments expressed in this book's chapter on livestock, for instance - a classic example of the limited ethics of anthropocentric

David Harvey Thorsons £14.95 Hbk, £6.99 Pbk

An ambitious project this, but one which I welcomed as being long overdue. Divided into two sections, the first and m a j o r part of the book is an AZ listing of the Alternative Movement's ideas, beliefs and philosophies, covering such diverse areas as education,

medicine, diets, economics and energy. Harvey gives concise and easily-digestible definitions for those terms which until now have remained at best elusive, at worst confusing.

Inevitably, in any work of this magnitude something gets forgotten, lost or edited o u t , but as a 'guide' it succeeds.

Should more information be wanted, the second section of the book thoughtfully provides lists of useful addresses for a number of countries and, in the case of the U K and C a n a d a and the U S A , categorises them into related subjects. I was, however, disappointed to see that no addresses were given for anti-discriminatory groups; a thought perhaps for the second edition.

Another disappointment is the fact that some of the Guide's contents are already out of date. This is, of course, to some extent inevitable, since groups promoting alternatives are p r o n e to frequent changes, but it is nevertheless u n f o r t u n a t e that the Vegan Society is listed as being at a now long out-of-date address in Surrey.

Despite what amount to minor criticisms, the overall presentation of the book is impressive: generously illustrated, well sign-posted and genuinely interesting.

Cross-referencing throughout makes it more than just a n o t h e r reference book. It's a good read and only the very strongwilled will be able to dip into 'Lucid Dreams' and not find themselves still absorbed ten minutes later by 'Shamanism'.

Gavin Jones

Family Matters Lis Howlett continues her regular column on vegan child-care and parenting

Children's Parties

V

egans, it has to be said, are not r e n o w n e d for their feasting and frivolity. O u r u n i q u e c o m m i t m e n t to the principles of humanity and compassion does, it's true, have its solemn and sober side, but this d o e s not m e a n that our lives have to be devoid of lighter elem e n t s and that we should suppress o u r inclination to e n j o y ourselves. Q u i t e the opposite in fact.

Children are a great asset in this respect, for their capacity f o r m e r r y m a k i n g is infectious.

T h e very least we can d o as vegan p a r e n t s is to m a k e sure that at least once a year, on his/ her b i r t h d a y , o u r child is given a real day to r e m e m b e r , and one which with a little extra effort can also be t u r n e d into an enjoyable exercise in the promotion of o u r way of eating. Let's take a look at how this can be done.

First, a r m yourself with a good party book f r o m your local b o o k s h o p or library. This will give you plenty of ideas for t h e m e s and games, as well as f o r party f o o d , much of which can easily be 'veganized'. O n e I would particularly r e c o m m e n d is Parties for Children by Jean Marzollo ( U n w i n Paperbacks, £2.95), because for each suggested t h e m e it includes non-competitive (as well as competitive) games. A n excellent booklet on the same subject is Winners All; Co-operative Games for All Ages (Pax Christi, 60p).

A r m e d with a book and a chosen t h e m e , now plan your c e n t r e p i e c e - the cake. As with all of your party f o o d , adopt what I call the play-safe principle, i.e. take care to anticipate a n d a c c o m m o d a t e your guests' likely p r e f e r e n c e s . If you are catering exclusively for fellow vegans and w h o l e f o o d e r s and 20

their offspring you can produce a mouth-watering fruit-filled, sugar-free wholemeal confection with coconut cream icing.

But if you are inviting your child's orthodox friends be sure to produce something that they can easily recognize and relate to. Children are notoriously undiplomatic in expressing their disapproval of food and it can be very upsetting for vegan children to have 'their' food curtly rejected. T o help avert such a possibility, I offer the following (so far!) universally popular sponge-cake recipe on condition that nobody writes complaining about the sugar content.

A birthday comes but once a year!

Lemon lor Chocolatel Sponge Cake 10 oz (280g) self-raising flour 1 oz (30g) soya flour 4 o z ( 1 1 5 g ) sugar 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 4 oz (115g) margarine 3 tbs syrup •/2 pt (280ml) water grated rind of 1 large lemon (washed) Melt margarine and syrup over gentle heat, pour in water and then leave to cool. Mix flours, sugar and lemon rind. Pour in liquid and mix thoroughly. Mix bicarb with a little water and stir in. Divide cake mix evenly between two well-greased 10" round cake tins. Bake at 350°F/ 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for about 40 minutes. For a chocolate cake omit the lemon rind, sieve 2oz (60g) of cocoa in with the flours, and mix in Vitsp vanilla essence.

This cake can be m a d e in tins of different shapes and sizes and also be cut up to make special shapes (a Mr. Man, a treasure chest, a clown, or whatever). For convenience, it can be m a d e in advance and frozen until needed. Put together with your own filling and ice or decorate as elaborately as you wish.

You may well find that once the candles are blown out and the rest of the food has been eaten the children have little appetite for cake, but nevertheless avoid falling in with the custom of cutting it up and giving it to them to take home. If other parents are present, or are arriving to collect children, this is a good opportunity for them to sample a vegan cake, which is often much appreciated and provokes enquiries about how you make it and requests for the recipe.

Extend the play-safe principle to the rest of the party food: if your guests are used to good, wholesome food then by all means provide just this, only taking a little more trouble with the presentation than usual; if not, then you'd best avoid wholemeal pastry - perhaps using frozen puff pastry instead (consult Vegan Shopper's Guide for this and other such items) - and wholemeal bread, unless cut very thin and (with pastry cutters) into novelshaped sandwiches. Avoid also items that may look familiar to your guests, but send shock waves racing from their taste buds to their brains. We've experienced, for example a certain resistance to carob instead of chocolate, and an outright rejection of one brand of jelly that left a distinctly wimerry expression on the faces of those who sampled it! In contrast, the Snowerest range of jellies (formulated to suit more orthodox palates) seems to go down very well. The non-dairy ice creams now appearing, like Sunrise's Ice Dream and the new Vive range (see Shoparound), will also help you 'win friends and influence people'. In fact, so many good vegan products are

now available from health-food shops that it is quite possible to provide vegan substitutes for a whole range of standard party items, but remember the generally conservative preferences of one's guests and use only those products - be they sausage mixes, burger mixes or whatever - that you can be sure will go down well.

Try to have lots of small items for children to pick at - lots of savoury snacks and nibbles, sticks of cucumber, celery and tomato - and lay on lots of seasonal fruit (in manageable portions), since children seem rarely to get a chance to eat as much fruit as they like. For quenching young thirsts make a non-alcoholic punch with fruit juices, sparkling mineral water, fruit pieces and ice cubes.

Lastly, a few quick tips on presents. Search out attractive novelty gifts well in advance, rather than giving sweets and the cheap and nasty little toys that are broken before they get home. Other nice treats include a tiny box of raisins, a bag of nuts, a fruit bar (see Shoparound - Ed) and, of course, a balloon!

Vegan Families Eve Gilmore is currently preparing a revised and updated Vegan Families List, which will shortly be available.

If you would like a copy and your name to be added to future lists please write to Eve do the Oxford Office, supplying an S A E and giving the names of the family members and birth dates of your children.

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Postbag Contributions to Postbag axe welcomed, hut accepted an the understanding that they may be edited in the interests of brevity or clarity.

Send your letters to: The Editor, THE VEGAN, 33-35 George Street, Oxford OX1ZRY.

'Phoney Feminists' Once again we hear the pathetic moanings of a selfcentred woman (Linda Peirson, 'Postbag', s u m m e r 1986issue of The Vegan) regarding the Lynx anti-fur poster.

I am sick to death of these phoney 'feminists' mouthing off and putting down Lynx's poster. So, the high-heeled fur wearer in the poster embodies the tart stereotype - well, maybe that's because it's usually this type of female who is seen wearing a fur coat anyway!

Ms Peirson claims that women dress in this way because men want t h e m to. Surely this statement in itself implies that these w o m e n really are ' d u m b ' animals, if they have to do what men want them to! D o e s she really believe that these women can't think for themselves, or has she not considered that maybe some women dress this way because they want to, regardless of whether animals suffer in the process or not.

I believe that, given the amount of anti-fur p r o p a g a n d a around now, any woman w h o still walks the streets wearing fur is d u m b , or just doesn't give a damn about the issue - which makes her immoral anyway.

J. Boyd, Liverpool

21 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Excited I was very excited to see the Society's new range of sales goods. I feel sure that these new items will spread the vegan message very effectively.

T h e designs are excellent very eye-catching and thoughtprovoking. It was, I think, a good idea to have some h u m o u r in the badges and stickers with the slogans 'Veganism Shows the W a y ' and 'Give Bottle the Boot', as I think h u m o u r is likely to alter people's fixed ideas. It also makes veganism seem fun and not just a gruelling diet in which you have to eat boring f o o d .

T h e badge with the plate of blood on it is very effective - it made me feel sick to look at it!

- and the idea of showing the animals themselves with placards urging people to 'go vegan' should also help bring home to people just w h o suffers to produce 'their' m e a t , milk or eggs.

I look forward to buying m o r e of these excellent new goods.

Mandv Lowman. C a n t e r b u r y

Level Pegging Following the near clean sweep by vegans of the h o n o u r s at Plamil Foods' recent HalfMarathon (reported in the last issue of the magazine - E d . ) , one cynic exclaimed that this

was b o u n d to be the case as they o u t n u m b e r e d the vegetarians. R e a d e r s m a y be interested to learn in this connection that of the 100-plus who registered for the r u n , 44 of the males w e r e vegetarians and 42 were vegans. By a strange coincidence, h o w e v e r , shortly b e f o r e t h e run o n e of these vegetarians b e c a m e vegan, which brought t h e n u m b e r of vegetarian a n d vegan e n t r a n t s dead level at 43 apiece.

By a f u r t h e r coincidence, the n u m b e r of f e m a l e entrants was also fairly split between vegetarians and vegans.

In this context vegans winning t h e day, so to speak, takes o n a d d e d significance. It would, perhaps, be interesting t o carry out a survey of this year's participants in say a y e a r ' s time to see how many of the veggies have swung over to veganism *.

Arthur Ling, Plamil F o o d s , Folkestone * Editor's note: In the meantime readers can look forward to the appearance in a future issue of a medical paper on the Plamil Half-Marathon drawn up by Dr. Gill Langley, third placer in the Females aged 17-39 category.

Persecution M. A . Kinchin says that s/he finds advertisements in The Vegan referring to homosexuals 'very offensive' and fears that they will give veganism a bad n a m e .

Such advertisements can only o f f e n d those w h o cherish antigay prejudices, which a r e without rational foundation and similar in nature to racism and o t h e r forms of bigotry. It would be deplorable, and certainly do the cause of veganism no good a m o n g u n p r e j u d i c e d and fair-minded people, if The Vegan were to heed this r e c o m m e n d a t i o n . It would be sadly ironic if vegans, whose sympathies have e x p a n d e d to embrace the animal kingdom, were t o contract t h e m again by joining in the persecution of a sizeable fraction of their own species.

Dr. V.O. Homolka, Bristol M . A . Kinchin's letter about adverts referring to homosexuals was far m o r e offensive than the ads, placed by lonely people seeking like-

minded c o m p a n i o n s , could ever b e . T h e idea that we should at all costs avoid b e i n g 'cranky a n d peculiar', by conforming to s o m e n a r r o w and rigid ' n o r m ' , is c o n t r a r y t o the whole spirit of v e g a n i s m , which is supposed t o start with compassion for all living creatures.

Leah Leneman. E d i n b u r g h I was angered by t h e anti-gay letter published in t h e s u m m e r Vegan. T h e writer said that homosexuality has n o t h i n g to do with veganism. W e l l , neither d o e s heterosexuality, but s/he d o e s n ' t suggest that the magazine should stop printing ads f r o m straight women and m e n . T h e vegan movement is surely n o t t h e monopoly of any single sexual o r i e n t a t i o n , o r of a n y o n e colour, creed or class. T o suggest otherwise is p u r e prejudice and an insult to fellow vegans.

Heather Gipson, B o o t l e , Merseyside I don't k n o w w h e t h e r vegans are 'suffering f r o m violent animal p r o t e c t o r s ' , as M . A .

Kinchin claims in t h e last issue of The Vegan, but s/he has certainly b e e n struck d o w n by rabid h o m o p h o b i a .

Janet L. Mayo, B r o o m r i d g e , Stirling The letter [from M . A . Kinchin - Ed.] in the last issue of The Vegan concerning the 'crankiness' of h o m o s e x u a l i t y was ignorant, b l i n k e r e d c r a p .

Veganism is a small piece of a big jigsaw. Recognizing the beauty of o t h e r s ' p r e f e r r e d sexuality is a n o t h e r piece.

H o m o p h o b i c vegans obsessed only with 'animal rights' will stumble zombie-like t o w a r d s their Utopian, c r u e l t y - f r e e , world and collapse into a quiet corner, totally a l o n e . Give m e a meat-eating h o m o s e x u a l anytime.

Derek Dogg, L e e d s Editor's postscript: In the wake of M.A. Kinchin's proposal in the last issue for a ban on advertisements referring to homosexuals, a number of alarmed correspondents have sought a clarification of the present Editor's policy in this regard. I am happy to provide it: whether for advertisements, articles or other contributions, the pages o / T h e V e g a n remain open to all - CH.

Noticeboard Diary Dates 10 September 6.30pm. T h e N a t u r e C u r e Clinic, 15 O l d b u r y Place, L o n d o n W 1 M 3 A L (Tel: 01-935 6213). Vegan cookery demonstration.

Tickets (to include f o o d ) available f r o m the Clinic for ÂŁ2.50 e a c h .

13 September 11.00am5.00pm. Cathedral Square, P e t e r b o r o u g h . T h e 1986 Festival f o r A n i m a l s .

O r g a n i z e d by East Anglian A n i m a l Rights and featuring stalls f r o m national and local animal rights g r o u p s , s p e a k e r s , music, street t h e a t r e , films and videos. For f u r t h e r information contact:

20 September 10.30am3 . 3 0 p m . V e g e t a r i a n C e n t r e , 53 M a r l o e s R o a d , Kensington, L o n d o n W 8 6 L A . Day C o u r s e in V e g a n C o o k e r y . Fee: ÂŁ12.50, including m o r n i n g c o f f e e , full lunch and a f t e r n o o n tea. Application f o r m on page 16.

28 September H y d e P a r k , L o n d o n . Sunday T i m e s Fun R u n . Including R u n n e r Beans vegan t e a m . Social planned for a f t e r the event at the V e g e t a r i a n C e n t r e , 53 Marloes Road, Kensington, London.

H e l p e r s (esp. b a n n e r m a k e r s ) , s p o n s o r s , participants n e e d e d .

C o n t a c t (enclosing S A E ) :

2 October World Farm Animals Day 4 October St. Francis of Assisi D a y 6 October World Day of Prayer for Animals 12 October 1 00pm. Digbeth Civic Hall, B i r m i n g h a m .

National M e e t i n g of S C A R ( S t u d e n t C a m p a i g n for Animal Rights).

16 October World Food Day. G r e e n p e a c e ( L o n d o n ) has called for a worldwide day of action against the M c D o n a l d s h a m b u r g e r c o r p o r a t i o n - the f o u r t h in a series of actions in t h e C a m p a i g n for Real Food.

22

In the course of the day a variety of groups and organizations will be taking action of various sorts at branches of McDonalds in many parts of the world. For details contact: Greenpeace (London), 5 Caledonian Road, LondonNl. 18 October 2.00pm. Oxford.

Vegan Society A G M ; 1.30pm. N o r t h a m p t o n .

C A F A A National Demonstration in peaceful protest at battery farming at

last year's sponsorship funded nine projects in Sri Lanka.

Contact: Enough, London House, Queens Road, Freshwater, Isle of Wight.

consolidation The Campaign for the Abolition of Angling ( C A A ) is seeking to expand its present membership.

Enquiries to:

19 November 6.30pm. Nat ure Cure Clinic. Vegan cookery demonstration. Details as for entry under 10 September.

Enough Move

Open Afternoon A warm invitation is extended to members to visit the Oxford office on the Friday afternoon preceding this year's A G M in order to meet the staff of the Society and familiarize themselves with the work of the'nerve centre'. Regrettably, visits to the office will not be

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE VEGAN SOCIETY LTD 1986 is to be held at Oxford College of Further Education, Oxpens Road, Oxford OX1 ISA, on Saturday, 18 October.

(See insert for full details.)

Proposals for resolutions must be seconded and received in writing at the registered office by 11 September 1986.

Nominations for members of 12 months or greater duration to serve on the council or as officers of the Society must be made in writing, signed and received at the registered office not more than 21 days and not less than 3 days before the A G M . Within the same period candidates are required to furnish written confirmation of their willingness to stand for election. When so doing they are also requested to furnish a brief (not more than 200 words) personal profile.

It must be stressed that the efficient management of the affairs of a modern and rapidly expanding Society requires that, in addition to a commitment to the Society's aims and a desire to serve, candidates for election offer expertise or professional skills in fields such as company law, accounting, personnel management, publicity and marketing.

Light refreshments and creche facilities will be available. ' O u r Ladies of the Passion' monastery. Contact: P.O. Box 45, Birmingham. Tel: 021-5650265/021-440-2445.

8 November 10.30am3.30pm. Vegetarian C e n t r e , 53 Marloes R o a d , Kensington, L o n d o n W8 6 L A . Day Course in Vegan Cookery. Details as for entry under 20 September.

16-22 November National ' N o Meat' Week. Organized by the Enough project to heighten public awareness of the link between meat eating and Third World hunger, reduce the n u m b e r of animals slaughtered for food, and raise m o n e y for long-term vegetarian projects in the Third World. Proceeds f r o m

possible on the morning of the A G M on account of pressure of last-minute preparations.

VAT From this issue of the magazine 15% V A T is payable on all advertisements placed in The Vegan, as well as on all goods purchased from the Society.

Advertising rates have been correspondingly increased but merchandise prices will remain unaltered at least until present stocks are exhausted.

CAA Drive

The Enough project, founded in the summer of 1985 to heighten public awareness of the links between meat eating and world hunger, has a new address: London House, Queens Road, Freshwater, Isle of Wight P 0 4 0 9EP. Tel: (0983) 754 4419. Amongst other activities in the fundraising and educational sphere, Enough has opened a 'charity shop with a difference' and invites readers with goodquality goods they wish to dispose of to make contact.

The project is also seeking a voluntary researcher with the time to read and an ability to gather information and precis it. All enquiries to the above address.

Travelling Fellowships The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust annually awards grants to people to engage in research abroad relating to their trade, profession or interests.

Categories for award this year include: Diet and Health, River and Water Conservation and Regeneration, and an Open category for any outstanding projects not covered by other categories.

Readers are invited to apply direct to: The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, 15 Queens Gate Terrace, London SW75PR. Closing date for applications: 30 October.

Help Required Caryne Pearce, L V C f o r Avon, seeks assistance in running a Vegan Society stall at the Mind-Body-Spirit Festival to be held at Bristol Exhibition Centre on 18-19 October.

Contact .

After a year of successful reorganization and

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

urged to make direct contact

Funds Booster

with:

Chris Aston of CAFAA (Campaign Against Farm Animal Abuse) plans a Birmingham-London sponsored cycle ride (110 miles) during 9-10 October, sharing the proceeds between CAFAA and the Vegan Society, thus boosting our funds in the second half of our Appeal year. Sponsors are

Scorton, Garstang, Lancashire. Donations to the Trust at the above address will be gratefully received.

Sanctuary

New Addresses

Rose Cottage Animal Sanctuary, run by vegan Carol Marquis, has changed its name and address to: Wyresdaie Animal Trust, Wyredale House, Scorton Old Road,

The new contact address of SARP (Support Anim'al Rights Prisoners) is: BCM Box 5911, London WC1 3XX (Tel: 01-888 2482).

The Society Against

What will you make of our new vegetable stock?

Violation of the Environment International (SAVE) has moved its campaign and administrative centre to new premises: 2 Neville Place, Cardiff CF1 8EP (Tel: 0222 394970).

The recently reorganized Student Campaign for Animal Rights (SCAR) has a new coordinating address: PO Box B20, Huddersfield HD1 1XS.

Vecon makes great meals even better.

Because there's no meat extract or artificial additives in Vecon concentrated stock.

Just nature's own vegetables, and yeast, vitamins and iron, in particular vitamin B12.

Vecon adds a delicious flavour to vegetable casseroles, gravies and stews. Or try it as a warming drink or tasty spread.

Everybody in the family will love Vecon, and Vecon will do everybody good. Naturally.

Vecon Vegetable Stock Makes it good, makes it natural.

Available at most health food outlets.

M o d e m Health P r o d u c t s Ltd.. Davis R o a d . C h e s s i n g t o n .

S u r r e y KT9 ITH.Telephone: 0 1 - 3 9 7 4361.

tarn it The vegan firm introduces a new 14ml size MINI P O T sugar-free soya milk to add to its range of concentrated and ready-to-use 500ml soya milks. In original (with sugar) green, or sugar-free blue containers.

Formulated for vegans with the essential vitamins B ] 2 and D^,.

.For literature on our vegan foods (SAE please) write to:â&#x20AC;&#x201D; PLAMIL FOODS LTD..

PLAMIL HOUSE. BOWLES WELL GARDENS, FOLKESTONE, KENT.

23 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Publications & Promotional Goods All prices include postage and packing and VAT where applicable. Unless otherwise indicated, all publications are paperback.

Publications: —The Vegan— ShopperS Guide —The VeganHoliday and Restaurant

Guide

A scientific assessment of the vegan diet, incorporating easyto-follow tables enabling r e c o m m e n d e d intake of essential nutrients to be met f r o m plant products only £1.00

Compassion: The Ultimate Ethic Victoria Moran An examination of the history and philosophy of the vegan movement £5.45

Veganism - Scientific Aspects T. Sanders, P h D ( N u t r ) 50p

Companion Planting Gertrud Franck

Plant Foods for Human Health Professor J. Dickerson 50p

A comprehensive guide to the organic cultivation of fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs £5.55

The Role of Plants in Feeding Mankind Professor A . B e n d e r 50p

Cookery Books:

Tofu Cookery Louise Hagler Superby presented collection of more than 200 recipes, from appetizers to main course dishes and desserts. 'A gem of a book' - Leah Leneman £8.95

VEGAN ran-: viGigARLAN COORBKV (.LAlBr. OOtJHNf.

VEGAN

COOKERY Vegan Shopper's Guide

The Vegan Diet: True Vegetarian Cookery David Scott & Claire Golding

Classified listing of vegan food p r o d u c t s , toiletries and other commodities £1.50 Vegan Holiday & Restaurant Guide Lists hotels, guest-houses, b/b a c c o m m o d t i o n , restaurants, cafes. M o r e than 300 entries. £1.50 An Introduction to Practical Veganism A b e g i n n e r ' s guide 75p Vegan Mothers and Children T e n m o t h e r s of this and the last g e n e r a t i o n describe the rearing of vegan children.

Includes r e p o r t s of recent research by T. Sanders, PhD(Nutr) 75p Vegan Nutrition F. Ellis, M D F R C ( P a t h ) and T. Sanders, PhD(Nutr).

24

f oo<l for a Future Jon Wynne-Tyson A classic work, powerfully arguing all aspects of the vegan case - moral, economic, ecological, physiological and nutritional. Packed with information, statistics, quotations, nutritional and dietary data £2.80 The Extended Circle: A Dictionary of Humane Thought ( E d . ) Jon Wynne-Tyson A unique anthology of quotations concerning o u r treatment of n o n - h u m a n species. An indispensable source-book £5.95

Vegan Cookery Eva Batt

A 'gourmet' vegan cookbook containing over 250 recipes — from soups and starters to desserts and children's favourites £5.95

Revised and expanded edition of the classic What's Cooking?

Brim-full of recipes, nutritional information and practical advice £3.45 What Else is Cooking?

Eva Batt 300 vegan recipes, together with practical hints. Wipeclean cover, spiral-bound £3.45 Vegan Cooking Leah Leneman A vegan best-seller. Includes The Vegan Dairy, Tofu - The Wonder Food and recipes using proprietary health foods £2.25

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Healthy Eating for the New Age Joyce D'Silva

Promotional Goods:

A vegan cookbook packed full of excellent and varied recipes which follow health-food, as well as vegan principles £4.35 Cooking with Sea Vegetables Peter & Montse Bradford

T-shirts

A vegan macrobiotic guide to the culinary use of the 'harvest of the oceans' £4.35

Adult: - Small only £3.75

Multi-colour design on white Sizes:

Envelope Re-use Labels The Compassionate Gourmet Janet Hunt Exotic dishes from all over the globe for those who love animals - and food! £5.40

Child - 2 2 " , 26", 28",

100% recycled paper, nonanimal gum, Two designs: 'Bottle' - black and red on white; 'Globe' - black and green on white. £1.50 per 100

Jff<3Kfi3

Button Badges (1W) The International Tofu Cookery Book Leah Leneman Recipes garnered from the cuisines of America, Britain, the Caribbean, the Far East, India, the Mediterranean, Mexico £5.30

The Vegan Cookbook Alan Wakeman and Gordon Baskerville 200-plus recipes demonstrating that a vegan diet can be rich and varied and reach the highest culinary standards £5.50

Order Form Order now (block capitals throughout please) from: Merchandise Dept., The Vegan Society Ltd,'33-35 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AY Please send the following item(s): Item

Quantity

Cost

Two colours: please specify badge(s) required using letter code 40p each, 3 for £1.00

Two designs: 'Bottle' - white and red on navy blue; 'Blood Foods' -100% cotton.

Sizes:

Adult only -S/M/L £3.75

Multi-purpose Stickers Same designs and colour schemes as button badges, in sheets of 12 of same.

35p per sheet, four sheets for £1.25 GIVE BOTTLE THE BOOT

W goM&m!

Car/Window Sticker Red and black on white selfcling plastic. ll"x2W 65p

Notelets Printed on high-quality, 100% recycled paper. Colour scheme: chocolate brown on cream. Pack of twelve, with four different seasonal designs £1.50

I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to: The Vegan Society Ltd., for £ Name Address

Bookmarks Postcode

Eire & Overseas: Payment must be by sterling cheque drawn on an English bank or an international money order.

Overseas: Add extra to cover additional postal expenses.

25 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

Printed on high-quality, 100% recycled card. Colour scheme: chocolate brown on cream. Set of four different designs, with recipes on reverse. 60p

Ballpen Red and black, with slogan 'Ban Blood Foods' printed in white on clip. Refillable 50p

W h e n replying to these a d v e r t i s e m e n t s please mention The

Vegan.

ACCOMMODATION

v e g a n ) . Double r o o m , s h o w e r . Also bunks.

F / B , collection a i r p o r t , £16 p . p . per night inclusive. Children half price.

ISLE O F S K Y E . Vegan G u e s t h o u s e situated on 8 acre croft o v e r l o o k i n g Loch Du — B E X H I L L - o n - S E A . Vegan/vegetarian B&B £7 night, £35 weekly. 10 D e e r s w o o d L a n e .

Bexhill T N 3 9 4 L T Tel 042 43 5153.

ACCOMMODATION WANTED

ANIMAL RIGHTS/ WELFARE E V E R Y SIX S E C O N D S A N A N I M A L D I E S IN A B R I T I S H L A B O R A T O R Y If you w o u l d like t o join o u r c a m p a i g n against all a n i m a l e x p e r i m e n t s write o r p h o n e British U n i o n f o r the A b o l i t i o n of V i v i s e c t i o n . I6a C r a n e G r o v e . L o n d o n N 7 8 L B 01-607 1545/1892.

CATERING IMAGINATIVE VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN CATERING A N D Q U A L I T Y W I N E S f o r all occasions Ring F o o d f o r All S e a s o n s ' o n 01-558 6813 for sample menus.

F R E E Z E R M E A L S , Dinner Parties.

B u f f e t s f o r all y o u r v e g e t a r i a n & vegan f o o d r e q u i r e m e n t s r u n g ' N u t K i t c h e n ' on G l o u c e s t e r (0452) 614871.

EATING OUT F o r comprehensive list see Vegan Holiday Guide.

&

Restaurant

I.A V I D A . 164 C h e r r y O r c h a r d R o a d .

C r o y d o n , Surrey. Vegetarian/vegan r e s t a u r a n t . L i c e n s e d . O p e n : Mon-Sat 6.3010 3 0 p m Tel: (01)681 3402.

T O T N E S , D E V O N Willow' wholefood vegetarian restaurant. M e n u c h a n g e d daily t o include v e g a n dishes. Friendly a n d r e l a x e d a t m o s p h e r e . C h i l d r e n very w e l c o m e Tel 0803-862605.

S P A I N - C O S T A BRAV A / C O S T A D O R A D A ' L a C o p a ' English o w n e d vegan r e s t u a r a n t in B l a n e s t o w n c e n t r e . Tel ( G e r o n a ) 330987

FOR SALE C B w a l k i n g boots, s y n t h e t i c . A s advertised in The Vegan. Size 7. W o r n only twice. £14.00. B o x N o . 105.

HEALING I R I D O L O G Y offers a h u m a n e a p p r o a c h t o h e a t i n g . R e g i s t e r o r training i n f o r m a t i o n : s e n d 2x17p s t a m p s t o S C H O O L O F I R I D O L O G Y ( V ) . Bright H a v e n . R o b i n ' s Lane. Lolworth. Cambridge CB3 8HH

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION F o r comprehensive list see Vegan Holiday Guide.

&

Restaurant

I B I Z A V e g a n F a y r e . Stay with English o w n e r s in t h e i r p r i v a t e finca (hostess

26

NORFOLK COUNTRYSIDE, peace, q u i e t n e s s , healthy eating, h o m e m a d e b r e a d , log fires, n e a r Wildlife sancturies & stately homes. B u r t o n , Bacton-on-Sea Vicarage. Tel. 0692 650375.

ISLE O F W I G H T . Small private hotel, quietly situated, in an area of natural b e a u t y . C o m f o r t a b l e a c c o m m o d t i o n with central heating. Excellent h o m e cooking by vegetarian p r o p r i e t o r . W h o l e f o o d s , vegetarian or vegan. O p e n E a s t e r until

S A X T E A D , S U F F O L K . Simple a c c o m m o d a t i o n in friendly a t m o s p h e r e ; n o n - s m o k e r s p r e f e r r e d . C h i l d r e n , musicians w e l c o m e . W h o l e f o o d and vegan B & B £6.50, dinner £4 00. Tel 0728-723887 L I N C O L N S H I R E , Vegan D B & B . Old h o u s e . C H . Quiet village. Children w e l c o m e . G u i d e d o g s only. N o smoking, alcohol. Lapwings, A p l e y , Lincoln L N 3 5 J Q . 0673 858101.

E S C A P E to a country period G u e s t H o u s e , with tranquillity, p e a c e and f r i e n d s h i p , log fires, large garden. Ideal touring b a s e , o p e n all y e a r to vegetarians and vegans only. Sac H o l w a y Mill, Sandford O r c a s , S h e r b o r n e , D o r s e t 096322 380 KALAMAKI RETREAT, Dover.

I m a g i n a t i v e , nutritious vegan/vegetarian/ w h o l e f o o d . B e d , b r e a k f a s t , evening meal.

T r a n q u i l , spiritual a t m o s p h e r e , bungalow h o m e . E v e n i n g meditation in the cedar r o o m . Tel (0304) 373739 P E N Z A N C E . Self-catering a c c o m m o d a t i o n f o r 3-4. T w o miles f r o m P e n z a n c e with large g a r d e n , sea and country views.

O c c a s i o n a l vegan meals available. Tel 0736 62242.

E A S T B O U R N E - friendly guesthouse c a t e r i n g exclusively for vegetarians and v e g a n s . Q u i e t road 50yds f r o m sea.

D e l i c i o u s h o m e cooking. F r o m £70.50p per w e e k . Reductions f o r children. Sae for leaflet.

TWIXT SCARBOROUGH/WHITBY Strictly vegetarian and vegan w h o l e f o o d s in Victorian House. W o n d e r f u l views. Sae R a n w o r t h ' . Church R o a d . R a v e n s c a r , S c a r b o r o u g h Y 0 1 3 0L.Z (0723) 870366.

V I C T O R I A N SPA T O W N mid-Wales L a r g e Victorian family house specializing in v e g e t a r i a n , vegan and w h o l e f o o d s . B & B £8.00, E M £5.00. Sae Bryncelyn', Park C r e s c e n t , Llandrindod Wells, Powys.

(0597) 2186.

T O R Q U A Y ' H a z e l m e r e ' . Strictly v e g e t a r i a n , vegan. C o m f o r t a b l e a c c o m m o d a t i o n . C H , tea making in all r o o m s , also washbasins. N e a r beaches/town/ coastal wal

SNOWDONIAN COAST " W h e r e t h e m o u n t a i n s sweep d o w n t o the sea."

Exclusively vegetarian/vegan wholefood D B&B Our converted f a r m h o u s e ( i n g l e n o o k . b e a m s ) nestles on the slopes of Y r Eifel with spectacular views of sea/mountains. D e s i g n a t e d ' a r e a of n a t i o n a l beauty'. S u p e r b beach/hiking/ sailing/climbine.

S t a m p appreciated for b r o c h u r e to: Llwyn-y-Brig. T r e f o r . C a e r n a r f o n N W a l e s (0286 86 693).

MOORHAYES VEGETARIAN F A R M H O U S E H O T E L , TALATON, E A S T DEVON. Tel. W H I M P L E (0404) 822895.

ASHLEY C O U R T E N A Y RECOMMENDED

PUBLICATIONS

W e offer comfortable, caring service in a relaxed, peaceful atmosphere with accommodation of 7 b e d r o o m s , 4 en suite.

T h e house is full of antiquity and character with dining r o o m and lounge inglenook fireplaces. Beautiful rural surroundings.

10 miles coast. Organic vegetables, homemade bread. O u r menu changes daily with a variety of freshly p r e p a r e d , homecooked dishes. write or p h o n e

Quiet country h o t e l overlooking beautiful tidal estuary a n d bird sanctuary. Britain's oldest vegan/vegetarian hotel is family owned and stands in its own grounds close t o beaches and unspoilt coastal walks.

Superb cuisine and friendly personal service.

F o r further information and brochure please contact: (stamp appreciated)

MAIL ORDER LIQUID C O N C E N T R A T E is the biodegradable liquid soap derived from coconut oil. which is free f r o m animal products and animal testing. S A E for details: Dept E V . Janco Sales. 11 Seymour R o a d . Hampton Hill. Middlesex TW12 1DD D O L M A VEGAN P E R F U M E S . Animal o T a m w o n h B78 1BZ SPROUTING S E E D S in bulk by mail order Prices per Kg: Alfalfa £4.50. M u n g beans £2 00, Fenugreek £4 00. Triticale £2.50 A d d £2.(10 per o r d e r for p&p. C h a s e Seeds, Terminal House. S h e p p e r t o n . T W 1 7 8AS.

Vegan sandals with marvellous moulded f o o t b e d s Also N O P P I E S to stimulate and invigorate tired feet.

SAE please t o F O O T P R I N T S .

89 New Street, Gloucester GL15 5 A Z Tel (0452-720352)

PERSONAL

N A O M I ' S B R O T H E R Story of the youthful Master's compassion for in religious sacrifice. £1.20 from

s

W E S T E R N BUDDHIST magazine presents a new and practical form of buddhism for westerners. All enquiries to: Western Buddhist ( D e p t C ) , 30 Hollingbourne G d n s , Ealing. London W 1 3 8 E N .

SERVICES OFFERED

"WOODCOTE" The Saltings, Lelant, St Ives, Cornwall Tel (0736) 753147

B I R K E N S T O C K S LOVE YOUR F E E T

AHIMSA. Quarterly magazine of the American Vegan Society. Veganism, Natural Living, Reverence for Life.

C a l e n d a r year subscription $8. Address: 501 Old Harding, Highway. Malaga. NJ 08328, U S A .

PLUMBING, HEATING, E L E C T R I C A L , DRAINAGE A full service in L o n d o n and the home counties. N o j o b too small. Almost 40,000 successfully completed jobs in more than ten years. Contractors to local authorities, banks, insurance companies, housing associations and private householders. No hidden charges - we publish our rates. For a quotation or for an emergency p h o n e 01-654 3133 and speak t o Bob, N o r m a or Jeremy. You are welcome to ring for free advice at any time and vegan society m e m b e r s should ask for 10% discount and 30 days free credit. Simpson, Delvarr & C o Ltd actively supports the vegan m o v e m e n t .

SITUATIONS VACANT AU PAIR English single-parent father with 15-year daughter seeks au pair in G e n e v a for light duties: • to be present while the father is away on business trips • evening meals • light housework Candidates must be vegetarian/vegan, responsible, easy-going, have a mature outlook, speak reasonable English and be adaptable to a foreign environment.

T h e household is informal and reasonable standards are expected.

Interviews in England or Switzerland, August/September, with a start sometime to be agreed between mid-September and late October for approximately o n e year only (not renewable for legal reasons). Reply to Box N o 107.

Young, truly dedicated ANIMAL RESCUE C E N T R E (Reg. Charity), needs totally reliable staff. Essential qualities - versatile, honest, hardworking, responsible, good memory, vegetarian/vegan, high sense of hygiene, ability to get o n with people, not seeking f a m e or f o r t u n e , desire to help animals in every way, 101% dedicated. In return - small wages, caravan accommodation, good fun, j o b satisfaction.

The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

All prices inclusive of VAT.

Contact

Personal: £3.50 for 20 words (minimum).

Additional words: 17p each.

Commercial: £4.75 for 20 words (minimum).

Additional words: 25p each.

Box No: £2.00 extra Semi-display: £5.00 per single column centimetre Series discount (4 consecutive insertions): 10%

In addition to national initiatives, local campaigning and activities are essential to a vigorous and effective Vegan Society. With back-up from the Oxford office, each of the local vegan contacts (LVCs) listed below is responsible for co-ordinating promotional work at local level. You can play your part by getting in touch with your nearest L V C and finding out w h a t ' s on in your a r e a . If you would like to act as a n L V C yourself, please write for full details to the Oxford office, m a r k i n g your envelope ' L V C Coordinator*.

RATES AND CONDITIONS MISCELLANEOUS

PAYMENT By cheque or postal order, made payable to The Vegan Society Ltd and sent to: The Advertising Manager, The Vegan, 33-35 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AY. Eire and Overseas: payment must be by sterling cheque drawn on an English bank or by international money order.

PUBLICATION DATES 21st February, May, August, November COPY DATES The first day of the month preceding the month of publication.

MADEIRA L a n d is being purchased in order to establish a vegan and veganic settlement.

English prosper welcomes enquiries from anyone genuinely interested in an ethical and simpler life-style amongst friendly people on this desirable island.

F o r m o r e information, please enclose a stamped address envelope to: Organising Secretary (Veganic), 36 G r a n e s E n d , G r e a t Linford, Milton Keynes MK14 5 D X IMPACT T h e Labour Party and Trade Union Animal Protection Association For free copy of Impact's Magazine and Membership/Affiliation details, please write to: T h e Secretary, Impact, P O Box 56, Swansea, S A 1 1XE

M I L L YOUR OWN A vegan diet begins with the seven grains - w h e a t , rye, barley, oats, rice, maize, millet (plus buckwheat). M a k e the most of them with a h o m e mill.

Mill fine for crepes, cremes & cakes; coarse for wholemeal breads and hearty broths - always fresh, always wholemeal.

Only fresh milling guarantees you all (he goodness of the grain.

S A E for full list to: H o m e Milling Enterprises.

Old Laundry House, Pencaitland, E H 3 4 5 A T , Scotland.

27 The Vega/i, Autumn 1986

CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE The submission of an advertisement is deemed to warrant that the advertisement does not contravene any Act of Parliament nor is it in any other way illegal or defamatory or an infringement of any other party's rights or an infringement of the British Code of Advertising Practice.

The Vegan Society reserves the right to refuse or withdraw any advertisement without explanation.

Although every care is taken, the Vegan Society cannot accept liability for any loss or inconvenience incurred as a result of errors in the wording, or the late or non-appearance of an advertisement.

ENGLAND

N. IRELAND

A

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N

o other soya mi Ik comes close to the nourishing taste of Granose. Sweetened with mw cane sugar, it's ever popular amopg the health conscious.

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