The Vegan Spring 1965 by The Vegan Society

T H E VEGAN SOCIETY Founded

November,

1944

Veganism is a way of living which excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence and compassion for all life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part f r o m animals. Veganism remembers man's responsibilities to the earth and its resources a n d seeks to bring about a healthy soil and plant kingdom and a proper use of the materials of the earth. President: Dr. FREY E L L I S , , Epsom, Surrey. Deputy-President: Mrs. E. B. SHRIGLEY, , Purley, Surrey. Vice-Presidents: Mrs. M U R I E L DRAKE, Dr. CATHERINE N I M M O , Miss MABEL SIMMONS, Miss W I N I F R E D SIMMONS. Honorary Secretary: Mrs. EVA BATT, , Enfield, Middlesex. Honorary Treasurer: Dr. FREY E L L I S , Epsom, Surrey. Assistant Teasu E SMITH, (to whom all subscriptions should be sent), Epsom, Surrey. Committee: Mr. E . T . BANKS, Mr. H . T . BONNIE, Mrs. SERENA N . COLES, M r . JACK MOCLELLAND, M r . M . MCCULLOCH, M r s . E . B. SHRIGLEY, M r . SAM W O L F , M r . W . H . C . W R I G H T , B.SC., N . D . , D O . , M . B . N . O . A . Vegan Distribution Secretary: Mrs. FRANCES HOWARD, 38 Hampden Road,

Hitchin, Herts. M i n i m u m subscription, which includes " T h e V e g a n " , 15s. per annum (and 7s. 6d. for each additional member of one family at same residence); 7s. 6d. if age under 18; payable in January. Life Membership, ÂŁ10 10s. Od.

THE

VEGAN

JOURNAL OF T H E VEGAN SOCIETY Editor: Mr. JACK SANDERSON, s, Upminster, Essex. Advertisements: H. H. G R E A V E S L T D . , 106/110 Lordship Lane, London, S.E.22. Published quarterly: Annual subscription, 10s. post free; single copies, 2s. 6d. post free. Obtainable f r o m the Hon. Secretary.

LITERATURE " T h e Reasons f o r Veganism." 4 page leaflet. Free. " V e g a n Protein Nutrition." 12 page leaflet. Is. 3d. post free. " A H a n d b o o k of Practical Veganism." 24 pages with cover. 2s. 9d. post free. "Unnecessary Cruelties among F a r m Animals." 8 page leaflet. 6d. post free. " T h e Vegetarian and Vegan Food Guide." 2s. 6d. post free. " Vegans and Vivisection." 8 page leaflet. 6d. post free. All obtainable from the Hon. Secretary (cheques and postal orders m a d e out to " T h e Vegan Society ").

THE Journal

VEGAN of the Vegan

Societj

SPRING, 1965

EDITORIAL One day last summer I visited Biggin Hill to attend a Nature Cure meeting and in between lectures spent a short time admiring some of the paintings of Miss Nina Hosali who has done such wonderful work in alleviating the lot of many animals in North Africa. One painting seemed to me to stand out from the others, and I asked Miss Hosali if she would allow it to appear in the "Vegan". She has kindly agreed to this, and has also contributed some personal notes about it which appear with a copy of the painting in this issue. " This issue ", because so many will have the Crucifixion of Christ in their thoughts over the Easter period. Surely this Crucifixion is continued day in, day out as He surveys the vast mass of suffering all over the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the suffering of millions of human beings, some, if not all of it, self caused; and the suffering of the creatures, some, if not all of it, caused by human beings acting out of self interest. This picture helps us to see and understand that perhaps the Christ is concerned with ALL the life connected with the earth, and selfish, cruel exploitation of any of His kingdoms is continuous crucifixion for His mind and all minds like unto His. A Christian Easter symbol could show three crosses upon a hill, His in the middle, a cross bearing suffering humanity on one side and a cross bearing an animal on the other. But the cross in itself is an incomplete symbol and should at least be surrounded by the circle of universal love. Easter is a time of hope and quickening growth, and there are heartening signs all around us that more and more individual people are working selflessly for others, and current enterprises include President Johnson's lead on the racial question, the growth of movements such as Oxfam, the Save the Children Fund and local Old People's Welfare schemes; the stopping (at last) of the export of live horses from Ireland, the consideration by India of a ban on the export of monkeys for " medical experiments ", the phenomenal growth of B.W.C. and the growing public reaction

to blood sports and factory farming; whilst the poisoning and rape of the land are receiving more public notice; Veganism is at the hfeart and core of this great impulse and to become a vegan is to take one's place in the forefront of man's forward march to the light, and the fulfilment of the Divine plan. J.

SANDERSON.

" SACRIFICE " • I have been asked to write a few words in description of my picture "Sacrifice", which hangs in the Library at 51 Harley Street, W.l. It is a fairly large oil painting measuring forty-eight inches by .thirty inches in rather subdued colours. It was completed ekrly in 1964, but the idea had been with me for some two years. It was one of the pictures that " h a d to be painted "—that is, the initial impulse had come with such force and persistence that peace of. mind could only be restored by bringing it on to the material plane. , I think the meaning of the picture comes over quite clearly: — A 1 dog of "deliberately indeterminate breed (because it symbolises all dogs, and in fact all animals) is lashed to an experimental table. The limbs are stretched to their limits; no movement is possible. The head hangs slightly; the face is resigned and very tired. The table has taken on the form of a cross; the animal is in fact crucified, and is offered as a sacrifice in the vain hope that its agony and death can somehow bring relief to the human beings who are its self-styled masters, who have deliberately flouted the known laws of health. There is a curious mixture of styles in this picture: the dog is fairly naturalistic, warm and living. The square faces of the experimenters are completely abstract and unrealistic, but these faces make an immensely strong impact on the spectator. All the eyes are turned towards the animal, as if watching and waiting •to see what will happen. The eyes are turned, but not the heads: this gives them a look as if watching covertly, as if ashamed. The square faces are mask-like; perhaps after ail there are real men inside them, who will go home and play with their children, and forget what they have just left behind in the laboratory. But next iiay they will again put on the masks of self-deception, and the eyes will again be turned, coldly calculating and yet half-ashamedly, to see what, is happening to the God-given scrap of life on the table, that has the same organs and breathes the same air as themselves. At this season of the year we are taught to think of the Crucifixion and of all that it implies, but daily we crucify Christ in all the Christian countries of the world by martyrising the 2

creatures that His hand has fashioned with such loving care, each of whom is a living miracle. Will we never learn to end this terrible hypocrisy? NINA

HOSALI.

It has never happened before.

It can never happen again !

The Vegan Society comes of age next autumn and a Special Week-End has been arranged to celebrate our

21st

ANNIVERSARY

On Saturday, October 30th, 1965 TWENTY-FIRST

ANNUAL

H A L L , PALMER

THE ALLIANCE

GENERAL STREET,

MEETING LONDON

Refreshments and Speakers

On Sunday, October 31st GRAND

DINNER

AND

DANCE

A T THE CORA H O T E L , LONDON.

Tickets

CELEBRATION 32/6D.

It is hoped that all members within reach will attend one or other (if not both) of these functions, and as the dinner accommodation is strictly limited members wishing to attend are advised to send their names (and a small deposit) to the Secretary as soon as possible. Later, any places still available will be offered to our vegetarian friends, many of whom have already expressed a wish to join our " once in a lifetime " festivities.

A VISIT TO A VEGANIC WALLED GARDEN We are privileged to announce an organised visit this summer â&#x20AC;˘to Sir Thomas Bazley's walled garden at Eastleach Martin, near Cirencester. Sir Thomas very kindly showed some visitors (including myself) round the garden last summer, and we were all highly impressed by the quality and oleanliness of the produce. Transport will be arranged from London, and all vegans within reach who are interested in food growing by veganic methods should take this excellent and rare opportunity of seeing for themselves the practice and results. The date is Sunday, June 27th, and further details will be sent on Monday, May 3rd, to those whose applications (with 5/deposit per person) have been received by the Editor by Saturday, May 1st. Please note that after this date any vacant places will 4

be offered to members of two other societies with whom we have friendly association Members and friends requiring earlier information concerning probable cost, timing, food arrangements, etc., should ask the Editor for this about mid-April. (Stamped addressed envelopes, please!) J.S.

WHERE DOES THE "TRUTH" LIE? B y R . DALZIEL O ' B R I E N

A recent issue of The British Vegetarian contained an article on the use of rennet and comments on the possibility of a synthetic rennet being manufactured. Could this possibility become a reality it would indeed be well worthwhile. Many people other than vegetarians would welcome it because they regard cheese as an attractive protein food. The discarding of fish, flesh and fowl would be less alarming to the uninitiated were the presence of cheeses to be guaranteed by the use of synthetic rennet. Connoisseurs of cheeses in the none too distant past considered some types of hard cheeses not ripe for eating until maggots were moving about in them. A discerning housewife of today might take a different view. At the same time she is becoming more informed of the nature of the food she serves to her family. Legislation has made it compulsory for manufacturers and processors of foods to state the ingredients. The necessity for such information in the present day can hardly be exaggerated. Paradoxically, it is not considered important for cheese and curd makers to state that rennet has been used for their products. Yet how many persons not engaged in cheese making know how real rennet is obtained? One is forced to the conclusion that the founder members of the Vegetarian Societies were unaware of its source. I personally know many people who cheerfully eat cheese made with the use of rennet who are appalled both by the nature of its source, and the conditions in which domesticated food animals and poultry are kept. Indeed such people sometimes become actively engaged in working in some way or other to change those conditions. Surely such work by these well-intentioned people only succeeds in transferring the area of cruelty rather than abolishing it. Too often the case against factory farming, for instance, is presented in such a way as to imply that outside such factories the animals are living in a natural state and that kindly care is exercised in their raising. This is very far from the truth. There is no such thing as a kind farmer in the sentimentalist's sense. He Is a " farmer-business-man producing his pound of flesh as cheaply as he can " . . . . to quote from the review of Animal Machines in the Lancet, April 25th, 1964. Moreover, dairy and beef production are economically inseparable. 5

Recently a clergyman speaking on the radio on the same subject said he was not a vegetarian and said further it " was his belief that God had provided the animals for the use of man ". When such beliefs are held, one could ask where does " u s e " end and " abuse" begin? That wild animals in their natural environment are of use indirectly to man one would hardly dispute, but man's domestication and abuse of animals goes on being extended and refined. Today, ruminating animals are made into carnivores by being given cattle cake and other concentrates containing the flesh, bone and offal of their own kind. â&#x20AC;˘Drugs and other " benefits " are pumped into the living animal body, and additives into the carcasses. The extraordinary thing is that those who know all this recommend that the dung, skins, blood and bones are desirable organic manures for the soil. Not being satisfied to abuse the privilege of the benefits ensuing from the wild animal's inhabitation of the globe, there is this added abuse of the soil. When abuse of the animal and of the soil is being so publicized should not there be research to ascertain whether there is any connection between the use of animal organics as land manures, and human ills. I and many more are convinced of this connection. E scientific research were pursued with as much enthusiasm as is given to means of preparing toxicity, the definite causes of cancer and other imponderables of the medical profession might more readily be discovered. Confirmation by scientific institutions would encourage people who wish to keep the land clean and grow wholesome food with a fine flavour by alternative methods. They would be helped to realise just where the truth lies in their relationships to other creatures inhabiting the globe. Not only does man abuse the creatures raised from plants in turn grown from the soil, he also abuses the soil itself, even in his production of cereals, vegetables, fruit and nuts for direct human consumption. Does he seriously think he can get wholesome food by such abuse? My own experience and observation has shown that by using veganic methods (vegetable organics and natural minerals), pests and diseases of the soil and plants are reduced, and, I am firmly convinced, could be practically eliminated. By using veganic methods to produce cereals, vegetables, fruits and nuts there would be an ample supply for all of the most wholesome food in the purest form conceivable. I.V.U. CONGRESS Members are reminded that the.International Vegetarian Union Congress is being held .in England this, year at Swanwick from August 27th to September 4th. The Vegan Society will be represented and you can meet vegetarians from all over -the world. Write to the Secretary, The Vegetarian Society', Bank Square, Wilmslow, for further particulars. 6

ANIMAL LOVERS B y VALENTINE DOMXNEY

To what a wealth of argument this sadly overworked phrase gives rise, and what a wide divergence of opinions it reveals. ' During a recent period of enforced semi-idleness I took the opportunity of studying people's reactions by dropping this apparently innocent phrase in different company. Almost invariably the self-professed "non-animal lover" is also a self-termed "realist" (which covers a multitude of arguments— or excuses—in itself) and just as frequently his image of animallovers is that they consist solely of over-sentimental old ladies and/or effeminate young men who are either cruel to children or at least quite unmoved by the suffering of other humans. Most agree that any form of life other than human have no rights to freedom or even life itself and in their universal ignorance of the facts, really believe that .mankind can only exist by exploiting, killing and eating animals. Furthermore, the most ghastly of all man's crimes, vivisection (because it is directed solely against the innocent and helpless) is regretted but condoned because it holds out hope of an easy way to retain good health while continuing to break the rules of good health. Those who have said than any lie (no matter how contrary to the facts and common sense) will be believed if it is repeated loudly and often enough, have been proved to be right. If it is so true in this land of freedom, how much more difficult life must be for our friends and supporters in some other lands where any criticism of the establishment is impossible. But we nature lovers—are we just as sure where we stand? I should like to state what I believe' to be the opinion of the average vegan and no doubt the editor will be glad , to have any corrections. From my experience I have concluded that true animal lovers (invariably vegetarians and often vegans) believe that all subhuman creatureis (an expression I detest but it conveys- my meaning) should be allowed the freedom to live as nature intended without unnecessary interference from man. They should not be trapped • and " trained" to perform " tricks " to amuse the ignorant. They should not be " domesticated" so that, their growth can be more easily controlled and their life more quickly taken in order to please the depraved human palate. They should not be exploited by " selective " breeding (often involving artificial insemination) for the over-production of milk,eggs and wool as well as meat. • They should hot be' kept in zoos, circuses or indeed in unnatural confinement anywhere (I would include budgerigars in this). .--v..-"'\f ; 7

Vivisection should, of course, be illegal whether the tests are being made for surgery, drug production or the more obvious commercial reasons such as cosmetic testing. Animals should not be used for testing the effects of such things as tobacco, alcohol and food additives (dyes, chemicals, etc.). Firstly, because all food is better " au naturelle", and we already know which are the most nourishing and beneficial foods anyway; and secondly because it is continually being made obvious that man's reactions to all these things are not the same as that of any other creature. Animals for biology classes in schools should be banned and children should be taught instead how to care for their own bodies to retain good health. We can certainly learn much from animals in their natural habitat. They will not eat bleached flour, white sugar, artificially, treated food, or smoke a pipe. They have too much sense and being uncivilised have not lost their valuable instincts. No animal should be used in secret germ warfare establishments by our Government for testing such vile things as bombs, gases and heaven knows what other evils. Our imagination can riot with all the surplus labour, fine hospitals, and money which would be released for humane projects should such simple but revolutionary steps be taken.

i"IDEALISTS OR CRANKS?" By

EVA

BATT

(Extract of a talk given at the A.G.M. of the Nature Cure Society) The short answer to this question is probably " Both ", but if we may be allowed to quote the late Professor Joad, it does all rest upon what we mean by " Cranks ". Probably every man has his own answer. The vegetarian, food reformer, natural hygienist, Nature Cure Practitioner and all similar minority groups are cranks to the self-indulgent gourmet, enjoying his expense-account steaks and building up a coronory problem which he will expect someone else to solve, and for which " bad luck " he will expect full sympathyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and a quick drug cure, of course. My own view is that most vegans are perfectly ordinary folk who are making a serious attempt to be non-selective in their compassion, and are searching for ways in which they can put their ideas into practice in a positive and practical manner. Assuming that vegans are right in believing that the humane diet is fully adequate, what are their reasons for adopting it? There are mainly two: economic and compassionate. 8

I shall not waste your time and mine by going fully into the economic aspect for I am sure that you will be aware of the facts of this argument as it applies to lacto-vegetarianism. It is a very simple matter to realise that if, by cutting out the rearing of animals for meat, several times as much food can be grown in the same area, then to discover the number which could be fed in a vegan economy we should just have to multiply again by anything from four to eight according to the type of food to be grown. To see just how wasteful the present economy is we only have to remember that more food is grown in this country to be fed to animals than for direct consumption. We' also read that a steer will eat as much as sixty-four pounds of grain, etc., for each pound of steak it supplies. Could anything be more crazy in this hungry world? Yet the question nearly always comes up from somewhere, " But someone must eat the meat, we could not grow enough vegetables for everybody!" Such ignorance of the facts is depressing to us all. How many people realise that the humble brazil nut is a far better provider of the much-lauded thiamine than any meat? Or that, calorie for calorie, green peas contain" twice as much protein as cream cheese, wheat germ twice as much as best sirloin and ten times as much as milk! Or that one cup of soya flour supplies seven times as much protein as an egg. (Add to this the fact that the modern egg has most likely been dyed to imitate the yolk of the free range product). As for the " first-class" proteins about which we hear a great deal, it is too often overlooked that millet contains a "complete" protein with all the amino acids of animal protein. By the way, most protein foods, and certainly all meat, are acid-forming, but almonds and soya are alkaline foods. But there is no doubt that the predominant reason for adopting the vegan way of life is one of compassion. Why do vegans believe that dairy farming is at least as cruel as killing for meat? Have they any facts to go on? I should like to answer that by reading you a short paragraph from an article written by a veterinary surgeon who is practising at this time. He is not a vegetarian but is heartily ashamed of the barbaric methods of calving, castrating and docking which are quite commonly practised by British farmers (and sometimes vets also) in this so-called animal-loving country. For instance, on page three of the leaflet " Unnecessary. Cruelties Among Farm Animals " we read: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; " In the cowshed it is nothing to see a cow being thrashed and battered with a stick simply because it happened to kick out at the milking machine. This type of cruelty is even more vividly exemplified in markets; and nothing is done about it. Some of the results of such cruelty are quite horrible." I cannot read the rest of this paragraph without being sick. 9

And on page four, under " Brutality at calving time" the writer states: — -" Well, I've devoted a considerable portion of the last fifteen years of my life to trying to alleviate this brutality at calving time. But, despite my efforts, a very considerable number of veterinary surgeons still resort to the use of a block and tackle. Well, if you can imagine anything more brutal to cows and heifers than a block and tackle to extract a calf then you must have a wonderful imagination." " In many parts of the country farmers use not only block and tackle but often a motor-car or even a tractor. I remember going one night to calve a heifer—certainly this farmer was a bit wrong in the head—but when I got there he had a chain fixed to two feet of the calf and on the other end of the chain he had his van (he was driving the van); a chain ran from the heifer to a tractor and his sister was driving the tractor. I got there just in time to see the chain snap which was holding the poor heifer round the horns." And much, much more which few of us could read aloud in a mixed company. Everyone should read this exposure of our " humane " husbandmen—'there are free copies for the taking at the back of this hall. When reading, please remember that this was not written by an impressionable crank or an imaginative and sentimental old woman, but a practising veterinary surgeon who feels he has to speak out about these normally hidden atrocities which are perpetuated daily in the pursuit of profit, meat, milk and cheese. And please do not think that cheese is a vegetarian food. With the exception of a few of the soft " cottage " cheeses, this food relies upon the supply of rennet for the processing. Rennet: the digestive juice from the stomach of a freshly-killed new-born calf! We know that there is no milk without a birth, and there is little surplus cow's milk without calf-slaughter. This was brought home to me vividly when, during the last war I had to change trains in the very early hours on a small station in Wales. Some new-born calves and the mother cows were awaiting transport and were penned at opposite ends of the platform. The plaintive moo-ing of the cows, suddenly deprived of their offspring, and the pathetic bleats of their hungry young ones, who could hear their mothers but could not see or reach them, just could not be ignored. A few questions elicited the fact that the cows had been sold to a dairy farmer and the calves were destined for the slaughterhouse. Their purpose, to bring the cows into milk, had been achieved and the dairy industry was no longer interested in their fate. After all, they were only a few of many, as I was reminded. They would go to the pie manufacturers for about 12/6d. each. Pitiful little creatures, born only to be 10

killed so that humans could enjoy plenty of milk, cream, cheese and butter. . I had been a Iacto-vegetarian up to that time and, if I thought' about it at all, I pictured dairy farms as peaceful places where placid, contented cows grazed on green pastures without a care in the world. An image that has been very carefully fostered over many centuries. Perhaps we should say a word about nutrition, one of the most important subjects in life for everyone of us. No farmer worth his salt would give polished grain to his cattle or pigs; he knows their health would sufferâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;likewise his bank balance. But he often raises no objection when his children are given white flour, polished rice and " refined " white sugar! They too will suffer for it but they are not a marketable commodity! The ignorance of the majority about nutrition in general and protein values in particular is truly appalling. I was recently in a maternity hospital (as a visitor, not a patient) and I was shocked to learn that nowadays, when a baby is born, the mother is asked " Are you going to feed it yourself?" If the answer is " N o " (and alas, all too often it 'is) then the mother is treated so that her milk dries lip! No attempt is made to show her the folly of this or to explain that she is denying her baby its birthright. Such a disinterested attitude on the part of the doctors and nurses would have been unthinkable thirty years ago (my only experience) and if. a mother had asked for this unnatural treatment, every effort would have been made to persuade her to feed her baby as nature intended. Of course, 1 am not foolish enough to suggest that all vegans are as sensible and food-reform minded as one could wish; we all make dietary mistakes, especially in the beginning, but in general we do find that a fairly sensible diet is maintained. But food is not everything. It must be very cold comfort to the sheep facing the slaughterer to know that we will not eat his dead bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;we only want his skin with which to polish our windows! Now, nobody wants to be cruel to animals I am sure, and many non-vegetarians do a great deal to try to protect them from cruel exploitation. Some protest outside circuses, battery farms and theatres where performing animal acts are being shown. Others march with us to places like Porton, the Government germ warfare establishment where animals of all kinds are used for " testing " all manner of ghastly weapons. This is excellent, but not everyone is able to do-this), although if only we did, it would certainly do some.good, for public opinion, if strong enough, can do almost anything in this country. But there is something that all can do at home; in privacy, without cost in time or money. The practice of veganism is sure to relieve suffering from the word go, for it strikes at the very: roots of cruelty and makes it uneconomic. ; .. . 11

The one certain way to' stop any form of cruelty is to take all the profit out of it. No baby seals would be clubbed and skinned alive if there were not a ready market for the skins from the thoughtless. The point of veganism is not so much to lament the things we cannot, at this time, change, but to concentrate on that which we can; in a practical manner—toy taking action at home and by watching every purchase. If vegans buy anything which has been produced at the cost of suffering of any other living thing, we have not so much compromised our principles—we have deserted them! But veganism is not just a list of things to be avoided, it is being as harmless as we can in our daily lives. As simple as that. Let us suppose that someone here tonight feels moved to follow this way of life which we advocate, what are the main obstacles? First: Fear. Fear of being different, fear of possible extra cost (this is quite unfounded) and fear of being undernourished (equally unfounded if a sensible diet is followed as recommended by us) but most of all, fear of being different. When I look round at the low standard of health " enjoyed " by most of my meat-eating friends I am glad to be different! The second obstacle is. the difficulty most people find in breaking the chains of habit. This requires perseverance. And perhaps lastly, the problem of what to put in the place of the foods and other commodities we are no longer going to use—mostly milk. For milk is a perfect food —for the calf for whom nature intended it! It will build him into a fast-maturing, large-boned, small-brained, bovine creature. But is this what we want for our children? What a weight is lifted from us when we finally realise that there is absolutely no need for the average person to rely upon this mucus-forming product of the over-worked, sex-hormoned, antibiotic-filled, semi-invalid cow with her proneness to so many milk-borne diseases, udder complaints, umbilical sepsis, mastitis, chronic catarrh, etc., etc., etc., etc. By the way, milk is also an ideal carrier of Strontium 90 (and eggs are the perfect culture medium for almost anything, especially salmonella germs, I am told). The drinking of cows' milk by humans may be unhealthy, unnecessary and unhygienic but it will probably continue until it is recognised as being vulgar. In the natural scheme of things no animal drinks the milk of another species. Only man breaks this rule. And is milk really as good as all that? According to a recent article in the Daily Mail it can be very dangerous to drink raw milk, yet, if it is pasteurised it loses many of the nutrients it originally possessed! Pasteurisation destroys all the vitamin C in milk. Also folic acid and the flora which enable us to utilise the calcium (very often the main reason for drinking it) are lost in the processing. But not the cholesterol. Vegans do not ask of an animal food, " I s it cheap?" or 12

" I s it easy to prepare?" or even "Does it spread easily straight from the refrigerator?" but rather " Is it essential?" and " Can I do without it?" Is the vegan diet adequate for maintaining good health?; We have only time to take one example, so let it be Jack McClelland, the thirty-nine-year-old, fifteen stone champion swimmer who, apart from running a business in Ireland, finds the time, energy, skill and endurance to break records such as the thirty mile world swimming record. Last year Jack swam Galway Bay (previously considered impossible due partly to the extremely low temperature of these waters)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the first time this had ever been achieved. A few of Mr. McClelland's other achievements are: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 1956 winner of the English Channel race, 1959 Royal Humane Society Parchment for Lifesaving, 1962 mastered the Straits of Gibraltar, a particular feat of endurance. All this on a diet of nuts, grains, fruit and vegetables. It is no use telling Jack that the vegan diet is inadequate! (By the way, it is good for the figure also, no need to put weight on, take it off, even push it around!) But is it monotonous? There is certainly no need for it to be. The Vegan Society will be pleased to give advice, supply ideas and recipes and, if one finds it difficult to decide which are the vegan foods, there is a valuable little booklet which lists both vegetarian and vegan foods called " The Vegetarian and Vegan Food Guide." So, if we feel we want to, we can begin today, now, by helping ourselves to the free literature, and cancelling either our milk, eggs, cheese or butter order for a start. And please do not hesitate to write to the Society at any timeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; if we can help we shall be very pleased to do so.

LETTER FROM HONG KONG By

JOYCE

GRIMMETT

On February 2nd, the Chinese new year celebrations begin. This is equivalent to our Christmas and recently there have been reports in the newspapers here of dogs being caught and eaten, for dog seems to take the place of our turkey for the Chinese at this time of the year. The method of killing the dogs (which is illegal) is particularly cruel, as the dog is either hacked or beaten to death to make the meat more tender and is not previously stunned. The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has warned the public to keep an eye on their dogs and cats and to watch out for anyone acting suspiciously with any animal. Many of the Chinese here keep dogs and cats as livestock rather than as pets. In many chemists' shops there are two counters, one for modern medicines, the other for traditional herbal and animal cures. One can find dried snakes and lizards as well as many 13

dead, sea creatures. A number of animals have, become extinct in Hong Kong because they were eaten for medicinal purposes. I was surprised to find, during a walk through the ladder streets, cages with live snakes inside. I learned later that they are bought as a delicacy and kept alive until just before sale to : ensure their freshness. I talked to a (man recently who had been to. a snake dinner where everything eaten or drunk was made of snake, except cat, which was also on the menu. Snake wine is also sold here with- the snake inside the .bottle. • When I go to the market I often see women taking home live frogs for lunch, tied together in bunches. In some confectioners I have seen large beetles and locusts and various other insects •preserved in jars for sweets. There appears to be little compassion for animal life here in Hong Kong, although there are many Buddhists and several Buddhist Vegetarian restaurants. However, not all Buddhists are vegetarian and many of the Buddhists seem more concerned with their own spiritual welfare than cruelty to animals. The discussion of vegetarianism has to be carried on rather delicately to avoid offence. The contrast with India, which I toured during the summer, is very great from a humanitarian aspect, as reverence for animal life is very great there, but the physique of the people is poor, compared to the meat-eaters of Pakistan and the Chinese of Hong Kong. 'Life for a vegan here in Hong Kong is not very good, as there appear to t>e no vegetarian products exported here and fruits, salads and vegetables are not as good in quality or flavour as in England. However, we can obtain a milk made from soya beans which is quite good and we can also get lots of soya beans and their by-products, including several types of bean curd, which taste very good. Fresh bean sprouts are always available as are seaweed preparations from Japan. We are looking forward, very much, to new potatoes and a fresh English salad, when we return in two years' time. (Editor's Note.—Many of us remember saying temporary goodbye to the Grimmetts one cold winter's night after a vegan meeting in Kensington iPublic Library in January, 1964. They were •about to set off to Ceylon in their motor-caravan and I am sure that we all viewed their adventurous spirit with great admiration. Quoting a recent letter, " The journey to Ceylon took five months and was terrifically interesting as well as being an eye-opener. We took along our four children (then aged nine, eight, two and one "years respectively) along with a large quantity of vegetarian -foodstuffs. As you can imagine, things were quite hectic on occasions with so many people in a small caravan, but we travelled all the way without accident' or illness. Now we are settled •in Hong Kong for another two years—after that we just don't know!'.') 14

COMMODITY A N D OTHER NEWS By

EVA

BATT

Dry Cleaning and Retexturing The Dyeis and Cleaners Research Organisation have explained to one of our members who made enquiries on our behalf, that although the normal process of dry cleaning does .not entail the use of any animal by-product, the retexturing agents may contain lanolin, commonly known in its crude form as wool-fat. It is as well, therefore, to enquire about this at the time. Com MD1 We frequently receive enquiries about the price and availability of a hand-operated corn mill. The Harper Beatriz No. 2761/1 is still available and if not obtainable locally can be ordered direct from the manufacturers, John Harper and Company Limited, Albion Works, Willenhall, Staffs. 45/- plus postage. As far as we know, waterless cookers and pressure cookers are' not yet available in stainless steel. Sugar Many members are having difficulty in getting the B.S.C. (brand) or Sankey's white sugar. We have again contacted both of these companies and their replies are printed below: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; British Sugar Corporation Limited, Latymer House, 134 Piccadilly, London, W.l. " T h e home-grown sugar industry is located predominantly in the Eastern part of the country, this being the main area in which the crop is grown. Distribution of our sugar is, therefore, principally in the same area." The Sankey Sugar Company Limited, Earlestown, Newton-leWillows, Lancashire. " Our distribution is mainly in the following areas: Cheshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Flintshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Westmorland, West Riding of Yorkshire, and cities of Birmingham, York, Hull, Harrogate and Leicester. We do, however, have isolated customers in other areas and, if you would like to advise us of towns not included in the areas detailed above where you have members who are interested in obtaining' supplies, it may be possible for us to let you have the name of a firm that does carry a stock of our sugar." We would, therefore, suggest that members write direct to these companies for the name of their nearest stockist and send in any useful information so gained, for publication, (e.g., we have been able to get B.S.C. sugar in Luton, Bedfordshire.) 15

Kraft Corn Oil Margarine contains skimmed milk. Dolcis Footwear. Ladies' Fashion Bootees. " Helena " model is made entirely of synthetic materials, in black, 5 9 / l i d . Correction In the last (Winter) issue of the magazine, page 17: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Bagcraft. The last item on line six should read " 344 ", not E344. Also in centre of line seven, should read "871 " not 872 as printed in error. Cuttings Compost. Although no slaughterhouse waste is used, this product does contain farmyard manure and would, therefore, not be suitable for the Veganic garden. The co-operation of members in keeping our commodity lists as accurate as possible is greatly appreciated. VOLUNTEERS FOR THE ANIMALS' FAIR For many years the Society has done very good work at the Annual Animals' Fair held on a Friday and Saturday some time during mid-Autumn. The same small group of faithful stalwarts have largely seen to this for many years past, and the Committee has decided that if we are to show the flag this year (and it is hoped we will) then another generation of volunteers should come forward. Most of the societies that are concerned with alleviating and eliminating the exploitation and cruel treatment of the animal kingdom gather there and it is both a wonderful meeting place of " those who care " and also an excellent place to show and discuss the practical side of veganism on our stall. Please volunteer and send your name in NOW to the Secretary. The Fair is held at Westminster.

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THE VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN FOOD GUIDE WITH HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS and know which are the humanely produced articles. This 40-page booklet lists hundreds of items conveniently grouped for quick reference. 2/6d. post free, f r o m : _ 1 THE VEGAN SOCIETY, 123 Baker Street, Enfield, Middlesex

QUICK A N D EASY PACKED LUNCHES By

KATHLEEN

KELENY

(Coombe Lodge Vegetarian Guest House, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucester) SAVOURY ROLLS \ lb. Cerea flour 1 oz. Walnutta 1 oz. Nutter £ pint warm water 1 tablespoon Vesop ^ teaspoon brown sugar i oz. dried yeast 1 oz. bran Mix Nutter with half a pound Cerea flour in one basin and put to warm. Mix yeast with water, stir till yeast is dissolved, add sugar, then stir in the flour and Vesop in another basin and put to warm for ten minutes at 200°. Then mix all together and knead and make into twelve rolls, roll in washed bran and put on a warm greased baking tin and put in the oven at 200° for thirty minutes until rolls have doubled their size, then turn oven up to 400° for fifteen minutes, then take out of oven. When cool, split each roll in half and spread with Walnutta. CORNISH PASTIES 1 lb. onions 1 potato 2 oz. ground cashews 1 tablespoon Vesop \ lb. Allinson's Cake Flour 3 oz. water 4 oz. Nutter Chop the onions finely and slice the potato and cook gently in one ounce of Nutter and Vesop. Add the cashews and stir. Rub the rest of the Nutter into the flour, add water, and roll the pastry out and cut into six circles. Cover the lower half of the circle with cooked onion mixture and cover with top half of pastry circle. Press edges together and bake for fifteen minutes at 400°. TREACLE DIAMONDS 4 oz. Cerea flour 1 oz. Walnutta (Mapletons) 1 oz. brown sugar 3 oz. Fowlers black treacle Rub Walnutta into the flour, then add sugar and treacle. Knead together, then roll out thinly and cut into diamond shapes and bake on a greased baking tin at 350° for twelve minutes. TREACLE GARIBALDI BISCUITS 4 oz. Cerea flour 3 oz. Fowlers black treacle 1 .oz. brown sugar 4 oz. currants 1 oz. Walnutta 17

As for Treacle Diamonds but roll out into a rectangular shape and cover half of it with currants, then cover currants with other half of pastry and roll lightly. Gut into fingers and bake at 350째 for fifteen minutes. OATMEAL CREAMS 3 oz. Cerea flour 2 oz. brown sugar 5 oz. Windmill oats Filling 2 oz. Mapletons Walnutta 4 oz. brown sugar 6 oz. treacle 2 oz. Walnutta Mix Cerea with the oats and rub in the Walnutta.. Add.sugar and treacle and knead together and roll out thinly. Cut into twenty-four- circles. Bake on a greased baking sheet for fifteen minutes at 350째. When cool, spread half of -them with the filling (sugar and Walnutta beaten together) and cover with remaining biscuits. RAINBOW SALAD Slice of hard cabbage 1 beetroot 2 lettuce leaves 1 apple , 1 tomato 1 tablespoon Soya Oil 1 carrot Juice from half a lemon Grate the apple, beetroot, carrot and cabbage and slice the tomato, and cut up the lettuce leaves and mix all together with the oil and lemon juice and put into a plastic container. SOYA BEAN SANDWICHES 6 slices wholemeal bread 3 tablespoons Granose soya ' Walnutta beans in tomato Spread bread with Walnutta and put on to three slices one tablespoon of mashed soya beans (mashed with a fork), cover with other three slices and cut into quarters, making twelve square sandwiches. NUT MUESLI 1 tablespoon Windmill oats 1 tablespoon grated walnuts 1 apple I tablespoon seeded raisins 1 tablespoon water Grate the apple and mix all together and put into a plastic container. Rainbow salad or muesli can be prepared each morning, but treacle diamonds, garibaldi biscuits, and oatmeal creams, can be made at the weekend and kept in a tin arid a few taken daily. Cornish pasties will last three days. All flour used is Allinsons. 18

OUR HERBAL HERITAGE B y MARGARET THORNE

The world is clothed in herbage. Vegans believe that, wisely exploited, this could provide man's food and raiment. But should we not go further, and claim also that all his medicines could be derived from the same source? Throughout the ages similar convictions have entered the minds of various individuals. Moses gives ample evidence that " herb-bearing seed after his kind " was, in his estimation, vital to man's well-being. Other writings in the Old Testament give us further examples. Ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks have handed on herbal knowledge which is still invaluable. Many herbal virtues were revealed in the fourth century B.C. by Hippocrates, " Father of Medicine ", in his Temples of Healing. Well over two hundred of this wise man's herbs are still in use. Folks whose minds are obsessed with modern synthetic drugs might be astonished to learn how many of these are listed in the British Pharmacopoeia and the British Pharmaceutical Codex. A lot of the herbs which we find so useful were introduced into Britain by the Romans. Dioscorides, in the first century A.D., compiled a Materia Medica which was thereafter consulted for about sixteen hundred years. The Romans even imported nettles with particularly .strong stings. Our colder climate rendered them sluggish and they rubbed nettles on their skins to stimulate themselves. The " R o m a n Nettle" still grows in the neighbourhood of Romney Marsh, where they landed. In medieval times both fine ladies in castles and mansions, and humble cottagers, possessed herbal knowledge. The poor gathered wild herbs, transplanting some favourites to their gardens. The rich had their herbaries where ladies and their maids tended the precious plants. They contrived to supply their large households. (including many servants) with herbs both culinary and medicinal. Then the monks made marvellous progress. They cultivated herbs in their physic gardens, studied, experimented with them and achieved much in their treatment of the sick and pain-ridden. With the dissolution of the monasteries many precious records, carefully kept by these patient men, must have been lost or destroyed. But whenever we find the word " officinalis " in the Latin name of a plant we know that it was grown in the monastery gardens and made official by the monks after they had proved its worth. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries some very gifted men dedicated themselves to herbalism. Botanists were herbalists and also the acknowledged physicians of their time. A few were astrologers too. 19

Nicholas Culpeper believed each plant to be influenced by a particular planet. He maintained that it must be used accordingly to derive the maximum benefit. Physic without astrology, he said, was like a lamp without oil. We may laugh at this but can be in no doubt of his skill. He was an interesting character and the quaint and witty style of his writings is quite delightful. Son of a clergyman, grandson of a baronet, he was bound apprentice to an apothecary. With his wide and varied experience he roamed the countryside, climbing mountains and penetrating dense forests, always searching for those gifts of Mother Nature, the herbs. Vegans will be especially interested in his statement, " Truly, my own body being sickly, brought me easily into a capacity to know that health was the greatest of all earthly blessings, and truly he was never sick that doth not believe it." Books still read today were written by three " Johns" who figured prominently in our herbal history. They were Gerarde, in the reign of Elizabeth I, Parkinson, herbalist to Charles I and Evelyn the great English diarist. John Evelyn was a founder of the Royal Society and in his " Sylva" was the first to draw attention to the importance of forestry in our land. These men did much to dispel the superstitions which had held people in thrall, differentiating between useless Old Wives' Tales and genuine remedial lore. Gems of simplicity sometimes fall from the lips of very learned men. The great Linnaeus dubbed plants with thorns and prickles " warriors". Those which had adapted themselves, dispensing with their " armouries ", he called " tamed plants ". The old herbalists believed in a " Doctrine of Signatures ". According to this, plants proclaimed to man their potential curative powers by visual signs. For instance, a broken stalk of the Greater Celandine exudes a thick yellow fluid. So this herb was used for jaundice and other liver disorders and for bad eyes (also yellow). Lungwort has unsightly blotches on leaves shaped like lungs. Pilewort (Lesser Celandine) has a root exactly like haemorrhoids. The tiny flowers of Eyebright look just like shining little eyes. Herbalists still use it (with others) in eye ointment. Some plants owe their names to things people thought they resembled (live or inanimate). This is not to say they lacked medicinal virtue. Arrowhead, Shepherd's Purse and Shepherd's Needle spring to mind. Perhaps creatures are more widely represented. Examples are Snakeshead, Wolfsbane, Catsear, Hartstongue, Goosefoot, Mousear, Hawkweed, Cranesbill and Storksbill. Fascinating in this respect are some of the wild orchids.. Bee Orchis, Fly Orchis, Butterfly Orchis, Spider Orchis and even Man Orchis. Occasionally a plant's name is a reminder that its possibilities 20

were discovered by " tasting ". Bittersweet is said to taste first sweet then bitter. â&#x20AC;˘" Touch-me-not " and " Forget-me-not " are full of meaning and " Balm " and " Bastard Balm " speak for themselves. A name may be significant of a herb's scent. " Catmint" sometimes called " N e p " is immortalised in a saucy jingle: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; If you set it, cats will eat it. If you sow it, cats won't know it. Borage earned itself a good reputation with the old herbalists. It was said to bring comfort and courage. Gerarde said it would " drive away sorrow and increase the joie of mankind ". Flower, leaf, stalk, root, seeds were all potent. An old Latin proverb has been translated " I borage, give courage ". We find contrasting names, given alternately by well-to-do and peasantry. Fine ladies naturally chose elegant ones but the poor stubbornly persisted in using their homely ones. Thus Garlic Mustard is also called Jack-by-the-Hedge while Ground Ivy delights in Gill-go-over-the-ground. Creeping Jenny is Moneywort or Herb Twopence. " Lords and Ladies," for the brilliant berries of the Cuckoo Pint, is reminiscent of the fineries of the high and mighty. Significant of the interest shown very early in our island is the frequency of Anglo-Saxon words such as " W o r t " and " Bane " (" p l a n t " and " poison "). Thus we have Sneezewort Stitchwort, Yellow-wort, Fleabane, Wolfsbane, Henbane. The word " weed " also comes from old Saxon and lives on in such as Knapweed, Cudweed and Bindweed. The absence of books and facilities for travel delayed interchange of knowledge and inevitably herbs were given different names in various places. Some are still in use in the areas of their origin. Herb Gerarde, for instance, is locally known as Ashweed, Goatweed, Goutweed and Bishopsweed. Noted as a remedy for gout it was believed to ward off further attacks, if carried on the person. Bishops, with their princely palaces and sumptuous feasts, were thought to be rendered liable to gout and arthritis ! Danewort (Dwarf Elder) is supposed to have miraculously sprung from the blood of the slaughtered Danes. True, it seems to have originated in the area where this occurred: But maybe, like the Romans, they brought some with them for Elder is especially rich in medicinal virtue. Frequently herbs were named in honour of those whom the simple folk venerated. The Holy Virgin inspired Marygold, Rosemary, Lady's Slipper, Lady's Mantle and Ladysmock (the colour of her garment). Other saints' names gave rise to St. John's Wort and, for the Cowslip, " Our Lady's Keys " and the " Keys of Heaven ". The Anglo-Saxon " Paigles ", for the same flower means a " Bunch of Keys ". Culpeper tells us that " in times of heathenism, when men had found out any excellent 21

herbe they dedicated it to their gods. The Papists so to their saints." This is borne out in " Herb Trinity," Sweet Basil, Sweet Marjoram and Sweet Cicely. Seemingly no one now knows the legends which must have gone with these. Yellow Avens was once known as " Herb Benedict ". It was apparently thought sacred. Its trefoil leaves can still be seen in relics of carvings among early English styles of architecture. This probably implies the Holy Trinity. The Purple Orchis blooms in that part of the year when Christians commemorate the crucifixion. On its leaves are " splashes " of dark colouring, and tradition says the the Saviour's blood was dropped on it in the Garden of Gethsemane. So Purple Orchis is sometimes called Gethsemane. . Sainfoin (Holy Hay) is said to have bloomed in the manger. That wee flower of such exquisite blue, Germander Speedwell, has another nameâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Veronica. This was the name of a woman who wiped the Saviour's face as He went to be crucified. An impression of His face remained in her handkerchief. Someone, looking deeply into the flower of Germander, saw a face there, and called it Veronica. Angelica (angelic on account of its wonderful remedial qualities) and Archangel, are reminders of the simple faith of those folk in bygone days. The wily character at the other end of the scale was not forgotten. Some old country people still call Deadly Nightshade " Devil's Plant", and its treacherous fruit, " Naughty Man's Cherries ". Devil's Bit Scabious, with its peculiarly short rootstock, has heavenly virtues in all parts. This made Satan so angry that he bit off its rootâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for spite!

VEGANS AND RELIGION Many members have responded to the invitation h number, and Mr. J. Tester of , Middlesex, wishes to thank all who have done so. If you have not yet sent in your reply and wish to do so, there is still time to do this. Please send in a short note stating your religion, sect, views or outlook, etc., and the number of years you have been a vegan, and a member of the Society. Such information will be treated with strict confidence. Our thanks are due to Mr. Tester for undertaking this work. He has sent us an interim report and asks that any further replies should be sent to him by the end of May. J.S.

A VEGAN REMEMBERS CHINA By

FRANCES

HOWARD

Introduction I visited China to see my parents at the age of fourteen. This was in 1949, before the present Communist Government had taken over in the part of China where we lived. I was not a vegetarian then, but I was at a very impressionable age and my memories of that time are still sharp. Since I have become a vegan, I have realised that there are many features of the life of the Chinese which are of interest to vegans, because the life of most people in China is far nearer to being vegan than the life of most people in the West. General Impressions My father was a medical missionary. He founded and ran a hospital to care for people in both mind and body, and spent the best part of his life there. My mother also spent many years in China with him. China is a country of beautiful countryside and filthy squalid towns. . Most cultivated land is terraced or banked, to form paddy fields, and out of the sea of irrigated fields, picturesque hills rise steeply, complete with trees and pagodas. Hamlets appear as little islands among the rice fields. The people are broad-faced but smaller in stature than Europeans. They are known for their cheerfulness, patience, endurance, and very hard work. Child mortality is extremely high and disease is rife. The old Kuomintang Government in power in 1948 was entirely and completely corrupt and ordinary folk were in the grip of rice merchants, landlords and warlords (or glorified brigands). The currency was inflationary, prices going up each day at times. The language, for Europeans, 4 is very hard, and I made little progress whilst I was there—so my acquaintances were limited to English-speaking friends. My parents lived as nearly as possible like Europeans, living in an English kind of house with an English fire-place. Most Europeans employed about six servants; we compromised with two — a cook and a washerwoman. We ate the things that Europeans usually eat, so far as was possible. Tzung-Se-Fu, our cook, ground wheat on a stone mill and cooked bread beautifully —English style. Apart from going to three or four feasts at New Year, I was sheltered from the direct impact of the Chinese way of life. Rice The vast majority of Chinese are rice eaters. The cultivation of rice occupies : every square yard of land which is level or which can be terraced and flooded with water. Rice alternates 23

with other crops which do not need irrigation, such as rape seeds, beans and vegetables. The land remaining from intensive cultivation is used for cemeteries—ancestor worship being the popular religion. Trees and bushes are only allowed to grow on the most precipitous slopes, or close to houses. Rice gives a very heavy yield in weight per acre and is a good food if boiled and eaten whole, not polished. However, it is not sufficient to eat only rice, as it is not a good class protein, and it is too starchy. First class protein may be supplied by nuts and seeds and the rice diet needs to be supplemented with leafy vegetables and fruits if it is to be adequate. T.B. is rife amongst rice eaters and it is primarily a malnutrition disease, associated with an over-starchy diet. A balanced agriculture should include fruit and nut orchards. These would help to provide fertility by leaf fall, and would act as windbreaks and draw rainfall, besides providing essential elements in the diet. Meat The Chinese are not vegetarians or vegans except by force of circumstances. Pigs, poultry, eggs and fish are the chief sources of animal food. Cattle and sheep are heavy grazers and require vast areas of land. Pigs and poultry are kept in back yards and fed on scraps. Chinese pigs are bred for their fat, held to be a great delicacy at feast times. Their spines or backs sag and the undersides sweep the ground. Their fat is also used for soap and candles. Our cook was a soap-maker by trade, and he used to render down lard from pork fat. Vegetable oil was used for lighting and there was, therefore, a shortage of nutritious nuts and seeds for human food. As in other countries, meat-eating is a status symbol. When the Communists took over, in 1949, the coolies were treated as human beings for the first time in their lives. They were given a more adequate die*, including meat, and they had enough energy after their work to learn to play games. Dogs and cats are kept as scavengers and rat-catchers. Their flesh is sometimes eaten, especially during the terrible famines which occur all too often. It is my personal guess that cooked meat, biscuits, bread and butter and cakes, are all attempts by man to imitate his natural foods—nuts and fruit—but animal food is no real substitute •for nuts, even when tenderised and cooked, it is never as crisp, cool, bland and sweet as nuts. Eggs Eggs are the only " dairy f o o d " which is widely eaten in China by all income groups. My . father was sometimes 24

embarrassed by gifts of eggs from grateful patients who could ill afford to give food away. The rich, with perverted tastes, eat " matured eggs ". That is hardboiled eggs kept in brine until they begin to turn black round the yolks and smell like " K i p p s " apparatus. To a . Chinese with the acquired taste, this smells as nice as cheese smells to most Europeans. Eggs were fairly easy to get. My mother once remarked " Whatever else is hard to get, there are always plenty of eggs in China", to which the coolie retorted, " There wouldn't be enough if everybody ate as many as you d o ! " After the Communist Government took over, he felt his status to be raised and he told my parents a few home truths. Milk Milk is not normally drunk in China. Buffaloes are used for ploughing, but their milk is scanty and is not regarded as an article of human food. Well-meaning gifts of milk from the United Nations War Relief and Rehabilitation Association after the second world war, were bought and sold as merchandise. What little actually reached the starving Chinese was not used by them as food. The recipients saw only a saleable object; a tin. They punctured the tin, poured the milk out, and sold the tin. Chinese people are amazed to see Europeans cook rice in milk. It spoils the rice, they say. In those days European doctors considered fresh cows' milk to be a suitable food for tuberculosis patients, and my father went to tremendous lengths to obtain it for them. There were no dairy cows to be bought in China, so he imported a small herd. After crossing the ocean and landing in Shanghai, the poor beasts had to travel over a thousand miles by river boat. They were little more than skeletons by the time they arrived. However, a cow boy was appointed to look after them, and they soon recovered. We foreigners and the T.B. patients had their milk and the surplus was made into butter and cheese. Later on, the herd was almost completely wiped out by rinder-pestâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and had to be replaced. Patients suffering from tuberculosis, due to malnutrition caused by eating mainly rice in inadequate amounts, undoubtedly benefited from having a little fresh cows' milk. They would not take it as a food, but drank it as a medicine. Results just as good might possibly have been obtained with the freshly pressed juices of fruits and vegetables, together with the creams of scientifically' selected nuts and seeds. Soya Milk The custom of making soya milk originated in China. Dr. Harry Miller, an American, took the idea to America and developed it there. We can now purchase " Granogen" and 25

". Velactin " which are soya milk powders. In Hong Kong " Vite Soy " may be purchased from slot machines as an alternative to orange juice, and is a popular drink. It is my personal view that the desire of adults for milk is a frustrated ancestral instinctive desire for the delicious taste of nuts when well chewed in the mouth. That is, nut milk is not a substitute for milk, but milk is a substitute for nuts. Butter We had no margarine in China and tinned butter is like rancid cork, so we were glad of a little dairy butter. Cheese Our cow boy learned to make cheese. Our cook called it. chee-ser and could not imagine why we wanted to eat it—but obediently did with it as we desired. Water Water deserves a mention, because it has been suggested that the Chinese get their vitamin B 1 2 from water contaminated by sewage. Sewage is rich in B 1 2 . This is purely guess work. There is not a shred of real evidence for or against it. So far as I know, no one has ever tested the B 1 2 level of a Chinese peasant or coolie, and then tried depriving him of contaminated water, substituting distilled water instead—and then tested his B 1 2 again to see if it has fallen. Until some such test has been done on 100 or 1,000 people, it remains a hypothesis. When my father arrived in Shaoyang, China, this town had no piped water supply. Coolies simply carried away two lavatory buckets, one on each end of a pole carried on the shoulder. They emptied them into a cesspool, rinsed them out in the well, and then carried away two buckets of water from the same well. This water has to be boiled before it can be drunk. This destroys some, but by no means all of the germs, and leaves the1 vitamin B 1 2 intact. The water must then be left to stand, to allow the particles to fall to the bottom. The clear water is then poured off. My parents have drunk such water and come to no harm. • During my father's stay in Shaoyang, a piped water supply was. installed in the town. Tea

.v. Boiled water does not have a very nice'taste, and ways had to be found to make it drinkable. So they began to - use the leaves of the tea bush. These are dried in the sun, and used very sparingly—so that the water is scarcely tinted, and is delicately green, not brown. If- too hot water is used; the liquid: turns brown and should then 7 be-thrown away.'- The green tea' 26

leaf is known as " unfried " and can be purchased for 2/6d. per quarter. It is a blackish green, turning to olive green in warm water. The black and brown teas are all subjected to fermenting or roasting processes. This is a perversion of the original delicately flavoured tea which inspired the Chinese poets. Wool Sheep need vast areas for grazing and this cannot be spared in such a densely populated country as China. What little grass grows on the steep hill sides is needed for the working oxen. However, the Chinese have plenty of other ways of keeping warm in winter. They wear cotton-padded coats and trousers which keep out the cold very well. The colder it is, the more they wear. Wool and knitting is a western innovation in China. Leather As domestic animals are comparatively few in China, leather is not in common use. Shoes, for instance, are traditionally made in the following manner: A housewife collects rags, which she pastes onto a board and allows to dry in the sun one by one. Gradually she builds up a tough rag " paper mache". When this is thick enough, she takes it off the board, sews it through all over, like a flock mattress, to hold the layers together. Then she cuts out a sole. The uppers are made of good cotton material. Shoes in China are now made in factories, using rubber for the soles. Many of the vegan shoes sold by Bata originated in China or one of the places where Chinese live and work, like Hong Kong. Soil Fertility It is a well-known fact that the fertility of the soil in China depends on the application of human manure. This is quite true, but there is still room for improvement. The manure is not composted with vegetable matter, but is applied " raw". Raw manure transmits disease; it should be fed to green manure crops and the latter composted. Only then is human manure safe to use for growing human food. ; Most vegetable matter, however, is fed to pigsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and so another natural cycle is interrupted. The manure contains an excess of nitrogen, which may be smelt: as ammonia compounds evaporating from the. manure heap. Organic compost should contain 10% of animal matter (Or 18%- at the most) but in China, there was a shortage of vegetable material for composting. All possible sources of material were used as animal fodder. If .we wanted to buy peas with pods on for hygienic reasons, we had to pay extra for the pods, which commanded a price as pig food. Very little in China 'is^eyer wasted. Plants grown on raw manure grow too fast, mature and decay 27

early. The results on the ingesting human are the same. The girls, if they survived infancy, grew up quickly and matured while little more than children, and degenerated into little old ladies by the time they were eighteen or twenty. They had many children, very few of whom survived. My mother was envied because she had five children, none of whom had died. Erosion The cultivation, of annual crops, such as rice, beans, wheat, instead of fruit and nut trees, together with the use of trees as fuel, has led to serious erosion over many centuries. The forest soil, no longer held together by tree roots and micro-organisms, was blown away by the wind and carried away by the rivers. In the north-west interior of China is a desert of sand called Loess. The Yellow River flows through this land, carrying with it the yellow sand, depositing it on the river bed, and the floor of the Yellow Sea. As the river bed rises, so the banks of the river have to be raised, until the river flows far above the level of the plain. The forest used to act as a sponge, absorbing surplus rain, and letting moisture run away in dry seasons, but now there is no such natural regulation of the river flow, and there are unpredictable and disastrous floods from time to time which render millions homeless. Afforestation The solution to the problem is afforestation of the upper reaches of the river. Some pioneer afforestation was started in the nineteen thirties and this is being continued on a vast scale by the present Government. As we usually only hear about the People's Republic of China when they are being hostile, repressive or destructive, it is wholesome to remember the constructive side of their work. The Present and Future What I have said about China applies to the past. The present and future will probably see an increase in meat-eating in China, especially of pigs and poultry. Modern methods of increasing productionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;e.g., antibiotics, hormones and battery feedingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;will be introduced, as the emphasis is always on " production " and not on human nutrition and health. If an honest evaluation were made by the Chinese of the usefulness (of pork as a food, without the uncritical and unjustifiable assumption that the more advanced nations of the West have owed their advance to eating animal foods, the Chinese might have realised the advantages of their own way of life. China has led us in the matter of soya milk and vegan shoes, and had there been the individuals who believed in the vegan way of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;China could have led the way towards a vegan world. 28

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VEGETARIAN SCIENTIST PLANS A "KIBBUTZ" After leaving Civil Service Ex-Government scientist Anthony Kelly, of , Wheathampstead, expects in the next few months to be pioneering a vegetarian's paradise. As co-ordinator of the Left Wing organisation for strict vegetarianism, " The Vegan Communities Movement", Mr. Kelly has been busy sending out questionnaires to prospective inhabitants, of a vegetarian " kibbutz " in this country. They expect to start with a population of about ten on a fiftyacre site somewhere in the West Country or in Wales, for which they will pay up .to £7,000. Mr. Kelly told the " F r e e Press" this week: " W e are not aiming to be hermits. It is merely that we want to be a part of the general sociological evolution." The community, which would be predominantly agricultural, would be a "self-supporting model for a progressive society", he says, and would lead to the establishment of further communities. Thirty-years-old Mr. Kelly, who was told officially this week that he had lost his job at the Government's fire research station at Boreham Wood, after he had refused to be involved with work in which vivisection would be carried out (as reported in last week's " Free Press "), is a member of the Vegan Society and of the Buddhist Society.' In the questionnaire which has been drawn up there is a number of trick questions designed to expose Fascists or members of the National Socialist Movement. Points out Mr. Kelly: " We are going to provide an environment in which neither people nor animals are exploited in any way at all." (From the Harpenden Free Press, 22.1.65.)

FOOD TIP Anne Warrington of Christchurch, Hants, sends the following tip in a recent letter: " I use barley water in place of milk for all milk puddings, for making porridge every morning and for sauces, etc., and I always add fruit to the puddings when cooking—prunes or mixed dried fruit steeped the night before, and brown sugar—the fruit does not curdle with cornflower and other cereals." .. Please send your " tried " food hints or recipes to the Secretary.

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