The Vegan Winter 2003

THE ATKINS DIET DEBUNKED

VEGAN WEDDINGHOW HANA PREPARED FOR HER PERFECT DAY

ARE YOUR MEALS COSTING THE EARTH?ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

PHEASANTS AND PEASANTSSHOOTING IN THE CROSSHAIRS

FLUORIDATIONTHE DEBATE

THE ATKINS DIET DEBUNKED

VEGAN WEDDINGHOW HANA PREPARED FOR HER PERFECT DAY

ARE YOUR MEALS COSTING THE EARTH?ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

PHEASANTS AND PEASANTSSHOOTING IN THE CROSSHAIRS

FLUORIDATIONTHE DEBATE

9 770307 481000

0 4

ISSN 0307−4811

Laser Proof

This year’s World Vegan Day and UK Vegan Weekhad more than 1,000 people requesting our WVDpacks. Plant Restaurant ran their own World FoodBanquet to celebrate the start of UK Vegan Weekand in Bristol and Essex there were big bashes forWorld Vegan Day. Because our deadline forpublishing the Winter magazine falls just afterWorld Vegan Day, it has not been possible to reportthe events in the magazine – however, in order not todisappoint you all, we have printed a STOP PRESS sheetthat is being inserted into each copy of the magazine.For more information and ideas for next year, seewww.worldveganday.org.

This year’s World Vegan Day – 1 November 2003 –is special in that it marks the beginning of theSociety’s Diamond Jubilee (60th) year as well as thestart of the run up to the festive season. So let thefestivities begin!

From now until 1 November 2004 we shall be celebratingour 60th anniversary:- We recently published our new and authoritativebook on vegan nutrition, Plant Based Nutrition and HealthYou should have received your Autumn/Winter 2003 catalogue sporting our new T-shirt ‘AgainstAnimal Tasting’ and, of course, lots of new cook books. Give a Society gift voucher as a present and ensure your money is spent wisely.Our revamped website at www.vegansociety.comhas just been unveiled. The new site with its consistentfeel and easy to navigate breadcrumb trail will make ita breeze finding information.Our new booklet ‘Why Vegan?’ is about to be printed.It makes the compelling case for veganism and100,000 of them are to be distributed far and wide.Laurence Main is dedicating his walk down the length of Britain to our Diamond Jubilee. Fancy joining him on a leg of his walk (see p.27). We are sponsoring a world-class vegan cookery competition for chefs at Hotelympia in February. We are working on a schools CD-Rom that is due outduring our Jubilee Year. Aimed at those doing theirGCSEs – imparting information to an age group thatcan make the future caring and compassionate.And that’s just for starters!

I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

The Vegan Society l Donald Watson House l 7 Battle Road l St Leonards-on-Sea l East Sussex l TN37 7AA l UK

Local rate 0845 45 88244 l Tel. 01424 427393 l Fax. 01424 717064 l e-mail: [email protected]

Editor Rick Savage

Design www.doughnutdesign.co.uk

Printed by Hastings Printing Company

On G-print chlorine-free paper

Cover www.gettyimages.com

© The Vegan Society

The views expressed in The Vegan do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or of the Vegan Society Council.

Nothing printed should be construed to be Vegan Society policy unless so stated. The Society accepts no liability for

any matter in the magazine. The acceptance of advertisements (including inserts) does not imply endorsement.

The inclusion of product information should not be construed as constituting official Vegan Society approval for the

product, its intended use, or its manufacturer/distributor. Contributions intended for publication are welcomed, but

unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a SAE.

2 NEWS

4 SHOPAROUND & OFFERS

7 SHOPAROUND EXTRA

8 PHEASANTS AND PEASANTS

10 FLUORIDATION - THE DEBATE

13 KIDS’ PAGE - VEGILANTICS

14 ARE YOUR MEALS COSTING THE EARTH?

17 MAKING A DIFFERENCE

19 GROW VEGAN

20 SUMMER GATHERING

20 UK VEGAN WEEK AWARDS 2003

21 NATIONAL VEGAN FESTIVAL

22 CAVANAGH’S RECIPES

24 A VEGAN WEDDING

27 JUBILEE WALK

29 THE ATKINS DIET DEBUNKED

31 REVIEWS

33 POSTBAG

35 MEGAN THE VEGAN

36 LOCAL GROUPS NEWS

37 EVENTS & LOCAL CONTACTS NEWS

38 LOCAL CONTACTS

40 CLASSIFIEDS

44 PRIZE CROSSWORD

in this issue

The Vegan l Winter 2003 1

2 The Vegan l Winter 2003

News

n AND NOW FOR SOME VERY GOOD NEWS

The latest publication from EPIC-Oxford notes moderate alcoholintake to be associated with thelongest life expectancy - contrary tothe suggestion in the EPIC article inthe last issue of The Vegan.

Meanwhile, a study by ProfessorAlan Crozier, published in thejournal Nature, suggested thatadding milk to chocolate couldcancel out any health benefits thatwere to be gained from chocolate’santi-oxidant properties.http://news.bbc.co.uk

n NEW E.COLI BUG

A new bacterium found in cattle, E.coli 026, isthought to be as dangerous as the notoriousE.coli 0157 and is passed to humans via meatcontaminated with infected cattle faeces. Thebug’s symptoms include stomach pains,vomiting, diarrhoea and fever. It can be fatal,particularly amongst children and the elderly.Mark Stevens from the Institute for AnimalHealth in Compton, Berkshire warns “..Thelikelihood is that these bugs are going to enterthe human food chain more often in thefuture.” What will it take before people juststop eating animal products?

n ‘VEGAN ENERGETIC GORGEOUS ACTIVE NUT!’

Pam Kinnunen proved her fitness and healthon a vegan diet by running the Flora LightChallenge For Women Fun Run in Hyde Park.Wearing a tongue-in-cheek, Vegan Societysponsored T-shirt reading ‘Vegan EnergeticGorgeous Active Nut!’ she ran the 5km in notime at all – driven on by thought of all thedelicious food waiting for her at the NationalVegan Festival. Well done Pam! For Pam’s fullreport of the race see www.worldveganday.org

n URGENT APPEAL TO SAVE SANCTUARY

Sheila and Ray Barber have around 50 animals – rescued from markets and slaughterhouses - at the animal sanctuary they have run for the past 40 years. Financial difficulties threaten closure. Send donations to: Court Lodge Farm, Burwash, Sussex TN19 7BD

n ‘SOMETHING SCARY IN THE DAIRY’

Greenpeace have launched a newcampaign highlighting the widespreaduse of GM animal feed in the dairyindustry. Visit www.greenpeace.org.uk

n VEGAN BUDDY BUS

“The Vegan Buddy Bus" has just beenlaunched by Realfood, a new grassrootsvegan campaign group. The trailer willbe touring events across the country,educating people about veganism.Realfood need help to fund the project – see www.realfood.org.uk or write toRealfood, PO Box 339, WolverhamptonWV10 7BZ for details.

n VEGAN SOCIETY MEMBER ELECTED

Adrian Ramsay – Society member and vegan for 7 years - was elected to NorwichCity Council on 1st May 2003. He is one of three Green Party councillors inNorwich. Adrian said: "Being elected gives me opportunities to promote veganismto the general public. Green Party councillors have been successful in getting theCouncil to stock vegan food in its own services and in proposing this we highlightedthe environmental, health and global justice benefits of veganism as well as thecentral animal rights arguments."

n COWS WITH GUNS

For a bit of light relief from spreading the vegan

message, go to www.shagrat.net/Html/cows.htm

and watch ‘cows with guns’ outwit humanity.

It’s the funniest thing we’ve seen all year!


n 8 OUT OF 10 VEGANS PREFER...

83% of vegans surveyed by the Vegan ResearchPanel said that they feel healthier since changingto a vegan diet, That’s the good news. The badnews is that 89% of correspondents felt poorlycatered for in restaurants and cafes. Where dothe other 11% live?! For the full results of thissurvey see www.imaner.net/panel

n EU ADOPTS NEW FOOD LABELLING RULES

The European Union has adopted an amendment to the food-labelling directive that willrequire allergens - such as milk and egg-based ingredients - to be clearly labeled. As thedirective stands, it is not obligatory to list the components of an ingredient making up lessthan 25% of the final product eg ‘flavourings’. There are still some exceptions, so it’s stillbest to look out for The Vegan Society trademark or check your Animal Free Shopper.

n CUTE CUDDLY AND VEGAN!

Vegan Society member, Sue Clark, has

designed this fantastic T-shirt for little

Raffy to show the world that vegan

children are cute, cuddly and cruelty-free.

n NEW VEGAN SOCIETY LEAFLETS!

Just in case you didn’t spot them in our newwinter catalogue...

Our leather leaflet has been revamped.‘GIVE LEATHER THE BOOT’ counters the more prevalent myths surrounding the leather industry.

‘DON’T PULL THE WOOL OVER YOUREYES’ spells out why vegans avoid usingwool.

Give us a ring if you’d like these or any ofour other leaflets to distribute in your area.Our full range of leaflets can be found inour catalogue or online atwww.vegansociety.com/shop

n BSE IN SHEEP?

A survey of 30,000 sheep brains hasthrown up the worrying possibility that BSEhas passed from cattle into sheep. 28 ofthe samples produced unexplained results,and scientists are now trying to rule outthe worst-case scenario. This could takemonths but the Food Standards Agencyhas issued no public health warning and isnot advising people against eating muttonor lamb. Sound familiar? For moreinformation see James Meikle’s Guardianarticle at www.guardian.co.uk

n EU COSMETICS ANIMAL TESTING BAN UNDER THREAT

The 7th amendment to the EUCosmetics Directive, which bansthe sale and production of animaltested cosmetics and toiletries, isbeing challenged by the Frenchgovernment and a consortium ofcosmetics ingredientsmanufacturers. France is thelargest cosmetics animal tester inEurope and home to boycott-listed companies like L'Oreal.Wendy Higgins, BUAV CampaignsDirector, says: “This proves onceand for all that the beautybusiness is more concerned withturning a profit than with turningtheir back on unethical and cruelpractices." www.buav.org

n 25 YEARS OF GREENCITY, GLASGOW

Congratulations and best wishes toGreencity Wholefoods, Glasgow’s well-known vegetarian workers’ cooperativewholesaler, which recently celebrated its25th anniversary. Call 0141 554 7633or visit www.greencity.co.uk

n VEGAN MANCHESTER GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

Vegans in Manchester should be very wellfed! The newly converted Unicorn grocerycooperative at 89 Albany Road, Chorlton isnow bigger and better than ever. Their100% vegan deli-counter is temptation itself.See www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk for details. A similar transformation has been completedat The Eighth Day, www.eighth-day.co.uk,near the BBC Manchester offices in OxfordStreet. Customers are treated to a new caféand restaurant as well as a new deli counterand shop. In the city centre, at 16 - 20Turner Street in the Northern Quarter, theEarth Café www.earthcafe.co.uk is stilldelighting everyone with its 100% veganmenu. All are great examples for othercaterers to follow.

n NOTHING FISHY ABOUT THIS DISSERTATION!

Yvonne Bishop was awarded The Patrick Holford Prize at this year’s Institute for Optimum Nutritiongraduation for her dissertation on ‘Essential Fatty Acid Status in Vegan Women & the Implications inPregnancy’. This looked at the exclusion of fish from the diet and whether vegan mothers and theirbabies were at risk. Yvonne found that an optimally healthy pregnancy is achievable on a vegan dietand that many risk factors associated with pregnancy are reduced. Yvonne, a qualified NutritionConsultant, can be emailed at

n MEAT-FREE RENDEZVOUS

In the last issue of The Vegan, our recipeswere by Rendezvous in Aberystwyth (31 PierStreet, www.rendezvous.co.uk ). Therestaurant has now made headline newsacross the country. In September, a customerasked staff to reheat some meat-based babyfood. When they politely pointed out theirkitchens were meat-free, the customer madesuch a fuss she had to be asked to leave. Theresult? Fantastic publicity for a restaurant thatprides itself on its meat-free status!


ShoparoundDebbie Holman

¶SPECIAL OFFER¶ ¶

¶¶

n ORIGINAL SOURCE

Four new bath and showerproducts have come just intime for Christmas. Twoshower gels - Spearmint &Lavender and Rose &Geranium – and two bathfoams - Mandarin &Sandalwood and Basil &

Lemongrass. All contain natural oils leaving the skin fragrantand moisturised - washing has never been such fun!www.originalsource.co.uk

There are 50 sets of Original Source Bath products up forgrabs. Write to: Vegan Offer, Original Source, PO Box 494,Preston. PR1 5XF Offer closes 31 January 2004.

n SHEER BLISS NATURAL SOAP

Sheer Bliss soap is hand-made andhand-cut, available in bars of 100gor 1kg logs that you can cutyourself. We tried the LavenderConfetti, rich with shea butterand attractively marbled withpurple and blue. The smellwas heavenly and the latherthick and creamy. Alsoavailable are Orange & Spiceand Wood Rose & Carrageen.Sheer Bliss Natural Soap, POBox 541, Folkestone. CT202WF T. 01303 211085,www.sheer-bliss.co.uk

n CELESTIAL DESIGNS

Their Massage Blends range isdesigned for the stresses and strains ofeveryday living. Each blend containsessential oils in a base of vitamin andmineral-rich oils. The InvigoratingBlend tackles winter sluggishness, theSports Blend prepares the body forstrenuous activity, the PMS EssentialBlend helps women to regain theirhormonal balance each month and theSensual Blend... need we say more?

Celestial Designs, Tan-y-Gyrt Hall, Nantglyn, Denbighshire. LL16 5PD T. 01745 550411, www.aroma-shop.co.uk

A 5ml Lavender-France essential oil free with every order. Quote The Vegan or

use the code on page 41

n SPOFF®MUESLI

Spoff Highland Mueslicombines Scottish oats,cereals, fruit, nuts and

seeds with the unusualaddition of herbs andflowers. We tried theApricot & Elderflower,

Cranberry & SweetCicely, Hazelnut &

Lemon Verbena, Gluten-free Date, Walnut & Sunflower Seed and theOrganic Coconut & Hemp Seed. All were chewy but not gritty with

the gentle taste of herbs and flowers. 500g of Standard Muesli costs£2.00, and the organic and gluten-free varieties cost £2.50

Special prices: 1 bag (500g) anyvariety, or 5 Snackpacks (any variety)£1.75, (carriage charged at cost).Order with name, address, telephoneand payment details to: Spoff® (Scotland) Ltd, 22 Fyrish Way, Alness,Ross-shire. IV17 0PJ T. 01349 880870, Fax. 01808 521464, email [email protected]. Offer closes 31st January 2004

n GREENPEOPLE FACIAL CARE PAMPER PACK

Six luxury items packed inattractive 10ml containers

- perfect for pamperingyourself on weekends away.

Add this to your Christmas list.The pack comprises Gentle

Cleanse, Gentle Tone, Day Solution, DaySolution SPF15, Vitamin Fix and Fruitful Nights. All

were rich, long-lasting and gently scented, made entirely fromorganic ingredients. The pack costs £19.99. Green People,

Brighton Road, Handcross, West Sussex. RH17 6BZ T. 01444 401444, www.greenpeople.co.uk

n HEALTH + PLUS ECHINACEA

Health + Plus have a new Echinacea tincture – perfect to tone up your immune system before

winter takes hold. 50ml is priced at £4.95.Health + Plus, T. 01323 737374,

www.healthplus.co.uk

Buy one, getanother one free

on orders of Echinacea before 31January. Write in, quoting ref. VS1103 to Vegan Offer, Health

+ Plus Ltd, Dolphin House, 30 Lushington Road, Eastbourne,East Sussex. BN21 4LL Orders by phone, Fax. 01323 737375,

email [email protected]

¶

¶SPECIAL OFFER¶ ¶¶

¶¶


¶¶

¶SPECIAL OFFER¶ ¶

¶¶

¶

Christmas SpecialChristmas Special

All Shoparound products have been authenticated as


n NEW REDWOOD CHRISTMAS FAYRE

Redwood have excelled themselves this yeargiving us two new products to make Christmaseven more scrumptious! Their Mature Dairy-freeCheese with Cranberries is a feast for the eye aswell as the taste, perfect with any savouryfestive foods. The Smoked Salmon Style Pate,made from wheat, sunflower oil and soya, is anunusual and delicious topping for crackers orfilling for jacket potatoes. Redwood WholefoodCo., T. 01536 400557,www.redwoodfoods.co.uk

Redwoods are giving away ten mini festive-feasthampers this Christmas. Send your name andaddress (and telephone number to arrangedelivery) on a postcard to: The VeganSociety/Christmas Hamper Offer, The RedwoodCompany, 60 Burkitt Road, Earlstrees IndustrialEstate, Corby, Northants NN17 4DT.Closing date12th December.

n PANTRI NOLWENN’S FRUIT CAKE COGNAC

The finestorganicingredientshave gone into this lusciouswheat-free

cake containingapricots,

sultanas, prunes,currants, apples, cherries, peaches andpears. The finest French cognac is usedand each cake gets a generous 20ml,producing a warm glow in the body that isguaranteed to keep the spirit of Christmasalive! Pantri Nolwenn, 35 Barham Road,Trecwn, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.SA62 5XX T. 01348 840 840

Buy a cognac cake for £9 from PantriNolwenn and receive free postage (worth£2.64). Offer valid for UK mainlandaddresses only. Offer closes 31 December 2003

n FREERANGERS

Freerangers have theanswer to traditionalleather products with a new guitar strap(£45), Aragon belt (£40) and a vegansporran (£60). The guitar strap is soft andstylish with a substantial strap to supportplaying. The belt is thick and flexible. The sporranis perfect for those wishing to wear animal-free Highlanddress. Freerangers, 9b Marquis Court, Low Prudhoe,Northumberland. NE42 6PJ T. 01661 831781, www.freerangers.co.uk ,email [email protected]

The first 10 orders of any of thesethree products will receive free postage. Please quote The Vegan.

n DOVES FARM ORGANIC RYE CRACKERS

Doves Farm wheat-free crackers are theperfect accompaniment to vegan cheesethis Christmas. Crisp, light, nutty andvery tasty they make great sweet orsavoury bases and contain whole grainsfor a healthy lifestyle. Doves Farm, T. 01488 684880, www.dovesfarm.co.uk

The first 25 readersto write in will wina box of 5 TastyBars. VeganReader Offer,Doves FarmFoods Ltd,SalisburyRoad,Hungerford.RG17 0RF

n MEADOWSWEET OLIVE OIL AND GREEN TEA RANGE

This new luxurious range of skincreams and soap is made frommoisturising olive oil and anti-oxidantgreen tea. We tried their MoisturisingCream Gel, Intensive Moisturiser,Nourishing Body Cream andConditioning Soap. The products arethick and rich with a wonderfularoma that lingers on the skin. The creams are £13.49 and the soapis £1.85. Meadowsweet, Unit 1,Uplands Courtyard, StowuplandRoad, Stowmarket, Suffolk. IP14 5ANT. 01449 676940,www.meadowsweet.co.uk, email [email protected]

Buy one of each of the creams andget the soap free. Quote The Veganor use the code on page 41.

n VEGANSTORE’S NEW CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT WAFERS

Vegan ‘Kit Kats’ have arrived at Veganstore and our tasters claim that theyare even more delicious than the conventional thing. Coming in bite-sizedpieces just made for sharing and giving, these make perfect Christmasstocking fillers. Sold in handy 400g (£2.99) and 200g (£1.99) bags.Veganstore, T. 01273 302979, www.veganstore.co.uk


¶¶


¶¶


¶¶


¶¶


¶¶

Experts agree that it is vital toregularly eat foods rich in Omega 3and Omega 6 essential fatty acids -such as the oils found in Udo’s Choice.

Udo’s Choice was developed by Dr.Udo Eramus, one of the world’sleading experts on dietary fat. It is acarefully balanced blend of unrefinedorganic seed oils along with othernutrients vital for good health. And since Udo’s Choice is made onlyfrom plant sources, it is ideal forvegetarians and vegans who don’t eatfish. Because of its fresh nutty taste itenhances the flavour of most savourydishes. It can even be used inhomemade vegan ice cream.

n SKINCARE CAFÉ

This range of quality products is made using organicingredients derived from plants and vegetables.There are four in the range - a cleanser, moisturiser,facemask and facial oil, all are suitable for sensitiveskins - with more coming in the New Year. T. 0870 44 327 44, www.skincafe.com

Thefirst50readers will receive a goodie bagwith the full range of products.Write to: Vegan Offer, SkincareCafé Limited, DudleyHouse Suites 2-4, HighStreet,Bracknell,Berkshire. RG12 1LL


ShoparoundExtra

Debbie Holman

n ESSENTIALLY YOURS BABY RANGE

Perfect for baby but also good for delicate adult skins, made withpure essential oils, free from chemicals, mineral oils and syntheticperfumes. The range comprises Relaxing Mandarin and Vanilla BubbleBath, Gentle Mandarin and Lavender Hair and Body Wash, NourishingVanilla and Mandarin Baby Lotion, Soothing Rose and Litchen Nappy Creamand Calming Lavender and Mandarin Massage Oil. The set comes in an attractive gift bagfor £42.95 or individually from £7.99 to £9.99. T. 01372 465414, www.freeskincare.co.uk

n SEXY REXY FROM RED STAR HAND CRAFTED SOAP

Now evencanines can enjoythat Startreatment withthis new soapdesigned for dogs. Madefrom pure oilsthat leaves theircosts tangle-free.Impregnated with citronella

to keep the bugs at bay. Red StarHandcrafted Soaps,1 Haddon Crescent, New Invention, Willenhall,West Midlands. WV12 5AT T. 01922 712691,www.redstarhandcraftedsoaps.co.uk,email [email protected]

10% discount for readers of The

Vegan. The first 10 enquiries will get

a free bar of Sexy Rexy, and buy two

‘Sexy Rexy’s – get another one free.

Please quote The Vegan magazine.

Offers end 31 December

n AROMAFOODS

Hungarian chefs, Peter andZsuzsa Horvath, set up Aromafoods inOctober 2002, developing a range of vegan snacks suitable foreveryone. The range is free from artificial additives, all are suitable fornut allergy sufferers and many are gluten and wheat-free. We tried theirfalafels, spinach falafels, Mexican beanburgers and spinach and onionbhajis, which were deliciously moist and appetising. T. 0117 983 4076,email [email protected]

n AUBERGINE INTRODUCTIONS

A recently launched introduction agencyexclusively for veggies and vegans.Vegan founder, Claire Mansfield, hasdedicated many years to animal causes.Being happily partnered myself, I couldnot take advantage of the romantic links,although the Just Good Friends sectionwas thought-provoking. Aubergine alsoorganise social events at which like-minded souls can communicate.www.aubergineintroductions.com

n NEW PRODUCTS

FROMLIFEPLAN

Lifeplan haveadded three new

products free from sugar, salt, live yeasts andartificial colours and preservatives. The highstrength – 1,000mcg - Vitamin B12 tabletdissolves under the tongue. The Biotin andThiamin tablets should be taken with food.Lifeplan Products Ltd, T. 01455 556281,www.lifeplan.co.uk

The first 10 applicants drawn on 15December will receive a free pot of B12.Write to Vegan B12 Offer, Lifeplan ProductsLtd, Lutterworth, Leicestershire. LE17 4ND

n TAWAS NATURAL CRYSTAL DEODRANT

Tawas Body Crystal comes in a beautiful bamboo box. Thecrystal left no sticky residue and worked all day withoutinterfering with sensitive skin. Crafted in the Philippines whereit provides work for local people, no harmful chemicals are usedin production. Retail price is £6.50 + 88p p&p. Tawas, 60Limbrick Lane, Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, West Sussex. BN12 6AB T. 0800 074 9645, www.crystal-deodrant.com

10% discount to readers of The Vegan. Place your order via freephone 0800 0749745, quoting The

Vegan. Offer ends 31 January 2004


¶¶


¶¶


¶¶


¶¶


PHEASANTS AND PEASANTS

During the winter months, many (wealthy) people

(non-vegans!) enjoy gamebirds such as pheasant,

partridge or grouse for dinner as a pleasant change

from boring old chicken or turkey.

Traditionally, freshly-shot gamebirds

must be hung for a while before

being cooked and eaten. This is

to allow the natural processes

of decomposition to soften

the stringy flesh. In other

words, rotting! Some say

they should be hung

until they fall off the

hook!

Pheasants

The pheasant is probably

the most attractive-looking

bird found wild in Britain -

at least the male of the

species, with his colourful

and iridescent plumage; the

female is brown and

inconspicuous by comparison.

In fact, the pheasant is not actually

native to Britain, or even Europe - its

original home was in China, but it was

introduced to Europe, and to Britain, many

centuries ago.

The pheasant does well in the British climate, and can now be

regarded as a normal part of the British fauna.

However, it can no longer be regarded as a truly

wild species.

Much of the British countryside is

managed with pheasant shooting in

mind. Pheasants do best in a landscape

which is a patchwork of woodland and

various crops, and for centuries

shooting estates have been developing

this type of landscape. Tenant farmers

are often required by landowners to

grow specified crops which provide

either food or cover for gamebirds.

Needless to say, the farmers are not

compensated for what the pheasants eat!

Pheasant shooting is a multi-million pound industry in

the British countryside, and huge numbers are shot for fun by

those wealthy enough to afford it, to the extent that the

birds existing in the wild would soon be wiped out. So, to

top up the numbers, young birds are bred in large hatcheries,

along similar lines to the production of broiler chickens.

They arrive on the estates as newly hatched chicks and are

reared in pens by gamekeepers, who feed them every day

and protect them from predators. Not surprisingly, the

young pheasants become quite tame, and greet

their keeper like an old friend when he

arrives with food. Eventually, they are

released into the wild. Estimates of

the numbers released every year

vary from 22 million to 35

million in the UK.

The newly released

pheasants are at first

reluctant to leave the

comparative safety of the

pens, but gradually adapt

to a free existence. But

what a shock awaits them

on the First of October!

This is the start of the

shooting season. Pheasants

are very good at hiding in

undergrowth when

threatened, and it is considered

"unsporting" to shoot them on

the ground, so it is necessary for

"beaters", usually local farm workers,

unemployed people and other

"peasants", to force them out of cover, and

into the air. Sometimes the young birds are still so

tame that they run towards the beaters, expecting to be fed!

When pheasants take to the wing, they rise very steeply, and

very fast, making them harder to shoot - one of the

reasons pheasant shooting is so highly regarded,

it is "more of a challenge"!

There is enormous slaughter in a pheasant

drive, but not every bird is killed. Some

escape wounded, to die a lingering

death later. Some escape unscathed,

but face further shoots. Some survive

the entire shooting season, going on to

join the wild breeding population next

year.

Left alone, the pheasant population would

find its place in the local ecosystem, and

numbers would settle down, controlled by

natural predators. However, the introduction of

reared birds, and the killing of predators by

gamekeepers, leads to unnaturally high numbers in summer

and well through the shooting season. This has "knock-on"

effects on other wildlife, and the entire environment. Many

species suffer from competition for food by pheasants.

George Rodger Pictures courtesy of Animal Aid


Some suffer directly - it is believed that many reptiles are

eaten by pheasants. In Holland, an entire colony of rare sand

lizards was lost because of intensive pheasant production in

the area.

Pheasant shooting is a lowland activity, in typical

mixed farmland. Partridges are also shot in

the same sort of countryside. While they

can be reared in captivity, like pheasants,

there is little mass-production of

partridges, and most partridges in the

British countryside are living wild and

free.

Red Grouse

Another bird that is highly regarded by

shooters is the red grouse, a bird of the

high moors, found only in Britain. It flies

fast and close to the ground, making it hard to

shoot and "more of a challenge". Many upland

estates in Scotland and Yorkshire are managed for

grouse shooting. A grouse moor, which many people think of

as unspoiled nature, is actually a highly managed system.

Unlike pheasants, grouse cannot be bred in captivity

for artificial stocking, so management is confined

to manipulating the environment. Grouse

feed entirely on heather, and the insects

associated with it, and they do best in a

patchwork of heather of different ages.

Old, shrubby heather is burnt

periodically to be replaced naturally by

young heather growth the following

year. Burning also kills any insects,

small mammals or small birds in the

long heather, and any naturally-seeded

young trees.

Differently managed, a grouse moor could

become a naturally regenerating forest, with a

wide diversity of wildlife, capable of producing

timber and other forest products, or for recreational

use without guns.

The most popular, lazy, way to shoot grouse is

from "butts". These are simple, semi-

permanent shelters on the moor, built and

maintained by gamekeepers and "ghillies"

(gamekeepers’ assistants). The shooters

are taken there in 4x4 vehicles, so they

don’t even have to do any walking, and

just sit in the butts (on their butts!)

until the birds appear, driven towards

them by beaters. They don’t even have

to reload their shotguns, as they have

ghillies with them to perform that

tedious chore. The shot birds are

collected by the dogs and the ghillies, who

also have to kill any wounded birds, by

crushing the head or wringing the neck. The

beaters are usually local schoolchildren, students etc

("peasants" again!) who are still on vacation at the start of

the grouse-shooting season. Once the schools and colleges

restart, any later-season shooters may have to make do with

"walking up". This is a more energetic, and therefore less

popular, style of shooting. The shooters, with a few keepers

and ghillies, walk in line abreast, with dogs, to drive the birds

into the air, where they are shot at. In effect, they are acting

as their own "beaters" - the poor dears even have to

do their own reloading! The dogs retrieve the

birds, which are carried in bags by the

keepers and ghillies, who also have to kill

any injured birds.

Traditionally, grouse shooting starts on

the twelfth of August, the so-called

"Glorious Twelfth". (If the twelfth is a

Sunday, shooting does not start until

Monday the thirteenth.) The House of

Commons always used to rise before the

Inglorious Twelfth, to allow Honourable

Members to get to the grouse moors;

fewer MPs now belong to the shooting

classes, but the traditional recess still survives.

Shooters and shooting

In recent decades, shooters have had an extra frisson of

uncertainty, that "sabbers" may disrupt the whole

day. No doubt this extra thrill adds to the

excitement!

Shooting, whether of pheasants,

partridges or grouse, provides permanent

employment for gamekeepers and

ghillies, and seasonal casual work for

beaters (not many are accidentally

shot!). Often, other work in the area is

scarce, or totally lacking. However,

workers on shooting estates are not

particularly well paid - most of the big

money goes into the pockets of large

landowners, and helps them to maintain their

stately homes. There are many other forms of

land use which would not only avoid mass killing,

but would also provide more employment for local

peasantry.

Shooting is harmful to the birds. It is harmful to

the environment. In my view it is even

harmful to the people who do the shooting.

To gain pleasure from killing, and violent

killing with guns at that, surely

diminishes their humanity!

[Ed: To mark the start of the shooting

season on 1st October, Animal Aid has

produced a special pack of playing

cards using sharp wit to reveal the

sordidness of pheasant rearing and

shooting. Packs were sent to Princes

William and Harry. Animal Aid are selling the

packs for £4 each, purchase online at

www.animalaid.org.uk/shop/gifts.htm

T. 01732 364546. If you would like more details about the

Hunt Saboteurs Association T. 0845 450 0727

or visit www.huntsabs.org.uk.]

THE CASE FOR

Professor Michael A Lennon, Chair of the British Fluoridation Society


By the mid-1930s it was established

that fluoride naturally present in

drinking water at a concentration of

around one part of fluoride per

million parts of water was associated

with lower levels of tooth decay. As

a result the United States Public

Health Service and others established

a series of longitudinal clinical

studies to establish whether

artificially adjusting the fluoride

concentration of drinking water

(water fluoridation) had the same

effects. The first of these was

established in Grand Rapids in

Michigan in 1945 and others

followed. The results were

consistent – artificially adjusting the

fluoride concentration of drinking

water also reduced the levels of

tooth decay and this reduction was

clinically important.

Fluoridation and dental health

Currently in the UK, around 10% of the

population benefit from a fluoridated

water supply – mainly in the West

Midlands and the North East of England.

Children living in these areas have

amongst the best dental health in the

country.

However, children living in socially

deprived, non-fluoridated areas of the UK

continue to suffer unacceptably high

levels of tooth decay. Manchester Dental

Hospital, for example, runs 3 general

anaesthetic sessions for children every

week, and at each an average of 6

decayed teeth per child are extracted.

Last year at the Hospital a total of 1,500

general anaesthetics were given to

children for tooth extraction. And the

problem is not just confined to

Manchester. In socially deprived, non-

fluoridated communities throughout the

UK as many as one in three children

under 5 years of age will have a general

anaesthetic for the removal of decayed

teeth. Water fluoridation in areas such

as these would dramatically reduce the

need for general anaesthetics for tooth

extraction within 4 years of

implementation, and as a result would

significantly improve the health and well-

being of some of our most vulnerable

youngsters.

Current and proposed legislation

The 1985 Water (Fluoridation) Act - allows

health authorities to consider fluoridation

after widespread local publicity and

consultation. If the Health Authority

decides in favour it makes a formal

approach to the Water Undertaker who

may then fluoridate the supply. Since

1985, the water industry has argued that

the word “may” gives them a discretion

they do not welcome. Following pressure

from the Water Industry, the British Medical

Association, the British Dental Association

and MPs, the Government has tabled an

amendment to the Water Bill currently

progressing through Parliament. The effect

would be to place decisions about water

fluoridation clearly with communities in

consultation with their health advisers and

leave the water companies simply as an

agent. The House of Lords supported the

Government proposal with a huge majority

(153 to 31) and the Bill is now proceeding

through the House of Commons.

Support for fluoridation

The World Health Organisation, the British

Medical Association, the British Dental

Association and most other major medical

and dental organisations worldwide

endorse the safety and benefits of

fluoridation. Reviews of the evidence –

including most recently by the University of

York NHS Centre for Reviews and

Dissemination - have shown that water

fluoridation is effective in reducing tooth

decay and have failed to find evidence of

harm. Whilst the evidence underpinning

fluoridation could certainly be strengthened

(and the Medical Research Council has

recently made recommendations on how

this can be done which the Government is

actively pursuing) there is currently no

evidence to justify withholding this benefit

from communities who support it.

Fluoride in water

Fluoride occurs naturally in all drinking

water (indeed, in Hartlepool or parts of

East Anglia the natural level reaches the

optimal for dental health of around 1

ppm). It is also commonly found in many

foods and drinks (e.g. tea). Fluoride

added to water supplies is, in our view,

broadly equivalent to fortification of

cereals with vitamins and iron, the

addition of vitamins A and D to

margarines, and the addition of calcium

and other nutrients to most types of

flour. Furthermore, as argued by John

Harris, Professor of Bioethics at the

University of Manchester, there is no

fundamental right to fluoride-free

drinking water. Individuals may have

personal preferences, but when

considering a public utility service

these must be balanced against the

potential health benefits to the

community as a whole and, in

particular, to children living in

poverty.

Two compounds of fluoride are permitted

by the Water Industry Act for fluoridation

in the UK: hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6),

and sodium hexafluorosilicate (Na2SiF6).

Both are included on the Drinking Water

Inspectorate’s list of approved

substances. They are imported

specifically for water fluoridation, achieve

the desired concentration of fluoride

reliably and safely, and meet Department

of Environment purity specifications.

Clearly these compounds are not tested

on humans “neat” – but as the finished

product (i.e. water fluoridated at 1mg/l).

Safe and beneficial

Water fluoridation has been practised

since 1945 and provides clear benefits

for over 350 million people in the USA,

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil

and elsewhere.

We believe that increasing the coverage

in the UK from the current 10% to

around 30% targeted to communities

with high levels of dental caries of the

population would bring substantial

clinical benefits. Those benefits would

clearly manifest in young children within

4 years.

FLUORI

perfect teeth



Children in our area have the worstdental health and water

fluoridation will reduce tooth decay by50%. All we want to do is top up thefluoride which occurs naturally inwater." So runs the mantra in townsand cities across the UK. Is it true? No,and no, and no again.

Fluorine and fluoride

"Fluoride" is a generic term for fluorinewhen combined with another element. Forexample: fluorine + calcium = calciumfluoride; fluorine + aluminium = aluminiumfluoride; fluorine + lead = lead fluoride,and so on. There are literally hundredsof fluorides and all of them are toxic tohumans. The fluoride that occursnaturally, at low levels, in UK waters iscalcium fluoride. This is relatively insolubleand passes relatively harmlessly through thebody - provided it is at low levels. In someareas, as in parts of India, calcium fluorideoccurs at high levels in water and soil andcauses severe skeletal effects. The IndianGovernment is heavily involved in providingde-fluoridation schemes in order to providesafe drinking water to affected populations.

Fluoride in water

The two chemicals permitted for use inartificial fluoridation schemes are disodiumfluorosilicate and hexafluorosilicic acid.Both are derived from the pollutionscrubbers of the phosphate fertiliserindustry and have never been toxicologicallytested, nor licensed as fit for humanconsumption. They are not watertreatment chemicals. They are added todrinking water with the intent of effectingbiological change in humans and are thusunlicensed medicines. These fluorosilicatescontain arsenic, lead, beryllium, cadmium,vanadium, mercury, silica and radionuclides.They are not "fluoride"; they arefluorosilicates.

Both of the fluoridation chemicals failedFormal Vote in Europe, but weresubsequently "nodded through" and givenEuropean Numbers, followed by BritishStandard ENs in order to permit thecontinuation of existing fluoridationschemes in this country and in theRepublic of Ireland.

Dental public health officers say that the"fluoride" used in water fluoridation is "ofhigh purity" and is "quality assured."

The fact is that one can obtain arsenic (a known human carcinogen) of "highpurity" which is "quality assured"illustrates the nonsense parroted to thepublic by promoters of water fluoridation.

Fluorides and oral health

The World Health Organisation is wellaware of the harmfulness of fluorides. Inthe conclusion to the WHO monograph,Fluorides and Oral Health (1994), theywarn: "Dental and public healthadministrators should be aware of thetotal fluoride exposure in the populationbefore introducing any additional fluoridetreatment for caries prevention." Suchtesting is never carried out, although weare exposed to fluorides from a wide rangeof sources, including toothpaste, mouthrinses, drops, tablets, gels, tea, medicinesand anaesthetics, pesticide and herbicideresidues and even from the polluted airthat we breathe.

Tens of thousands of scientific papers havebeen published in peer reviewed scientificjournals attesting to the adverse healtheffects of fluorides. The most obvious,visible effect is dental fluorosis.

Flourosis

Dental fluorosis is a permanent conditionfor which there is no cure. It is a form ofhypoplasia of the enamel that results fromhigh exposures (from a variety of sources)to fluorides during tooth development.The effects range from barely visible whitepatches, to rust coloured staining or darkbrown striations or "mottling" with pittingof the teeth.

Proponents of fluoridation andGovernment advisers dismiss dentalfluorosis as unimportant - "merely acosmetic issue". However, ProfessorTrevor Sheldon, MSc, DSc, FmedSci,founding director of the NHS Centre for

Reviews and Dissemination at theUniversity of York, has written of hisconcern that the results of the York Reviewon water fluoridation were (and are) beingwidely misrepresented by proponents offluoridation, naming the British DentalAssociation, the British MedicalAssociation, the British Fluoridation Societyand the National Alliance for Equity inDental Health.

"The review found water fluoridationto be significantly associated withhigh levels of dental fluorosis whichwas not characterised as 'just acosmetic issue'. The review did notshow water fluoridation to be safe..."

The York Report on the effects drinkingwater fluoridation (2000) found that theincidence of dental fluorosis was 48% anddental fluorosis "of concern" was 12.5%in fluoridated areas. This is scientificevidence of significant over-exposure totoxic levels of fluorides.

From a Newcastle NHS Trust study in 2000,we know that the incidence of dentalfluorosis more than doubled in thefluoridated area with a 6-fold increase in"aesthetically important" dental fluorosis.

Toxicologists recognise dental fluorosis as"the first visible sign of fluoridepoisoning."

In a Written Answer to a question byLord Balwin, Baroness Haymanresponded for the Government:

"We accept that dental fluorosis is amanifestation of systemic toxicity..." - Hansard, 20 Apr 1999 : WA 158.

Mass medication

The new Water Bill contains a clause that,if passed, will compel water companies tofluoridate at the request of strategic healthauthorities, following "publicconsultations", for which there are, as yet,no details. The Government knows thatwater fluoridation will double theincidence of children being poisoned, evenin non-fluoridated areas.

The right to refuse medication is a HumanRight that is not negotiable, neither viaconsultation nor by any other means.Clause 61 violates human rightslegislation.

"

DATIONTHE CASE AGAINST

Jane Jones, National Pure Water Association

fluorosis - teeth of 8yr old in New Zealand



Welcome to the Christmas 2003 Kids’ Page

Bronwyn:Since welastwrote,we havebeen ona short

holiday, along holiday

and aweekend away.

Aisha: Our shortholiday was in Paris. We stayed at areally nice hotel named Hotel Williams duPré and saw such sites as L’Arc deTriomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dameand Sacré Coeur. Bronwyn: We had a boat trip on abateau mouche.Aisha: We practically lived on fruit andbread while in Paris.Bronwyn: One evening we went to AuGrain de Folie, near Sacré Coeur.Aisha: A small restaurant but absolutelywonderful food.Bronwyn: For our long holiday, wewent on a mountaineering trip toSwitzerland staying at three differenthotels. It was my first time flying. Weflew with Swiss Air, but couldn’t bookvegan meals.Aisha: The first hotel in Davos had ourfax saying we were vegan but hadn’tpassed the information to the restaurant.The restaurant staff were very helpful,giving us tomato soup without the creamone night and making us potato soup thenext. There were fruit and vegetables forour other three courses and, forbreakfast, a good choice of rolls, fruit andseeds. On the second day, we walked forfour hours to the top of Jakobshorn(2590m); on the third, we walked eighthours through mountains and valleysfrom Davos to Arosa.Bronwyn: At Arosa, they didn’t knowwe were vegan. I found a dead fly in mysalad the first night, and the second, alive caterpillar crawling on the lastraspberry in my fruit salad. Mummyasked the receptionist to call the thirdhotel to explain what we did and didn’teat listening while they did it.Aisha: On the fifth day we travelled toLenzerheide. We were going to walk buttook the train because it was snowing

and foggy at the top of Hörnli (2513m).At Lenzerheide, for a fifth night, we wereoffered fruit for pudding - Mummy askedif they could do something different forthe next two nights.Bronwyn: Next day we hired mountainbikes. I rode on a trailer bike withMummy around the mountains. Aftercycling, we went to Café Aurora wherewe asked them to find us vegan cakes – mine had jam in the middle. Then wewent swimming.Aisha: That night after choosing fromthe salad bar we had melon, mushroomswith stuffing, gnocchi in tomato sauce,and for pudding they made us crèmecaramel with soya milk.

Bronwyn: On our last day we walked toParpaner Rothorn. It was very hotwalking up, taking five hours, but at thetop it was 4˚C and we made a snowman.Switzerland was definitely our bestholiday ever but were disappointed toonly see deer on postcards and menus. Aisha: When we left, Mummy told thereceptionist it was the best hotel of thethree. The receptionist said we shouldbring a recipe book next time and tellthem which four courses we wanted eachnight and they would prepare them.Bronwyn: We camped in Salisbury forour weekend away, seeing David Essex inconcert. It was Aisha’s present for her11th birthday.

Aisha: After the concert we went to theAsia Restaurant. On the menu Mummypointed out the vegetarian menu thatsaid vegetarian food was cooked insunflower oil without colouring. Afterchoosing our meals, Mummy told thewaiter what we did and didn’t eat. Heasked if it was an allergy or because ofreligion. Mummy explained it was forethical reasons - that we becamevegetarian after discovering factoryfarming and vegan after discovering thecruelty of the dairy industry. The waitersaid “That’s really cool!”Bronwyn: Apart from holidays, we atefree food samples at the Vegan Festival;went to Newchurch Guinea Pig Farm fora demonstration and to Cambridge forthe Stop Primate Experiments AtCambridge (SPEAC) national march inOctober. Aisha: In the children’s room at theVegan Festival I got to make Japanesepictures by dipping paper into foodcolouring.Bronwyn: I got story books from theViva! stall and our friend Greta got a bagof Trudy Scrumptious chocolate truffleswhich really lived up to their name. FromVeganstore, we got a jar of stripeychocolate spread and lots of shavinglotion for grandad.Aisha: We are looking forward toChristmas but decided, instead of buyingpresents, to be environmentally friendlythis year by doing something fun.Mummy hasn’t yet told us what ourmystery Christmas event will be but we’llstill be making trifle and Christmas cakelike last year. I don’t like brussel sproutsand it’s usually at Christmas that Mummydoes something unusual with something Idon’t like, so that I learn to like it. Bronwyn: We hope to have fun thisChristmas. Enjoy your Christmas meal.Aisha: And thanks for all your letters.

Please send your stories, poems, pictures& photos to:Bronwyn & Aisha’s Vegilanticsc/o The Vegan Society, Donald Watson House, 7 Battle Road, St Leonards-on-Sea,East Sussex, TN37 7AA or Email [email protected] with“Vegilantics” in the subject line.

Bronwyn (life vegan ) is 7. Aisha her sister is 11 and has been vegan as long as Bronwyn and vegetarian since before she was born!


As individuals, we can reduce our car use, limit the amount

of water we waste, become more energy-efficient, choose

to boycott companies that we deem to be environmental

villains and we can reduce, re-use and recycle. We should also

remember that, as vegans, we have already taken a significant

step towards lessening our environmental impact.

Meat-intensive diets contribute to worldwide environmental

degradation - to global warming, deforestation, desertification,

water pollution and the malnourishment of millions of people.

And the problems don’t end there...

THE WASTELAND

“The roots of the biodiversity crisis are

not "out there" in the forest or on the

savannah, but embedded in the way we

live.” World Resources Institute1

The raising of livestock takes up more than

two-thirds of agricultural land.2 Grain is

grown to feed animals that will in turn be

eaten by humans. This is entirely inefficient.

Animals convert only a proportion of the

plant energy they consume into energy in

the form of meat, milk or eggs; the rest is

used by the animal to perform day to day

functions such as keeping warm and moving

around.3 This means that land used to grow

feed crops or to graze animals is being

squandered, while 25,000 people die every

day through hunger-related causes.4

This land misuse is not only inefficient and

unsustainable, but also causes serious environmental damage.

Overgrazing is blamed for 35% of soil degradation, a problem

that has become so grave that the Food and Agriculture

Organisation (FAO) calls it “a serious threat to food

security...the livelihood systems (and ultimately the survival) of

some human communities are at risk and...a massive loss of

biological diversity is likely to occur.”5 Globally nearly 2 billion

hectares of land are affected by degradation to various degrees.

The other two main causes of the problem – deforestation and

arable farming - are also directly related to livestock production.

As soil becomes more and more degraded through overuse,

most of the land for replacement and expansion comes from

the world’s forests. The FAO estimates that the net loss of

forests in the 1990s as a whole was 94 million hectares.6

This represents an area larger than Venezuela. Some studies

suggest that the expansion of agricultural land accounts for

more than 60 percent of the damage.7 In fact, so much of the

land that was once carpeted with tropical rainforests is now

used to graze beef cattle that the process has become known

as the ‘hamburgerisation’ of the forests.

This wholesale destruction of forest environments directly

contributes to loss of biodiversity. Tropical rainforests, although

covering only 10% of the world’s surface, are thought to contain

about 90% of all species – many of which have never been studied.8

A report commissioned by the FAO, the US Agency for

International Development (USAID) and the World Bank

concluded that industrial livestock production

contributes to species loss through “its

demand for concentrate feed, which

changes land use and intensifies cropping.

The production of feed grains, in particular,

adds additional stress on biodiversity

through habitat loss and damages in

ecosystem functioning.”9

Plant-based diets require less land and so

contribute less to developing world hunger,

land degradation and loss of biodiversity.

WATER

“At the beginning of the twenty-first

century, the Earth, with its diverse and

abundant life forms, including over six

billion humans, is facing a serious water

crisis.”10 UN Water Assessment Programme

A plant-based diet also requires far less water than a diet based

on animal products.

Worldwide, agriculture uses up 70% of fresh water resources.11

This is mainly because large areas of cropland are irrigated to

make them agriculturally viable and to increase and improve

yields. As has been shown, much of this land is entirely wasted

by being used to grow feed crops for livestock rather than food

for people. The water used on this land – as well as that

consumed directly by livestock – represents yet another wasted

resource.

There has been much disagreement over how much water is

squandered in this way. Professor David Pimentel of Cornell

University’s Ecology Department has calculated that it takes

around 100 times more water to produce 1kg of beef than it

does to produce 1kg of wheat.12 Beckett and Oltjen found the

ARE YOUR MEALSCOSTING THE EARTH?

Catriona Toms looks at the destructive effect of animal products on our environment

Environmental issues can often seem to be beyond our control, something for governments or pressure groups to sort

out, but most of the problems have been caused by our lifestyles, and so the first step towards solving them is to

change those lifestyles.

© Greenpeace/Lu Tongjing

© Greenpeace/Dang Ngo


difference to be in the region of 30 times more water for 1kg of

beef.13 However, all agree that plants use much less water than

animals.

At present, 1.1 billion people have no access to safe watersupplies. Continuing to waste water by raising livestock is notonly unsustainable - it is a moral outrage.

But wasted water is not the only problem. A dairy cowproduces 57 litres of excreta every day.14 The global figure forwaste from factory farms is in the region of 8 billion tonnes peryear.15 When this waste leaches into groundwater and runs offto pollute lakes and waterways, it can cause seriousenvironmental problems.

ENERGY

“Global warming has emerged as themost serious environmental threat ofthe 21st century...Only by taking actionnow can we insure that futuregenerations will not be put at risk.”Excerpt from a letter to the US Presidentfrom 49 Nobel Prize winning scientists.

Of all the environmental problems we face,global warming should concern us most.Caused by the accumulation of ‘greenhousegases’ in the atmosphere, increasing globaltemperatures and the resultant changes inweather patterns could have disastrousconsequences for life on earth.

The vast majority of climate scientists agreethat this is largely a problem of our making,with carbon dioxide released by the burningof fossil fuels being the main contributor.When we think of fossil fuels, we think ofpetrol, light bulbs, oil platforms and power stations. In fact, theonly thing that links fossil fuels to food is the cooker, right?Wrong.

Energy is used in a number of ways in the livestock industry.Amongst these are: the growing, processing and transportationof feed; the building, upkeep and ventilation of farm buildings;the transportation of animals, their products and their wastesand the fuelling of farm machinery.

A study conducted by the US Department of Agricultureconcluded that their results “pointedly reveal the high level ofdependency of the US beef cattle industry on fossil fuels.”16 Thisreview of energy inputs versus energy outputs in food caloriesfound that while corn and barley produce about five times asmuch food energy as the energy used in production, beefproduction uses about three times as much energy as the foodenergy produced. Other animal products show similar trends.

So a plant-based diet uses substantially less energy than a dietbased on animal products, but that’s not the only reason thevegan diet contributes less towards global warming.

Methane is second only to carbon dioxide as a contributor to‘man-made’ greenhouse gas emissions. It is produced bybacteria in the stomachs of ruminants such as sheep, cattle, andgoats and is farted and belched out. Dairy cows have beencalculated to produce roughly 30kg more methane per yearthan free-range beef cattle (84kg and 54kg respectively), largelybecause of differences in diet and levels of exercise.

In addition to these direct impacts, animal husbandry alsocontributes to global warming indirectly, one of the majorproblems being the felling of forests to provide land to growfood for cattle, resulting in fewer trees to absorb carbon dioxide.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

There are no easy answers to the environmental problems thatthe world now faces. Many changes will have to be made on agovernmental and international level, but as consumers we canalso choose to reduce our individual impact. Changing our dietis one of the most effective ways of doing this. Environmentallyconscious consumers are becoming more and more aware ofthe benefits of buying locally produced, seasonal, organic food,but the impacts of the consumption of animal products are

often overlooked – it’s time we changed that.

This article is based on our in-depth report‘Animal Products and the Environment’ whichcan be viewed at www.vegansociety.com orfor £1 from The Vegan Society.

Our ‘ARE YOUR MEALS COSTING THEEARTH?’ leaflet highlights the environmentalproblems caused by the consumption ofanimal products. Please help educateenvironmentally conscious consumersabout the benefits of veganism bydistributing this leaflet at local greenfairs, wholefood shops, libraries andstalls. See catalogue for details.

“American feed (for livestock) takes somuch energy to grow that it might aswell be a petroleum byproduct.”WorldWatch Institute17

REFERENCES All websites accessed October 2003

1 WRI, Biodiversity and protected areas www.wri.org/wri/biodiv/b02-gbs.html2 C. de Haan, H. Steinfeld & H. Blackburn, ‘Livestock and the Environment:Finding a Balance’ FAO, USAID, World Bank, 19983 See, for example, Prof. V. Smil, ‘Rationalizing Animal Food Production,’ inFeeding the World: A Challenge for the 21st Century, MIT Press, London, 2000 and P. W. Gerbens-Leenes et al. ‘A method to determine land requirementsrelating to food consumption patterns,’ Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 2002; 90:47-584 FAO, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 20025 FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture 19966 FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 20007 R. Goodland & D. Pimentel, ‘Sustainability and Integrity in the AgricultureSector,’ Ecological Integrity: Integrating Environment, Conservation andHealth, D. Pimentel, L. Westra, R. F. Noss (eds), Island Press, 20008 UNEP, GEO: Global Environment Outlook 3www.unep.org/GEO/geo3/english/220.htm9 C. de Haan, H. Steinfeld & H. Blackburn, 1998, op cit.10 Water for People, Water for Life, Executive Summary, The UN WaterDevelopment Report, World Water Assessment Programme, 200311 FAO, Review of agricultural water use per country,www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/aquastat/water_use/index.stm 12 R. Goodland & D. Pimentel, 2000, op cit.13 J.L. Beckett & J.W. Oltjen, ‘Estimation of the Water Requirement for BeefProduction in the United States,’ J. Anim. Sci. 1993, 71:818-82614 J R Archer & R J Nicholson, ‘Liquid Wastes from Farm Animal Enterprises,’Farm Animals and the Environment, C Phillips and D Piggins, (eds) CABInternational,199215 C. de Haan Livestock production and sustainable use of the global natural resource base Invited paper to the Congress of the American Veterinary Medical Association16 R.K. Heitschmidt, et al. ‘Ecosystems, Sustainability, and Animal Agriculture,’ Journal of Animal Science 1996; 74:1395-140517 WorldWatch Institute ‘The Price of Beef’ 1994

© Greenpeace/Cunningham, John

THE ANIMAL FREE SHOPPER £4.99

Our most popular book is also the most

comprehensive guide to vegan products ever.

Don't go shopping without it.

vegansociety.com/shop

Itrust you’ve all had time to read your copy of the

Society’s Annual Report and Accounts 2002-03. If you

have, you were no doubt delighted to find out how

much has been achieved within limited resources – the

increased media presence, the increased activity, the

increased membership, the increased number of

trademark holders and local contacts. Just imagine how

much more could be achieved with a little more money,

a few more staff and even more active local contacts

and volunteers.

Renewal

The vegan movement is reaffirming its vision for acompassionate future and renewing its conviction that we canmake a difference. Every day people are discovering how easyit is to change their lifestyle towards a cruelty-free one andsend the crystal clear message to companies around theworld that profits built on animal exploitationwon’t be tolerated.

Fortunate

We are really lucky that so many of ourmembers give up their valuable sparetime to help clear the path for newpeople exploring veganism and somake the road to a kinder worldless bumpy.

Why not?

Choosing a vegan option isappealing to an ever larger numberof people – and it’s not necessarily anexclusively vegan preference. Where avegan product tastes as good, is asgood value for money and is as easilyavailable, then the question becomes not“why” but “why not” be kinder to animals,people and the environment.

Changing Attitudes

We’re making a difference by attending trade exhibitions,influencing decision makers and getting involved with like-minded organisations. Even when companies like Sainsbury,Tesco, the Co-op and Hovis aren’t convinced about using ourtrademark, they have voluntarily started to provide clearerlabelling helpful to vegans, warning us of hitherto hiddeningredients.

Moving Forward

You can help move things forward. The train companies’excuse for not stocking Pritchitt’s soya milk pots was that ‘wenever get asked for it’. So always ask. Speak to a person incharge and try not to accept “sorry we don’t” for an answer.Strive for a “we will, if and when” reply. If you are notsatisfied with the response ask for the contact details of asupervisor or those of a customer services department. You deserve the same level of service as other customers.

ActionTrading standards and trade descriptions laws loosely protectus against misrepresentation. When a product is misleadinglysold as vegan or vegetarian and it’s not, contact your localcouncil’s trading standards office – they may well be able tohelp. There is currently no legal definition of the word vegan– the nearest you can get is the Vegan Society trademark –but part of the law is interpreted as “publicly perceived tobe”, so if a vegan curry can be found to contain traces ofmeat, milk or eggs it can be argued that “due diligence” hasnot been observed.

Tools of the tradeThe Vegan Society has invested most of its available resourcesinto providing the tools necessary to prove that a vegan diet iseasy, healthy and an attainable solution to many of the world’sproblems.

n The Animal Free Shopper gets bigger andbetter with every edition - let us know if

there is anything or anyone that shouldbe included in the next edition - or

removed. As well as a printedversion, a new online version is

planned.n Plant Based Nutrition and

Health provides factual evidencebased on human studies that avegan diet can be healthier and,with the right choices, can add 10years of healthy life. We can

supply copies at an attractive discount to doctors, health workers,

dietitians, scientific correspondentsand qualified nutritional therapists.n Why Vegan? is a our new free

booklet that makes the positive case for avegan solution and gently encourages readers

to do as much as they can to make a difference. n www.vegansociety.com enables us to make all the

facts and figures available to the maximum number of people at minimum cost, 24 hours a day.

n www.worldveganday.org has, in just 12 months, grownto be a major international networking tool for vegans to meet, discuss, exchange recipes and information and encourage each other. For members there is an email discussion forum vegansoc-talk; if you would like to join send an email to [email protected] including yourfull name, membership number and postcode.

n Vegducational CD-ROM – is being produced in consultation with teachers to ensure it’s a practical tool, is compatible with the national curriculum and will enhance the lessons of students taking their GCSEs. School kids need to be given access to the facts so they are fully equipped to make up their own minds and spot the failings of the status quo. If you’d like to support this project, donations over £50 will receive a thank you on the CD and a certificate of sponsorship.

Tony Weston

MAKING A DIFFERENCE



Volunteers from Vegan-Organic Trustwill now be writing this column for

you. Among other themes we are goingto feature advice and information onpractical veg growing, indoor growingand topics such as vegan permaculture.We really want to serve readers’ needson this page, so write to the editor, saywhat you think should be included andwe’ll do our best.

All vegans face a dilemma: we don’t want toconsume animal derived food but the fact isthat animal manures and slaughterhouse by-products are used extensively to grow ourgroceries – especially if we buy ‘organic.’ Theanswer of course is to embark on ‘growingour own’ using animal-free methods. Wecan also help to spread the message thatanimal free gardening and indeed agricultureis not only perfectly possible, but alsoenvironmentally essential. All life ultimatelydepends on plants, and the plants do nothave to be wastefully passed through ananimal in order to provide a material that canfeed the soil.

Compost conundrum Gardening should be about enjoying yourselfbut seems beset by problems! Finding ready-made seed and potting composts that areboth chemical free and animal-free has beentricky for vegans. Most ready-made organicseed/potting composts contain animalresidues such as blood, fish and bone. The few animal-free composts tend to begood but expensive, especially as mostpeople have to send for them by post.

B & Q multi purpose organic compost nowprovides a cheap solution. This is made fromcomposted bark and plant materials. Vegan-Organic Trust has carefully checkedthis product out; B & Q gives assurance thatit is organic, peat free, does not containanimal inputs and is GM free. For use inraising small seeds it will benefit from a bit ofsieving and the addition of a little sharp sand.When such products are not made to ananimal-free formula for ethical reasons theingredients can sometimes be changed by themakers, so we do need to keep checking.

Good home-made compost is at the heart ofthe vegan-organic garden, and an excellentproject for winter or early spring is to buildone or more compost bins. You can easilymake them yourself by using old woodenpallets, which are often available from localbuilding sites or builders merchants wherethey are usually thrown away or burnt.Choose ones that provide plenty of sturdyslats. Clear a bit of ground on or close toyour growing area (remember you will behumping the compost around!) then simplynail three pallets together as a square with anopen front. Tap a few short lengths oftimber into the ground at the corners andnail these to the frame – this will keep it allrigid. Use wire or thick string to tie a fourthpallet as a detachable front that you canopen like a door. It’s a good idea to line thesides (not the base) with old polythene tostop the contents drying out. It’s best tohave two bins on the go, one that is beingfilled up and the other maturing. As foractually making the compost, fill up your binwith a varied mixture of garden and kitchenwaste, including some rough (not woody)material such as straw. (Compost as a topicwill be covered in future articles.)

Feeling fruity? Remember those scrumptious raspberries?Why not grow some of your own?December is a good time to plant barerooted raspberries, otherwise you can putthem in the ground in March. Containergrown canes can be planted anytime whenthere is no frost. An excellent variety isAutumn Bliss. The autumn raspberries aremuch easier to cultivate than the summerones, they start fruiting in the first year anddon’t need special training on wires orcomplicated pruning. With Autumn Bliss thestems are sturdy, you just cut all the stemsdown in February and they grow back inspring - try this variety and enjoy lusciousfruit right into October.

Curl up and plan ahead

Winter is the time to plan what you will be

up to in the next growing season. You can

curl up with the seed catalogues and dream

about what you will grow next year. You

can also use the quiet gardening months to

read up on ideas. Mainstream organic

gardening books are full of suggestions to

use blood, fish and bone and similar

noxious stuff but if you want a

comprehensive guide then The New

Organic Grower and The Four Season

Harvest by Elliot Coleman are

recommended, giving largely vegan

growing advice. The Organic Bible by

Bob Flowerdew contains animal free

alternatives for nearly all of the animal by-

products and may be easier to find.

These two vegan groups also publish

inexpensive literature and will send details

of how to join them and obtain even more

useful information:

Vegan-Organic Trust (VOT)

Patrick Browne, VOT, 161 Hamilton Rd,

Longsight, Manchester M13 0PQ.

Phone: 0161 248 9224

Email: [email protected]

website: www.veganorganic.net

Publishes information sheets, runs courses

on vegan-organics, organises visits to vegan

farms and is currently developing an

exciting project to establish a vegan-organic

Education and Demonstration centre.

Movement for Compassionate Living

(MCL), 31 Walton Close, Ernesford Grange,

Coventry CV3 2LJ. Phone: 02476 441446

E-mail: [email protected]

website www.mclveganway.org.uk

Information and books on cultivation,

cooking etc, emphasising locally grown

food and cruelty-free sustainable methods,

especially the growing and use of trees.

The Vegan Society’s new information

sheet on vegan-organic growing is also

now available.

Grow Vegan PuzzlerAUTUMN WINNER

Mr G Phyall, Slough, Berkshire.

Grow VeganVegan-Organic Trust


For ten years now, there has been an annual residentialgathering of vegans in late summer.

It has usually been in the East Devon town of Exmouth, butthis year, for the first time, it was near Swansea, in SouthWales – largely because Malcolm Horne, the organiser of theevent, has moved there, from Exmouth. Dates were 30August to 6 September.

The headquarters of the Gathering were a couple of large rentedhouses on the promenade in the attractive resort village ofMumbles. Mumbles is an excellent centre for visiting the GowerPeninsula, and beyond. The houses themselves were far superior tothose used in the Exmouth Gatherings. Unfortunately, they couldnot accommodate everyone – Malcolm tells me he had his biggest-ever attendance at this Gathering, with around 90 participating andover 50 needing accommodation. (As usual, it was a healthymixture of “regulars”, who had been at one or more previousGatherings, and newcomers.)

The result was that many of those attending had to stay elsewhere– in the homes of local vegans, or in the University of SwanseaStudent Village, four miles away. Also the Student Villageaccommodation, although acceptable for a few days, was of a farlower standard than the houses in Mumbles.

This meant that the Gathering had much less of the “communityfeel” which was such a feature of the Exmouth Gatherings.

This was rectified to some extent by a couple of communal“potlatch” meals in a local community hall, which were about theonly times everyone was together in the same place.

Several excursions were arranged throughout the week. I opted forvisits to Carmarthen, and to Rhossili Bay & Worm’s Head, at the tipof the Gower Peninsula. I found the Gower inland countrysidepleasant enough, but not outstanding. However the coastal sceneryis mind-blowing – an alternation of vast sandy beaches and strikingcliffs and rock formations.

There were a few evening meetings – the one I found mostinteresting was when Andrew Martin spoke about the new VeggiesCentre in Nottingham, where he works.

Despite the disadvantage of the “split site”, most of those attendinghad a good time, and there was general appreciation of Malcolm’sefforts in making the whole thing possible. Malcolm is alreadylooking at ways around the difficulties. Next year’s event, again atMumbles, will be earlier in the year than usual: 5-12 June 2004.Details on www.veganviews.org.uk/vsg or ring01792 792442.

The Vegan Society’s Awards reward and encourage

individuals and companies that are making a difference to

people, animals and the environment, and show appreciation

for those making veganism ever easier and more convenient.

A big thank you to all our readers who took the trouble to

send in nominations.

Best Fairly Traded Product – for products benefiting people.l Green & Black’s Mayan Gold l Café Direct Decaff Coffee

l Oké Bananas

Vegan Achievement Award – for people making a difference.l Benjamin Zephaniah l Neil Lea l Kathleen Jannaway (posthumously)

Best Cruelty Free Non Food Product

– products that avoid animal suffering. l Yaoh Lip Balm l Ecover Washing Up Liquid

l Lush Veganese Conditioner

Best Vegan Catering

– establishments providing delicious animal-free food. l Mono – Glasgow l Mildreds – London l Veggies Catering – Mobile.

Best Food Product– products proving how delicious animal-free food can be. l Supreme Choc Ice l Redwood’s fishless scampi l Alpro Yofu Yoghurts.

Best Drink - drinks proving how easy animal-free living can be. l Pritchitt’s Soya Maid (for a vegan cup of tea) l Innocent fruit smoothies l Co-op fair trade wine.

Best Retailer For Animal Free Shopping - making a difference in retail. l Vegan Store (On line) l Fresh & Wild (London) l Co-op retailing

Best Vegan Environmentally Friendly Product– making a difference to the planet. l Redwood’s ‘Making Waves’ range l Condomi condoms

l Vegetarian shoes (made from recycled tyres)

Best Vegan Project or Campaign – projects making the world a better place. l Dept Of Health 5 A Day l Sainsbury’s ‘Free-From’ initiative l Vegan Essex.

The winners are to be announced on World Vegan Day 1st

November (see the enclosed Stop Press). Winners will also be listedon www.worldveganday.org.

VEGANSUMMER GATHERINGGeorge Rodger

FINALISTSIN THE UK VEGAN WEEK AWARDS 2003

¶

¶¶

¶

¶

¶

¶

¶¶

The Vegan l Winter 2003 21The Vegan l Winter 2003 21

The 6th National Vegan Festival whichtook place on 14th September at

Conway Hall, London was, as in previousyears, a great success with over 1,000people attending. The usual cosmopolitanmix prevailed with stallholders and festivalgoers travelling from far and wide. TheFestival attracted all kinds of peopleincluding vegetarians and vegans, eco-warriors, families, long standing animalrights campaigners, activists and those newto veganism wanting to find out more.

During the day there were talks onvarious issues, which included veganbodybuilding and nutrition, vivisection,veganism and free food fayres providinguseful information, poetry readings, achildren`s art workshop and a drummingworkshop. All of these proved great funfor those attending. The vegan food onoffer was a complete range - the alwayspopular ‘Veggies’ burgers and snacks,curry and rice, hot dogs, raw food,delicious mousse, chocolates and a widevariety of cakes and traditional fare fromthe Hebrew Vegan Community. TheRedwoods stall was as popular as everand sold out completely! The BeerShop/Pitfield Brewery ran the bar,quenching everyone’s thirst with veganbeers, ciders, the renowned eco-warriorlager, wines and soft drinks.

Apart from the usual stallholders thathave attended in previous years, therewere some new additions such asAnimal`s Asia Foundation and VeganBodybuilding. Not everything went quite

as we had intended – there were novegan pizzas as had been advertised andthe Organic Juice Bar got off to a veryslow start! Next year we aim to havefood prices to suit all pockets as well as awider choice of food on sale.

We see the Festival as a celebration ofveganism and an opportunity to supportcampaigns, build bridges and informthose unaware of animal cruelty!

Some quotes on the day include : "Veganheaven", "not to be missed", "buzzing","exhilarating", "innovative", "brilliantatmosphere". Our thanks to the VeganSociety and Veggies for their sponsorshipof this year’s event. We look forward toseeing you next year !

see www.veganfestival.freeserve.co.uk forphotos, reports and updates.

Appeal

2004

NATIONAL

VEGAN FESTIVALWhen: Next Summer

Where: A larger venue

How: With your help!

The organisers of the NationalVegan Festival would dearly liketo be able to hold the 7thVegan Festival in a larger venuebut need your help. Sponsorswho donate £100 or more andsupporters who donate less than£100 will be listed on the VeganFestival website. All donationswill be greatfully received! Helpus to stage the world`s largestvegan event!

Please make cheques / PO`spayable to CALF and send to:National Vegan Festival c/o BM8889, London WC1N 3XX.

Thank you.

NATIONAL VEGAN FESTIVAL

2003Alison Coe & Robin Lane (CALF)

CAVANAGH’S CATERING


Cavanagh’s is a small

catering company based

in Brentwood in Essex run

by husband and wife team,

Kathy and David. It was

established four years ago.

In those four years they

have catered for anything

from small dinner parties for

just six people through to

weddings for 200 guests.

They travel far and wide

and, in just the last three

months, have covered the

counties of Lincolnshire,

Staffordshire and

Gloucestershire. Venues

have ranged from a

Napoleonic sea fort in

Cornwall to a marquee in a

stone circle in Wiltshire with

no water or cooking

facilities.

Next year they will be

spending the months of

May to October running The

Green Terrace, an exclusively

veggie bed and breakfast

far from the madding

crowds in western Crete in a

tranquil hillside location

overlooking the sea.

PEA & CORIANDER SOUP

50g margarine

1 tablespoon olive oil

1x 85g onion sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 green chilli

– de-seeded and sliced

500g frozen peas

1 litre vegetable stock

Bunch of coriander

– finely chopped, a few

leaves reserved for garnish

Salt & pepper

1. Melt margarine and oil in a large

saucepan. Add onion, garlic and

chilli and allow to soften for about

10 minutes, stirring continuously

to prevent sticking.

2. Add the frozen peas and stock and

bring to the boil, then reduce to

simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add half the coriander and then

liquidize with a blender.

4. Return the soup to the heat and

continue simmering – add

additional chopped coriander if

desired and season with salt and

pepper. Serve garnished with a

few coriander leaves.

MINCEMEAT BAKEWELL TART

150g shortcrust pastry

1 largecooking apple

– peeled and thinly sliced

Small jar of mincemeat

85g margarine

150g ground almonds

2 tablespoons caster sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Pre-heat oven to 180˚/350˚.

2. Roll pastry and line a 20 cm flan

ring.

3. Spread mincemeat over pastry

base – and arrange apple slices

over the top.

4. Melt the margarine in a medium

sized saucepan and then add the

remaining ingredients.

Remove from the heat and

mix well, using hands if necessary to

make a smooth paste.

5. Spread the almond mix over the

apples, levelling the surface.

6. Bake for 30 minutes until golden

brown. Serve with vanilla soya ice

cream.

Sunflower Standard registered


500g puff pastry

Soya milk to glaze

Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil

225g onions – finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

340g mushrooms – finely chopped

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

3 tablespoons fresh tarragon

50mls tamari

225g cashew nuts – finely ground

Salt & pepper

Sauce

50g dried ceps

500mls boiling water

Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 onion – finely chopped

250g mushrooms – finely chopped

350mls red wine

50mls tamari

Pre-heat oven to 220˚C/425˚F

Make the sauce:-

1. Soak the ceps in the boiling water

for 30 mins.

2. In a large saucepan soften the

onion and garlic in the oil for

about 10 minutes, add the

mushrooms and continue cooking

until the mushrooms soften and

darken and have given off all their

liquid.

3. Add the soaked ceps and their

soaking liquid together with the

wine and tamari.

4. Increase the heat to bring the

sauce to the boil, then reduce to

simmer for about 30 minutes.

Make the Feuilletées:-

1. Roll the pastry to a large rectangle

about 6mm thick, and cut out six

10 cm squares. Place on a baking

sheet lined with non-stick baking

paper, and brush with a little soya

milk. Score all the squares with a

line about 1cm from the edge all

the way round without cutting all

the way through the pastry. Chill in

the fridge for about 20 minutes.

2. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes

until puffed up and golden.

3. With a sharp knife cut through the

marked line but not through the

pastry base and remove the inner

square – and reserve as this will be

the lid. With a teaspoon remove

and discard any uncooked pastry

in the centre. Return the pastry

boxes to the oven or a further 2

minutes to allow the pastry to dry

out, then cool them on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to

150˚/300˚.

Make the filling:-

1. Sweat the onions, garlic and dried

tarragon in the oil for 5 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms and continue

cooking until the mushrooms have

softened.

3. Add the tamari and the tarragon

and bring the mixture to the boil,

and then take off the heat.

4. Add the cashew nuts and mix well

to combine – season with salt and

pepper.

Finishing the dish:-

1. Strain the sauce through a sieve

into a clean pan and bring to the

boil.

2. Fill the pastry boxes with the

mushroom filling and cover with

their lids, place in the oven to warm

through.

3. If you require the sauce to be

thicker then continue boiling it to

reduce it and thicken, taste and

season with salt and pepper just

before serving.

Serve the feuilletées with roasted potatoes that have been basted in oil flavoured with fresh rosemary and brussel sprouts shredded

and sautéed in hazelnut oil. The sauce should be spooned over and around the feuilletées just before serving.

MUSHROOM FEUILLETÉES WITH WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE


Inever really thought that one day I'd be planning a wedding, letalone a vegan wedding, but when Sean proposed to me in

March whilst on holiday in Goa, we decided we wouldn't waittoo long and would aim for a September wedding. We didn'thave much time, so we began researching right away. Our briefwas to keep it small, simple and meaningful.

Dressing up

Finding a suitable dress was my biggest fear, but that wasactually one of the easiest tasks ahead. In the first fewdays of looking I found it quite hard to avoid silk. I did at first want a slinky simple dress, but couldnot find any that were not silk, so I began towiden my options. My explanation ofveganism didn't work with somesaleswomen, and so I nearly always hadto ask for the label, to check for myselfwhether silk had been used. I hadconsidered getting a dress made, asyou have so much more input, andhad even designed some but waslucky enough to find the perfect dress,made of man-made fibres includingpolyester, in a bridal shop in thePowerscourt Centre, Dublin. It was a lotmore bridal than the look I originallywanted, as man-made fibre is heavier, but Iwas delighted with it, and the mostimportant thing was that it was vegan.

Suited and booted

Once the dress was sorted it was time to look at the groom’sattire. We had decided to be a bit informal and go for just ashirt and simple suit for Sean, no tie or hankie! However all thesuits were wool or wool based. Linen was an option, but not toopractical and was a bit too light for the Irish September. We sawa designer suit in a sale, which seemed to feel like thick cotton.It was ultra slick and fitted and when I asked the salesman if hecould check the wool content, he informed me, "Madam youcouldn't get such a sharp look from a wool suit" and showed usthe washing instructions, which read 100% cotton. We weredelighted and handed over our credit card straight away.

Shoes were no problem. I had a pair of blue hand sewn cottonslippers, and Sean had a pair of shoes that scrubbed up nicely,which he had bought from Vegetarian Shoes a while back. Thatis the great thing about a vegan wedding. You have alreadyinvested so much time sourcing such things as shoes, make-upproducts etc for day to day life, that you don't feel muchtemptation to buy new ones, thus saving a fortune. I did my hairand make-up myself using products I have used for years. Kleepaper in Dublin provided us with recycled paper for our invites.They have a huge variety of environmentally friendly, recycledoffice equipment.

Food and drink

Again we pulled in all our existing veggie/vegan contacts for the

food, and asked a friend of ours, Joan Greene, if she would be

willing to cater for the big day. She had won a Bridgestone

food award for her vegetarian café in Killarney Park, Kerry, so

no references were required. We also had contacts in

wholefood wholesale, so were able to order a lot of ingredients

from them.

If I were to be asked what the hardest part of

organising a vegan wedding was, I'd say it was

probably locating suitable alcohol. I don't

drink so had no idea where to start.

For months running up to the wedding I

had been popping into a variety of off

licences asking them for a vegan

wine/beer list. I spent most of my

time then explaining what a vegan

wine would be, and getting a

bothered "No, We don't have that"

as a response. I had an Animal Free

Shopper, but that did not have a list

for Dublin and our supermarkets are

different, so in desperation I searched

the Vegan Society website. At last we

got somewhere when I found the vegan

beer list on the homepage and was delighted

to see Dublin Brewing Company. I had already

heard lots of positive things about them from people, as

they brew to German purity laws. We checked with them and

they confirmed that all their kegs, including beers, stout and an

organic cider were vegan and could be delivered to our venue

by a company called Brew Crew. Kieran at Brew Crew was a

huge help to us, and solved all our problems.

The only thing left to sort out was wine for the tables. And

sourcing beer had given me hope that we could source some

wine in Dublin too and avoid huge delivery costs from the UK.

Then I remembered that Oddbins off licences were always

helpful in the UK. I excitedly checked the phone book and

with delight saw they had a branch in Churchtown, Dublin.

Without delay we called, and they dealt with us promptly.

They acquired a vegan wine list from London, which even

detailed which wine bottles had animal derived glue in the

labels. Unfortunately we could not hang onto the list, but we

made our order and were given all the guarantees we needed.

I laughed as I caught a glimpse of the front page, which

explained to Oddbins staff what veganism was all about, and

why vegans should be taken seriously, and were not just being

difficult. Maybe that was why I couldn't hang on to it.

Sean Dwyer and Hana Hall got married in the mountains in Co Wicklow, Ireland on 6th September, and used their wedding as

an opportunity to show their family and friends what veganism was all about.

A VEGAN WEDDINGIN IRELAND

Hana Hall


“Oddbins

acquired a vegan

wine list from London,

which even detailed

which wine bottles had

animal derived glue

in the labels.”


A perfect day

Our wedding not only reflected our views on veganism, but also

on community spirit and minimising waste. All our friends

contributed in some way, and they all helped Joan in the

kitchen who encouraged them to put love into the food and

bless it. Most went home with so many ideas; we may never

have to worry about friends inviting us for dinner again.

The day went so well, as it was so simple, there was so little to

go wrong, so nothing did. The beer and wine flowed, guests

were treated to a live Samba band and traditional Irish music.

Photographers snapped away on digital cameras, but what went

down the best was the food.

I started my speech with the following. "Most of you ask me,

‘What does a vegan eat? Don't you get bored with a limited

selection?’ I think all your questions have been answered

tonight," as veggies, vegans and meat-eaters tucked into

beautiful vegan fare, most of which was gluten free too. There

was so much variety, with over 20 different savoury dishes from

around the world and 4 desserts. We had sourced ideas for the

menu from the internet (just type in vegan wedding) and our

recipe books. I made the dark chocolate carob cake, and a

friend decorated it with carob fudge and fruits. It was devoured

within 12 hours, the first piece going to an over excited guest

who couldn't wait for it to be portioned out, and tucked in

immediately after we cut it.

“Most guests said it was the best

wedding they had ever been to.”

We received so many compliments, most guests saying it was

the best wedding they had ever been to, and we both really felt

it was due to creating a space filled with love, compassion, and

simple values where no living creature had been harmed.

We hope that feeling will continue in the hearts of all our

guests and that they took something home with them, apart

from a huge slice of vegan chocolate cake that is!


Instead of wedding gifts Hana and Sean askedguests to bring a donation and raised over £3,000for charities that they will be visiting in South Africa,Vietnam and India.

Menu

Vegetable samosas

Nut and spinach roast with tomato gravy

Beetroot, cumin, mint & soya cream salad

Potato and sweetcorn salad

Marrons au vin

Mediterranean pasta salad

Melon strawberry & mint salad

Rice noodle salad with lime & nut

Aloo Gobi

Lentil, coconut & cashew curry

Pilau rice

Lentil & chestnut dahl

Roast baby tomato salad

Baba ganoush

Hoummus

Mixed salad

Roast potatoes

Coleslaw with vegan mayonnaise

Chickpea medley

Fresh bread with olive tapenade

Poppadums

Grilled vegetables on a squash & sweet potato base

Wedding cake

Apple crumble

Rhubarb delight

Strawberry, coconut and soya cream smoothie

Ishall be doing the walk in stages of about one fortnight ineach month (February-October). This has the advantage of

allowing time to make up for delays through bad weatherand for arrangements to be made for other vegans to joinme along the way and for organising publicity on television,radio and in the press. If speaking opportunities arise enroute all the better. Offers of accommodation (evencamping space) are welcome. As the walk progressesthrough the country, interest should snowball!

I am backpacking, carrying tent, sleeping bag and campingmat. I need to carry as light a rucksack as possible, sothis is an exercise in deciding what is essential.Buffalo clothing (pile and pertex) is my choicefor the winter months, thus avoiding theneed for spare clothes. Maps will takeup rucksack room, while there will beseveral periods when I will not passa shop for five days. I’ll drinkfrom springs and streams. I amcarrying lots of oatcakes(Simmers of Edinburgh havepromised me a free case oftheir Nairn’s Organic Oatcakes),while Lyme Regis Foods ofLiphook (Hampshire) havealready kindly donated boxes oftheir organic marzipan bars.Ethical Wares have generouslygiven me a pair of their Rangerwalking boots.

You are welcome to join me on a leg ofthe walk but you’ll need to carry your owntent, or share with someone. Hostels will bean option now and again. When I reach softsouthern England, I’ll probably walk light by pitching thetent at a base camp (eg Salisbury in August) and doing thedaily walk in sections with the aid of public transport fromthere (eg Bath to Winchester in August).

My proposed itinerary is:February 1 – Callanish, Isle of Lewis (to Stornoway),February 2-7 – Ullapool to Inverness (highest point 2,630ft)February 8-17 – Inverness to Aberdeen (via Clava Cairns,Culloden, Speyside Way, cup marked stones, Gordon Way,Bennachie and stone circles). It is hoped to arrange localpublicity.March 9-15 – Aberdeen to Pitlochry (via stone circles,highest point 2,760ft, Cateran Trail and cup markedstones).March 16-24 – Pitlochry to Glasgow (via stone circles, cupmarked stones, Fortingall yew tree, highest point 3,570ft

summit of Schiehallion, a fairy mountain with a cave givingaccess to the underworld, Glen Lyon with the prayinghands of Mary and Tigh nam Bodach – which is as far asI’ve measured the distance from the start so far, being 417miles, then the West Highland Way).April 6-17 – Glasgow to Haltwhistle (via Clyde Walkway,Stow in Wedale where King Arthur’s shield is housed in thechurch, Eildon Hills, St Cuthbert’s Way, Pennine Way andHadrian’s Wall).

A trot down the Pennine Way in May will lead to a rallyorganised by the Vegan Organic Trust in Manchester at

the end of May. I’ll also call in at the NorthernEarth Moot at Skipton on 29 May. That

month’s section will end at Chester,swiftly followed by a walk through

Wales in June. Carn Ingli, the sacredpeak in Pembrokeshire, is the

target for the summer solstice,followed by a walk past CarregSamson burial chamber on theway to St David’s.

July will bring a traverse ofSouth Wales to reachGloucester. August has thedelightful Cotswold Way toBath, then a walk past

Avebury, Stonehenge andSalisbury to Winchester.

September takes the South DownsWay and Saxon Shore Way to

Folkestone. The final lap to Londonand the 2004 Vegan Society AGM on 30

October will be along the North Downs Wayand the Thames Path.

I must stress that this is my own individual route and I ammeeting all my own expenses. You are welcome to join me(but it has to be at your own risk, so if your requireinsurance cover you will need to arrange it yourself). If yourespond urgently, you may still be able to join the Scottishsections of the walk. Detailed maps for each month of my

intended route are available if you send me 12 x 1st classstamps to cover the cost of photocopying and postage andspecify which month. I’ll try to stick to the proposed dates,circumstances permitting. Please give as much advancenotice as possible of your intention to join me, or inarranging an event linked to the walk.

JUBILEE WALK: ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET!

My walk, dedicated to the Society’s Diamond Jubilee, is to start at Imbolc (1 February). This is the special time of the

goddess Bridget and I’ll set out from her special place, being the stone circle at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. What

better way to invoke the spirit of the living land?

Laurence Main, who is walking the length of Britain in our 2004 Jubilee Year


TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SPACE

CALL 01424 448822

OR EMAIL

[email protected]


Dr Atkins “New Diet Revolution” has sold more

copies than any other diet guide. Its recent

popularity with some celebrities has given it a lot of

publicity and further enhanced its influence.

However, its popularity is undeserved as it

systematically distorts the evidence, exaggerates the

benefits and conceals the risks in relation to the diet

it recommends.

Atkins recommends high intakes of protein and fat

and very low carbohydrate intake and promotes

meat and dairy products. Initially, carbohydrate is

restricted to 20 grams per day, though it is later

increased to about 50 grams per day. In this article I

shall evaluate the evidence for and against the

Atkins diet and explain why it is unsafe, unsound

and unnecessary.

The claims

The key selling points of the Atkins diet are the claims thatreplacing carbohydrate with fat and protein will (1)promote weight loss by increasing the food energy lost indigestion and reducing appetite and (2) reduce the risk ofdiabetes and heart disease.

Weight loss and reduced appetite?

In support of the first claim, the book makes much of astudy in which adolescents on a low carbohydrate dietappeared to lose more weight than adolescents on a lowfat diet despite consuming more calories (Sondike 2000,2003). However, in this study the participants selected andreported their own diets, introducing considerable potentialfor errors in the records. It also ignored individualvariations in calorie requirements. A later study (Stadler2003) used food weighed by staff to eliminate errors in dietrecords and adjusted calorie intake for each individual totwo thirds of the calories required for weight maintenance.This time around, there was no difference in weight loss,fat loss or waistline change between the low fat and lowcarbohydrate groups: the key to weight loss was clearlycalorie reduction, not fat or carbohydrate content.

There is, however, some evidence that protein intakesaround 20% to 25% of calories can help people who areoverweight to eat less and thus lose more weight, at leastover periods of six months to a year. This has beenobserved on both high fat (Foster 2003; Samaha 2003)and low fat diets (Skov 1999). It therefore provides nosupport for high fat intakes. Any benefit of relatively highprotein diets for weight loss is probably due to a mixtureof psychological and physical effects. For people used to ameat and two veg diet, meat is often viewed as the heartof the meal and removing it may increase feelings ofdeprivation and make the diet less satisfying. On lowcalorie diets the percentage of calories required as protein

to meet the body’s needs rises considerably, not onlybecause the total calories decline but because moreprotein is used to provide energy rather than for tissuerepair. Thus, while 10% of calories as protein is normallysufficient, 20% may be beneficial when on a weightreducing diet. However, increasing protein intake to asmuch as 25% of calories can be easily achieved withoutsignificantly cutting back on carbohydrate and withoutusing any animal products. Tofu, soya milk, beans,almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds are all good choicesto increase protein intake while promoting long termhealth.

Less risk of diabetes and heart disease?

The Atkins book also makes much of results from theHarvard study of US nurses, which found that highglycaemic load (large amounts of rapidly digestedcarbohydrates such as baked potatoes and products madefrom finely milled flour) was associated with increased riskof diabetes and heart disease in the women studied. Thisobservation is used by Atkins as justification for damningall carbohydrates as a danger to health. However, theHarvard team (Willett 2002) also studied the effect ofglycaemic load in men and the effect of cereal fibre inboth men and women. In women, low cereal fibre intakeappeared to be twice as dangerous as high glycaemic loadin terms of diabetes risk. In men with high cereal fibreintake, the risk of diabetes actually declined with increasedglycaemic load, though the highest risk of all was in menwith both high glycaemic load and low cereal fibre intake.The evidence therefore points to harm from highlyprocessed carbohydrates with the fibre stripped out butpoints even more strongly to benefit from high fibre wholegrain products, which the Atkins diet condemns alongwith their refined counterparts.

Other studies from the Harvard team confirm the dangersof diets high in animal products, which are generally alsohigh in saturated fat and low in fibre. One of these(Ascherio 1996) found that men eating the most saturatedfat had 2.5 times the risk of fatal heart disease comparedwith men eating the least saturated fat. When the resultswere analysed in such a way as to compensate for thebeneficial effect of fibre, the increased risk from highsaturated fat was reduced from 2.5 to 1.7. This is coldcomfort for followers of the Atkins diet as itsrecommendations not only increase saturated fat intakesubstantially but also restrict many fibre rich foods to avoidthe accompanying carbohydrate.

There is much debate as to how the effect of diet on heartdisease risk can be predicted from the effect of diet onintermediate measures such as cholesterol. Total bloodcholesterol appears to be an important risk factor inmiddle age while the ratio of total cholesterol to HDLcholesterol appears to be a better predictor in later years.

THE ATKINS DIET: UNSAFE, UNSOUND AND UNNECESSARY

© Stephen Walsh PhD

Ü


Saturated fat increases total cholesterol while having verylittle effect on the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol. Notsurprisingly, Atkins emphasises the ratio of total to HDLcholesterol while those who advocate fat reductionemphasise total cholesterol.

The best strategy is to reduce both total cholesterol and

the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol. Replacing animalprotein with soy protein reduces both, as does replacingsaturated fats with unsaturated fats such as almonds,cashews, olive oil and rapeseed oil. The fibreaccompanying unrefined plant foods such as oats, beans,fruits and vegetables also improves cholesterol profile, asdoes eliminating the dietary cholesterol that accompaniesanimal fats. A plant centred diet high in fibre andmonounsaturated fat and low in cholesterol and saturatedfat will reduce total cholesterol substantially and improvethe ratio of total to HDL cholesterol at the same time.

Protein intake and kidney damage

Atkins’ book claims that nobody has produced evidencethat high protein intake causes kidney damage, though hedoes accept that people with established kidney damageshould not follow the Atkins diet. Another recent studyfrom Harvard (Knight 2003) found that even in peoplewith only slightly impaired kidneys when first tested –almost a third of the individuals studied – increasedprotein intake was associated with declining kidney health.

Increased protein intake also increases excretion of acidand calcium in urine and high protein intake is understrong suspicion as a cause of osteoporosis.

There is scientific debate about the proportion of theincreased calcium loss that is balanced by increased absorptionof calcium, but the balance of evidence favours moderaterather than high protein intake to promote bone health.

Plant protein sources such as soya and other beans arepreferable to meat, fish or eggs as the high potassiumcontent of these plant foods greatly reduces calciumlosses.

The Atkins diet exposes its followers to increased risk ofkidney damage, bone loss and heart disease with nocompensating benefit. Anyone following a diet with highconsumption of animal fat and protein and restricted fibreintake is taking serious and unnecessary risks.

Plant food diets are better

In contrast, there is solid evidence for the benefits of plantcentred diets. A French trial replacing butter withrapeseed oil margarine and boosting fruit and vegetableconsumption reduced deaths by more than half amongpeople who had previously suffered a heart attack. Highfibre diets are recommended by the World HealthOrganisation to reduce risk of excess weight, diabetes andheart disease. On average vegetarians and vegans areabout 5 kg (11 lb) lighter than meat eaters – a differencelarge enough to eliminate the surge in obesity over thepast twenty years.

For more information on the benefits of choosing the rightplant foods see “Plant Based Nutrition and Health”,available from The Vegan Society for £7.95 plus p&p.

References

Gary D Foster et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2003; 348:

2082-2090, A randomized trial of a low-carbohydrate diet for

obesity.

Eric L Knight et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2003; 138: 460-467,

The impact of protein intake on renal function decline in women with

normal renal function or mild renal function insufficiency.

Frederick F Samaha et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2003;

348: 2074-2081, A low carbohydrate as compared with a low-fat

diet in severe obesity.

Stephen B Sondike et al., Journal of Adolescent Health, 2000; 26: 91,

The ketogenic diet increases weight loss but not cardiovascular risk: a

randomized controlled trial.

Stephen B Sondike et al., Journal of Pediatrics, 2003; 142: 253-258,

Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss and cardiovascular

risk factors in overweight adolescents.

Diane D Stadler et al., FASEB Journal, 2003; 17(4): A745, Impact of

42-day Atkins diet and energy matched low-fat diet on weight and

anthropometric indices.

A R Skov et al., International Journal of Obesity, 1999; 23: 528-536,

Randomised trial on protein vs carbohydrate in ad libitum fat reduced

diet for the treatment of obesity.

Walter Willett et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2002; 76:

274S-280S, Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2

diabetes.

THE ATKINS DIET: UNSAFE, UNSOUND AND UNNECESSARY

© Stephen Walsh PhD

Ü


n EATING APES

by Dale Peterson and Karl AmmannISBN: 0520230906Publishers:University ofCalifornia PressCover price:£16.95

Eating Apes argues convincingly andmovingly that humans are eating theirclosest relatives – chimpanzees andgorillas – into extinction. It raises apowerful call for action before it is toolate.

The role of economic development inopening up great ape habitat to huntersis placed centre-stage. Loggingprovides the roads and vehicles thatallow slaughtered apes and otheranimals to be transported for sale intowns and cities. Mining, particularly ofkoltan for mobile phones, has drawnhumans into the heart of great apepopulations with devastating results.Modern firearms allow even powerfulsilverback gorillas to be killed withimpunity.

The book vigorously attacks dealsbetween conservation agencies andlogging companies which fail to providethe resources to stop great apes beingkilled or to incorporate independentmonitoring. More contentiously, itclaims that the magnitude of thedevastation of great apes is beingdownplayed in favour of “feel-good”conservation. The book calls for acampaign to highlight the extent of thecrisis in order to generate the financialand political backing to allowconservation to compete directly withlogging for control of land and tochange cultural attitudes to the greatapes.

While not in any way embracing avegan outlook, this book highlights alittle known aspect of the destructioncaused by humans eating animals andin this sense may promote the broadervegan cause as well as the direct andlaudable objective of protecting thegreat apes.

n MARTIN SHAW COOKS VEGGIE

Viva! Guide 5,available fromViva! £1

Martin Shaw isnot only one ofBritain’s best-loved actors,he’s alsovegan! So Viva! have

got together with him toproduce this fantastic little booklet.From belly-busting breakfasts to tastytarts, these are recipes to make yourmouth water and your tummy rumble.It’s bright and cheerful and at just £1would make the perfect stocking filler.www.viva.org.uk 0117 944 1000.

n RAISING VEGAN CHILDREN IN A NON-VEGAN WORLD

by Erin Pavlina ISBN: 0-9725102-0-6Publishers: VegFamily Cover price: $19.95[Available fromthe Vegan Societyat only £9.95]

The title says it all,answers andsuggestions to allthose toughquestions veganparents face. UKreaders should bewarned that this isaimed at anAmerican audiencethough much of the advice can easily beinterpreted for this side of the Atlantic.

A VEGAN GUIDE TO BRISTOL – free

A fantastic free guideto Bristol containingan irreverent,unbalanced and biasedlook at the variousshops, restaurantsand other businessesthat cater for thevegan diet. Send theSociety a SAE with

two 2nd class stamps, markedBristol Guide, to receive your free copy.

n KITCHEN DOCTOR:

VEGAN COOKING FOR HEALTH

Consultant editor: Nicola Graimes

ISBN: 1-84215-906-2

Publishers: Southwood

Cover price: £8.99

[Available from the Vegan Society

www.vegansociety.com/shop]

With more

than 50

irresistible

recipes to

choose from,

new and

experienced

vegans alike

will find plenty

of exciting

mealtime ideas.

Try Teriyaki Soba

Noodles with Tofu and Asparagus or

Creamy Leak and Mushroom Tagliatelle.

With nutrition notes provided for every

recipe, this is an invaluable guide to the

fabulous, tasty and highly nutritious

vegan style of cooking.

n INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS: RECIPES

FOR A NEW PARADIGM

from Gentle World ISBN: 0929274253

Cover price: £18.99

[Available from the Vegan Society

www.vegansociety.com/shop]

The main

contributors to

this cook book

from Gentle

World are

Marcia Katz,

Jennifer

Gibson-Weil,

Elizabeth Flinn

and Heather

Potomac.

‘Incredibly Delicious’ has over 500

recipes from quick and easy to gourmet,

has an extensive chapter on raw food

preparation, and is interspersed

throughout with inspiring quotes.

All measurements are given in pounds,

cups etc but there is a metric

conversion table on page 9.

Reviews

The Vegan l Summer 2003 33The Vegan l Autumn 2003 33

PostbagContributions to Postbag are welcomed, but accepted on the understandingthat they may be edited in the interests of brevity or clarity.

Having spent a good deal of time preparing the Red Pepperand Basil Soup recipe in The Vegan, Autumn 2003, I wasdismayed to find it inedible! It was far too ‘hot’ to eat. I canonly presume that this was because one chilli was too much,or that the seeds should have been removed. Having neverused a recipe with chilli before, I was unaware that ‘1 choppedgreen chilli’ should have been looked upon with caution.

I think it would be advisable to prepare recipes for printingwith a little more care in future. Something that is obvious tosome may not be to others.

Meriel CrossBelper, Derbyshire

I was very interested in Sue Hodson’s letter (Postbag, Autumn2003) concerning the Christian churches’ attitude tovegetarians. I am a Christian vegetarian, my church is non-denominational but some members come from evangelicalbackgrounds. I have received very negative comments fromsome parishioners since I’ve been there. I have been told Godgave us animals to eat, so I am going against God’s will bybeing vegetarian. I have had bible passages quoted to backtheir case up. My vegetarianism was seen as dangerous anti-Christian nonsense. While certain Christians have this sort ofattitude, the vegetarian/vegan message will never be acceptedin churches.

Mrs A MarplesSprowston, Norwich

Healthy living, chemicals on farms, prescribed drugs, need forvitamins, healthy eating: all familiar topics widely discussed inthe name of good health – but is it delivering good health?NO! There is the call for more doctors, more nurses, morehospital beds, more hospitals. That doesn’t sound like ahealthier community.

‘Diet is the best medicine’ but all our food is more and moredepleted of its goodness. Why? Because we turn a blind eyeto the gradually increasing power of those big chemicalcompanies whose main aim is profit, profit and more profit.They sell chemical fertilisers to the farmers to ‘feed’ their crops– what nonsense. Genuine farmers know compost and natureare the genuine feeders of soil. But the more chemicals sold,the bigger the profits for those companies(!), the more ourfood is depleted of its goodness, making more unhealthypeople, needing more prescribed drugs, made by those samebig chemical companies, so increasing their profits AGAIN!

Those companies have been so clever deceiving people andwe’ve let them get away with it all these years!!! Will we everlearn? Let vegetarian, thinking, caring, Christian and otherpeople worldwide spread the good news about true goodhealth, for the sake of all peoples, animals, plants and thefuture.

Joyce SlackWingerworth, Derbyshire

Chris Sutoris (Postbag, Autumn 2003) says I am mistaken in

my belief that vegans shop in supermarkets to change things

from the inside. He says the real reason is to encourage such

stores to stock vegan products, which in turn creates more

vegans. This sounds to me like trying to change things from

the inside. A case can be made for this. Putting more vegan

foods in supermarkets may lead to conversions, but what it

definitely does is help pay for animals to be killed in their

millions every day. When immorality reaches such extremes,

at least a partial boycott is called for.

I say partial, because I too sometimes weaken and visit a

supermarket. But if I were a cow in a slaughterhouse, and

could see from a crack in the wall a building stacked with

dead cows, and knew it was run by the very people who

killed them and would soon kill me, then how would I regard

that man walking out with his squeaky clean carrier bag of

tofu?

It is a thought-provoking question, and vegans should have

the courage to face it.

James Dixon

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

I thank all the individuals and vegan groups around the world

that sent me cards and goodwill messages on the occasion of

my 93rd birthday on 2 September. Some of the cards had

several signatures; one had 41! I share this appreciation with

my memory of those who were with me in 1944 when we

formed the Vegan Society.

What an honour it is to belong to the most peaceful and

safest revolution the world has ever known. I send my best

wishes to you all, whenever your birthdays fall.

Donald Watson

Keswick, Cumbria


Joyce Sandground d. 29/10/2003

Joyce was a regular Vegan Societyvolunteer and much-loved friend. She died peacefully in her sleep onOctober 29th. Joyce was passionateabout making the world a betterplace – especially through veganism. A strong-willed and resolutecampaigner, she will be sadly missed.


Membership / Renewal I wish to become a member and support the work of the Vegan Society.

I wish to renew my membership.

Membership No. (if known)......................................................................

Name:................................................................................Address:..........................................................................................

Postcode:........................................Tel:..........................................................email:..................................................................

Date of Birth: (for security purposes)........../.........../..........Occupation:.....................................................................................

Please tick this box if you are a dietary Vegan. This entitles you to voting rights in the Society’s elections if aged 18+.

Please treat my membership subscription as Gift Aid. I have paid UK income or capital gains tax equal to the amount the Society reclaims.

My income is less than £8000 per year and I qualify for the low income discount of 33%.*

I wish to enrol other members of my household for an additional £7 each.**

A copy of the Society’s rules (Memo & Articles of Association) can

be viewed on our website or at our office. Alternatively you may buy

a copy for £5.

Please give full names of additional members and specify if dietary vegan and / or under 18. (If more than four additional members please attach separate sheet.)

Individual £21

* Less £7 low-income deduction (if applicable)

** Add £7 per additional household member

Life £350

Memo & Articles of Association £5

Overseas: Europe +£5 / Rest of World +£7

Donation

Total:

Cheque / PO payable to The Vegan Society

Credit / Debit card (phone for details)

Direct Debit (phone for details)

Website: www.vegansociety.com

For office use only

MEM. No.: ...............................................Membership: .........................................

Renewal Date: ..........................................Sponsorship: .............................................

Sent:

Payment must be made

by credit card, sterling

International money

order or sterling cheque

drawn on a British bank.

Membership How to pay


LOCAL GROUPS NEWS


There is no formal Vegan Society affiliation – so long

as it is obvious from the name that a group is for

vegans and not just vegetarians, and a Vegan Society

member is willing to be named contact, it can be

listed. Please let the Local Contacts’ Coordinator

know of any omitted. Check first that the contact

person is a full member of the Vegan Society. If not,

you could offer to be the contact yourself and get

publicity for the group. Groups listed for the first

time have * before their name.


One reason why some Local Contacts say that hardlyanyone gets in touch with them may be that some peoplehave been looking for the name of the town, whereas thelist is in alphabetical order by county, so if there doesn’tappear to be a Contact near you just glance down the listand you may get a nice surprise!

Groups, however, are listed alphabetically by the name ofthe group, which may or may not coincide with the nameof the county or town, so again please have a good look.As from this issue, new groups and contacts will have anasterisk before their name.

I wrote last time that it would be wonderful to have 50groups by the next issue. Well, we’ve done it! Seven newgroups bring the total to 52, well on target for 60 in timefor the Society’s Diamond Jubilee on 1 November 2004.

Many of you will be familiar with vegansoc-talk, the e-maildiscussion group for all Vegan Society members. If youhaven’t yet joined but would like to be part of this livelygroup, send an e-mail to [email protected] with your full name, VS membership number and postcode.There is now also a forum specifically for Local Contacts.To join, go to www.worldveganday.org, select Forumsfrom the menu and look under Vegan Society Members.

As I write there are a few places left for the localactivists day in Altrincham on Sunday 16 November[the day after the AGM in Chester]. They may befilled by the time you read this, but if you contact meimmediately it might be possible to squeeze you in.

On 28 September three Council members (Vanessa Clarke,Stephen Walsh and I) attended the Tenth Irish VegetarianFestival in Dublin [at our own expense, of course].Looking after our stall in the main hall, I knew themoment Stephen’s talk was over because there was astampede to buy Plant Based Nutrition and Health. In factwe could have sold all the merchandise we brought severaltimes over. A big public ‘Thank You’ from all of us to Niall,Miriam, Ellen and Robert for looking after us so well.

We also recruited lots of new members plus one newLocal Contact. We now have three groups in Ireland (seeLocal Groups News) and hope to arrange an event therefairly soon. If you live anywhere in Ireland please give thenew groups your support; or if there is not one near youand you would be willing to help set one up please get intouch.

As my telephone number is for work as well as home, thebest time to ring is after 7.15 pm, but e-mail is evenbetter.

Patricia TrickerNational Local Contacts’ Coordinator

LOCAL CONTACTS

NEWSn NOVEMBER

Saturday 15th

Vegan Society Annual General

Meeting

The Guildhall, Watergate Street,

Chester CH1 2LA. Doors open at

noon, AGM starts at 2pm.

Vegan Society stall will be there.

Sunday 16th

Vegan Society Local Contacts and

Activists Training Day

Vegetarian Society HQ, Altrincham,

Cheshire. 11am to 5pm.

Contact Patricia Tricker for details

Saturday 22nd – Saturday 29th

National Anti-Fur Week

Protests at fur shops and on the

street throughout the UK.

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade

(CAFT-UK) T. 0845 456 9381

[email protected] www.caft.org.uk

Sunday 23rd

Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre

Kensington Town Hall, London,

10am to 5pm T. 01732 364546

www.animalaid.org.uk

Vegan Society stall will be there.

Saturday 29th

Buy Nothing Day

Anti-consumerism campaign.

T. 0161 226 6668

[email protected]

www.enough.org.uk

n DECEMBER

All Month – Christmas Without

Cruelty Campaign

Try to encourage the saving of life

rather than the taking of life this

season.

Saturday 6th

Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty

March And Move. National march

and rally in Cambridgeshire. Starts

12 noon. T. 0845 458 0630

www.shac.net

Wednesday 10th

6th International Animal Rights

Day

Calling for the recognition of

Uncaged’s Universal Declaration of

Animal Rights. Groups and

individuals are encouraged to hold

candle-lit vigils to protest against the

abuse of animals’ rights.

Uncaged T. 0114 272 2220

[email protected]

www.uncaged.co.uk

Friday 26th

Boxing Day Anti-Hunt Demos –

Contact your local group via:

Hunt Saboteurs Association

T. 0845 450 0727

[email protected]

www.huntsabs.org.uk

League Against Cruel Sports

T. 020 7403 6155

[email protected]

www.league.uk.com

n JANUARY

Sunday 25th

Burns Night

Celebrate Rabbie’s birthday by

treating yourself and friends to an

evening of vegan haggis with neeps

and tatties.

n FEBRUARY

Month of remembrance for

animal activists.

Jill Phipps (1st); Vicki Moore (6th),

Mike Hill (9th).

Saturday 14th

Vegan Valentine’s Day

Check out those plant-based

aphrodisiacs and spread some vegan

love around.

Monday 23rd – Friday 27th

Hotelympia

Le Salon Culinaire International de

Londres - a chance for your favourite

chefs to prove they are the best in

the world. Contact The Vegan

Society for details. You need to

register by Nov 30th.

n MARCH

Veggie Month

Animal Aid is conducting a survey to

assess the provision of animal-free

foods in hospitals. The results will

be published to mark the start of

Veggie Month.

T. 01732 364546

[email protected]

www.animalaid.org.uk

n APRIL

Saturday 24th

World Day for Animals in

Laboratories

Local, national and international

campaigns against vivisection.

National Anti-Vivisection Society

T. 020 8846 9777 [email protected]

www.navs.org.uk

eventsFor a full list of events and meetings, see www.veggies.org.uk,

www.veganvillage.co.uk, www.veganlondon.freeserve.co.uk ,

the forum at www.worldveganday.org and local groups’ websites.

Post missing events up at www.worldveganday.org


Note: Local Contacts are Vegan

Society members who have

offered to act, on a voluntary

basis, as a point of contact for

those interested in the Society's

work. They are not official

representatives of the Society.

Their levels of activity and

knowledge may vary according to

their individual circumstances.

When writing to a Contact please

remember to enclose a SAE.

Local Contacts' Coordinator:

Patricia Tricker - see under

Yorkshire (North)

VEGAN SOCIETY LOCAL CONTACTS

FounderDonald Watson

Hon PatronsSerena ColesFreya DinshahManeka GandhiDr. Michael KlaperArthur LingMobyCor Nouws Wendy Turner Donald WatsonBenjamin Zephaniah

CouncilAlex Bourke (Vice Chair)Chris ChildeVanessa ClarkeLaurence Klein (Hon Treasurer)Laurence MainCaroline MalkinsonMarc Palmer (Co-opted)Karin RidgersGeorge Rodger Patricia Tricker Stephen Walsh (Chair)

National Local Contacts Co-ordinatorPatricia M. Tricker

STAFF

Chief Executive OfficerRick Savage

Administration/FinanceOfficerJanet Pender

Head of Promotions/PR Tony Weston

Information OfficerCatriona Toms

Information AssistantDebbie Holman

Fundraising/MarketingOfficerJames Southwood

Sales & MembershipOfficerDave Palmer

Sales & MembershipAssistantSundari Poorun

Sales AssistantJohn Rawden

VolunteersWendy CrathernBev LithgowErica Wilson

Dietary ConsultantSandra Hood

VEGANISM may be defined

as a way of living which

seeks to exclude, as far as

possible and practical, all

forms of exploitation of, and

cruelty to, animals for food,

clothing or any other

purpose. In dietary terms it

refers to the practice of

dispensing with all animal

produce — including meat,

fish, poultry, eggs, animal

milks, honey, and their

derivatives.

Abhorrence of the cruel

practices inherent in an

agricultural system based on

the abuse of animals is

probably the single most

common reason for the

adoption of veganism, but

many people are drawn to it

for health, ecological,

resource, spiritual and other

reasons.

If you would like more

information on veganism a

free Information Pack is

available from the Vegan

Society in exchange for two

first class stamps.

THE VEGAN SOCIETY was

formed in England in

November 1944 by a group

of vegetarians who had

recognised the ethical

compromises implicit in

lacto-vegetarianism (ie dairy

dependent). Today, the

Society continues to

highlight the breaking of the

strong maternal bond

between the cow and her

new-born calf within just

four days; the dairy cow’s

proneness to lameness and

mastitis; her subjection to an

intensive cycle of pregnancy

and lactation; our unnatural

and unhealthy taste for

cow’s milk; and the

de-oxygenation of river

water through

contamination with cattle

slurry.

If you are already a vegan or

vegan sympathiser, please

support the Society and help

increase its influence by

joining. Increased

membership means more

resources to educate and

inform.

LISTINGS



CORNWALL

CUMBRIA

MY HOME IS YOUR HOMEBed and Breakfast. Country cottagebedroom. Plenty of scrumptiousveggie/vegan food. Food lovers and catlovers especially welcome! CockermouthTown Centre, Cumbria 01900 824045£35 per couple £20 per person

DEVON

DEVON (Lydford) S/C for N/S visitors atVEGFAM’s HQ. SAE to ‘The Sanctuary’, nr Lydford, Okehampton EX20 4AL.

Tel/Fax 01822 820203

ISLE OF WIGHT

LANCASHIRE

SCOTLAND

SOMERSET

SOMERSET BADGER’S END women’s bedand breakfast. Vegan/vegetarian £20 pppn.Non-smoking. Walking, birdwatching nrGlastonbury. For booking phone 01963351240 email

SUSSEX

WALESMACHYNLLETH B&B. Relax in our WTB 4-Star bungalow overlooking the Dyfi valleyand enjoy delicious organic veg/veganbreakfasts. Spectcular scenery - coastnearby. Secure parking. 01654 702562

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY B&B andRETREATS Magical Victorian countryhouse, natural carpets and paints, veganorganic meals, overlooking stunningcoastal conservation area. Easy for publictransport. South West Wales. 01267 241999 www.heartspring.co.uk

PEMBROKESHIRE. A warm welcome &good food (exclusively Veg/Vegan) inmodern bungalow. Close to Newgalebeach. Coastal paths to explore.

Green Haven B&B - Tel. 01437 710756

SNOWDONIA restored railway station

overlooking vale of Ffestiniog. Self-

catering, sleeps up to 6. Children, pet and

wheelchair friendly. Tel 01766 590233

CARDIGAN BAY, West Wales, 18th

Century self catering cottage on non

working farm, sleeps five. Discount to

Vegan Society readers. Tel: 01239

811423. www.bwthynbarri.co.uk

TRADITIONAL SELF-CATERING

ACCOMMODATION and Bed & Breakfast,

situated on Pembrokeshire coast path

with spectacular cliffs & wildlife, including

seals and choughs. Excellent vegan and

vegetarian cooking. Tel 01437 721677

www.sheepdogtraining.co.uk

(UK) HOLIDAY

ACCOMMODATION

CLASSIFIEDSCLASSIFIEDS


YORKSHIRE

NORTH YORKSHIRE Comfortable, homely,exclusively vegetarian/vegan B&B from£17 p.p./p.n. at Prospect Cottage situatedin Ingleton village. Wonderful walkingcountry. Tel: 015242 41328

KERALA, SOUTH INDIA a vegan’s paradise.Tours, accommodation including self-catering. Brochure: Tel: 01892 722440,Voice Mail/Fax: 01892 724913. E-mail:[email protected]:www.keralconnect.co.uk

WEST CORK self catering apartmentsfor singles,couples and families inpeaceful wooded surroundings. Organicvegetables,bread & vegan wholefoodsavailable. Reasonable rates. Green Lodge,Trawnamadree, Ballylickey, Bantry, CoCork, Ireland. Tel. 003532766146email [email protected]:http://homepage.eircom.net/~greenlodge

VEGAN GUEST HOUSE SW Ireland,http://homepage.eircom.net/~cussenscottageAll major credit cards accepted.00353 63 98926email:[email protected]

ALPUJARRAS - ANDALUCIAAttractive townhouse.Garage,roof terrace.Excellent views,birds,walks.Wholefoodshops and restaurants serving veggie foodin town.Sleeps 2 -6.From £230 pw.Available all year.Tel:01736 753555.

PYRENEES:Vegan B+B, dble roomw/shower and organic brek:40 eurosper couple per night, incl breakfast.Contact Sue or Trev, Le Guerrat, 09420Rimont, France. Web:http://vegan.port5.com/flashvegangite2.html

GROWING ECO-FRIENDLY vegan-rawcommunity with land in Southern Spainseeks new members and ethical investors.Contact Veronica or Gaura Ecoforest,Apdo 29, Coin 2910, Malaga, [email protected] andwww.ecoforest.org

TEMPEH KITS – it’s so easy and cheap tomake this PERFECT protein food forvegans at home. Kits comprise enoughstarter for 10.5kg finished tempeh PLUS acolour instruction/recipe book - £15. CallPolly at PHYTOFOODS – 01547 510242

FREE SAMPLES! Animal free, dairy free,creamy shakes for children and adults. Tel: 07957 958058 (24 hours) email:[email protected] with nameand address.

NEW BOOK. Highly recommended. “AGlimpse into the World of Spirit”. Eightprofessional people tell of their livesbefore and after passing into spirit. £5please to B. L. Cox, 12 Cliff Close,Reedham, Norfolk, NR13 3TS

GROWING ECO-FRIENDLY vegan-rawcommunity with land in Southern Spainseeks new members and ethical investors.Contact Veronica or Gaura Ecoforest,Apdo 29, Coin 2910, Malaga, [email protected] and www.ecoforest.org

DISCOUNT CARD

COSMETICS

FOOD

HOLIDAYS

ABROAD

PERSONAL

PUBLICATIONS

Box Numbers

When replying to a box number

address your envelope as follows:

Box no. ___,The Vegan Society,

Donald Watson House, 7 Battle Road,

St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex,

TN37 7AA

VALID FROM

UNTIL

DISCOUNT CARD

THE VEGAN

November 2003

February 2004

This card entitles the

bearer to discounts at

a range of outlets,

restaurants and hotels.

A full list of discounts

is available from

The Vegan Society.

REFERENCE CODE

"

"

EATING OUT

Ref: JUB-144


ROOM TO LET, vegan household, nonsmoker preferred. Must like animals as Ihave dogs, cats. Phone Ros for a chat ifinterested. Phone 01843 589027,Ramsgate area.

GREEN/DIY FUNERALS Eco-friendlyinexpensive coffins, memorial tree-planting. Please send £1 in unused stamps with A5 size 33p SAE to Box 328

Vegan but still sick? Health andnutritional consultations and iridology byDr Gina Shaw. Correspondence course innatural health, health magazine andbooks, etc. Contact (01626) 352765

www.vibrancy.homestead.com/pageone.html

LOANS FOR ANY PURPOSE. Mortgages,Re-mortgages, right-to-buy. Rates variabledepending on status. Self-employed withwithout accounts. Buy-to-let specialists.Non-status also considered. Visit website,apply on-line www.finance-agent.com/circlefinance or

people animals environment

Donald Watson House

7 Battle Road

St. Leonards on Sea

East Sussex TN37 7AA

Tel: 0845 45 88244

Fax: 01424 717064

[email protected]

www.vegansociety.com

THE VEGAN DISCOUNT CARD

"

"

DISCOUNT CARD

CLASSIFIED ORDER FORM CLASSIFIED ORDER FORM Want to meet new vegan friends? Looking for romance? After a roommate? Why not advertise in The Vegan classifieds, and reach a large audience

of like-minded people. It costs just £6 for 35 word max (commercial rates also available) - simply return this form to us in time for the next issue.

OPPORTUNITIES

ITEMS FOR SALE

FINANCE

PRACTITIONERS

ACCOMMODATION

MISCELLANEOUS

CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE:

Advertisements are accepted subject to their satisfying the condition that the productsadvertised are entirely free from ingredients derived from animals; that neitherproducts nor ingredients have been tested on animals; and that the content of suchads does not promote, or appear to promote, the use of non-vegan commodities.Books, records, tapes, etc. mentioned in advertisements should not contain anymaterial contrary to vegan principles. Advertisements may be accepted from cateringestablishments that are not run on exclusively vegan lines, provided that vegan mealsare available and that the wording of such ads reflects this.

ARTICLES AND ADVERTISEMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED BY

15 JANUARY 2004

FOR INCLUSION IN SPRING 2004 ISSUE OF THE VEGAN

CLASSIFIEDS

34 PRIZE CROSSWORDKate Sweeney


33

Solution to

The Vegan Prize Crossword

CONGRATULATIONSto the Winner

Rob Leake, Highworth,Wiltshire

Name.......................................................................................

Address....................................................................................

................................................................................................

Postcode

Send in a photocopy (or original) of thesolution to this crossword, together withyour name and address by the 15th January 2004

PRIZE: Win one of our fabulous new t-shirts 'Against Animal Tasting' - a realtalking point when people realise it's not'Testing' but 'Tasting'. Solution in nextissue.

ACROSS1 _ _ _ _ _ barley (5)4 Remove the pips (6)9 Pear-shaped tropical fruit (7)10 Hot drink of liquor, water, sugar and spices (5)11 Make brown and crispy; drink in honour of (5)12 Deficency of red blood cells (7)13 Puree for spaghetti, perhaps (6,5)17 Porridge is made from this (7)19 Increased in volume (dough) (5)21 These may be stock (5)22 Take the lid off (7)23 Gather windfall apples by raiding orchards (6)24 Herb used in stuffing (5)

DOWN1 Puts into the ground; vegetable organisms (6)2 Pleasant odour, perfume (5)3 Combine feta with ale for this drink? (Anag.) (4,3)5 _ _ _ _ _ virgin olive oil (5)6 Native to a particular area (7)7 Not sweet (3)8 Thickener made from tubers (6,5)14 Vegan Week started in this month (7)15 Fruit resembling a small peach (7)16 Principal dish of a meal (6)18 _ _ _ _ _ salts (hydrated magnesium sulphate

used as a laxative) (5)20 Type of cabbage (5)21 Kind of lettuce (3)

Documents

The Vegan Winter 2003