1. Why not try being Vegan over November - World Vegan Month! 
November is World Vegan Month. November may have already started, but its certainly not too late to try the 30-day Great Vegan Challenge. This is your chance to enjoy an animal-free diet, while you receive all the support and information you need to make it successful and enjoyable.
You can share your experiences, swap recipes, and ask any questions you like via the online Agony Aunt! And everyone who takes up the challenge will be entered into a prize draw to win a hamper of vegan goodies. This really is a wonderful opportunity to try a diet that is kinder to you, the planet and to animals.
Register now at:
www . govegan . org . uk
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2. Vegan news this November 1. Vegan MPs - plant based politics
Three Members of Parliament have adopted a vegan lifestyle, as a baseline for changing society. Please find below a great article by Jon Bennett, who discovered why they went vegan, how it affects their politics and the hostility they faced when they debated the benefits of the lifestyle in parliament.
http ://www . vegetarianliving . co . uk/interviews . php?do=view&article=90
2. World's first vegan football match
Forest Green Rovers have been promoting sustainability since they were taken over by vegan Dane Vince, and owner of Electrocity, in 2010. To mark the 70th anniversary of the Vegan Society on 1st November, Dane invited the Vegan Society over to celebrate at the football match that was being played that Saturday and introduced a 100% plant based menu within the grounds to raise awareness of the issues!
At half time, the first ever top flight vegan footballer (from the early 1980s), Neil Robinson, was at hand to talk to the gathered fans. Neil had stopped eating meat at the age of 13 after seeing scenes of animal slaughter on a TV documentary. He was always amongst the fittest players at all the clubs he played for.
3. Keval Shah's latest school talk
Over the last few months, Keval Shah of the Jain Vegans Working Group has delivered several vegan-related talks to school classes of various age groups. Keval is part of Animal Aid's school speaker network. His latest talk during World Vegan Month will be on the subject of 'Religious Views on Animal Rights' at Harrow High school on 18th November.
(You maybe remember Keval being mentioned in the last newsletter as he's rescued three hens from slaughter, who are now enjoying a life of happiness and relative freedom in his garden).
If you'd like a speaker for your or your child's class, please ask the teacher to contact Animal Aid via the form at this link:
www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/EDUCATION/email/ALL///#talk
Please do mention that you heard about the service from the Jain Vegans Working Group, and if you wish you can also make a request to have Keval as the speaker.
If you're interested in becoming a school speaker (about vegan-related matters), or even a vegan cookery demonstrator, please visit this link for further information:
www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/ACTIVE/school_speaker/ALL///
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3. Update from the Jain Vegans Cooking Club 
The second meeting of the Jain Vegans Cooking Club took place on 21st September. Once again, the event was a great success where each of us tried a different vegan recipe and brought along the dish to share. The dishes made this time were coconut raita and pilau, tagliatelle with white sauce and vegetables, magaj and oaty squares.
We also had some really interesting conversations about other vegan dishes we have made or would like to try and shared ideas about how we can adapt and improve on our existing recipes. You can read more about the last Cooking Club event here: http ://www . plantshift . com/blog/the-jain-vegan-cooking-club?rq=jain%20ve
The next meeting will take place on Sunday 16th November from 12.30 - 2.00pm in Queensbury (north-west London), and Jain Vegans Cooking Clubs Members will be receiving details soon about that.
If you like the sound of the Jain Vegans cooking club, and would like to join, please email .
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4. Please email us your vegan Jain recipes 
Some of the vegan Jain recipes that have been sent to us have now been tried and tested and have been published on our new website. However, we need lots more. So please send your vegan Jain recipes to us: .
We will aim to test out the dishes through the Cooking Club, make any adjustments and then publish them on our website with credits to both the creator and adaptors. To help us in this process, we would be grateful if recipes could as far as possible use accurate metric measurements of all ingredients used.
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5. Another Great Vegan Festival in London: Animal Aid's Xmas Fayre - Sunday 7th December, Kensington Town Hall, London W8 
When: Sunday 7th December, 10:00 - 17:00
Where: Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, Kensington, London, W8 7NX. (map)
Entrance: £2
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_living//3154//
Animal Aid's Xmas Fayre is run by people dedicated to ahimsa and reducing animal cruelty. There will be around 100 stalls promoting ethical living. Visitors will be able to attend cookery demonstrations, get information about health and nutrition and even sample different styles of non-leather shoes. Opportunities will be present to support local animal sanctuaries and to listen to talks by well known speakers. Make sure you come hungry as there will also be heaps of vegan treats to try - cakes, ice creams, chocolates, cookies, savouries, healthy salads.... and so much more!
As in previous years, we're expecting many members of the Jain community to be present, and hope you'll be among them:-) Vegan caterers Shambhu's will have Jain-friendly options available on request at their stand.
If you fancy volunteering at the event for a few hours while you're there, Shambhu's is looking for enthusiastic people to help serve out their vegan food and drinks. If you're interested, please email Mahersh Shah of Shambhu's with your preferred time for volunteering, and the number of hours you can spare:
Mahersh will then come back to you with more information.
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6. Other upcoming vegan festivals and events | | |
7. Abuse and killing of cows in milk production 
The abuse and killing of cows on dairy farms is the main reason why many members of the Jain community have decided to make a switch to a vegan lifestyle:
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The cow is forcefully impregnated by means of artificial insemination. If a cow isn’t made pregnant, she won’t produce milk. -
The newborn calf is normally taken away from its mother within 24-48 hours. This is traumatic for cows, who, like human mothers, are very motherly and develop strong bonds with their babies. -
Male calves are killed shortly after birth or sold on for meat/leather production. They have no other use to dairy farmers. -
Female calves are kept on to replace their mothers as milk-producing cows. -
The mother cow will be killed when 5-7 years old, even though she could live for 20 to 30 years if given the chance. This is because after bearing a calf and giving milk each year, her milk yield drops such that it is no more profitable for a dairy farmer to keep her alive. Even though cows on organic farms might experience slightly better conditions, they are still artificially inseminated and killed long before they would leave their bodies naturally. For further information about the way in which cows and other animals are exploited in the milk production process, please visit the Vegan Society website: http ://www . vegansociety . com/ | | |
8. NHS website supportive of a vegan diet | | |
9. Alternatives to dairy to help you give up It is possible to get a range of dairy free alternatives to traditionally animal based products. Normally available from free-from sections of supermarkets and also from healthfood stores.
You can easily replace:
- Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, Ecomil, Koko)
- Yoghurt / Dahi with plant based curds (Provamel, Alpro, Sojade)
- Butter with vegetable spreads (Pure and Vitalite are commonly available from supermarkets. Note many margarines contain butter milk and thus are not suitable for vegans)
- Cheese / Paneer with Dairy Free Cheeses (Tofu, VBites, Scheese, Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet)
- Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Bessant and Drury, Swedish Glace, Booja Booja, Worthenshaws)
- Chocolate with dark chocolate (Plamil and Organica do specialist dairy free ‘milk chocolate’ and many brands do vegan dark chocolate)
- Eggs with egg replacement powder (baking) or tofu (scrambled)
- Honey with maple syrup, rice syrup, agave syrup, date syrup or golden syrup
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10. About Jain Vegans Jain Vegans supports members of the Jain community in the transition towards a plant-based low-himsa lifestyle, and helps raise awareness about the abuse, violation and killing of cows in milk production.
You can find out more about Jain Vegans online (www . jainvegans . org) | | |
