The Jain Vegans team hope you've all had a great start to 2016!

In this newsletter you will find details of a large vegan festival taking place over two days in Brighton at the end of February. There will be loads to see and do, so perhaps combine the festival with a visit to the seaside? Cheap and frequent train travel is available for anyone able to travel from London.

Have you ever wondered how the ideas of abstaining from meat consumption first arose and how these philosophies developed throughout different cultures? If so, make sure you listen in to Ian McDonald's meticulously researched radio programme tracing the history of vegetarianism - 'Vegetarianism: The Story So Far'. Episode 1, Ahimsa, is now available for free.

We also have some news about an inspiring vegan multifaith event, with reference to Mahatma Gandhi, that took place at the historic Kingsley Hall last month, and you can view a musical video about the event too

Finally, be sure to look through the list of the many and varied upcoming vegan events all over the UK, and start making your plans!.

Brighton Vegfest - Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th February 2016

Date: Saturday and Sunday 27th and 28th February 2016
Time: 11am to 7pm
Venue: Brighton Centre, BN1 2GR
Tickets: £7 per day, £10 whole weekend (www.brighton.vegfest.co.uk/admission)

VegfestUK Brighton is a celebration of all things vegan with loads of stalls serving awesome food as well as bodycare, clothes, accessories, gifts and also lots of campaigning groups and merchandise, plus stacks of info, talks, cookery demos, performances, passion and positive energy. Loads of freebies and tasters add to the attraction. People of all ages are welcome and the venue - the Brighton Centre - is modern, spacious and well equipped, and suitable for visitors with disabilities. Cheap day return train travel available for those able to go from London.

For more information please visit: http://www.brighton.vegfest.co.uk/
 

Vegetarianism: The Story so Far - a Radio History

Ian McDonald is a BBC-trained radio producer who founded the Vegan Option, a radio show that is broadcast on Resonance 104.4FM.  Two years in the making, Ian took a sabbatical from paid work to produce a series of podcasts to document the history of vegetarianism from its early origins to the modern day, featuring discussion of key figures from ancient India, including Mahavir and Ashoka, as well as other famous historical vegetarians such as Pythagoras and Gandhi.

Episode 1 - Ahimsa - is now available to listen or download. Visit this link for access and to get background information about the broadcast. Warning: this episode contains potentially controversial suggestions about Jain and Hindu history that may offend.

Other Vegan News -  Gandhi: the Sanctity of Life & the Ethics of Diet, Saturday 30th January

At the end of January, on the anniversary of his death, an event: ' Gandhi: the Sanctity of Life & the Ethics of Diet' took place at a venue of special historic significance, Kingsley Hall. In 1931, Gandhi stayed here for 12 weeks amongst the poor of east London, whilst he attended the Round Table Conference.

The event was co-organised by two separate groups, the Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA) and the Gandhi Foundation, both with compassion at their heart. Over the course of the session, there happened to be plenty of references during the various speeches to the importance of a vegan lifestyle, and of course, refreshments were vegan, and there was an all-vegan popup cafe serving various plant based treats during the break.

The audience was treated to short speeches from representatives from several faiths. Ketan Varia from the UK Jain community (and board member of AIA, and vegan advocate) delivered an inspiring short speech as the Jain representative.

At the end, a guided tour was given up to the small room in which Gandhiji stayed, located on the roof of the building, and accessible via a long spiral staircase.  On the way up the stairs, historic black-and-white photos were on display depicting various events/moments involving Mahatma Gandhi. 

Here's a link to a 3-minute musical video summarising the event.
 

Upcoming Vegan Events

1) Vibrant social events in London
For information on monthly informative talks, regular scenic walks at different locations in London, social meals at some of the best vegan-friendly restaurants in the city, social meetups in London among like-minded folk, check out the follow links:
London Vegans  and  London Vegan Meetup

2) Stirchley Spring Vegan Fair - Sat 20th Feb
www.facebook.com/events/572439146255343

3) Brighton VegfestUK - Sat 27th & Sun 28th Feb
http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk

4) Sharan's Diabetes Reversal Through Nutrition - various UK dates in March & April
https://sharan-india.org/events/
 
5) Live a Better Life (Liverpool) - Sat 19th March
www.labl.org.uk/labl_fair_liverpool.html

6) Irish Vegan Festival (Belfast) - Sat 19th April
www.irishveganfestival.com

7) Northern Vegan Festival (Manchester) - Sat 23rd April
www.northernveganfestival.com

8) New Forest Vegan Fair - Sat 30th April
www.newforestfair.co.uk

9) Kent Vegan Festival - Sat 7th May
www.facebook.com/KentVeganFestival

10) Newcastle Vegan Festival - Sat 7th May
www.veganfestival.co.uk/

11) NE Vegan Festival (Sunderland) - Sunday 15th May
www.northeastveganfestival.co.uk

12) Bristol Vegfest UK - Sat 21st & Sun 22nd May
  http://bristol.vegfest.co.uk

13) London Animal Free Festival - Sat 4th June
www.londonanimalfreefestival.com

14) Great Yorkshire Vegan Festival (Leeds) - Sat 18th June
www.yorkshireveganfestival.com

15) Bournemouth Vegan Fair - Sat 25th & Sun 26th June
http://www.dorsetveganevents.co.uk/bournemouth-vegan-fair.html

Abuse and killing of cows in milk production

NHS website supportive of a vegan diet 

For further information on vegan health nutrition, please consult the  Vegan Section on the NHS website  or visit this link: http://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health

Alternatives to dairy to help you give up

• Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, Ecomil, Koko)
• Yoghurt / Dahi with plant based curds (Provamel, Alpro, Sojade, Coyo, supermarket own brands)
• 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, Sheese, Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet, Violife)
• Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Bessant and Drury, Swedish Glace, Booja Booja, Almond Dream, Coyo, supermarket own brands)
• 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

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) or interact with us through the following online channels:

..a friendly online forum where you can ask questions and exchange ideas about the vegan lifestyle with other members from around the world....
 

...follow us on Twitter (@JainVegans) for instant news and information...

'like' us on facebook for updates on our activities and invitations to events... 

 

JAIN VEGANS WORKING GROUP

In the UK, the Jain Vegans Working Group actively works with UK Jain organisations to deliver informative and empowering events on a plant-based lifestyle, and to encourage them to make the transition to all-vegan catering at their events. Please  us if you'd like us to help your Jain organisation/community in this way. Please also  if you are interested in supporting our activities, for example by volunteering.

With warm wishes,

The Jain Vegans Team
www.jainvegans.org