25.08.2016 ►Jain Vegans ►Newsletter @ HereNow4U

Jain Vegans

In this issue:

Talk on vegan lifestyle for Jains on Tue 30 Aug
Video asking Jains to give up dairy for Paryushan goes viral
Young Jains event on medical research without animals
Help get vegan products labelled in supermarkets
UK Jain communities embrace vegan catering

Talk on relevance of a vegan lifestyle for Jains
Tuesday 30th August 2016, Finchley, London

Time and date: 7:30pm to 8:30pm,
Location: Tue 30 August, St. Michaels Convent School, Nether Street, Finchley, London, UK, N12 7NJ
Host: Oshwal North Area

As part of Oshwal North Area's Paryushan Programme, Sagar Kirit Shah will be talking about the relevance of a vegan lifestyle for members of the Jain community. The event will be a safe environment to learn about the ethics of milk and eggs, and to ask practical questions about a vegan lifestyle.

Sagar has been a vegan for 9 years, and has been actively promoting the relevance of a vegan lifestyle to the Jain community since 2008. He currently serves as a trustee of the UK Vegan Society.

Give up dairy for Paryushan video goes viral

Share video on Facebook

The video we produced encouraging Jains to consider giving up dairy products this Paryushan has gone viral on our Facebook page. In just over 2 weeks, it has been viewed over 11,000 times and has been shared over 175 times.

We thank you for all your support in helping share this message to your friends and family.

If you haven't watched the video, please do watch it. If you believe we have an important message, please help keep up the momentum by liking it and sharing with your friends and family.

Remember, you can also share information about the campaign by sharing the campaign website, and the Buzzfeed Article.

'Medical research without animals' event
Sunday 18th September 2016, Bushey

Date & Time: Sunday 18th September - 2pm to 5pm
Venue: The Niland Conference Centre: 93 Elstree Road, WD23 4EE Bushey
Event cost: Free
Registration required: www.youngjains.org.uk/research-without-animals

The use of animals in medical research causes an ethical dilemma for many Jains - especially those working as professionals in the healthcare sector. We all support medical advances that can help save and improve lives. But as believers in non-violence, we also often feel uncomfortable about the millions of animals that are harmed in medical research and drug development.

Dr. Hadwen Trust is the UK's leading non-animal medical research charity. They help fund innovative, high-quality, human-relevant medical research that doesn't use animals - research that has the potential to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of animals in medicine.

Come along to this Young Jains organised event to find out more about the use of animals in medical research, the limitations of animal models, and the alternative research that the Dr. Hadwen Trust are helping to fund.

Help improve vegan labelling in supermarkets

Animal aid are running an important campaign to help improve labelling of vegan products in UK supermarkets. Find out more here: http://bit.do/mark-it-vegan-campaign

You can help the campaign by taking the following actions:

Order some ‘Mark It Vegan’ action postcards to sign and send to the directors of the seven major supermarkets that don’t currently label their vegan products - and ask your friends to sign them too, even if they’re not vegan.
Sign the online petition calling for supermarkets to label their vegan products, and share it on social media.
Sign up to this email list for updates about this and other Animal Aid campaigns.
If you’re not already vegan, order a FREE Go Vegan pack to get all the information you need to go cruelty-free.

UK Jain communities provide host vegan meals

Congratulations to Young Jains UK, for hosting a fantastic Convention in July with 100% Jain Vegan meals. In addition to simple wholesome vegan meals, delegates were also treated to flavoured coconut milkshakes, vegan masala chai, Booja Booja chocolate truffles, vegan cheesecakes and vegan faludho.

We are also pleased to note that all the food was vegan at the 10 year Pratishta Anniversary Celebration of the Shree Digambar Jain Association earlier this month.

Upcoming vegan events

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

Talk on relevance of Vegan Diet for Jains - Tue 30 Aug
Sagar Kirit Shah will provide a talk about the relevance of a vegan diet with Oshwal North Area as part of their Paryushan Programme.
7:30 - 8:30pm, Tue 30 August, St. Michaels Convent School, Nether Street, Finchley, London, UK, N12 7NJ
http://www.oshwal.org.uk/north-area-paryushan-2016/

Brighton Viva! Vegan Festival - Sat 3rd Sept
http://www.viva.org.uk/festivals/brighton-2016

Liverpool Viva! Vegan Festival - Sat 10th Sept
http://www.viva.org.uk/festivals/liverpool-2016

Medical research without animals - Sun 18 September
www.youngjains.org.uk/research-without-animals
Learn more about alternatives to the use of animals in medical research with Young Jains and Dr Hadwen Trust.

Vegan Indian cuisine cookery class - Sat 24 September
http://shambhus.co.uk/adult-classes/

Scottish Vegan Festival (Edinburgh) - Sat 1st Oct
www.scottishveganfestival.com

Northern Vegan Festival (Manchester) - Sat 15th Oct
www.northernveganfestival.com

VegfestUK London (Olympia) - Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd Oct
http://london.vegfest.co.uk
Come and see Shambhu's vegan cookery demonstration on Sat 22nd Oct. Tushar Mehta and Sagar Kirit Shah will also be speaking.

West Midlands Vegan Festival (Wolverhampton) - Sat 29th & Sun 30th October
http://midlandsveganfestival.org.uk

For a list of many other great upcoming vegan events, visit this link:
www.shambhus.co.uk/events

Vegan recipes & cookery classes

Do you need advice and tips on how to veganise your favourite dishes or perhaps you're looking for ways to introduce more plant based cuisine into the family diet? If so check out the following listings:

http://www.jainvegans.org/recipes/
http://yummyvegan.tumblr.com/
https://veganjain.com/
http://plantshift.com/recipebook/

Would you like to share the recipe for a favourite Jain vegan dish? Please email us on for publication on our website.
(Please accurately state all measurements in metric units)

Vegan cookery classes & demos

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:

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 longer 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/try-vegan/why-go-vegan

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

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 health food 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, 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