03.02.2017 ►Jain Vegans ►Newsletter @ HereNow4U

Jain Vegans

This Issue:

Two major upcoming vegan festivals
How was going vegan for you? - event summary
Vegan experience survey
Upcoming vegan events

Two Major Upcoming Vegan Festivals
Brighton 10-11th March | London 8-9th April

If you are new to veganism or simply vegan curious we definitely recommend you check out one of the many vegan festivals that are taking place all over the country these days.

Vegan festivals provide an excellent opportunity to try and buy (often at a discount) many new and popular plant based products available. For example you could sample a variety of different cheeses or chocolates on the market before deciding which brands were your favourites. Or even view and feel a large selection of shoes, bags and belts before choosing the ones for you.

In addition to the information packed health + nutrition talks and cookery demos on offer you'll be able to meet lots of like minded people and have a chance to taste some fantastic vegan cuisine from around the world.

There are two large vegan festivals to keep an eye out for happening soon:

VegfestUK Brighton - Sat 11th & Sun 12th March
http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk/
Veggie World (London) - Sat 8th & Sun 9th April
https://veggieworld.de/en/event/london-en/

Nishma Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be delivering vegan cookery demos at both these events. For more info and to find a more comprehensive list of upcoming vegan events, see our listings section below.

How was going vegan for you? - event summary

On Sunday 12th February, an enthusiastic mixture of new and experienced vegans met up in Kenton for a few hours to share their experiences of the diet and lifestyle.

Dev Priya and Mahersh, of the Jain Vegans Working Group, asked a series of questions designed to encourage discussion amongst the attendees in smaller groups. A variety of topics were discussed, including reasons for going vegan, common difficulties faced plus practical solutions and the inefficiencies of animal agriculture. Lots of useful tips and advice were shared and at the end a Whatsapp group was formed to provide on going support.

During the break a selection of goodies (wholegrain sugar free burfi, melon pieces, dates, cake and cinnamon swirls) were available to be enjoyed with the masala chai and biscuits on offer.

Should you want to join the Whatsapp support group please email .

Vegan experience survey

Have you tried a vegan diet at any point in the last few years?

If so, we would be very grateful if you could fill out this short survey to let us know about your experience.

The survey should take less than 10 minutes of your time, but the results will be invaluable for our work to help members of Jain community to transition to a lower himsa lifestyle.

www.jainvegans.org/2017survey

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

Essex Vegan Festival (Colchester), Sat 4th March
http://www.facebook.com/Essex-Vegan-Festival-1025371087561997/

VegfestUK Brighton - Sat 11th & Sun 12th March
http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk/
Nishma Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be delivering a vegan cookery demonstration at this event

Free Sharan talks in March:
Sat 11th in Leicester: https://sharan-india.org/events/health-in-your-hands-free-talk-8/
Mon 13th at Oshwal Centre: https://sharan-india.org/events/health-in-your-hands-free-talk-9/
Tues 14th in Croydon: https://sharan-india.org/events/health-in-your-hands-free-talk-10/

Kingston Yoga & Vegan festival - Sat 25th March
Nishma and Mahersh Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be running their vegan catering stall at this event

Oxford Vegan Festival - Sat 25th March
http://www.oxfordveganfestival.com/

Shambhu's Exotic Barbeque Delights Cookery Class - Sat 1st April
www.shambhus.co.uk/adult-classes

Veggie World (London) - Sat 8th & Sun 9th April
https://veggieworld.de/en/event/london-en/
Nishma Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be delivering a vegan cookery demonstration at this event on Sun 9th April

Sharan's Reserving Diabetes & Hypertension event - Wed 26th April
https://sharan-india.org/events/reversing-diabetes-and-hypertension-24/

For a list of many other great upcoming vegan events, visit this link:
http://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 through artificial insemination. If a cow isn’t made pregnant, she won’t produce milk.
The newborn calf is normally taken away from his/her 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 15 to 20 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.

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, Sojade)
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 (Alpro, 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...

THE 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