Dear all,
Hope you are all enjoying the summer heat. There is going to be an excellent talk on vegan health and nutrition tomorrow evening in central London. Please also find below some recent news and a list of upcoming vegan-related events. | | |
1. Talk on vegan health and nutrition - tomorrow at 6:30pm, Central London Ever wondered whether a vegan/vegetarian diet might be lacking in certain nutrients, or how to maintain a healthy, balanced diet without spending lots on exotic superfoods? If so, tomorrow's London Vegans Speaker Evening will definitely be of interest to you.
Stephen Walsh PhD, a world reknowned expert on vegan health will be giving a lecture and answering questions in central London tomorrow. Stephen is author of 'Plant Based Nutrition and Health', former chair of the Vegan Society and former Science Coordinator of the International Vegetarian Union. If you are interested in vegan health issues, this is an event not to miss.
Date and time: Wednesday 31 July - 18:30 until 21:30
Venue: Community Rooms, Millman Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1N 3EW
Nearest stations: Russel Square, Holborn and Chancery Lane
Please arrive early as this event is likely to fill up very quickly. Feel free to bring along vegan snacks to share. Hot food can be pre-ordered from Shambhu's (orders may be placed until 3pm today)
If you are unable to make this talk, do not fear. Stephen will also be speaking at the London VegFest in October. | | |
2. Recent Jain Vegan News 1. Volunteering at Hugletts Wood Farm - Keval Shah has been regularly been doing voluntary work at Hugletts Wood Farm in Sussex - an animal sanctuary for cows and other animals that have been saved from slaughter. If you are interesting in spending a day volunteering at the farm, please contact . 
2. Vegan Jain Video Profiles - Jina Shah, a california based vegan Jain has coordinated the production of several video profiles of inspiring vegan Jains. In addition to Gurudev Chitrabhanu and Pramodaben Chitrabhanu several members of the Jain Vegans team (Sagar, Keval, Mahersh and Nishma) have produced video profiles for this collection. To see the videos, please go to www.veganjains.com. 
3. Workshops on the ethics of eggs, milk and leather - Following a very successful YJ workshop in May, Sagar & Minal conducted a similar vegan presentation & discussion workshop for Oshwal Youth Luton last week. Sagar delivered an informative presentation on the himsa behind dairy, eggs & leather, and Minal introduced the audience to a range of plant based alternative foods. If you would like the Jain Vegans Working Group to deliver a well-researched and informative presentation/workshop to your local Jain community group, please contact us at . 
4. School talks - Over the last few months, Mahersh has given a few assembly talks to primary and secondary school children on compassion towards animals and the impact of food choices. If you are interested in giving talks to schools about veganism or compassion, you can obtain free training from Animal Aid. Please this link for further information.
5. Cookery Demonstrations - Nishma delivered a vegan cookery demonstration at the Bristol Vegfest in May, and is due to give another one, entitled "African Fusion", in October at the London Vegfest in Olympia. 
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3. Powerful essay by Brett Evans on Animal Shelters in India Brett Evans, a religious studies graduate, recently spent time in the Jain community in India and visited over 20 Jain animal sanctuaries and discussed animal rights issues wiht over 100 Jains closely connected to animal welfare institutions. He recently produced an article laying out a powerful argument of how adopting a vegan lifestyle will help pranjapurs immensely improve the way the perform compassionate work. You can download the article from this link or read it on the Vegan Jains blog. 
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4. Other upcoming events Brixton Vegan Walkabout, Saturday 3rd August
A walk in Brixton with visits to the Vegan Tart and Vegan Cupcake Shop Ms Cupcake. Further details: http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/events/116062342/
VegfestUK London, Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th October
Further details: www.vegfest.co.uk
Paris Vegan Day, Saturday 12th October
Further details: www.facebook.com/pages/Paris-Vegan-Days/174580412589850
East Midlands Vegan Festival (Lincoln), Saturday 12th October
Further details: www.eastmidlandsveganfestival.co.uk
Live A Better Life (Liverpool), Saturday 19th October
Further details: www.ethicsandhealth.org.uk/LABL_Fair_Liverpool.html
Animal Aid School Speaker Cookery Demonstration (London), Saturday 19 October
To book your place or further information, contact Animal Aid.
West Midlands Vegan Festival (Wolverhampton), Saturday 26th October
Further details: www.midlandsveganfestival.org.uk
North East Vegan Festival (Sunderland), Sunday 17th November
Further details: www.northeastveganfestival.co.uk
Animal Aid's Christmas Fayre (Kensington Town Hall, London), Sunday 8th December
Further details: www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_living//2724// | | |
5. About Jain Vegans Jain Vegans (www.jainvegans.org) was established in 2008 to support Jains in the transition towards a low-himsa lifestyle, largely in response to the abuse and violation of cows in milk production. Though we are not formally established as an organisation, we organise regular events and workshops on a plant-based lifestyle () and interact with member and supporters through the following channels: 
..a friendly online forum where you can exchange and ideas about veganism and Jainism with other members from around the world....
...follow us on Twitter (@JainVegans) for instant news and information...
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..'like' us on facebook for updates on our activities and invitations to events... | | |
6. Abuse and the 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 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. 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/ | | |
7. Alternatives to dairy 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. - Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, So Good, Ecomil, Kara)
- 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, Redwoods Cheezly,Scheese,Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet)
- Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Rice Dream,Swedish Glace,Tofutti, 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 fruit syrup or golden syrup
For further listings of animal free products, please see the Vegan Society Animal Free Shopper online database: http://www.vegansociety.com/afssearch.aspx | | |
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