Dear all, We are delighted to let you know about a fantastic opportunities to help make vegetarian history and work with the Jain Vegans Working Group to help support the Jain Vegans community. | | |
1. Opportunity to help make vegetarian history Curious to find out more about the history of vegetarianism, and the role that Jainism has played?
Ian McDonald is a BBC-trained radio producer who founded the Vegan Option, a radio show that is broadcast on Resonance 104.4FM. Ian is taking 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. The podcasts will feature discussion of key figures from ancient India, including Mahavir and Ashoka, as well as other famous historical vegetarians such as Pythagoras and Gandhi.
In order to help raise funds for the production, Ian is running a Kickstarter campaign and has 8 days left to meet the fundraising target.
Please watch the video that Ian has put together, and share the campaign link with friends and family you think might be interested. If you feel it is a worthwhile cause, please also consider offering a pledge, and help make vegetarian history. 
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2. Animal protection and UK political parties When considering which party to vote for in an election, the stance towards animals might be something that Jains might have a particular interest in. Unfortunately, animal protection measures did not feature prominently in any of the manifestos of the three large UK political parties in 2010. Historically, the Green Party has had the strongest focus on animal protection in the UK. But the UK now also has a dedicated Animal Welfare Party (AWP). Founded in 2006, the AWP has a vision of a world in which animals are seen and treated as sentient beings and not exploited or harmed. The party is modelled on the highly successful Dutch 'Party for the Animals', which now has 23 elected representatives at various levels of Government, including two MPs and a senator. Both the Green and Animal Welfare parties propose to phase out factory farming, ban experimentation which causes pain or suffering to animals, and introduce nutritional balanced vegetarian and vegan options at all public sector institutions. They also plan to ensure that vegan diets are included on all food preparation and food technology courses. Smaller political parties have traditionally been more successful in gaining seats in the European Parliament than in Westminster. The Green Party gained 2 seats in the European elections in 1999 and has retained them since, and gained its first seat in Westminster in 2010. Both the Animal Welfare Party and the Green Party are fielding candidates for the EU Parliamentary elections in May 2014. If you feel strongly that politicians should do more to protect animals, why not consider finding out more about the policies of political parties and voting for a candidate that will give a voice to voiceless animals?
Useful resources:
Animal Aid pre-2010 Election Special Briefing
Animal Aid analysis of 2010 UK party manifestos
The Vegan Option podcasts on vegan politicians in the Netherlands, Australia and UK
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3. Would you like to be the new Jain Vegans social coordinator? The Jain Vegans Working Group is a grass roots, volunteer run group, dedicated to raising awareness about the cruel treatment of animals (cows, buffaloes, goats etc) in milk production and the relevance of a vegan lifestyle to the Jain community.
Over the past 5 years, the number of vegan Jains in the UK has grown considerably, and we are now looking to run a regular stream of social events to help support this vibrant community. We hope to to be able to host regular trips to vegan friendly restaurants, pot-luck meals, film showings and walks.
In order to help achieve this, we are looking for a volunteer to join our team and take the lead on organising vegan social events. This is a great opportunity to develop new skills, meet new people and have fun whilst helping a worthwhile cause. No previous experience is needed as we'll be on hand to assist. In fact, all that's required is passion and enthusiasm!
To register your interest or ask any questions, please email .
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4. Would you like to the Jain Vegans Cooking Club The Jain Vegans Working Group is planning to organise a 'cooking club' where volunteers who enjoy cooking (and eating) can get together, try new vegan recipes and get together to taste them.
In addition to helping to bring the Jain Vegan community together, a key aim of the project would be to test and bring consistency to the recipes the Jain Vegans Working Group has compiled as part of its crowd-sourced recipe collection project.
This is a great opportunity to meet new people with similar interests, share cooking tips and enjoy fantastic food.
To register your interest or ask any questions, please email  | | |
5. Upcoming UK based events Vegan Dinner plus talk on the Animal Welfare Party, Wed 19 Feb (Mayfair, London)
Further information: http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/events/164194432/
London Vegan Breakfast Club Sat 22 Feb (Kings Cross, London)
Further information: http://lvbc.eventbrite.co.uk
London Vegans Speaker Evening, Wed 26 Feb (Holborn, London)
Thomas Micklewright will be talking about vegan societies in London and engagement with the local community.
Further information: www.londonvegans.org.uk
Vegan Brixton Walkabout, Sat 1 March (Brixton, London)
Further information: http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/events/156997792/
Vegfest UK Brighton, Sat 29 - Sun 30 March (Brighton)
Further information http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk
London Vegan Potluck, Wed 2 Apr (Holborn, London)
Further information: http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/events/156997932/
Vegan Cooking Demonstrations at the Natural Products Show, Mon 14 Apr (Olympia, London)
Further information: www.naturalproducts.co.uk
London Vegan Festival, Sun 17 Aug (Kensington Town Hall, London)
Further information: www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/festival
Vegfest UK London, Sat 27 - Sun 28 Sep Sep (Olympia, London)
Further information: http://london.vegfest.co.uk | | |
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 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. - Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, So Good, 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, 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 | | |
8. NHS website supportive of a vegan diet | | |
9. About Jain Vegans Jain Vegans supports members of the Jain community in the transition towards a plant- Please also if you are interested in supporting our activities, for example by volunteering.
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 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...
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. Please us if you'd like us to help your Jain organisation/community in this way. | | |
If anything we have written has caused offence, we humbly seek forgiveness. Michhami Dukkadam.
With best wishes,
The Jain Vegans Team
(www.jainvegans.org) | | |
