IVU Online News - 2010 February

Table of Contents

Interview with Mateus Mendes about International Vegetarian Week 
The following interview is reprinted, in slightly abridged form, from EVANA (European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance): http://www.evana.org/index.php?topic=home
(BTW, EVANA is looking for correspondents and translators worldwide.)

Another proof of the increased importance of a vegetarian lifestyle was the great success of the “International Vegetarian Week 2009” in which non-governmental organisations (NGO) from many countries were involved. We wanted to know more about the meatless week and asked Mateus Mendes of the Portuguese Vegetarian Center who is promoting it so very successfully.

EVANA: Mateus, you must be very pleased with the success of the “International Vegetarian Week 2009”. Did you expect this great international interest?

Mateus Mendes: Sure I'm very pleased. It's quite rewarding to see things working. When it all started I expected some response but definitely things turned out to be much better than I thought.

EVANA: What is the aim of the Vegetarian Week?

the complete interview: http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=51935〈=en

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Indonesian Speakers for IVU World Vegetarian Congress - Oct 2010 
The 39th IVU World Vegetarian Congress, 1-6 Oct, 2010 in Jakarta, Indonesia, with an optional event 7-9 October in Bali, is moving forward. The Congress will feature a broad mix of international and Indonesian speakers. Among the Indonesians who have already agreed to speak are some leading health professionals including:

a. Keynote Speaker (pictured above): Prof Dr Suyanto Pawiroharsono, DEA. He is a former Director of the Agency for The Assessment and Application of Technology, and is still active there as a senior researcher. He is our keynote speaker.

b. Prof Dr Kusharisupeni, M.D., MSc, Head of the Nutrition Department, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia

c. Dr Mien Karmini Mahmud, a research professor at the Food & Nutrition Research Center, Ministry of Health (Indonesia)

d. Dr Yvonne Indrawani, Head of Nutrition Laboratory, Nutrition Department, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia

e. Dr Ratu Ayu Dewi Sartika, Academic Manager at the Faculty of Public Health and lecturer at Nutrition Department of Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia

f. Dr Ahmad Syafiq, PhD, Head of Nutrition and Health Research Center of Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia

g. Sandra Fikawati, M.D., Secretary of Nutrition and Health Research Center of Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia

For more Congress updates, please join http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/ivu-congress. Send enquiries to

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Interview with the Founder of the Vegetarian Club of Bangladesh 
IVU met Ataur Rahman Miton at the Asia for Animals Conference 2010 in Singapore. He is the founder of the Vegetarian Club of Bangladesh. Miton’s main work is as Country Director for Hunger Free World - http://www.hfwbd.org

1. What does Hunger Free World do in Bangladesh?

We emphasize capacity building. For instance, we help approximately 200 organic farmers, give scholarships for girls to attend school, provide vegetarian food to two primary schools, and give people loans to do small business.

2. When and how did you become a vegetarian?

I have been a vegetarian for about two years. The inspiration was a video compilation I saw with a video from VIVA and one from PETA.

3. What was people’s reaction to you becoming a vegetarian?

My wife, who is a doctor, was not fond of the idea, but she has seen that my health has actually improved since I’ve become a vegetarian. Other family members were concerned that it was un-Islamic to be vegetarian. I showed them a different perspective.

4. What does the Vegetarian Club of Bangladesh do?

Presently, we are still a small, new organisation. We try to create public awareness by showing videos and providing food at our events.

5. What are your plans for promoting vegetarianism in the future?

We have many plans, including

a. Network with other organisations in Bangladesh and internationally
b. Build a website
c. Create education materials  in the Bangla language
d. Work with WHO on a World Vegetarian day, just like they have days for other health issues.

6. What is your favourite Bangladeshi vegetarian dish?

Bitter gourd curry.

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Another City Launches a Weekly Meatless Day  
Bremen, Germany is the latest city to initiate a weekly day in which people are encouraged to eat less or no meat. Here’s more on that from our colleagues at the European Vegetarian Union (EVU):

http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=52632〈=en
http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=52607〈=de

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Welcome to New IVU Members  

Full Member - Vegetarian Club, Bangladesh -

Full Member - PARS Vegetarians, Iran

Associate Member - International Kamdhenu Ahimsa University, India -
http://akavv.com

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Vegan World Radio 
The philosophy/mission of Vegan World Radio, through production of its weekly radio broadcasts and use of other social media (including Facebook and Twitter), is to encourage, educate, and inspire the world to adopt animal-free lifestyles, in particular, to adopt and embrace plant-based/vegan diets. VWR aims to provide the most varied, interesting, innovative, and timely programming and educational content possible from week to week. Their programmes have ranged over a plethora of plant-based-related topics, and one of the key topics is the strong connection between animal agriculture and the exacerbation of the world hunger epidemic.

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale  
Compassion for Animals, a Washington, DC-area animal advocacy group (www.compassion4animals.org) invites participation in the second annual Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale (WVBS), 24 Apr–2 May: www.veganbakesale.org.

The idea is simple: Groups across the globe hold vegan bake sales during that period. Participating groups can do whatever they want with the proceeds. Compassion for Animals is coordinating global publicity for the event, and will leverage the events to get positive press about the bake sales and about the health, environmental, and ethical benefits of a plant-based diet.

Last year, a hundred groups on four continents participated, raising over US$25,000 for river cleanups, cancer patients, animal shelters, farm sanctuaries, food programs, and other worthy causes. They also introduced thousands of people to the deliciousness and diversity of vegan baked goods - and had a lot of fun! 2009 highlights are at
http://www.veganbakesale.org/veganbakesale/vbs-2009-highlights.html.

Some funding is available:
http://www.veganbakesale.org/veganbakesale/vbs-funding.html
Sign up at http://www.veganbakesale.org/veganbakesale/vbs-signup.html. For
questions, or to sign up if you hate forms, please contact
. They're also on Facebook, and on Twitter as
wwveganbakesale.

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Podcast on Global Warming  
To listen to and download a podcast - "Nitrous Oxide: Ozone Depleting and Greenhouse Gas", please visit: http://h2opodcast.com/vsse.html#no

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Veg Food’s Effect on the Acid-Base Balance  

Peter Deriemaeker, Dirk Aerenhouts, Marcel Hebbelinck, and Peter Clarys of the Universiteit Brussel have produced the paper summarised below. The entire paper is available at:
http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/
s11130-009-0149-5

A first objective of the present study was to estimate the acid-base balance of the food intake in vegetarians and non-vegetarians. A second objective was to evaluate if additional input of specific food items on the existing potential renal acid load (PRAL) list was necessary for the comparison of the two dietary patterns. Thirty vegetarians between the age of 18 and 30 years were matched for sex, age and BMI with 30 non-vegetarians. Based on the 3-days food diaries the acid-base status of the food intake was estimated using the PRAL method. Mean PRAL values as estimated with the standard table yielded an alkaline load of -5,4 ± 14,4 mEq/d in the vegetarians compared to an acid load of 10,3 ± 14,4 mEq/d in the non-vegetarians (p < 0,001). Mean PRAL values as estimated with the extended table yielded an alkaline load of -10,9 ± 19,7 mEq/d in the vegetarians compared to an acid load of 13,8 ± 17,1 mEq/d for the non-ve
getarians (p < 0,001). The findings of this study indicate that vegetarian food intake produces more alkaline outcomes compared to non-vegetarian diets. The use of the standard PRAL table was sufficient for discrimination between the two diets.

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To view a listing of international upcoming events online, visit http://www.ivu.org/congress

1. Southeast Asia Vegetarian Congress, Tour & Expo, 19-21 Mar 2010 in Medan, Indonesia. Details at http://www.seavc2010.org

2. Taipei International Vegetarian & Organic Food Festival, at the Taipei World Trade Center, 7-10 May 2010

3. South & West Asia Regional Vegetarian Congress - 13-14 Aug, 2010 (dates to be confirmed - Bangalore, India. Contact the IVU Regional Coordinator for South & West Asia, Shankar Narayan -

4. IVU World Vegetarian Congress - 1-9 Oct, 2010, Jakarta and Bali
http://www.ivu.org/congress/2010/index.html

The 39th IVU World Vegetarian Congress will be held in Indonesia in two places, Jakarta, the capital (and the economic centre of the country) and Bali, the country’s most famous tourist destination. An outline of the programme is available at the congress website.

5. East Africa Vegetarian Congress - 3-5 Dec, 2010, Nairobi, Kenya. Contact the IVU Regional Coordinator for Africa, Emmanuel Eyoh -

6. Middle East Natural & Organic Foods Expo 2010 (including an exhibition by the Middle East Vegetarian Group (MEVeg) - 5-7 Dec - Dubai, UAE. Contact IVU International Council member, Sandya Prakash -

7. 13th International Vegan Festival - 2011 (exact dates to be announced) - Turin, Italy

8. 5th Asian Vegetarian Congress - Oct, 2011, Hangzhou, China

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Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU

CANADA
Alberta Vegetarian Eatup Group - http://www.meetup.com/vegeatup

ESTONIA
Estonian vegetarian portal - http://www.veg.ee


INDIA
Gabrrielsons Hospitality - http://www.gabrrielsons.com
Services International - http://www.eonexpo.com

PORTUGAL
NAE - http://www.nae-vegan.com

ROMANIA
Vegetarian Lunches - http://www.vegetarianlunches.com

USA
Simply Natural Seasoning - http://spicesforlifeseasoning.com
Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale - http://www.veganbakesale.org
Vegetarian On A Budget - http://VegetarianOnABudget.com

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Other Online Sources of Veg News 
In addition to IVU Online News, there are many other places to go online for general veg-related news, rather than news mostly about one country or one organisation. Here are some.

1. Dawn Watch
http://www.dawnwatch.com/alerts.htm
2. European Vegetarian Union
http://www.evana.org
3. Farmed Animal Net
http://www.farmedanimal.net
4. Vegan Outreach
http://www.veganoutreach.org/enewsletter
5. VegE-News
http://www.vege-news.com
6. VegNews
www.vegnews.com
7. AnimalConcerns.org doesn't have a newsletter, but they post stories daily at http://www.animalconcerns.org/categories.html?do=shownews

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Please Send News to IVU Online News


Dear Veg Activist

Please use this newsletter as a way to share your knowledge, ideas and experiences with fellow veg activists.

Thx. -–george jacobs -

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