IVU Online News

2014-05 IVU News

on 20 July 2014
Posted in IVU Online News

Table of Contents

Veg Association of Ghana Embarks on Stakeholder Engagement
Tour
Visit Togo after Ghana
You Make It Happen: The First African IVU World Vegfest
Meetup Between Myanmar Veg Society and Veg Soc Singapore
What Vegans Eat Seen on an Ambulance in Australia
How To Make a Chicken Salad
Kindness Even While Imprisoned
Book News 1: We Animals
Book News 2: Growl - Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate
Upcoming Events
Other Online Sources of Veg News

Veg Association of Ghana Embarks on Stakeholder Engagement Tour

by VegGhana Communications Officer, Edwin Baffour

The Vegetarian Association of Ghana (VegGhana) is gearing up to host the 42nd IVU World Vegfest of the International Vegetarian Union at the Accra International Conference Center from 1-6 October, 2014. This is the first time this international event of repute will be hosted on African soil since its inception in the early 20th century!

As part of Vegfest preparations, the Executive Committee of Veg Ghana has embarked on a stakeholder engagement tour to sensitize important organisations, corporations and personalities to the benefits of plant based diets.

The Chair of the Vegfest’sPlanning Committee, Dr. Kofi Asare, said the effort was reflective of VegGhana’scommitment to ensuring that as many Ghanaians as possible are made aware of the need to use plants as the basis for their nutrition due to the high level of vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants that plants naturally possess.

The engagement tour involves cooking several locally popular meals and serving them at lunchtime at the premises of the organisations being visited. In June, the Association cooked a delicious lunch to coincide with the birthday celebration of a popular morning show presenter, Kwame SefaKayi, on Peace FM. It was the first time for many of their employees to taste their favourite Ghanaian dishes cooked in a strict vegetarian manner, and they were surprised and pleased to find that their previous perceptions about this type of food were wrong and misplaced.

In early July, a delegation from the Association visited the offices of the Christian Council of Ghana to relay the same message about healthy living. The Public Relations Officer of VegGhana, Mr. Edwin Baffour, stressed the importance for influential organisations such as the Christian Council of Ghana to support the efforts of VegGhana in ensuring that Ghanaians are aware of the important choices they must make to protect their health. He cited the great health challenges confronting a large section of Ghanaian society which he said were directly related to changing lifestyles.

In his address that day, the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr.KwabenaOpuni-Frimpong, thanked the Association for their kind gesture. He said, “you have truly backed your words with actions and you have come at the right time - lunchtime - to engage us around vegetarian food”. He acknowledged the fact that there were many vegetarians who were members of the various churches that belong to the council and welcomed the idea of spreading education about healthy nutrition.

VegGhana has also visited the offices of Radio Gold, United TV and Unique FM. Between now and October, the Association will continue in its educational drive to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of the upcoming conference. Members of Vegetarian Associations from across the globe are expected to be present in Accra to bring to life the Vegfesttheme which is “Miraculously Preserved - Celebrating Life at the Center of the Earth”.

For more information, visit http://www.worldvegfest.org or http://vegghana.org.

Visit Togo after Ghana

After the IVU World Vegfest in Ghana, 1-6 October, people are cordially invited to make an optional visit to Togo, which is just next to Ghana, as shown on this map. In fact, Togo’s capital, Lome, is only three hours drive from Accra, the capital of Ghana and the host city for the IVU World Vegfest.

Our IVU colleagues in Lome are arranging bus transport for 7 October and are organising a festival to promote and showcase vegetarianism in their country. In 2012, Togo successfully organized the first ever Pan-African Vegetarian Congressin a Franco-phone country. Being associated with the 42nd IVU World Vegfest is a great opportunity for the Vegetarian Association in Togo to take one step further in bringing the Vegan world into limelight for Togolese people.

To learn more, contact Victor Ade Davies at . Victor states, “Since French-speaking people cover alarger area (12 countries out of 16) in West Africa, it is only befitting that a truly global event on the continent should permit the non-English speaking people to equally have the same impact and benefit of this momentous gathering of Vegan families around the world.

An arrangement has been made for instant translations and interpretations of the discourses during the festival. Togo occupies a strategic central location in sub-Saharan Africa and the peaceful atmosphere which reigns in the country makes it a tourist attraction.

You Make It Happen: The First African IVU World Vegfest

Can’t make it to Ghana this October for the historic first-time-in-Africa IVU World Vegfest? Never fear, your contribution can help the event reach more people. Indeed, instead of spending all our time in a conference hall, vegfest participants will be taking to the streets of Accra, Ghana’s capital, to spread the word and to spread veg food to people from all walks of Ghanaian society, including the poor.

For instance, we will be going to an orphanage to donate vegan food. (The full Vegfest program is available at http://www.vegghana.org.) Your donation can empower these outreach efforts to shine light on the lives of more people.

To donate, please go to http://www.worldvegfest.org and click the donate button on the left side of the middle of the home page. Thanks.

Meetup Between Myanmar Veg Society and Veg Soc Singapore

Heng Guan Hou (third from left), Treasurer of Vegetarian Society (Singapore), recently had an informal get together in Yangon,  with several members of the recently launched Myanmar Vegetarian Society.

IVU warmly welcomes our Myanmar friends to the IVU family of member organisations!

What Vegans Eat

Seen on an Ambulance in Australia

How To Make a Chicken Salad

Kindness Even While Imprisoned

Book News 1: We Animals

Drawn from thousands of photos taken over fifteen years, We Animals illustrates and investigates animals in the human environment: whether they're being used for food, fashion and entertainment, or research, or are being rescued to spend their remaining years in sanctuaries. McArthur provides valuable lessons about our treatment of animals, makes animal industries visible and accountable, and widens our circle of compassion to include all sentient beings.

Book News 2: Growl - Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate

Kim Stallwood is an independent scholar and author on animal rights. His book, Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate, was published earlier this year by Lantern Books.

Since 1974, he has demonstrated personal commitment and professional experience in leadership positions with some of the world’s foremost animal advocacy organisations. This includes Compassion In World Farming, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and The Animals' Agenda magazine. He co-founded the Animals and Society Institute in 2005. He is ASI’s European Director. He is also (volunteer) Executive Director of Minding Animals International.



 

The Oxford Summer School on Animal Ethics - 21-23 July, 2014 - Oxford, England -
http://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/what-we-do/summer-school-2014

Satvik Indian Vegan Festival –15-17 August, 2014 - Sthitaprajna Vegan Centre, Udupi District, Karnataka, India - http://www.indianvegansociety.com/vegan-festival.html or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20">

IVU World Vegfest 2014 - 1-6 October, 2014 - Accra, Ghana, with an optional follow-up event in Togo - http://worldvegfest.org

World Vegetarian Day - 1 October, 2014 - many places - http://www.wincalendar.com/World-Vegetarian-Day

Healthy Lifestyle Expo - 10-12 October, 2014 - Los Angeles, USA - http://www.healthylifestyleexpo.com

World Vegan Day - 1 November, 2014 - many places - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Vegan_Day

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. Meatout Mondays
http://www.meatoutmondays.org

2. Vegan Outreach http://www.veganoutreach.org/enewsletter

3. VegE-News http://www.vege-news.com  

4. VegNews www.vegnews.com  

5. VegSource http://www.vegsource.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi  

6. AnimalConcerns.org doesn't have a newsletter, but they post stories daily at http://www.animalconcerns.org/categories.html?do=shownews  

7. Vegan.com http://www.vegan.com  

8. IVU-Veg-News E-Mail List http://www.ivu.org/news/veg-news  

9. Vegetarianism in the News http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=928  

10. IVU Veg News group on Yahoo: