IVU Online News

News from the 2012 IVU Congress/Vegfest
Interview about the Los Angeles Event
Videos Galore
Catering for Vegetarians in the Care Sector
The Prolific Dr Greger
The Ultimate Study on Beef’s Effect on Health
Dietary Fibre and Health
Even the Good Die Young
So Clear That Even a Billionaire Can Understand
Eating Veg May Aid Smoking Cessation
Book News
- #1: Animals Erased
- #2: The Ultimate Vegan Guide
Welcome to New IVU Members
Upcoming Events
Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
Other Online Sources of Veg News

2012-07 News

News from the 2012 IVU Congress/Vegfest

Only about three months remain till the 2012 IVU Congress/Vegfest, 5-16 October, back-to-back in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, USA. With every passing month, new features are added to make this joint event even more unmissable.

Among the many excellent speakers are names you may have heard of and may have watched on video but never seen in person. Here’s your chance. For example, among the speakers in Los Angeles will be the prolific author, John Robbins - www.johnrobbins.info. John is probably best known for his ‘Diet for a New America’, and his most recent book is ‘No More Happy Cows’.

Want to stay abreast of developments with the two-city, multi-ring circus of vegetarian virtuosity? It’s easy. One, you can visit the event website at 40th-ivu-international-vegetarian-congress-vegfest . Two, you can sign up for the event’s free Yahoo Group by scrolling to the bottom of the event website and entering your email address in the box. Three, you can find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/215452428473359. And, of course, you can watch for updates in your monthly issue of IVU Online News.

Interview about the Los Angeles Event

Jeff Nelson of Vegsource - www.vegsource.com - is a long-time friend of IVU. Jeff is also the organiser of the annual Healthy Lifestyle Expo in Los Angeles, which will be the cornerstone of 2012 IVU Vegfest/Congress in that city. Here's a brief interview with Jeff.

1. Hi Jeff - Please tell us a bit about the annual event you hold.
Held during two and a half days at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, California, he Healthy Lifestyle Expo is a weekend of knowledge, companionship and fun! It's a weekend to get cutting edge vegan health information, meet inspiring people, and commit to become the healthiest possible you.

2. Who is one not-to-be-missed speaker whom people outside the U.S. may not have heard of?
It's impossible to pick just one! Buddhist Monk Rev. Heng Sure PhD is always a big hit, and discusses topics like how religious influences diet choices and animal treatment; GMO expert Jeffrey Smith is another fascinating speaker; of course John McDougall MD, Neal Barnard MD, John Robbins, Michael Klaper MD, Dr. Esselstyn -- so many are "never to be missed" presenters!

3. What is the name of the event venue? Is it easy to reach? Please give us a quick Los Angeles geography lesson.
It's called the Healthy Lifestyle Expo and details are online at www.HealthyLifestyleExpo.com It takes place at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, California. This area is called "the Valley" in Los Angeles, and is about 45 minutes north of Los Angeles International Airport, or about 30 minutes from the Bob Hope Burbank Airport. Very easy to reach from either airport, with shuttles making regular runs. The hotel is not far from several fabulous vegan restaurants such as Follow Your Heart, The Vegan Joint, Vinh Loi Tofu, Madeleine's Bistro -- and is about a mile from a large Whole Foods Market. Behind the hotel is a large park where joggers make their daily rounds.

4. Please tell us about a recent Vegsource success story.
The founders of VegSource also run a nonprofit called EarthSave International, and have launched a program called Meals For Health. Going into Sacramento Food Bank, Meals For Health teaches a healthy vegan diet in low income communities and has documented dramatic health improvements in these communities. We are launching our next intervention in a church in Oakland, California, bringing awareness about how a plant-based diet can cure many common health issues.

5. What are two other places in the LA area that are of special interest to vegetarians?
There are way more than two! Restaurants like Native Foods, the Veggie Grill, Real Food Daily -- and many others -- are destinations for vegetarians. Venice Beach, Disneyland...there are so many things to see. Even Farm Sanctuary has a beautiful animal sanctuary 45 minutes drive from the hotel. There is no shortage of vegan-related or vegan-friendly spots here!

6. How easy is it to find plant based food in LA?
Very!

Videos Galore!

A lot of times, video is the easiest, most fun way to learn and to be inspired. Want some video education and inspiration for going veggie on Thursdays? Try vegvids.com. More than 200 free videos are on offer, divided into categories. Categories include kids videos, ads & commercials, art & animation, animals living free and environment & sustainability.
Plus, the website offers all sorts of tools. You can:

Submit a video to share
Build a playlist with all your favourites and share with your friends
Download the FREE Miro Player and subscribe to the VegVids channel for constant updates
Use custom RSS feeds by category or keyword to stay current with the newest posts
Add a custom widget to your website, blog or social networking page
Use widgets and feeds to create your own app or mashup
Host a Screening or Pay-Per-View event with one of the clips
Embed a clip on your site, blog or social networking page

Catering for Vegetarians in the Care Sector

Vegetarian for Life (VfL) - www.vegetarianforlife.org.uk - an advocacy and educational charity working on behalf of the UK’s older vegetarians and vegans, is proud to announce the launch of its first training DVD.

“Catering for Vegetarians - Good Practice in the Care Sector” is a 20 minute-long DVD, which has already been distributed to more than 650 vegetarian-friendly care establishments in the UK. The DVD features a short introduction to the work of the charity, demonstrates three easy recipes with tips for chefs, and has a section on nutrition for older vegetarians and vegans. It also includes the views of three older vegetarians and those of a care home manager.

The DVD came about as a result of the charity’s popular catering courses for care homes and sheltered schemes, run in partnership with the Cordon Vert Cookery School. Says Tina Fox, VfL Director and Company Secretary: “We realised that our catering course was very useful but that many care homes could not afford the staff time to participate. So, we decided to send part of the course to them. The DVD will also be invaluable at the many events that we are invited to attend and exhibit at each year”.

Since VfL’s launch in 2007, the charity has produced a number of useful publications that can be downloaded from its website, including a catering guide, a handbook on healthy living, and a guide on nutrition for older vegetarians and vegans.

The DVD is available free to all IVU member organisations of VfL’s UK-List and to related charitable organisations. Further information and preview copies of DVD can be obtained from Tina on 01683 220888 or via VfL’s website www.vegetarianforlife.org.uk

For further information, please contact Tina Fox:

The Prolific Dr Greger

Free to IVU Member Organisations: Latest on Nutrition; Dr Michael Greger, Director, Public Health and Animal Agriculture Humane Society of the United States, has released another volume of his ‘Latest in Nutrition’ series.

For a listing of the new topics he covers and to order: www.DrGreger.org/DVDs; As always, all the proceeds received from the sale of the DVDs go to charity. As before, Dr Greger is happy to send a copy of his new DVD free of charge to IVU member organizations--just email him your mailing address to

And, don’t miss Michael at www.nutritionfacts.org

The Ultimate Study on Beef’s Effect on Health

Recently, a large scale study demonstrated once again that beef consumption negatively impacts human health. What the health debate neglects is the obvious point that beef consumption is extremely harmful to the health of cows. The following piece from the satirical website The Onion reminds us.

www.theonion.com/articles/study-red-meat-takes-years-off-of-cows-life,27954

And for more satire on animal based foods: www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/412740/april-17-2012/thought-for-food---bug-food-coloring--hot-dog-stuffed-crust---drugged-poultry?redirect=true

Dietary Fibre and Health

A consensus seems to exist that plant foods are our best source of dietary fibre - huhs.harvard.edu/.../Service_Nutrition_Fiber.pdf - and here’s a huge study - 452,717 participants - suggesting broad health benefits for fibre. Below are a summary and information on a report of the study.

In this large European study higher dietary fibre intake is associated with lower total mortality and mortality from circulatory, digestive, respiratory, and non-CVD non-cancer inflammatory diseases, and from smoking-related cancers.

Title: Fiber intake and total and cause-specific mortality in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.

Journal: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012 May 30. [Epub ahead of print]

Authors: Chuang SC and others

Even the Good Die Young

The study outlined in the previous article is one of many studies that suggest vegetarian diets can protect us against a wide range of diseases. However, as seen in the case of the recent death of Robin Gibb of the music group The Bee Gees, even people who eat vegetarian diets can pass away at a relatively early age from diseases against which plant based diets offer protection.

The following blog post - www.theveganrd.com/2012/05/when-vegans-get-cancer.html -
by Ginny Messina, dietician and co-author of ‘Vegan for Life’ - www.amazon.com/Vegan-Life-Everything-Healthy-Plant-Based/dp/0738214930 - explores this issue. The post ends with these words:

At any age, we vegans can expect that our compassionate diet has the added advantage of lowering our risk for certain diseases. But, vegan diets are not “miracle” cures or guaranteed prevention and it’s a mistake to ever believe that they are. As always, the only true promise that comes with veganism is that it will remove your contribution to the use and abuse of animals.

So Clear That Even a Billionaire Can Understand

Here’s a video of Microsoft co-founder and leading philanthropist, Bill Gates, on the fading role of meat in our diets:
intellectualyst.com/bill-gates-the-future-of-meat-is-vegan-123

Here’s an approximate, unofficial transcript:

… Getting people to have enough food is an incredible thing.

So all these companies that are taking the animal products - the milk, the eggs, the chicken, the beef - are actually coming up with ways of using largely plant based materials - soy, peas and a variety of things - to make these things, that are both cheaper and probably more healthy, less cruelty involved, less greenhouse gas emissions; it’s quite a phenomenal thing, people can be enthused for any of about 5-6 different reasons.

I think it’s a huge thing. As well as things that will confound the pessimist, because when they look out, they see this increased intensity of animal product consumption as part of increased income and it should be about what people want, but the fact of innovation will give them the equivalent without those negative facts at lower prices. I think it’s an amazing example of how this sort of linear projection misses what innovators using science will be able to do.

Eating Veg May Aid Smoking Cessation

In a recent study, researchers discovered that smokers who consume more fruits and vegetables are three times more likely to stay ‘smoke-free’ for a full 30 days than their counterparts who eat less greens.

They also observed that greener smokers “smoked fewer cigarettes per day, waited longer to smoke their first cigarette of the day, and scored lower on a nicotine dependence test”. www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57449819-10391704/eating-fruits-and-vegetables-might-help-smokers-quit

The researchers posited two explanations for this happy correlation between eating greener and smoking less. Firstly, the fibre in fruits and vegetables may result in smokers feeling more satiated and thus refraining from picking up a cigarette or at least waiting longer. Secondly, they also believe that fruits and vegetables - unlike meat - tend to worsen the taste of cigarettes.

While the findings are inconclusive, there is no harm in trying. Even if eating greener does not produce the desired effect, you still reap the many conclusive benefits of a greener diet.

Book News

#1 Animals Erased

Animals Erased: Discourse, Ecology, and Reconnection with the Natural World
by Arran Stibbe, Wesleyan University Press
2012 • 232 pp. 12 illus. 6 tables. 6 x 8 1/4"

$24.95 Paperback, 978-0-8195-7232-5
$70.00 Hardcover, 978-0-8195-7231-8
$19.99 Ebook, 978-0-8195-7233-2

[From the publisher] Animals are disappearing, vanishing, and dying out—not just in the physical sense of becoming extinct, but in the sense of being erased from our consciousness.

Increasingly, interactions with animals happen at a remove: mediated by nature programs, books, and cartoons; framed by the enclosures of zoos and aquariums; distanced by the museum cases that display lifeless bodies. In this thought-provoking book, Arran Stibbe takes us on a journey of discovery, revealing the many ways in which language affects our relationships with animals and the natural world. Animal-product industry manuals, school textbooks, ecological reports, media coverage of environmental issues, and animal-rights polemics all commonly portray animals as inanimate objects or passive victims. In his search for an alternative to these negative forms of discourse, Stibbe turns to the traditional culture of Japan. Within Zen philosophy, haiku poetry, and even contemporary children’s animated films, animals appear as active agents, leading their own lives for their own purposes, and of value in themselves.

For more details on this book, click here.

#2: The Ultimate Vegan Guide

The Ultimate Vegan Guide, 2nd edition, 2011, by Erik Marcus

Erik Marcus is a long time vegan advocate via his books, his website (www.vegan.com), etc. The Ultimate Vegan Guide is mostly about how to be a vegan (24 chapters), with two chapters on why to be vegan and one chapter and an appendix on vegan activism. The book’s advice on how to be vegan is eminently practical, although a bit US centric (not surprising since that’s where Erik lives). While the advice is aimed mostly at people trying to become vegan, people who are already vegan will also find lots of useful ideas.

Erik has made the book easy to read electronically for only US$0.99, and the first edition is free online. See www.vegan.com for details. Our Feb 2012 issue contained summaries of three chapters from the book. Here are summaries of more chapters.
Ch 25 - Friends and Family

Vegans are still a small minority. Thus, it’s not unusual for those of us who go vegan to be the only ones in our families or among our friends to do so. And, while many societies are increasingly accepting of lacto-ovo vegetarianism, the vegan version of vegetarian still seems weird to many people. Given many people’s lack of understanding of veganism, Erik advises building our knowledge on the why (the ethics) and how (the health angle) of veganism before engaging family members and friends about our emerging new diet.

Once we are ready to explain our vegan choices to those close to us, Erik has more advice:
a. Focus the discussion not on us, but on what helps our fellow animals and human health
b. Look for opportunities to show off the good side of plant based foods, “Constantly strive to present your food choices as easy, delicious, healthful and carefully thought out”
c. Listen more than you talk
d. Don’t expect everyone to join you in being vegan; be happy with small steps, such as taking part in a weekly veggie day.

Ch 26 - Staying Motivated
This chapter presents ideas for reminding ourselves of what an important choice we have made in going vegan. Erik’s suggestions here include:
a. reading the growing number of books, blogs, newsletters, websites, social media, etc. that remind us of why we have chosen a vegan path
b. watching videos on such topics as the hell our fellow animals suffer as a result of factory farming
c. staying in touch with other vegans and those interested in exploring veganism.

Also, even those of us who have been vegan for many years still have a lot to learn. Isn’t that great? We still have new foods to discover, new eateries to explore, new information to learn about health and the many other areas related to being vegan and new stories of vegan activism to inspire us.

Welcome to New IVU Members

EarthSave Miami www.earthsavemiami.org- EarthSave Miami advocates an ethical vegan diet

Vegetarianos Chile www.vegetarianoschile.cl- Comunidad de vegetarianos chilenos, agrupados en la web

2012 IVU World Vegetarian Congress - 5-16 October, 2012, San Francisco and Los Angeles (USA) - www.vegetarianvegan.org/...40th-ivu-international-vegetarian-congress-vegfest

2012 West Africa Vegetarian Festival - Decembr 7-9 - Lome, Togo

4th China Xiamen Vegetarian Food Fair - 19-22 October, 2012 - Xiamen, China - www.whatsonxiamen.com

5th Southeast Asian Congress - 23-25 November, Chiang Mai, Thailand - www.thai-tva.org

6th Asian Vegetarian Congress and 41st IVU World Vegfest - 2013, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - vegetariansocietymalaysia.org

Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU

USA

Loma Linda University School of Public Health -vegetariannutrition.org
VegCo Market -www.vegcomarket.com

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.