Join people from across the broad spectrum of the British peace
movement and radical activism for five days of exploration,
celebration and empowerment.
ABOUT PEACE NEWS SUMMER CAMP
Bring your contribution to a hothouse of creativity, a small
self-governed society run by democratic camp meetings, a viable
example of the kind of world we are trying to bring about. The
Peace News Summer Camp helps build a radical movement for the
future by building a living community today.
We are camping in a family-friendly and renewably-powered way
from 28 July to 1 August in the beautiful grounds of Crabapple
Community, near Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
Activities include: workshops and discussions, practical skills
sessions, delicious vegan food cooked by Veggies of Nottingham,
music, film, fun and participatory entertainment, a bar,
campfires, and activities and facilities for kids and families.
NB Dogs (except guide dogs) are not allowed on site – sorry.
TICKETS & FOOD
The camp costs £15 – £65 depending upon income. Payment can be
made by cheque, online or by phone:
- http://tinyurl.com/summercamptickets
for on-line purchases
– 0207 278 3344 for purchases by phone
– Send cheques (payable to “Peace News” to Peace News, 5
Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DY), explaining how many tickets you’re
purchasing and which rates
Food (3 meals a day and drinks) will cost £6 – £11 a day for
adults, depending on income, and should be ordered before the camp
starts. Individuals meals will be available to buy at the camp.
“Wonderful workshops and a wide range of people with which to
exchange ideas”
“Safe, friendly, interesting, happy, useful, accepting, great for
networking, well thought out and set up. Thank you for organising
and creating a lovely village”
“It was a great holiday for me and I loved meeting new people. To
become aware of the work that people are doing all over the country”
If you really care about animals, the best way you can help is to stop eating them!
Each year in the UK alone approximately 1,000 million animals are farmed and killed for food – and that figure doesn’t include fish.
The average meat-eater consumes around 11,000 animals in their lifetime (including fish and shellfish). Think of all the lives YOU will save simply by turning vegetarian or vegan!
As well as being more humane, an animal-free diet is healthy, environmentally friendly and a better way to use the world’s precious resources.
There are many reasons to go veggie including animal welfare, health, environmental protection and cost. If you are concerned about one or more of these issues, why not take the opportunity to try some more meat-free meals during March or take the veggie challenge?
My wife and I are looking to see if anyone is interested in renting a room with us. We are vegans for ethical reasons,and are looking for like minded people. Our house is undergoing changes but you will have access to a nice bathroom,greenhouse and plenty of garden space as well as lots of vegan gadgets in the kitchen such as filtered ionized water. House is 4 bedroom so depending on whats what rent would be around £200-£300 per month including bills
SPACIOUS DOUBLE ROOM WITH MEZZANINE SLEEPING PLATFORM ABOVE
CLEAN ROOM SKYLIGHT ABOVE IN NEWLY REFURBISHED ECO-HOUSE. SHARE WITH ONE OTHER. SUNNY BATHROOM WITH BATH SEPERATE SHOWER WC AND LARGE WASHING MACHINE. KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM 2 FRIDGES/ GAS COOKER/ WOOD BURNING STOVE DOUBLE AND TRIPLE GLAZED THROUGHOUT. EXTRA WC DOWNSTAIRS. LEAD FREE WATER PIPES. SECURE BIKE PARKING IN SMALL REAR YARD. CAR PARKING SPACE IN STREET AT FRONT. SOME BUILDING WORK IN HOUSE STILL TO BE COMPLETED. £280 PCM IN ADVANCE + £200 DEPOSIT
Vegan Society, staff, trustees, local contacts and members have worked very hard in 2010 giving talks and radio interviews, meeting with policy makers, getting articles published, producing information resources and growing our trademark among other things. Here are a few highlights from the year:
Making the Connection
Environment Films in association with The Vegan Society have produced a new 30 minute film called Making the Connection. It was launched on World Vegan Day and features a variety of people including a chef, a farmer, a Member of Parliament, an athlete, a dietician and a poet.It is aimed at non-vegans and if you wish to watch the film it is hosted on YouTube. If you would like to organise a group showing to non-vegans such as in a school, university, arts cinema or at a vegan food tasting event, please contact Amanda for a copy of the film on 0121 523 1737 or by e-mail media@vegansociety.com
Great North Run Success
A team sponsored by The Vegan Society entered the Great North Run 2010 to dispel the tired myth of the ‘weedy vegan’. The fifteen vegan runners were captained by elite vegan marathon runner Fiona Oakes. Fiona ran 1 hr 20 min 51 sec, ahead of former 10K World Champion and Olympic silver medallist, Liz McColgan (1 h 25 m 9 s), six other Elite Women and seven of the Elite Men. The runners worked hard to get coverage in their local media, highlighting the benefits of their vegan lifestyles.
Natural and Organic Products Exhibition
In April The Vegan Society exhibited at The Natural and Organic Products Europe (NOPE) exhibition.c Exhibiting alongside the leaders in the industry raises the profile of our trademark scheme and the charity as a whole. The Business Development team were overwhelmed by the interest expressed in the trademark from companies attending the show.
Vegan School Dinners
We have been working on a series of vegan recipes for schools. They have been nutritionally analysed and the next stage is to get them tested. If you are able to establish contact with schools or caterers that could test dishes to serve 30 people please get in touch with Rebecca Henderson: advocacy@vegansociety.com. The aim is for these recipes to become the vegetarian option in schools.
Tesco
Following the request for our members to send comments to Tesco on how they could better cater for vegans, Vegan Society CEO Nigel Winter had a further meeting with Tesco Head Office. They received comments from over 200 people and found the information very useful. They have produced a report summarising the requests and will use this to inform future planning. They have also produced a frequently asked questions list to help their staff to answer questions. Please continue to give constructive feedback to Tesco and other companies – it’s a great way to prove (potential) vegan demand to these businesses.
Channel 4
Our CEO, Nigel Winter, appeared in an edition of Lakes on a Plate which was broadcast on Channel 4 on 4 October before Countdown. He walked in the fells with local chef Peter Sidwell and talked about Donald Watson who lived in the area. He also discussed reasons for being vegan and was served vegan onion soup on top of the very windy fell.
The Restaurant Show 2010
Vegan Society staff spoke to over 500 chefs, caterers, students, manufacturers, restaurateurs, lecturers and other catering industry workers for the three days of The Restaurant Show 2010 – the UK’s ‘premier fine-dining show’. They distributed information, such as copies of our Vegan Catering for All guide for professional caterers. They also gave out application packs for our Vegan-Friendly Promise window-sticker scheme and our Sunflower Standard Vegan Trademark for caterers. Please get in touch (media@vegansociety.com) if you would like to help support caterers where you live to start offering great vegan dishes.
The Vegan Society also sponsored a ‘Vegan and Botanical Experience’ Masterclass on the Centre Stage at the Show. Fatih Güven, Head Chef from Saf Restaurants London presented the Masterclass. He demonstrated tempeh and mushroom dumplings, steamed in rice papers and served with a black vinaigrette. The invited panel of tasters, and volunteers from the audience loved the food.
The Vegan Pledge
We are receiving increasing numbers of requests to take The Vegan Pledge with over 1,000 new pledges this year. The good news is that a significant number of those people are staying vegan.
Calling Older Vegans Using Care Services
Our Advocacy Officer, Rebecca Henderson, is keen to find older vegans living in care homes as well as older vegans living in their own homes and using care services, this includes lunch clubs, day centres and home delivered meals. If you use one of these services yourself, or you know an older vegan who does, then please email Rebecca with details at advocacy@vegansociety.com
Join Us
Membership of The Vegan Society gives us a louder voice when representing vegans in discussions with caterers, retailers, manufacturers and policy makers. Thank you to all of our members for helping us to achieve so many things this year. If you are not yet a member of The Vegan Society please do consider joining (http://www.vegansociety.com/membership.aspx).
To celebrate the start of National Vegetarian Week 2011 sponsored by Cauldron Foods, the Vegetarian Society is hosting an event in Albert Square in Manchester city centre on Saturday 21 May.
The event will be based around veggie myths and will show the public, in a fun and interactive way, that the age-old stereotypes of vegetarianism are just not true. One of the myths we’ll be debunking is that vegetarianism is just a phase and we’d like our members’ help on this one!
Veteran Veggies
For this myth we’ll be creating an illustrative map of Manchester highlighting links to vegetarianism across city, such as Joseph Brotherton, the Salford MP who founded the Vegetarian Society back in 1847. We thought it would be great if we could have some of our members to help us give these maps out on the day and chat to people about what it was like to be a vegetarian in a different era.
Ideally we’d like members who have been a veggie for 30 years or more and remember experiences from when they first became a veggie. It would help if you’re local or easily able to get into Manchester city centre as we will not be able to cover travel expenses.
If you fancy representing our members’ commitment to being veggie, please call 0161 925 2000 or email Graham on graham@vegsoc.org with your name, age, address and how long you have been vegetarian. The event will run from 10am – 5pm, but we don’t expect people to stay for the whole time (unless they really want to!)
Are you a commited veggie?
To help further banish this myth at our event we’d like to create a big visual presentation with photos of veggies accompanied by quotes about how committed they are to being veggie. We’d like you, no matter how old or young you are or where you live, to email us a photo of yourself (of the highest resolution you can) and a sentence saying why you’re committed to being a veggie. We plan on using everyone’s photo and quote at our event and it will show the general public how varied veggies are!
Email graham@vegsoc.org with your photo, quote, name, age and how long you’ve been veggie. Please remember it is your responsibility to get permission from anyone who is recognisable in the image you send us. Images of young people under 16 years old can only be used if parental (or guardian / carer) permission has been obtained. Please do not send copyrighted images unless you have permission to do so.
Possibly on request from the ostrich / buffalo meat stall, the market manager bimbled over to ask if we had applied for a market pitch. It was explained that nothing was being sold and that the stall was just ‘surveying public perceptions of meat products’. Having lent over to stick his head inside the stall, he accepted that as nothing was being sold we could totally carry on.
20mins later, possibly on request from the ‘Fresh -N- local’ dead pig stall, (complete with pretty pig pictures), he was back, together with a couple of ‘City Ambassadors’(!). A long, polite (and slow) discussion followed. No we weren’t blocking any access, yes we had liability insurance, no we don’t consider the stall to be a ‘vehicle’, yes we have a right to politically protest the meat trade, no we really are not trading.
The banter clearly wasn’t getting through so, moving to the empty taxi bay 5 yards away, far more productive conversations continued with the public. No for long though. In less time than it takes to read a hundred and one dalmatian recipes, a traffic warden arrived, so after a good hour and more, off we set off for the relative warmth of the Sumac Centre, discretion being the better part of valour!
After visiting 12 cities from Norwich to Cardiff and Southampton to Glasgow, the trailer returned to its home base with Veggies on November 16th.
The tour has been immediately extended under Veggies care to Derby (Nov 17th), Nottingham Market Square (11am Nov 18th), Sheffield (Nov 25th) & Leicester (TBA).
Radio Leeds was so overwhelmed by calls to their phone-in that they ran an additional extended feature on Wednesday 16th November, in a live link-up with the BBC studio in Poole. You can ‘listen again’ for 7 days (starting 1hr 12mins into the ‘Emmerdale stars Zac and Lisa Dingle’ show).
Despite standing down from the Vegan Society Awards after winning in three consecutive years, Veggies Catering Campaign has yet again been voted “Best Vegan Catering Service”, this time in the UK Vegan Awards 2010!
The UK Vegan Awards 2010 were an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the products, places, companies, organisations and campaign groups who make a real difference to veganism, animals and the environment.
Thank you to everyone who voted for Veggies Catering Campaign in the 2010 awards. We admire your good taste, not just on our behalf, but for all the other winning selections, every one of which we are pleased to be associated. We send them all our best wishes and congratulations.
Animal Aid launched their Friend or Food tour for Vegan Month, featuring the recently refurbished Veggies Trailer, decorated as a spoof organic and free-range dog meat catering trailer, at various Nottingham locations on Tuesday 2nd November.
…and your town…?
With your help the tour can keep rolling on. The trailer is now back with Veggies in Nottingham. Whilst we love nothing more than campaigning on the streets we can only free up a limited number of days out of our already busy schedule, often giving away actual vegan food rather than fake dog meat!
It is therefore best if you can find a driver, vehicle and towbar to pick up and return to Nottingham.
Vehicle access to markets and town centres has not been an issue as the trailer is very small and can be unhitched at the roadside and rolled into place. Community support officers, traffic wardens and police have not shown any concern once it is made clear that it is a campaign prop for political or charitiable purposes, citing freedom of speech and rights to protest.
Many of the questions raise by the appearance of the Friend or Food Stall have been addressed by the care2.com article 10 Arguments Against A Vegan Lifestyle, Including:
ARGUMENT #7: Animals don’t have feelings.
Professor Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson said in an article about research done for his book, The Pig Who Sang To The Moon, “A pig could be as devoted, as affectionate, as good a companion, as a dog, given half a chance. Chickens, like many birds, could form close bonds with a human who took the time to get to know these fascinating animals. Sheep, who had been dismissed as stupid animals, turned out to have remarkable discriminating powers, allowing them to recognize, know and have feelings about two hundred other sheep. Goats were as individualistic and as mysterious and complex as cats, and when permitted could live in delightful harmony with humans.” …more…
Well done to all the Veggies, Nottm AR and vegan campaign crew for their help with a ‘dress rehersal’ at Clinton Street Market – the original location of Veggies Catering Stall from 1985 – 2002!
From here we rolled around to the nearby McDonalds (just down the road from our friends at Lush) on Clinton Street. From there it was another opportuntity to roll on down the hightway for the official campaign launch at 12 Noon right by the Council House on the Old Market Square.
Having been denied the opportunity to host the 7th East Midlands Vegan Festival at the Council House, it was appropriate to take it to the streets.
Once we had practiced the patter, the feedback ranged from bemusement to shock.
Apologies are due to the woman who was in tears, before we explained that it was all in the best possible taste – ie intended to draw comparisons between the animals who we pet and those who we eat. Pigs are as intelligent as dogs, and like dogs have only one thing precious to them – their right to life.
It was initially difficult to find the right ‘line’, so we were very pleased to have had the ‘dress rehersal’.
When inviting people “try a free sample of Dog Meat” people were often confused and walked away, and those that did stop struggled with the concept. If they were willing to talk it through though, they eventually ‘got it’ and were generally quite supportive.
Another approach was to say that we were interested to know if people prefered pork or beef, claim the dog meat to be as tasty as pig meat and get straight to the point – pigs are as intelligent as dogs, and value their lives just as much.
One lady, who eats ‘little meat’ but cooks it for her familiy, ended up challenging her own daughter to carefully read the displays and herself talked through the issues involved. The daughter’s response “my god, what will they be serving next” was very pertinent as the City Council often invite an ‘exotic meat’ farm to cater on the exact same spot. If people are bored by pig or cow meat, and want to try Ostrich, Kangaroo, Crocodile or Wild Boar, then why not Dog!
Whether organic, free-range, corn-fed or rested on the finest mattresses, at the end of the day it’s all the same for animals farmed for their flesh. They all end up in the same slaughterhouses; they are all alone and terrified; they are all hung upside down by their hind legs and all end up bleeding to death.
Oct 27, 2010: Animal rights group to sell ‘dog meat’ in city centre This Is Nottingham (Nottingham Post) says “An animal rights group will set up a catering trailer in the city centre claiming to sell dog meat. Labrador steaks, leg of greyhound, Afghan burgers, dachshund sausages, and beagle chops are just some of the meats they will tell people.” …more…
The trailer was last seen at Clinton Street Market in 2002, since when it has been laid up at Veggies’ base at Nottingham’s Sumac Centre.
Here’s the trailer at Clinton Street in 1985 with Cathy and a nought-year-old Francis.
Sorry Frank!
Since lying idle for 8 years refurbishing the trailer has been a big task.
We have:
refurbished the suspensing
replaced the wheels
checked and rewired the lights
repainted
replaced the windows
fitted out new locks all around
Before
After
Can you help with some of the costs of this refurbishment?
£5 would buy a tin of paint; £25 would pay to fix the windows, £50 would pay for locks; £170 would pay for suspension, wheels and electrics!
You can support our work with a donation by credit card or paypal here:
Vegan Catering Trailer Seeks Active Campaigners
Once the tour is over the trailer will be available as a ‘loaner’ unit for any group or event requiring vegan catering, along with Veggies Catering Campaign, operating out of Nottingham and Something Fishy, based in Manchester.
In 1987 Veggies fought off libel action by McDonalds, who then went after the McLibel Two. The ensuing 313 day epic trial and ultimate total victory in the European Court of Human Rights was documented in the film ‘McLibel’, directed by Franny Armstrong.
Franny went on to direct the Climate Change blockbuster ‘Age of Stupid’, which Veggies was pleased to support as part of the Nottingham Not Stupid team that brought the film to Nottingham.
In producing ‘McLibel’, Franny’s Spanner Films invented a new concept of ‘Crowd Funding’, whereby hundreds of ordinary people made an affordable investment in the film.
Now the Crowd Funding concept is (hopefully) bringing a new kick-ass activist film to the screens:
It’s called Just Do It and it’s going to be a feature film about climate change activists, it’s going to be funny and inspiring. Who knows you might even spot Veggies at the now infamous G20 demonstrations in London or at the Great Climate Swoop at Nottm’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station.
They’re making it totally independently (ie no big backers) and planning to give it to us for free. But money doesn’t grow on trees, so they need our help.
The producers, all climate activists themselves, are seeking crowd funding and Lush are doubling donations. Having benefited from Lush support ourselves we have sent a small donation from the Samosas for Social Change fund, but others are encouraged to go over to their website, check it out, and make a donation.
To celebrate the start of National Vegetarian Week 2011 sponsored by 
To help further banish this myth at our event we’d like to create a big visual presentation with photos of veggies accompanied by quotes about how committed they are to being veggie. We’d like you, no matter how old or young you are or where you live, to email us a photo of yourself (of the highest resolution you can) and a sentence saying why you’re committed to being a veggie. We plan on using everyone’s photo and quote at our event and it will show the general public how varied veggies are!
It’s called 
