OxVeg Online News, 10/1/2008
Dear Member, A Happy New Year to you all. I hope you didn't celebrate the New Year the way I did - by catching influenza! Anyway, I'm better now, so on with the show. ====================================================== FORTHCOMING EVENTS (* denotes events organised by OxVeg) Sunday 25 January, 11am-2pm. Kitchen Buddy Vegan, Gluten-free & Raw Culinary Workshop, St Ethelwold House, East St Helen Street, Abingdon. Ecological nutrition, demonstration lunch and optional yoga in the gardens by the river. Price is £35 for individuals, £60 for couples / friends. Groups of 4 or more get one free place. To register contact Theresa Webb: email Protected email address or phone 020 8697 2755 / 07734 166 738. For further details visit www.kitchenbuddy.eu . Saturday 31 January, 7.30pm. OrangAid Charity Comedy Benefit for the Oxford-based Sumatran Orangutan Society, New Theatre, Oxford. Acts confirmed include Marcus Brigstocke, Stewart Lee, Lucy Porter, Josie Long. Tickets £18 (£15 concs) from the Box Office on 0844 8471585, or visit www.NewTheatreOxford.org.uk . Sumatran Orangutan Society info at www.orangutans-sos.org . Thursday 5 March, 7pm. Replacing Animals in Research: What's Happening in Europe? Public meeting chaired by Sir David Madden with Caroline Lucas MEP, Mike Baker (President - Eurogroup for Animals) and other speakers TBC, Friends Meeting House, 43 St Giles, Oxford. Organised by Voice for Ethical Research at Oxford (www.vero.org.uk). (A General Election might be the last thing on Gordon Brown's mind, but there will be elections to the European Parliament this year. Here is an opportunity to hear one of the foremost advocates of animal welfare in the European Parliament.) Saturday 18 April, 10am - 6pm. The Incredible Veggie Show, Royal Horticultural Halls, Greycoat Street, London, SW1. 100 stalls, talks, cookery demos, food samples, nutritional advice, vegan cafe, etc. Admission £4, £3 in advance (under 18s free). Organised by Viva! Further details, location map & ticket bookings at www.viva.org.uk/london . ====================================================== It's all in the name Society's move away from meat is spawning new words to describe our eating habits. Examples of new terms are 'flexitarian', i.e., someone who is usually vegetarian but occasionally eats animal flesh, and 'meat reducer', i.e., someone making an effort to reduce their meat consumption. A recent addition to the lexicon is 'vegaquarian', meaning someone who has chosen to eat marine animals, but for some reason chosen to spare other non-human animals. A similar term is 'pescatarian'. Confusing though they may be, the sooner that people who 'occasionally' eat meat, fish or the flesh of other dead animals find a new word or phrase to describe their diets the better it will be for genuine vegetarians who all too often find themselves offered non-vegetarian dishes when eating out. ====================================================== Vegan Society educational CD-Rom online The Vegan Society's educational CD-Rom is now available online. Although it is aimed at secondary school children I guess we can all learn something from its contents. Here are the links: Shopping Game: http://www.vegansociety.com/teach_and_learn/presentations/ Nutrition: http://www.vegansociety.com/teach_and_learn/nutrition/ Health: http://www.vegansociety.com/teach_and_learn/health/ Recipes: http://www.vegansociety.com/teach_and_learn/recipes/ ====================================================== FoE booklet on the impact of farm animals on the environment Friends of the Earth have published a booklet on the impact of farm animals on the environment. You can read it here: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/livestock_impacts_summary.pdf Meanwhile, Veggies Catering Campaign point out that "Rice fields emit between 50 and 100 million tonnes of methane each year. Methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Whilst the major source of methane is livestock production (between 100 and 150 million tonnes), veg*ns need to be mindful of criticism of the impact from rice cultivation." (see http://www.veggies.org.uk/climate) As an alternative to rice, why not try Quinoa (pronounced "kin-wa"). Veggies again: "Quinoa has a light fluffy texture when cooked and its mild slightly nutty flavour makes it a gluten-free alternative to couscous. A common cooking method is to treat quinoa much like rice, bringing two cups of water to a boil with one cup of grain, covering at a low simmer and cooking for 14-18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed. It should be thoroughly soaked and rinsed before cooking to remove the coating of saponins on the seed surface. As its protein content is very high (12%-18%) quinoa makes a healthy choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat and rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fibre and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron." ====================================================== Catering for Individual Older Vegetarians and Vegans (a message from Vegetarian for Life [VfL]) To mark its launch in 2008, VfL published Catering for older vegetarians and vegans. This is a practical guide aimed at care homes, retirement schemes and others catering for older people. 17,000 copies were distributed throughout the UK, and it was very well received. We are very aware however that older people are being encouraged to stay in their own homes for much longer. Therefore, there is a growing number of older vegetarians or vegans catering for themselves or being cared for by a relative or friend or by agency carers. So, VfL plans to publish a new guide aimed at catering for individual older vegetarians and vegans. We have been encouraged to do so by the WRVS, who will help with content and distribution. We would really appreciate input from older vegetarians. For example: do you have a favourite recipe; have your food 'likes' and 'dislikes' changed as you get older; do you have problems with digestibility of some foods; do you experience any problems with buying suitable food supplies; do you have any tips or advice to share with others? Would you be willing to be part of a focus group to help develop this guide? We would also like to hear of any recent experiences, good or bad, in hospital for a separate hospital guide we plan to produce in the future. Tina Fox, our Company Secretary would love to hear from you if you would like to be part of this project. Please call (0151 608 1595), email (Protected email address) or write to VfL, 182 Higher Bebington Rd, Bebington, Wirral CH63 2PT. ====================================================== Review of Duck by Victoria de Rijke, Reaktion Books, 192pp, pbk, 124 illustrations, 74 in colour; ISBN 978 1 86189 350 5, £9-99 (reviewed by Paul Appleby) Ducks are such a familiar sight that we tend to take them for granted. Whereas other species of waterfowl such as the reclusive heron or the stately swan might prompt us to stare in admiration, ducks are rarely afforded a second glance unless we have set out to entertain ourselves by feeding them our leftovers. There are around 250 species and sub-species of duck, and fossil records suggest that they have existed for at least 50 million years, surviving the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today, several species are endangered owing to loss of habitat, climate change, hunting and pollution, including the eider duck (the original source of eiderdown and still farmed for this purpose in Iceland) and the Spanish white-headed duck, the purity of the species being threatened by interbreeding with the ruddy duck, a native of North America, leading to the controversial culling of its more numerous relative. Like other titles in Reaktion Books' Animal series, Duck is more concerned with the cultural significance of ducks than their natural history, although the latter topic is covered in the first chapter of the book. Here Victoria de Rijke, Reader in Arts and Education at Middlesex University, describes ducks' habitat (anywhere that is wet), migration (all ducks are either completely or partially migratory), feeding (varied and voracious) and their reproductive behaviour (promiscuous, occasionally deviant and often downright dangerous for the females, as many as 7-10 per cent of whom can die from drowning or injuries sustained as a result of forced copulation). Other chapters discuss the rich use of duck metaphor in language, mechanical and animated ducks (notably Walt Disney's Donald Duck), quack doctors, ducks in art and ducks as toys, including the ubiquitous rubber (actually vinyl plastic) duck, an incredible 165,000 of which were launched into the River Thames at Hampton Court in September 2007 to compete in the Great British Duck Race. Unfortunately, ducks' sociability has made them easy to domesticate and rear for food: 2.5 billion ducks and geese were killed for food worldwide in 2005 alone. Chapter 2 deals with the hunting and farming of ducks, but the author rather ducks the issue of intensive farming, noting only that "factory farmed duck has its critics". One can only hope that readers will browse the Viva! website (www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks), listed in an Appendix, to find out what makes the factory farming of ducks so objectionable. The force-feeding of ducks (and geese) to produce foie gras (literally 'fat liver') is covered in greater detail. Although the practice has now been banned in twenty countries, a typical EU compromise prohibits force-feeding of animals for non-medical purposes except where it is current practice, and around 20,000 tons of foie gras are still produced worldwide each year. Duck generally makes interesting reading, and it is refreshing to find a book about ducks that is not aimed at children or backyard farmers, but the author's detached and rather academic approach to her subject matter makes the book less engrossing than it might have been. Nevertheless, Duck would make a reasonable primer for anyone eager to learn more about the inhabitants of their local pond. ====================================================== Cordon Vert Vegetarian Chef of the Future 2009 The Vegetarian Society are on the hunt for enthusiastic and talented individuals to take part in the Cordon Vert Vegetarian Chef of the Future competition. Entrants will be divided into two categories - Professional and Non Professional and we will award two winners at the end of the competition. The first stage of the competition is to complete our entry form, which will include creating a 3 course vegetarian menu. The closing date for all entries is 10th March 2009. The two winners of the award will each receive: Vegetarian Chef of the Future 2009 Trophy, Personalised Chefs Jacket, One year's membership to The Vegetarian Society, Vegetarian Hamper donated by our Vegetarian Society approved clients, Fully funded Cordon Vert Diploma (worth in excess of £1500). Visit www.cordonvert.co.uk for more details and to download an application form. ====================================================== Films with a pro-vegetarian message An Australian filmmaker has produced an 84-minute video titled, "A Delicate Balance" http://www.adelicatebalance.com.au/trailer.html You can view the trailer or order the DVD online or pay per view to watch the entire video. The video features interviews with such experts as T. Colin Campbell, Howard Lyman, Neal Barnard, John McDougall, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., Maneka Gandhi and Peter Singer. Two sequels are planned. Fast food, fast medicine, fast news and fast lives have turned many people around the world into a sick, uninformed, indebted, "processed" people. "Processed People" - available January 2009 - features insightful interviews from nine preeminent health and environmental experts/advocates. They discuss how and why we got into this mess, and what we can do to break the "processed people" cycle. Watch trailers at http://www.processedpeople.com ====================================================== And finally ... Over the Rainbow vegetarian guest house in west Wales (www.overtherainbowwales.co.uk) sent me a complimetary desk calendar for 2009, so I guess they deserve a plug. Best wishes, Paul Appleby OxVeg Online News editor
Author: Paul Appleby
Comments
Add your comment
Audit
Story posted by on 2009-03-04 19:36:15.
