Dear all, Lots of exciting news in this edition of the newsletter. Aamir Khan, one of the most famous actors in Bollywood has turned vegan! He was inspired by both Jainism and the health benefits of adopting a plant based diet.
Ayambil Oli, a nine day festival in which devout Jains get together and consume only one meal a day which is devoid both of animal products and root vegetables, greens and spices, and made up mostly of plain (unflavoured) pulses and grains and boiled water to drink, is about to start soon. Even if you are not participating in Ayambil this year why not use this opportunity to try a vegan diet for the duration of the festival?
Should you want to give a plant based diet a go but are unsure how to start then you'll find plenty of support in this newsletter. There's information about some upcoming vegan cookery classes taking place next month in NW London plus a date for the next Jain Vegans Cooking Club event in Ruislip. In addition, there's a list of all the many vegan festivals taking place throughout the country up until the summer including a massive one in Brighton this weekend. We hope to see lots of you there! | | |
1. Aamir Khan turns vegan - inspired by Jainism! 
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who used to enjoy fish, chicken, meat, eggs and milk, has turned vegan! He was inspired by both the health benefits of adopting a plant based diet and the Jain philosophy of non - violence (ahimsa). Watch Aamir talk about how impressed he is about the Jain principles of Ahimsa, Aprigraha and Anekantvad below first in English, then Hindi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e2CQDPkgB8
A newspaper article about his change of diet can be found here.
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2. Ayambil Oli 
As the festival of Ayambil Oli is about to start, this is an ideal time to reflect on shifting from vegetarian to vegan, to reduce our himsa footprints. If you are participating in Ayambil, you'll be aware that the special ayambil food served to you happens to be vegan. If you're not participating in Ayambil this season, why not instead try being vegan for the 9 days of the festival?
Please find below a link to JVWG member Keval Shah's speech given in Gujarati at the Oshwal centre Ayambil festival in 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNLaK3FPAiQ
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3. Vegan health talk + cookery demo at recent SCVP Fun Day 
Medical doctor, Dr. Mike Hooper, gave a very well received talk at the SCVP Fun Day last weekend. In front of a packed room filled with almost 50 attendees Mike reviewed the decisions behind his personal journey from meateater to vegetarian to vegan. He then discussed the key nutrients that vegans (and vegetarians) need to watch out for - covering calcium, B12, iron, and omega-3.
Mike's talk, was followed by a cookery demonstration by Nishma Shah of Shambhu's. Feedback from the tasters of Nishma's scrambled tofu was very positive. Mike came in half way through, explained what the controversy about soya is (since many people are being led to believe that soya is unsafe) and then satisfied the audience of the safety of soya (according to current evidence).
Look out for the scrambled tofu recipe in a future JV newsletter soon.
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4. Reminder - Brighton Vegfest: Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th March 2015 
Date: Saturday and Sunday 28th and 29th March 2015
Time: 11am to 7pm
Venue: Brighton Centre, BN1 2GR
Tickets: In advance- £5 per day, £8 whole weekend ( www . brighton . vegfest . co . uk/admission)
VegfestUK Brighton is a celebration of all things vegan with loads of stalls serving awesome food as well as bodycare, clothes, accessories, gifts and also lots of campaigning groups and merchandise, plus stacks of info, talks, cookery demos (see section below), performances, passion and positive energy. Loads of freebies and tasters add to the attraction. People of all ages are welcome and the venue - the Brighton Centre - is modern, spacious and well equipped, and suitable for visitors with disabilities. For more information please visit http ://brighton . vegfest . co . uk.
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5. Shambhu's upcoming vegan cookery classes this April 
Nishma Shah (pictured above) of the awarding-winning Shambhu's is running a series of vegan cookery classes in Queensbury, north-west London, including one class for children. Click on the links below to go to the Shambhu's website for further information:
Wednesday 8th April, 10am to 12.30pm
Children's class: Mexican-style fajitas, salsa & guacamole
Sunday 19th April, 2pm to 4.30pm
Adult class: Root-free plant-based cuisine
Don't forget, if you can make it to Brighton Vegfest on Saturday 28th March, you can also catch Nishma demonstrating a popular, hearty and nourishing Kenyan vegan dish, made using fresh, simple, wholefood ingredients at 1pm.
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6. Cooking Club on 26th April - please join us! We are very pleased to announce that the next Jain Vegans Cooking Club event will take place on 26th April at 12pm in the Ruislip area. At each event, we ask attendees to make a vegan dish that would be suitable for most people following a Jain dietary code. We ask all members to write down the recipe with measurements and bring along the dish to share. At previous events, we have shared delicious dishes such as dhokdi, halwa and chilli tofu, which are now published on the Jain Vegans website here: http ://www . jainvegans . org/recipes/ If you are interested in joining the Cooking Club or would just like to know more, please email What should you make? The recipe may be a family favourite, or something you have found somewhere, e.g. in a magazine, online or in a recipe book and have been meaning to try or adapt to vegan Jain, or it could be one that you’ve made and adjusted previously that you would like to share with us. Otherwise, we have a selection of recipes that need to be tested and possibly adjusted before they can be published, so you're welcome to give one of these a try if you wish.
Why should you come to the Cooking Club? - A chance to make a new vegan dish, or share one of your favourites - Share tips and learn with other enthusiastic cooks - Taste a variety of vegan Jain dishes - Meet like-minded people, enthusiastic about good home cooking Read about what Heena, a Cooking Club member, thought of a previous event here: http ://www . plantshift . com/blog/the-jain-vegan-cooking-club We usually meet for an hour. No one is expected to make a dish that feeds all the members - just enough for several tasters. And of course, the whole session would be friendly and informal.
Do you have a Vegan and Jain recipe to share? We are looking to expand our collection of recipes, so if you have a recipe that you’d like to contribute (whether or not you can attend a Cooking Club event), please email it to us at: .
We are particularly keen to find a good recipe for yeast-free pizza bases.
With the help of Cooking Club members, the dishes will be tested, any adjustments to the recipe made and finally they will be published on the Jain Vegans website with credits to both the creator and adaptor. To help us in this process, we would be grateful if recipes could as far as possible use accurate metric measurements of all ingredients used. | So let's now put our collective cooking skills to action and produce some delicious vegan Jain recipes!
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8. Abuse and killing of cows in milk production 
The abuse and killing of cows on dairy farms is the main reason why many members of the Jain community have decided to make a switch to a vegan lifestyle:
- The cow is forcefully impregnated by means of artificial insemination. If a cow isn’t made pregnant, she won’t produce milk.
- The newborn calf is normally taken away from its mother within 24-48 hours. This is traumatic for cows, who, like human mothers, are very motherly and develop strong bonds with their babies.
- Male calves are killed shortly after birth or sold on for meat/leather production. They have no other use to dairy farmers.
- Female calves are kept on to replace their mothers as milk-producing cows.
- The mother cow will be killed when 5-7 years old, even though she could live for 20 to 30 years if given the chance. This is because after bearing a calf and giving milk each year, her milk yield drops such that it is no more profitable for a dairy farmer to keep her alive.
Even though cows on organic farms might experience slightly better conditions, they are still artificially inseminated and killed long before they would leave their bodies naturally. For further information about the way in which cows and other animals are exploited in the milk production process, please visit the Vegan Society website: http://www.vegansociety.com/ | | |
9. NHS website supportive of a vegan diet | | |
10. Alternatives to dairy to help you give up It is possible to get a range of dairy free alternatives to traditionally animal based products. Normally available from free-from sections of supermarkets and also from healthfood stores.
You can easily replace: - Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, Ecomil, Koko)
- Yoghurt / Dahi with plant based curds (Provamel, Alpro, Sojade)
- Butter with vegetable spreads (Pure and Vitalite are commonly available from supermarkets. Note many margarines contain butter milk and thus are not suitable for vegans)
- Cheese / Paneer with Dairy Free Cheeses (Tofu, VBites, Scheese, Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet)
- Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Bessant and Drury, Swedish Glace, Booja Booja, Worthenshaws)
- Chocolate with dark chocolate (Plamil and Organica do specialist dairy free ‘milk chocolate’ and many brands do vegan dark chocolate)
- Eggs with egg replacement powder (baking) or tofu (scrambled)
- Honey with maple syrup, rice syrup, agave syrup, date syrup or golden syrup
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11. JAIN VEGANS WORKING GROUP In the UK, the Jain Vegans Working Group actively works with UK Jain organisations to deliver informative and empowering events on a plant-based lifestyle, and to encourage them to make the transition to all - vegan catering at their events. Please us if you'd like us to help your Jain organisation/community in this way. Please also if you are interested in supporting our activities, for example by volunteering.
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