Jain Vegans ►Vegan health, diabetes reversal, ethics & much more this October

Jain Vegans

Congratulations to all of you that managed to give up dairy over Paryushan. With the dozens of plant based alternative products now widely available on the high street we hope you didn't find the transition too difficult and are now tempted to remain dairy free beyond Paryushan also. Should this be the case make sure you join the Jain Vegans egroup for support and guidance.

This edition of the newsletter contains information about one of Europe's largest vegan festivals (at Olympia in Kensington), plus several other festivals happening throughout Britain over the next 3 months. Canadian medical doctor Tushar Mehta will be speaking at both a SCVP class in Kingsbury (on 9th October) and London Vegfest (on 10th October). He's an excellent speaker so make sure you catch him at either or both events if possible. Nishma Shah of Shambhu's will be proving valuable cooking tips at London Vegfest at Olympia on 10th October too.

Contents

1. Dr. Tushar Mehta of Toronto, Canada, presents at both SCVP & London Vegfest
2. Vegfest London, Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th October - Kensington Olympia
3. Reversing diabetes seminar - Saturday 31st October, Kings Langley
4. Upcoming vegan events
5. Abuse and killing of cows in milk production
6. NHS website supportive of a vegan diet
7. Alternatives to dairy to help you give up

1. Dr. Tushar Mehta of Toronto, Canada, presents at both SCVP & London Vegfest

Dr Tushar Mehta, an active vegan Jain and a practising medical doctor in Toronto, Canada, will be flying in to London specially to speak on a variety of fascinating and important topics, as detailed below. Don't miss these unique eye-opening opportunities to hear, meet and learn from Dr Mehta...

Dr. Tushar Mehta volunteering with Sea Shepherd, an international, non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organisation

Friday 9th October:
Presentation by guest speaker Dr Tushar Mehta, from Canada, on:
'The Holocaust, Slavery & Ahimsa in the 21st Century'
Hosted by Shri Chandana Vidyapeeth Jain school, as part of a series of sessions on 'Ethics & Morality - Its Connection to Spirituality'*
Time: 8.00 - 9.30pm
Venue: Kingsbury High School, Princes Ave. Kingsbury NW9 9JR.
Contact:

*Every Friday evening, from 25th September to 11th December, SCVP Jain School is running interactive discussion sessions on 'Ethics & Morality - Its Connection to Spirituality', at the above venue in Kingsbury, London. On Friday 9th October, Dr Tushar Mehta will be appearing as a special guest speaker to deliver his presentation (above) as part of the overall theme.

Saturday 10th October:
Dr Tushar Mehta, guest speaker from Canada, at VegfestUK London, will deliver the following health-related sessions on Level 3 (Vegan Health Summit):
2pm: Discussion: "Can you reverse Diabetes"
5pm: Talk: "Vegan is the Answer: What's The Question"

(Click here for an excellent and highly informative presentation by Dr Tushar Mehta entitled 'Plant Based/Vegan Diet & Health - the Medical Evidence')

2. Vegfest London, Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th October - Kensington Olympia

Following their huge success at Olympia in 2013 and 2014, attracting over 9,000 visitors on each occasion, VegfestUK London is moving into the Central Hall of Olympia on October 10th & 11th in 2015 and promises to be one of the largest vegan festivals in Europe this year.

VegfestUK London 2015 will feature over 200 stalls, 12 caterers, keynote speakers, celebrities, kids activities and kids cookery classes, plus the LifeWell Hub, Live Comedy and Music, a Bodybuilding Contest, a Cinema, Talks and Cookery Demos, plus a number of other exciting activities.

This year (on Saturday 10th October only) VegfestUK London will also feature presentations by two members of the Jain community:

• Dr Tushar Mehta, guest speaker, medical doctor and active vegan from Canada, will be delivering a discussion session on diabetes reversal (at 2pm), and a vegan health talk (at 5pm)
• Nishma Shah of Shambhu's (and also part of the Jain Vegans Working Group) will be running a cookery demonstration at 2pm on 'Vegan Treats & Sweets'.

This informal, family-friendly event is your ultimate one-stop guide to eco-friendly vegan lifestyles, with masses of top quality cruelty-free products & inspiring information, plus of course entertainment, festival vibe & humour.

With so much going on over the whole weekend, this action-packed 100% plant-based show promises to be unmissable!

Advance tickets £10 adults/ £6 concessions http://london.vegfest.co.uk/ticket-info

3. Reversing diabetes seminar - Saturday 31st October, Kings Langley

If you have been told by your doctor that diabetes or hypertension is irreversible and that you will have to take medications all your life then find out how hundreds of people have successfully come off medications and got their health back!

Dr Nandita Shah's program is based on scientific evidence and gives you practical guidelines about the best way to eat in order to re-create health.

What you will receive:

5 hours of eye opening lecture on nutrition and its link to disease 3 gourmet plant-based meals (breakfast, lunch and snacks) A booklet packed with all the important notes and information you will need to continue on your path to health

Watch Dr Nandita Shah speak about this in an interview on Chai with Lakshmi.

Cost: £125 per person.

Contact: Email

4. Upcoming vegan events

1) Vibrant social events in London

For information on monthly informative talks, regular scenic walks at different locations in London, social meals at some of the best vegan-friendly restaurants in the city, social meetups in London among like-minded folk, check out the follow links:

www.londonvegans.org.uk
and
www.londonveganmeetup.co.uk

2) VegfestUK - London (Olympia) - Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th October
http://london.vegfest.co.uk
- Dr Tushar Mehta, a Jain, vegan and medical doctor from Toronto, Canada, will be a guest speaker on Saturday 10th October, delivering two health-related sessions:
2pm: Can you reverse Diabetes, and
5pm: Vegan is the Answer: What's The Question
http://london.vegfest.co.uk/tushar-mehta 

-Nishma Shah of the Jain Vegans Working Group will be running a vegan cookery demonstration of on Saturday 10th October (under her vegan catering company, Shambhu's, and in partnership with The Vegan Society).
2pm: Vegan sweets & treats.
http://london.vegfest.co.uk/nishma-shah

3) Northern Vegan Festival (Manchester) - Saturday 17th October
www.northernveganfestival.com

4) West Midlands Vegan Festival
Wolverhampton Civic Hall - Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th October
www.midlandsveganfestival.org.uk
Nishma & Mahersh Shah of the Jain Vegans Working Group will be running their Shambhu's vegan catering stall at this event

5) Reversing Diabetes" - Saturday 31st October, Kings Langley
http://sharan-india.org/events/reversing-diabetes-2/

6) Dorchester Vegan Fair - Saturday 7th November
www.veganfairs.uk/dorchester.html

7) Animal Aid's South West Xmas Without Cruelty Festival (Exeter) - Saturday 21st November
www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/ACTIVE/demo_organiser//2260//

8) Winterfest (Leeds) - Sunday 22nd November
www.facebook.com/UKWinterFest

9) Cambridge Vegan Fair - Saturday 28th November
www.facebook.com/cambridgeveganfair
Nishma & Mahersh Shah of the Jain Vegans Working Group will be running their Shambhu's vegan catering stall at this event, and Nishma will also give a vegan cookery demonstration in the afternoon:-)

10) Vegfest Scotland (SECC Glasgow) - Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th December
- Nishma Shah of the Jain Vegans Working Group will be running two vegan cookery demonstrations on Saturday 5th December (under her vegan catering company, Shambhu's, and in partnership with The Vegan Society)

11) Animal Aid's Xmas Fayre (Kensington Town Hall) - Sunday 6th December
www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/ACTIVE/demo_organiser//2260//
Nishma & Mahersh Shah of Shambhu's will be running their vegan catering stall at this event:-)

5. 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:

1. The cow is forcefully impregnated by means of artificial insemination. If a cow isn’t made pregnant, she won’t produce milk.
2. 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.
3. Male calves are killed shortly after birth or sold on for meat/leather production. They have no other use to dairy farmers.
4. Female calves are kept on to replace their mothers as milk-producing cows.
5. 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

6. NHS website supportive of a vegan diet

For further information on vegan health nutrition, please consult the  Vegan Section on the NHS website  or visit this link: http://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-health

7. 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, Coyo, supermarket own brands)
• 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, Sheese, Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet, Violife)
• Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Bessant and Drury, Swedish Glace, Booja Booja, Almond Dream, Coyo, supermarket own brands)
• 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