13.10.2016 ►Jain Vegans ►Newsletter @ HereNow4U

Jain Vegans

Are you interested in learning more about health and nutrition on Jain, vegetarian and/or vegan diets? If so, you should strongly consider attending the health summit at VegFestUK London on 22 - 23rd October. Talks include:

Find out more about VegFestUK London and see links to videos on vegan health and nutrition by Dr Tushar Mehta below.

Talks on health & nutrition on veg*n diets at VegFestUK London

Sunday 23rd & Sun 23rd October | All day | Kensington Olympia

Date: Saturday 23rd October (11am to 6pm) & Sunday 24th October (10am to 5pm)
Location: Olympia, Hammersmith Road, London, W14 8UX (nearest tube: Kensington Olympia)
Price: Advance tickets £12 (limited buy-one get one half price offer)
Event programme: download here
Further information and tickets: http://london.vegfest.co.uk/

London VegFest is one of Europe's biggest vegan festivals, and is expected to attract over 12,000 visitors over the weekend. With so much under one roof it is an unmissable event for anyone wanting to discover how to thrive on a plant based lifestyle.

There will be around 250 stalls, with delicious vegan food, animal friendly cosmetics and fashion items - many offering free samples and specialist discounts. There will be cookery demonstrations throughout the weekend, including on how to make vegan desserts, vegan cheese, and Jamaican style cooking. There will also be lots of high profile speakers, ranging from vegan athletes and body builders and experts on health and nutrition.

In addition to the health summit noted at the top of this e-mail, this year we are delighted to announce there will be three speakers from the Jain community.

Nishma Shah of Shambhu's will be opening the cookery demonstrations on Saturday at 12pm. The theme will be on bananas!

Sagar Kirit Shah will be speaking on Sunday at 11am about Jainism, Ahimsa, and the vegan movement in the Jain community.

Dr Tushar Mehta, a Toronto based physician, will be talking about a vegan diet and medical science on Sunday at 1pm, and impact of animal foods on the environment at 4pm. You can read more about Tushar Mehta below.

Learn more about vegan health and nutrition with Dr. Tushar Mehta

If you are unable to attend VegFestUK London, and you missed out or are on the waiting list for Tushar's talk on health and nutrition with Young Jains UK and SCVP, why not watch some of his talks online:

Medical evidence on plant-based / vegan diets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umtfY5Yirlo

Cow Slaughter in India - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wo5v7JF0ps

Holocaust, Slavery and Ahimsa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeI8Z_wFK3I

Dr. Tushar Mehta MD practices family, emergency, and addiction medicine in Toronto, Canada. He also does medical work in India, and has been a long time volunteer at the Sree Bidada Sarvodaya Trust hospital in Kutchh, Gujarat. Tushar has also volunteered at Veerayatan’s eye hospital in Bihar.

Dr. Mehta has also worked for several environmental organizations including, working for 3 months in Antarctica with Sea Shepherd Conservation society. He is one of the founding members and annual volunteers of the youth Jain Camp and Towards Ahimsa in the Toronto area, now running for 15 years.

More recently, Dr. Mehta has been lecturing about vegan diet and health, as well as the issues of dairy production and cow slaughter in India. He has given many talks on about jain philosophy and non-violence in the modern context at JAINA and YJA conventions.

Last year, the Jain Vegans Working Group awarded Dr Mehta an 'Ahimsa in Action' award in recognition of his selfless vegan-related educational activities around the world. (Previous recipients of this award have been Pravin K. Shah (of JAINA Education) and Young Jains UK).

Upcoming vegan events

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:
London Vegans and London Vegan Meetup

Northern Vegan Festival (Manchester) - Sat 15th Oct
http://www.northernveganfestival.com/

Cambridge Vegan Market - Sun 16th Oct
http://www.veganmarkets.co.uk/

VegfestUK London (Olympia) - Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd Oct
http://london.vegfest.co.uk/
Come and see Shambhu's vegan cookery demonstration on Sat 22nd Oct. Tushar Mehta and Sagar Kirit Shah will both be speaking on Sun 23rd Oct.

Video of Dr Michael Greger's Talk 'How Not to Die' - Wed 26th Oct
http://www.londonvegans.org/lvhome.php

West Midlands Vegan Festival (Wolverhampton) - Sat 29th & Sun 30th October
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk/festival/home.html
Will include vegan catering by Nishma and Mahersh Shah of Shambhu's and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group.

London Animal Free Festival - Sun 30th Oct (all day)
www.facebook.com/londonanimalfreefestival

World Vegan Day Shambhu's Cookery Class: Indo-Oriental fusion cuisine - Tue 1st Nov
http://shambhus.co.uk/adult-classes/

Leicester Vegan Fair - Sat 19th November
www.facebook.com/events/1173184616035723
Will include vegan catering by Nishma and Mahersh Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group

Animals in Medical Research (Talk by Dr Alpesh Patel of The Dr Hadwen Trust) - Wed 30th Nov
www.londonvegans.org
(This is a 2nd opportunity to hear Dr Alpesh Patel, if you missed his previous talk that was hosted by Young Jains)

Animal Aid's Christmas Fayre (Kensington) - Sun 4th Dec
www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/ACTIVE/events_diary/ALL///

Leatherhead Vegan Fayre - Sat 10th Dec
www.facebook.com/LeatherheadVeganFayreSurrey
(run in aid of FRIEND Farm Animal Sanctuary)

For a list of many other great upcoming vegan events, visit this link:
www.shambhus.co.uk/events

Vegan recipes & cookery classes

Do you need advice and tips on how to veganise your favourite dishes or perhaps you're looking for ways to introduce more plant based cuisine into the family diet? If so check out the following listings:

http://www.jainvegans.org/recipes/
http://yummyvegan.tumblr.com/
https://veganjain.com/
http://plantshift.com/recipebook/

Would you like to share the recipe for a favourite Jain vegan dish? Please email us on for publication on our website.
(Please accurately state all measurements in metric units)

Vegan cookery classes & demos

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 through 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 15 to 20 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 longer 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.

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-and-health

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 health food 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

About Jain Vegans

Jain Vegans supports members of the Jain community in the transition towards a plant-based low-himsa lifestyle, and helps raise awareness about the abuse, violation and killing of cows in milk production.

You can find out more about Jain Vegans online (www.jainvegans.org) or interact with us through the following online channels:

..a friendly online forum where you can ask questions and exchange ideas about the vegan lifestyle with other members from around the world....

...follow us on Twitter (@JainVegans) for instant news and information...

'like' us on facebook for updates on our activities and invitations to events...

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.

With warm wishes,

The Jain Vegans Team
www.jainvegans.org