29.01.2017 ►Jain Vegans ►Newsletter @ HereNow4U

Jain Vegans

How was going vegan for you? - Event & Survey

Happy 2017 everyone!

Hope the new year has started fantastically for you!

Towards the end of 2016 and start of 2017, we noticed a surge in the number of members of the Jain community trying a vegan diet. Some went vegan for Paryushan and World Vegan Month, while many also started 2017 by going vegan for January with Veganuary.

We want to make it easier for Jains to try and stick to a vegan lifestyle.

And so we'd like to get feedback from as many Jains as possible who have recently tried a vegan diet.

We'd like to understand how you found the experience, how likely you are to stick to being vegan in the future, and what you think could be done to make it easier for people like you to successfully transition.

To help us learn from you, we've done two things.

First, we've organised a social event on Sunday 12 February in Kenton, London. The event will be an opportunity to meet others who have been through a similar journey and share experiences. Delicious vegan masala chai will be served;).

We've also put together a short online survey. We kindly ask everyone who has tried a vegan diet in the last few years to fill it out.

Further information on both the event and the survey, plus some other events are provided below.

A social opportunity to share your vegan experiences
Sunday 12th Feb | Kenton | 1.30 - 4.00pm

Location: 555 Kenton Road, Middlesex HA3 9RS (Next door to Kenton Derasar, on corner of Kinross Close)
Date & time: Sunday 12th Feb, 1.30 - 4pm
Cost: free; donations welcome towards room hire
Registration: click here

We have organised a small event to get feedback from the Jain community on how they have found trying a vegan diet. This friendly event will be an opportunity to share experiences, both good and bad, hear from others who have been through the same journey, and have any questions/concerns about your vegan journey answered.

Masala chai and a few refreshments will be provided. Feel free to bring along any vegan snacks or recipe ideas to share, but please don't feel obliged to do so.

Vegan experience survey

Have you tried a vegan diet at any point in the last few years?

If so, we would be very grateful if you could fill out this short survey to let us know about your experience.

The survey should take less than 10 minutes of your time, but the results will be invaluable for our work to help members of Jain community to transition to a lower himsa lifestyle.

www.jainvegans.org/2017survey

The Greater London Vegan Festival
Saturday 4th Feb | Kings Cross | 10.30 - 4.30pm | £5

The Greater London Vegan Festival will take place at the Camden Centre, Kings Cross on Saturday 4th February. It will be another opportunity for those near the London area to learn more about the vegan lifestyle.

The event will feature many exciting stallholders (where you'll be able to sample & buy products), interesting talks, and entertainment from some top vegan comics.

The Festival is organised by Farplace Animal Rescue sanctuary. All the profits from the festival will directly help animals.

To find out more and buy tickets, visit the website.

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

The Greater London Vegan Festival - Sat 4th Feb
http://www.londonanimalfreefestival.com

Cardiff Viva! Vegan Festival - Sat 4th Feb
http://www.viva.org.uk/festivals/cardiff-2017

Portsmouth Vegan Festival - Sat 25th Feb
www.facebook.com/Portsmouth-Vegan-Festival-346415229030657
Nishma and Mahersh Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be running their vegan catering stall at this event

VegfestUK Brighton - Sat 11th & Sun 12th March
http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk/
Nishma Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be delivering a vegan cookery demonstration at this event

For a list of many other great upcoming vegan events, visit this link:
http://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 his/her 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, Sojade)
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 (Alpro, 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...

THE 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