15.09.2017 ►Jain Vegans ►Newsletter @ HereNow4U

Jain Vegans

There are three major vegan festivals in London in the next few months, including one in WEMBLEY TOMORROW and another next month which will be one of the largest vegan gatherings in Europe! Also upcoming at the end of September is a talk on vegan nutrition in central London by Stephen Walsh PhD, author of Plant Based Nutrition and Health.

A vegan from the UK Jain community, Vijay Shah, has also been on a national television show about the skills required to be an astronaut. During the first episode, Vijay, came out first on a fitness/athletics test.

Viva! Vegan Festival (Wembley) - Sat 16 Sept
Vegfest (Olympia) - Sat 21 & Sun 22 Oct
Animal Aid's Xmas Fayre (Kensington) - Sun 3 Dec
Talk by Stephen Walsh PhD on vegan diet & health (Holborn) - Wed 27 Sept
UK vegan Jain comes first in fitness test on UK television show
Upcoming events

London Viva! Vegan Festival - Wembley

The Drum | Sat 16th Sep | 11 - 6pm | £5

The Drum at Wembley, Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley HA9 0FJ
Saturday 16th September (11 - 6pm)
£5 entry (u16 free)
https://www.viva.org.uk/festivals/london-wembley-2017

For many of you based in NW London, you have a large vegan festival taking place this Saturday on your doorstep! Here you will find 200 stalls over two floors exploring the delights of low-himsa living.

Lots of different delicious food on offer, five separate rooms for talks and 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.

Vegfest London (Olympia)
Sat 21st (11 - 6pm) & Sun 22nd (10 -5pm) Oct | from £10

Olympia, Hammersmith Road, Kensington, London W14 8UX
Sat 21st (11 - 6pm) & Sun 22nd (10 - 5am) October
from £10 entry (discounts currently available for advanced tickets)
https://london.vegfest.co.uk/

Expected to attract over 14,000 visitors over the weekend, Vegfest London will be one of Europe's largest vegan events! Set over two floors in London's Olympia there will be over 250 stalls offering a huge selection of different products to sample and buy and an abundance of talks and events displaying the best of vegan living (- full programme arriving shortly).

Highlights this year include Professional Health Summit, Vegan Athletes Summit, Vegan Comedy Festival, Vegan Film Festival, Mature Zone, Teen Zone, Cookery demos, a plethora of different cuisines to try and so much more!

Nishma Shah of Shambhu's, and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group, will be delivering a vegan cookery demonstration at this event, on Saturday 21st October, 1pm: http://london.vegfest.co.uk/nishma-shah

An entry fee discount is currently available for early-bird multi-buys.

Animal Aid's Christmas Fayre (London)
Kensington Town Hall | Sun 3rd Dec | 10am - 5pm | £2

Kensington Town Hall, W8 7NX
Sunday 3rd December
£2 entry
www.animalaid.org.uk/events/animal-aids-christmas-fayre

Animal Aid's annual Christmas Fayre is a festive collection of cruelty-free living, to enrich your mind, body and stomach! Enjoy the uplifting atmosphere and an inspiring array of animal-friendly goods from ethical companies, charities and campaign groups. A perfect opportunity to stock up on ethical gifts for anyone buying Christmas presents.

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.

Talk on Vegan Diet & Health by Stephen Walsh PhD
Holborn | Wed 27th Sept | 7.00 - 9.15pm | £2

Community Rooms, Millman St (entrance next to 38a), London WC1N 3EW
Wednesday 27th September (7.00 - 9.15pm)
£2 entry

The London Vegans Monthly Meetings host nutrition expert Stephen Walsh PhD this month, who will talk on diet recommendations from the Global Burden of Disease study, the vegan experience to date, and changes that could make it easier to be a vegan.

Stephen is one of the UK's leading experts on vegan health and nutrition. He is the author of Plant-based Nutrition and Health; developed the Vegan Society Veg1 supplement, and helped establish guidelines on B12 intake among vegans that have been endorsed internationally.

UK vegan Jain comes first in fitness test on UK television show

Vijay Shah, a vegan from the UK Jain community, has been a participant on a UK television show called "Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?"

The show takes aspiring astronauts through the rigorous tests conducted as part of the astronaut selection process. Vijay was selected out of thousands of people, and has made it into the final five candidates of the show.

Vijay has also demonstrated that vegan Jains can excel athletically. Vijay came out top on the bleep test in the first episode, and has been among the best among the exercises requiring fitness and stamina.

The next episode will be broadcast on Sunday 17 September 2017 at 9pm on BBC Two. You can also view previous episodes on BBC Iplayer.

You can read more about Vijay and his adventures across the globe on this website: http://www.vijayshah.info/.

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

Viva! Vegan Festival, London (Wembley) - Sat 16th Sept
www.viva.org.uk/festivals/london-wembley-2017
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

Indian cuisine, by Nishma of Shambhu's (Cookery class for adults) - Sat 23rd Sept
Taught by Nishma Shah of Shambhu's (and part of the Jain Vegans Working Group)
For further information and to book your place:
www.shambhus.co.uk/adult-classes

The National Veg Food & Lifestyle Festival (Manchester) - Sat 30th Sept
www.national-veg-food-and-lifestyle-festival.co.uk

VegfestUK London (Olympia) - Sat 21st & Sun 22nd Oct
http://london.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, on Saturday 21st October, 1pm:
http://london.vegfest.co.uk/nishma-shah

West Midlands Vegan Festival (Wolverhampton) - Sat 28th & Sun 29th Oct
www.facebook.com/events/665857366920017
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

Animal Aid's Christmas Fayre (Kensington Town Hall, London) - Sun 3rd Dec
Further details: www.animalaid.org.uk/events/animal-aids-christmas-fayre
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

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 20 to 25 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