The Jain Vegans Working Group is delighted to announce that Young Jains will be hosting a vegan mithai and dessert afternoon, featuring demonstrations from several members of the London Jain community.
Date: Sunday 20th October
Time: 3pm-5pm
Venue : Canons High School, Shaldon Road, Edgware, HA8 6AN
Registration essential: Please email to confirm your place.
Tickets: YJ Members - £2 Non YJ members - £4
FREE ENTRY if you bring along a vegan dessert/mithai to share.
Come along for an fun-filled afternoon where you will learn how to make delicious vegan mithai and get a chance to sample vegan mithai made by others from the Jain community.
If you are you interested in sharing some of your tasty vegan creations (mithai and desserts) and ideas? Please get in touch with . Please also get in touch if you would like help in swapping ingredients to make your signature item vegan.
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1. Thinking of going vegan? Try it out for 30 days this November. 
Here is the perfect opportunity to see how easy it is to go vegan. Register for Animal Aid’s ‘Great Vegan Challenge’, and join hundreds of other people all going vegan this November.
You’ll be provided with all the support and advice you need - everything from daily recipes, advice on nutrition, tips on which are the best places to shop, and a telephone hotline for any difficult questions. You’ll even be entered into a free prize draw for a hamper full of vegan goodies!
Simply go to http://www.govegan.org.uk/ and register your interest. It’s easier than you think | | |
2. Jain Vegans News 1. Melanie Joy Lecture - Harvard-educated pyschologist Melanie Joy delivered an excellent lecture to an audience of over 200 people at the British Library on Friday 11 October. For those who missed out, you can see a very similar lecture by Melanie at the following link. Many thanks to the Institute of Jainology for organising this event. 
Melanie Joy speaking at the British Libary 2. Poster featuring foods that are suitable for followers of religions Constantin (of the Vegan Society of France) recently shared on the Jain Vegans e-group a poster featuring foods that would be suitable for followers of all religions and cultural backgrounds. The poster is a key output from the Eating Together project, and featured input from several members of the Jain community, including Kewal Shah, Malini Shah, Vinodbhai Kapashi and Harshad Sanghrajka. 
3. Page dedicated to cruelty to cows in dairy farming on AtmaDharma.com
Rajesh and Jyoti of Atmadharma.com, have now uploaded a section dedicated to raising awareness of the cruelty to cows in dairy production on their website. The site has now been observed by people around the world and has Rajesh and Jyoti have received considerable positive feedback.
To view the page, please visit: http://www.atmadharma.org/shastras/vegetarian_food_and_jain_conduct_eng_txt/vfjcmpmilk.html 
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3. Upcoming vegan events in Manchester (2 Nov) and Leicester (23 Nov) If you are based in Manchester or Leicester, the following events are not to be missed!
Manchester Vegan Fair
Date: Sunday 2 November
Time: 11am to 5pm
Venue: Methodist Church, Central Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester city
centre, M1 1JQ.
Further information: www.facebook.com/events/410298329077140
Leicester Vegan Fair
Date: Saturday 23 November
Time: 10:30am to 3:30pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Queens Road, Leicester.
Further information: www.facebook.com/vegan2013/info 
Leicester Vegan Fair 2012 | | |
4. Other upcoming UK based vegan-related events For a comprehensive list of upcoming vegan fairs in the UK, please see: http://london.vegfest.co.uk/uk-vegan-fairs
Live A Better Life (Liverpool), Saturday 19th October
Further details: www.ethicsandhealth.org.uk/LABL_Fair_Liverpool.html
Animal Aid School Speaker Cookery Demonstration (London), Saturday 19 October
To book your place or further information, contact Animal Aid.
West Midlands Vegan Festival (Wolverhampton), Saturday 26th October
Further details: www.midlandsveganfestival.org.uk
London Vegans Speaker Evening (Central London), Wednesday 30 October
Aris Tsontzos from Global Poverty Project
Further details: http://www.londonvegans.org.uk/
Brecknock Road (Kentish Town) Vegan Festival, Saturday 9 November
Featuring the Third Estate Vegan Shoe Shop, Wills Vegan Shoes, Bumblebee Health Foods, the Mighty Fork and the Vegan Society.
Further details: http://fatgayvegan.com/2013/10/08/brecknock-road-vegan/
North East Vegan Festival (Sunderland), Sunday 17th November
Further details: www.northeastveganfestival.co.uk
London Vegans Speaker Evening (Central London), Wednesday 27 November
Ranjan Joshi on why "Veganism is a feminist: issue.
Further details: http://www.londonvegans.org.uk/
Animal Aid's Christmas Fayre (Kensington Town Hall, London), Sunday 8th December
Further details: www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_living//2724// | | |
5. Abuse and the 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. 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 | | |
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. - Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, So Good, 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, Redwoods Cheezly,Scheese,Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet)
- Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Rice Dream,Swedish Glace,Tofutti, 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 fruit syrup or golden syrup
For further listings of animal free products, please see the Vegan Society Animal Free Shopper online database: http://www.vegansociety.com/afssearch.aspx | | |
8. About Jain Vegans Jain Vegans (www.jainvegans.org) was established in 2008 to support Jains in the transition towards a low-himsa lifestyle, largely in response to the abuse and violation of cows in milk production. Though we are not formally established as an organisation, we organise regular events and workshops on a plant-based lifestyle () and interact with member and supporters through the following channels: 
..a friendly online forum where you can exchange and ideas about veganism and Jainism with other members from around the world....
...follow us on Twitter (@JainVegans) for instant news and information...
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..'like' us on facebook for updates on our activities and invitations to events... | | |
If anything we have written has caused offence, we humbly seek forgiveness. Michhami Dukkadam.
With best wishes,
The Jain Vegans Team
(www.jainvegans.org) | | |
