No doubt some of you have heard of Vegan Campaigns, the London group that holds regular stalls, food fairs etc. See  http://www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/

We are delighted to announce the formation of Midlands Vegan Campaigns!! Still in the very early stages, little has been decided about exactly what MVC will do. But it is hoped that the main focus of MVC will be free food fairs, either supporting the groups in the Midlands that already organise such events or co-ordinating them ourselves.

No doubt there are many other things that MVC could do, such as info stalls, McD`s pickets, free food giveaways etc. Perhaps an annual really big event - a Midlands Vegan Festival!! MVC will work closely with The Vegan Society, who are now based in Birmingham. See  http://www.vegansociety.com/

We envisage that the group will be centred around Birmingham, and stretch out all round to Wolverhampton, Lichfield, Coventry, Leamington, Solihull, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Worcester, Kidderminster etc. But probably not stretching any further than that because we don`t want to take on too much!!

Yesterday(28th July), vegan and animal rights campaigners from across the country(and some from Europe) converged on Manchester for the woodland burial of Neil Lea. Neil, who lived in Wolverhampton in recent years, was without doubt, one of the most active, determined and influential campaigners the movement has ever known. Neil started the Animal Rights Coalition(ARC) meetings, published ARC News for many years, started the Save the Newchurch Guinea Pigs campaign and he was responsible for many very popular websites including www.realfood.org.uk and www.isitvegan.info . And it was Neil that established the revolutionary concept of free vegan food fairs, an idea which has been adopted by groups across the UK and beyond, and has helped countless thousands of people to convert to plant based diets. Neil did all this despite suffering from spina bifida and several other major illnesses!! He was a truly incredible individual and will be greatly missed.

It is in Neil`s memory that Midlands Vegan Campaigns has been formed.

In order to be the success that it could and should be, MVC will need the support and involvement of more people from across the region. If you would like to get involved in any way, please join our email list where you will be able to find out what we`re up to and discuss veganism/vegan campaigning with others. To sign up, see  https://lists.rbgi.net/mailman/listinfo/midlandsvegancampaigns

Our first meeting will take place on Thursday 9th August, 7.30pm at Friends of the Earth, Allison Street, Digbeth. This is just 5 minutes walk from New Street Station. See map
 http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=407590&Y=286728&A=Y&Z=1
Anyone interested in getting involved with MVC in any way is welcome to attend.

For more info about the benefits of veganism, see  http://www.viva.org.uk/goingvegan/index.html

Details of our exciting launch event will be announced shortly!

MVC