Food Lovers set to besiege Vale of Evesham Vegan Fair, Sat 23 March
Midlands Vegan Campaigns | 07.03.2013 13:28 | Animal Liberation | Health | Birmingham | Oxford
At Evesham Town Hall, 10.30am - 4pm. FREE admission, all welcome!
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Leaflet for the Vale of Evesham Vegan Fair
Free food sampling at a vegan fair in Birmingham
The audience at a vegan cookery demo in Birmingham
Crowded aisles at the West Midlands Vegan Festival 2012, in Wolverhampton
2,000 people attended the WMVF 2012, half of them non-vegans!
Press Release - 7/3/13
The Vale of Evesham's first ever Vegan Fair later this month looks set to be besieged by food lovers from across the region! On Saturday 23rd March, Evesham Town Hall will be transformed in to an oasis of healthy, compassionate living, showcasing the very best in veganism.
There'll be free food samples galore, including delicious alternatives to meat, cheese, chocolate, cakes, milk etc. Also 20 stalls from as far afield as Manchester & Devon, selling the best vegan food and products available, including ice cream, chocolate & sweets, cosmetics & toiletries, cakes, raw superfood, recipe books, curry, clothes, pet food, cheesecake, gifts, Easter Eggs and so much more!
There'll be lots of free recipes, healthy living guides and nutritional advice available. A vegan cafe will sell scrumptious hot food & refreshments throughout the day. There will also be talks on nutrition and going vegan, plus simple cookery demonstrations.
The event has been organised by Midlands Vegan Campaigns(MVC), a small group of volunteers who are committed to promoting healthy, plant based diets for the benefit of animals, people & the planet. MVC hope to attract hundreds of local residents and people from across the region.
Kevin White, MVC founder & main event coordinator said, "The fair will offer all you need for healthy, compassionate living. Fair-goers don't have to be veggie or vegan to attend, all are welcome! We encourage everyone to come and discover why people are increasingly adopting a vegan lifestyle".
"The free fantastic feast will demonstrate how delicious, appetising and varied vegan cuisine has become. We promise to tempt the taste buds of even the most committed carnivores!!".
Redditch based MVC have organised a string of similar events since their formation in 2007. In October last year, the huge Civic Hall in Wolverhampton was packed out for the fifth West Midlands Vegan Festival. Of the 2,000 visitors, more than half were non-vegans!
Kevin White continued, "Curiosity in vegan lifestyles has snowballed in recent years, as people seek a healthier, more ethical way of life. The horse meat scandal has increased interest in plant based diets even further, with a surge in sales of meat and dairy alternatives and many more people seeking our advice in recent weeks."
"People who choose not to eat animal products do so for a whole range of reasons, not the least being that a varied vegan diet lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers and increases life expectancy. It also eliminates suffering and saves the lives of thousands of animals as well as being a lot kinder to the planet. Vegan food is not only nutritious but it's delicious too, as everyone visiting the fair will discover."
"It will be the first ever vegan fair in Evesham and the biggest vegan event ever staged in Worcestershire! We hope to attract hundreds of local residents and people from across the region!"
The fair is free admission and will be open from 10.30am - 4pm. Anyone seeking more information about the event should see our website www.veganmidlands.org.uk or call us on 01527 458395.
ENDS
Midlands Vegan Campaigns
Homepage:
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Why Vegan??
07.03.2013 13:40
There are many reasons for going vegan - just as there are for going vegetarian. Being vegetarian helps enormously in reducing:
--> animal suffering
--> environmental damage
--> hunger in the developing world
--> risks to our own health
Veganism takes all those advantages a whole lot further. For very many people concerned about any or all of these problems, it seems the natural step to take from vegetarianism.
SAVING ANIMALS
In the UK alone, 850 million animals and hundreds of millions of fish are killed every year to put meat on tables - that?s more than three million animals a day. Before they are slaughtered, hundreds of millions lead desolate, disease-ridden lives on factory farms.
Cattle reared for milk production are exploited and made to suffer, just like animals reared for meat. They suffer from lameness, mastitis (inflammation of the udders) and other illnesses and - worst of all - they are forcibly separated from their calves just days after they are born so that humans can drink their milk. Cows are not some kind of special animal that produces milk automatically: just like every other animal, including us, they only produce milk to nurse their young. Male dairy calves, meanwhile, are useless to the dairy industry and are usually shot at birth. Meanwhile, egg-laying hens may be crammed into battery cages or disgusting, disease ridden percheries and forced to produce twenty times the number of eggs as are natural to them. Even free range and organic layers face disease and parasites - and are slaughtered for cheap meat as soon as their productivity falls below the level that the egg business will accept. Male chicks are as useless to the industry as male dairy calves and all are killed - including those on free-range and organic systems.
Like leather, wool is a vital part of the profitability of the meat business - and animals suffer to produce it. Over 90% of British sheep flocks have problems with lameness and almost 1 in 5 lambs die before getting to market. Even honey bees are prone to infectious diseases and the ill-effects of intensive production. All animals kept for profit are exploited in one way or another: the only way to ensure that animals are not harmed is to ensure they are not farmed at all.
For much more information on all these issues, read the Viva! guide Murder, She Wrote
SAVING THE PLANET
Rainforests are cleared for grazing; methane from livestock causes global warming; soil is eroded by cattle; slurry poisons waterways; and the seas are laid to waste by overfishing. The global appetite for meat and the industrial techniques of the meat industry are destroying the Earth.
Dairy cattle and laying hens consume land, water and resources just like other farmed animals. They eat pesticide-soaked fodder, produce polluting slurry, consume chemicals and drugs produced at environmental cost and generate greenhouse gases. They are a drain on our resources that this planet cannot afford.
For much more information on all these issues, read the Viva! guide Planet on a Plate
SAVING OTHERS
While 750 million people go to bed hungry every night, one-third of the world?s grain is fed to farmed animals. A typical Western meat-based diet can only feed 2.5 billion people: a plant-based diet will feed every one of us.
Again, dairy cattle and laying hens are consuming resources that could go to feeding human beings. As the developing world increasingly industrialises its animal agriculture, farming animals in order to generate revenues instead of food that problem will get worse - and as more dairy and egg produce is consumed in the developing world, so its people are at risk of falling prey to the diet-induced illnesses of Western society.
For much more information on all these issues, read the Viva! guide Food for the Future
SAVING YOURSELF
Vegetarians live longer and suffer less from diseases such as hypertension, obesity, coronary artery disease, certain kinds of cancer and diabetes. Vegetarian diets can even be used to treat illnesses.
Human beings are the only animals which consume milk after infancy - and the milk of another species at that. It is neither natural nor healthy. A study published in 2003 found that a vegan diet could reduce the most harmful form of cholesterol by 29%. The American Dietetic Association has declared that a vegan diet can provide all the nutrition that human beings need - from cradle to grave. Veganism is infinitely closer to the diet human beings evolved to thrive on than a normal, animal fat-soaked western diet - and the health benefits of a well-balanced vegan diet reflect that.
For much more information on all these issues, read the Viva! guide The Healthiest Diet of All
Midlands Vegan Campaigns
Homepage:
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk
Stallholders at the Evesham Vegan Fair
07.03.2013 13:45
Worcestershire Vegans & Veggies - A FREE vegan food sample stall run by this vegan campaigning and social group based in Worcester, see www.worcsveg.org.uk
Brackencraft - Natural handmade soaps, bath bombs, moisturiser, lip balm & lots more, see www.brackencraft.co.uk
Lakeside Ethical Treats - A vast array of animal-free chocolate, sweets & snacks incl Easter Eggs, choc bunnies, gift boxes, marshmallows, cinder toffee, vegan 'Mars', 'Snickers', 'Milky Way', raw superfood, savoury snacks etc, all sold in aid of the event organisers, Midlands Vegan Campaigns, see www.ethical-treats.co.uk
Tasker's Takeaways - Free samples of authentic takeaway vegan food, with full frozen meals for your freezer on sale, see www.redditch.veggroup.org/locations/1453.html
Ethical Pets - Ethical pet store selling everything your pet needs from bowls and food to leads & toys, see www.ethical-pets.co.uk
The One Earth Shop - Situated in Digbeth, Birmingham, this is the longest running purely vegan health food shop in the country and a range of their goodies will be on sale, see www.facebook.com/TheOneEarthShop
Riverflow Clothing - A small, family, business selling fairly traded and ethically sourced clothes and accessories that are mostly hand made and unique, see www.riverflowclothing.com
Three Counties Sabs - Local group who take lawful direct action to protect wildlife from those who wish to hunt and kill them, see www.facebook.com/threecounties.sabs
Tofu Tony's Recipe Books - A wide selection of vegan recipe books on sale.
Skylark Organics - A Soil Association Certified supplier of organically produced fruit & vegetables. Their weekly box scheme delivers a wide selection of fresh produce across Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Chpping Norton & surrounding areas, and their expanding across the West Midlands, see www.skylarkorganics.co.uk
Trishul Raw Chocolate - Lots of locally produced, delicious & healthy (yes healthy!) raw chocolate goodies including chocolate brownies, energy bombs, florentines, truffles, millionaires shortbread and more, see www.facebook.com/TrishulRawChocolate
The Farm Animal Sanctuary - This was Britain's first ever farm animal sanctuary, located near Evesham, and is now home to over 500 animals, see www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
The Vegan Society - They promote ways of living free from animal products for the benefit of people, animals and the environment, see www.vegansociety.com
Vegan Cakery - Small ethical company selling a fantastic range of cruelty-free cupcakes, luxury gateaus, battenberg, celebration cakes, tiered cakes and more, see www.vegancakery.com
Animal Aid - The UK's largest animal rights group and one of the longest established in the world, having been founded in 1977, see www.animalaid.org.uk
Pulsin - Natural, healthy and nutritious snacks made using premium wholefood ingredients in their Gloucestershire factory, see www.pulsin.co.uk
Razzle Dazzle Ices - A small, ethical, family business that produces a fantastic range of delicious dairy-free ice cream. The flavours include shokalate, mango sorbet and hintamint, see www.razzledazzleices.co.uk
Midlands Vegan Campaigns
Homepage:
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk
Vegan cafe, food donors & sponsors
07.03.2013 13:55
The scrumptious vegan food & refreshments will be provided by ChangeKitchen, the Birmingham based social enterprise that offers award winning veggie/vegan catering for weddings, business events, festivals and more...! See their website www.changekitchen.co.uk
FREE VEGAN FOOD SAMPLES
Many thanks to the following companies for very generous donations of their products which will be available to sample on a free food table, which will be run by Worcestershire Vegans & Veggies.
Amy's Kitchen - www.amyskitchen.co.uk
Bute Island Foods - www.buteisland.com
Fry's Vegetarian - www.frysvegetarian.co.uk
Kara Dairy Free - www.karadairyfree.com
Redwood Foods - www.shop.redwoodfoods.eu
Venture Foods - www.venturefoods.com
SPONSORS
Many thanks to our sponsors Animal Aid and Lakeside Ethical Treats
Midlands Vegan Campaigns
Homepage:
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk