the irish vegetarian 137

The Irish Vegetarian - Winter 2012/13 1

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Irish Vegetarian Winter 2012/13 Issue 137 Winter 2012/13 Issue 137

Magazine of the Vegetarian Society of IrelandMagazine of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland

The Ethics of The Ethics of

Cultured MeatCultured Meat

The BrightonThe BrightonVegfestVegfest

Recipes & More!Recipes & More!

A Vegan Guide to New YorkA Vegan Guide to New York

The

2 The Irish Vegetarian - Winter 2012/13

Contents

Vegetarian Society of Ireland c/o Dublin Food Coop, 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8 Phone: (01) 488 0250 email: [email protected] web: www.vegetarian.ie VSI is a Registered Charity: CHY12238 Cover photo: Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale 2012 by Angi Mason

This magazine is printed on FSC paper.

Vegan Meanin' Food

Find New Friends

Home Economics and Vegetarian Students 23

A Trip Down Memory Lane

The Ethics of Cultured Meat

The Meat Fix

Book Reviews

A Cork Vegan's Holiday in New York

The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

The Brighton Vegfest 2012

8

10

12

13

15

17

19

22

6


The Vegetarian Society of Ireland

AIMS OF THE SOCIETY

Our constitutional aims are to advance

education, and to promote the positive aspects

of vegetarianism in relation to both health and

environmental issues. We also aim to create

more awareness of the organization, and to

inform the people of Ireland about

vegetarianism. We aim to co-operate with other

organizations which promote the fundamental

ideals of vegetarianism. The VSI supports both

vegetarian and vegan aims.

COMMITTEE

The committee of the VSI are elected annually

and volunteer their time. We hold monthly

meetings to ensure the vegetarian voice for

Ireland is being listened to.

Chairperson Sarah Burnham

Membership Martin O’Reilly

Treasurer Eithne Brew (acting)

Secretary Maureen O’Sullivan

Webmaster Martin O’Sullivan

Ordinary Committee Member

Karen Bui

VOLUNTEERING

We are always looking for people to help out. If

you can lend a hand from time to time please

email [email protected] with your contact

details.

DEFINITIONS

The Vegetarian Society of Ireland defines a

vegetarian as one who does not consume

meat, fish or fowl and who aims to avoid the use

and consumption of battery hen eggs and

slaughterhouse by-products in food, clothing,

cosmetic and household products.

A vegan is one who adopts a way of living

which seeks to exclude, as far as possible and

practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty

to, animals for food, clothing or any other

purpose. In dietary terms veganism refers to the

practice of dispensing with all animal produce -

including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, animal milks,

honey and their derivatives.

Abhorrence of the cruel practices inherent in

dairy, livestock and poultry farming is probably

the most common reason for the adoption of

veganism, but many people are drawn to it for

health, ecological, resource, spiritual and other

reasons.

SPRING 2013 ISSUE DEADLINE

The theme of the Spring 2013 issue is Raw Food. The deadline for

advertisements and articles for inclusion is 25th January 2013.

Articles can be accepted in text file, PDF, Open Office or MSOffice

format. Images/photos for inclusion need to be of good quality

(no resize/crop) with a resolution of at least 300dpi and in JPEG

format. Mail [email protected].

EDITORIAL Winter is upon us and after unexpected delays resulting in us missing the publication of the Autumn issue, for which we apologise to all our members, we are proud to present to you the Winter 2012/13 edition of The Irish Vegetarian.

Winter is a wonderful time to experiment with new recipes. We are privileged to have some great contributions from our volunteer writers throughout Ireland, without whom, publication of this magazine would not be possible. Features include book reviews, reports from recent events, articles from socially conscious individuals and recipes that are sure to appeal to those with a sweet tooth.

We hope you enjoy your 24 page, full colour Winter 2012/13 issue. If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at [email protected]. Remember, we always want to hear your news, comments, and suggestions.

Brittany & Karen

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS & CONTRIBUTORS!

Editors: Brittany Lawler, Karen Bui, Sarah Burnham

Packing & Distribution (Summer ’12): Sarah Burnham, Suzanne Clinton, Grace Hillis, Martin O’Reilly, Juliana Pereira, Miren Maialen Samper, Brian Shannon

Proof reading (Winter ‘12): Liz Bruton, Karen Bui, Grace Hillis, Martin O’Reilly, Gemma Sidney.

Writers: Jolanta Burke, Sarah Burnham, Conor Hand, Grace Hillis, Lisa J. Lord, Angi Mason, Martin O’Reilly, Gemma Sidney, Bronwyn Slater.

Cover: Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale 2012, Photo by Angi Mason

IN BRIEF

World Vegetarian Day 2012

The VSI held its second large-scale World Vegetarian Day event in a row in St Andrew's Resource Centre on Pearse Street in Dublin City. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the day.

VSI mentioned in TV now magazine

TV now magazine ran a feature on World Vegetarian Day in which the benefits of reducing one's meat consumption were outlined and guidelines for doing so were provided. The VSI is pleased to have been referred to in this article.


Become a Volunteer

We are always looking for volunteers

to help with our magazine, stalls, and

events such as Word Vegetarian

Day. Watch out for our appeals and

do not hesitate to contact us! We

urgently need volunteers to help with

o u r m a g a z i n e a n d o u r

website. If you have editorial skills, writing skills, or graphic

design skills, we would particularly like to hear from

you. We need volunteers to edit the magazine, research

and write articles, distribute the magazine to retailers, and

to contribute content to our website. If you can help us with

any of these tasks then please get in touch.

We are always looking for people to help out. If

you can lend a hand from time to time please email [email protected] with your contact

details.

Vegan Sligo

Bringing the vegan lifestyle to Sligo. [email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vegan-Sligo/215528968478165

Kerry Vegans and Raw Vegans

Hoping to connect vegans in Kerry and anyone else interested in the

vegan lifestyle. http://www.meetup.com/kerry-vegans/

Cork Vegans

Regularly meet up to socialize and to discuss and promote vegan

issues. Email: [email protected]. http://www.corkvegans.ie,

https://www.facebook.com/corkvegans, www.meetup.com/Cork-

Vegans

The Galway Vegan Meetup Group - Full O’Beans

For vegans and aspiring vegans living in and around Galway who

love to eat!

If there’s a local group not mentioned here please let us know by emailing:

[email protected]. If you’d like to create a group in your area then we

can help you with leaflets & publicity.

Dublin Vegetarian Meetup Group

When they meet: usually at least once a month in various Dublin

city centre locations. A diverse and very international group. Who

to contact: Grace Hillis ([email protected]). To participate in this

group join meetup.com (free) and then become a member of the

group a www.vegetarian.meetup.com/485/

Clare Vegetarian Group

Meet the first Thursday of every month. Website is

www.clareveggroup.blogspot.com and email is

[email protected]

Galway Vegetarian Group

Usually meet on the first Thursday of every month in Massimo’s

Pub, William Street West, Galway City at 8pm.

Contact Paul Campbell on 085 6872088.

Email [email protected].

Web: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Galway Vegetarians And

Vegans

Kilkenny Vegetarian Group

Organizes “No Meat and Greets “ where vegetarians & vegans

bring their favourite dishes to share with others.

Omnivores welcome but no meat please!

Email [email protected] and online at

http://www.veggiekilkenny.com or

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43949691068

Kildare Meetup Group

Contact Conor Hand at [email protected].

Northern Ireland Veg*n Lounge Meetup

Welcome all vegetarians, vegans, raw foodists, fruitarians, (and any

kind of plant eater!) from Northern Ireland.

http://www..meetup.com/Northern-Ireland-Vegetarian-Vegan/

Vegetarian & Vegan

Social & Local Groups

Vegan Social & Local Groups

Vegan Ireland regularly sends newsletters by email with details of their latest activities, including meetups and information stands. Contact: [email protected]. Website: www.veganireland.org.

ADVERTISING with The Irish Vegetarian Magazine

1/8 page ... €20 1/4 page ... €35

1/2 page ... €60 Full page ... €100

Small adverts of up to 20 words €10 (Small adverts are free to members)

submit queries on advertising & artwork to [email protected]

Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent policies of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland.

World’s oldest first-time father is vegetarian An Indian man named Ramajit Raghav, who became the world’s oldest first-time father at the age of 94, has fathered another child at the age of 96. According to an article on the website of The Independent newspaper (UK), Ramajit believes his vegetarian diet has a role to play in his achievement: "I have been a vegetarian all my life, and I credit my stamina and virility to my diet." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) in India are featuring Ramajit in their new campaign. For more on this story visit The Independent newspaper article at <http://tinyurl.com/c75yxx4>.

NEWS:


In November 2010 I contacted

the National Library of Ireland about getting an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) to enable us to put barcodes on The Irish Vegetarian. The NLI at that point reminded me of the VSI’s obligation to submit a copy of each issue of the magazine to the library as it is a Legal Deposit Library. We had been doing so each time an issue was published for three years, but that still left over two decades of back issues to catch up with.

Former committee members had been looking after the only complete and almost complete sets we are aware of. I collected the complete set from Dee Higgs and Stephen West posted the other set to us. After a few extreme photocopying sessions in Reads in Dublin to replace the missing issues the complete set was ready to go to the NLI. The collection is now on the NLI’s cata logue ht tp://catalogue.nli.ie/ and the VSI’s publications are safely preserved.

While I still have the second set, which will be kept by the VSI, I can’t resist flicking through the old issues and learning a bit more about the VSI. Here are some things of interest:

21/06/78: A letter about the VSI was sent out. It was typed and you can see that the letter x has been used to cross out misprinted letters. A committee was being formed for the first time and interested parties were asked to fill in information about themselves, much like on the current membership form.

One interesting difference is it listed “personal economies” among the reasons why people might be vegetarian. The membership fee back then was £3! The first VSI meeting had just taken place, in the Living Centre of Ireland on Harcourt Street in Dublin. There were 31 members.

Oct/Nov 1978: The production of a bi-monthly bulletin called Irish Vegetarian News was started. The VSI was becoming active with “outings” and “eat-ins”.

Dec 1978/Jan 1979: Readers were told it costs 10p to send out each newsletter.

Sep/Oct 1979: The VSI Constitution was first published.

Nov/Dec 1979: The VSI called for meetings to start in Cork and around the country.

Jan/Feb 1980: A request was put out for anyone interested in collaborating to establish a vegetarian restaurant to get in touch. Volunteers were also sought to start running a VSI stall at the Dandelion Market in Dublin.

Jan/Feb 1981: 2000 “Vegetarianism and Ireland” leaflets were printed, at a cost of 2.5p each, targeted at people interested in vegetarianism.

Jan/Feb 1982: A Galway regional group was established and a reference was made to a Meath-Louth branch.

Mar/Apr 1983: At this stage there were a growing range of vegetarian restaurants in Dublin: Food for

Thought in Dun Laoghaire, Blazing Salads in Powerscourt Centre, The Golden Dawn at Crowe Street and Fitzpatricks on Camden Street. The wedding of a vegetarian couple active in the VSI was reported. The service was performed by a vegetarian priest and 75 guests enjoyed a vegetarian meal afterwards.

I’ll stop at this point so as not to make this article too long. I found reading the old newsletters fascinating (I haven’t got up as far as the start of The Irish Vegetarian yet!) and am deeply impressed with how active the VSI has been over the years. There were many talks given, movies screened, stalls run and fundraising and social activities organised; and there are lots of similarities between the work done by committed vegetarians and vegans in the 1970s and 1980s and today. I hope that we will be able to digitise the content in the coming years to make it available to all who have an interest in the history of the VSI.

If you would like to participate in this project as a volunteer please email [email protected].

A Trip Down Memory LaneA Trip Down Memory LaneA Trip Down Memory Lane By: Grace Hillis

NEWS

http://catalogue.nli.ie/

http://catalogue.nli.ie/


Vegetarian Society of Ireland Membership

Application Form

To become a member, or to renew your subscription, simply

complete this form and send it to:

The Membership Secretary, VSI, c/o Dublin Food Co-op, 12

New market, Dublin 8.

You can also join online at www.vegetarian.ie/mem.htm

Note: Please allow up to 6 weeks for your membership application to be

processed.

NAME & ADDRESS (Block capitals please) ________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Tel.: ____________________________

E-mail: __________________________

Year of birth (this information helps the VSI) ______________

Gender______________

I wish to become a member of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland. I am

in sympathy with the aims of the Society (see page 4) and declare that

while I remain a member I will not knowingly consume the flesh of animals

(meat, fish, fowl) as food, and I will aim to avoid the use and consumption of

battery hen eggs and slaughter-house by-products.

OR

I wish to become an Associate Member of the Vegetarian Society of

Ireland. While I cannot yet practice vegetarianism at all times, I am in

sympathy with the aims of the Society and would like to support its work.

Under 18 annual subscription……………….....…. €10

Adult annual subscription………………………..... €20

Lifetime membership…..………………................. €300

Choose one of the following:

Donation: €10 €20 €50 €100 €

Total money enclosed €_________Please do not send cash in the post

You can also pay by standing order by filling out the form overleaf or contact us at

[email protected] for details of how to pay your subscription via internet

banking.

SIGNATURE ___________________________ DATE _____________

MEMBERSHIP NUMBER (if known) _______________________

Vegetarian Vegan Non- Vegetarian Diet:

What would you like to see the Society doing?

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Are you interested in volunteering?

Sorry, no time Yes

Maybe, please tell me more.

I’m busy now, but contact me in __ months.

Standing Order

If you wish to pay your membership by Standing Order, please

complete this form with your bank details, and post to the VSI

along with your membership form.

To the Manager,

Bank Name ____________________________

Branch Address ____________________________

Sort Code

Account No.

I authorise you to charge my account immediately and then on

the 1st day of _________________ (insert month) every year

thereafter until otherwise instructed in writing, the sum of

€ _____ for credit to the account of the Vegetarian Society of

Ireland, A/C No: 38239893, Sort code 90 00 17, Bank of

Ireland, 2 College Green, Dublin 2

Name of Account Holder(s) (Block Capitals Please)

Signed

Date ________________

(Bank, please quote ref ______________ )


ANALYSIS

The ethics of lab-grown meat Perhaps it’s fair to say that the concept of lab-grown meat was originally conceptualised by Winston Churchill. In a 1932 essay titled Fifty Years Hence, he declared that by 1982 “we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” Eighty years on and the idea hasn't gone away. About five years ago the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) gave scientists until 30th June 2012 to confirm they could create "cultured" meat -- also known as in vitro or lab-grown meat -- in commercial quantities. They launched a prize-winning competition, awarding $1million to the first scientific team that could prove artificial chicken can be grown in large quantities and which would be impossible to differentiate from actual chicken flesh. This, you might suppose, sounds like the premise of a futuristic sci-fi novel. Fascinatingly though, scientists have actually been working on the advance of technologies for producing lab-grown meat for consumption since the early 1950s. In spite of this, the belief of somebody coming close to PETA’s challenge seemed unlikely. That was until Professor Mark Post, of Maastricht University, Netherlands, announced to the world that he expects the world's first test tube beef hamburger -- produced at a cost of about €250,000 -- would be revealed in October this year. The Guardian (21st January 2012) reported that Post and his team of researchers have been given $300,000 by the Dutch government, as well as receiving additional funds from an anonymous donor.

Speaking at the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Vancouver in February, he said: “we are going to provide a proof of concept showing out of stem cells we can make a product that looks, feels and hopefully tastes like meat.” Post said his team, who have been working on the project for the past six years, have already successfully replicated the procedure with cow cells and calf serum. “My vision,” Post claims, “is that you have a limited herd of donor animals in the world that you keep in stock and that you get your cells from there.”

He confesses that some non-human animals will still have to be slaughtered to provide the bovine stem cells, but an individual animal would be able to produce about a million times more meat through the lab-based practice than through the conventional method of meat production. To produce a complete hamburger, Post estimates his team will need to grow 3,000 strips of muscle tissue and a couple of hundred pieces of fat tissue. With the right funding and regulatory approval, he believes his method could be scaled up to commercial proportions within less than a decade.

In light of this revelation, one may then ask: why bother going to such lengths to develop cultured meat technology? We could avoid the killing of and cruelty to billions of animals that is currently practiced in slaughterhouses and factory farms. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that the global consumption of meat is to double between 2000 and 2050, and the bulk of this increase is predicted to come from countries with developing economies, such as India and China. If this figure is accurate, the production of lab-grown meat would be a viable way to prevent an astronomical amount of animal cruelty in the future.

In addition, meat production is one of the main contributors to global environmental degradation -- global warming, loss of biodiversity, and fresh water scarcity.

In a study published last year in Environmental Science & Technology, Hanna L. Tuomisto, and M. Joost Teixeira de Mattos argue that increased global demand “will also double meat’s impacts on the environment unless more efficient meat production methods are adopted.”

Their solution to the negative environmental impact is: “to grow only animal muscle tissue in vitro, instead of growing whole animals.” Interestingly, their results showed that cultured meat has 99% lower land use, 80-95% lower greenhouse gas emissions, and 80-90% lower water use compared to conventionally produced meat.

The study also suggests that lab-grown meat could have other possible benefits: “the quantity and quality of fat can be controlled, and, therefore, the nutrition-

The Ethics of Cultured MeatThe Ethics of Cultured Meat By: Martin O'Reilly


related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, can be reduced.” It may also prevent the spread of animal-borne diseases.

So, would these proposed advantages convince vegetarians and vegans that lab-grown meat was ethically justifiable? Certainly it would seem difficult for vegetarians and vegans -- those concerned with the interest of non-human animals -- to say it is no more justifiable than conventional methods. Despite much improvement, some may find the production of lab-grown meat problematic since it won’t be entirely cruelty-free -- non-human animals, even then, would still have to be slaughtered to provide the bovine stem cells, although this norm would be remarkably reduced.

However, suppose -- in the future -- the production of lab-grown meat was free of all animal participation, had no evidence of health risks and dramatically reduced the impact of polluting the environment, would vegetarians and vegans, then, have a moral objection to its consumption? Or, more specifically, would they have a moral objection to eating it themselves?

You might say that the idea of lab-grown meat is repulsive -- since it would still be actual meat flesh we are eating; the consumption of lab-grown meat, in other words, would be terrible because it’s revolting. Surely, though, this is not a convincing argument, but merely a “yuck” response. There are many types of food we find unpleasant -- the way, for example, some people find Brussels sprouts or mushrooms unpleasant -- but we don’t say we have a moral objection to eating them.

Some might find the notion of cultured meat unnatural or disturbing -- the engineering of Frankenstein food, so to speak. Again this type of argument would appear quite emotive rather that one based on reason. In the early part of the twentieth century, the philosopher G.E. Moore claimed, in Principia Ethica, that an

appeal to nature solely to make moral claims is to commit the “naturalistic fallacy”: “To argue that a thing is good because it is ‘natural,’ or bad because it is ‘unnatural,’ in these common senses of the term, is therefore certainly fallacious.” Accordingly, it seems we have no basis to say, since producing lab-grown meat is unnatural, that it is therefore morally bad to produce and consume.

You might then appeal by saying: “I know lab-grown meat production is wrong, but I just can’t come up with a reason why.” The psychologist Jonathan Haidt names this fixed and confused preservation of a judgment, without supporting reasons, “moral dumbfounding”. The clearest evidence of moral dumbfounding, Haidt argues, is when one will openly state that they know something, but cannot find a reason to support their conviction.

There may well be reasons why lab-grown meat would be morally objectionable -- unintended consequences are always a possibility, especially when the boundaries of science and technology are advancing. In spite of this, much of the evidence seems to point to the opposite direction. The production of lab-grown meat is not intrinsically bad and we must look beyond our intuitions when we make moral evaluations of its operation. Vegetarians and vegans concerned with our current treatment of animals in society, I believe, should acknowledge the news that certain types of lab-grown meat could be commercially available over the next couple of decades, which could drastically reduce the amount of suffering currently occurring in meat production.

ANALYSIS

“I know lab-grown meat production

is wrong, but I just can’t come up

with a reason why...”

The Ethics of Cultured MeatThe Ethics of Cultured Meat

Photo: www.freephotobank.org


NEWS

Our radio spokesperson Colm O’Brien was interviewed on Tom Dunne’s Radio show (Newstalk 106 – 108 FM) on the topic of vegetarianism.

Initially Tom spoke with John Nicholson, who had recently published a book titled The Meat Fix. In the book he detailed how sick he became

after turning vegetarian, and how after being vegetarian (mostly vegan) for 26 years it was only when he went back to eating meat that his irritable bowel syndrome and fatigue went away. While he was vegetarian, he ate a wide variety of food:

“I was eating like 10/12 portions fruit and vegetables a day. You know, I was a brown rice and lentils guy. Ate hardly any fat.”

Yet he was overweight and experiencing full-blown IBS. He and his wife (also vegetarian at the time) decided that the problem was that they were not eating enough animal fat and animal protein.

“I stopped the vegetarian diet,” he said. “I started eating loads of animal fat and protein and stopped eating loads of carbs.”

He described it as “incredible” and “scary” to eat meat again.

Commenting on the results, he said:

“It was amazing. It was like taking a miracle pill.” Furthermore he went on to say “it was like 24 hours later the IBS had stopped.” Within days, he insists, he was back to

almost full health.

Colm’s response to John’s comments was that “you can have an unhealthy vegetarian or vegan diet, just as easily as you can have an unhealthy meat based diet as well… it’s not just simply dropping meat.”

Colm also said that “if your diet has been very narrow while you have been eating meat you certainly need to expand it

greatly. You need to eat more nuts, more seeds, more things like quinoa, maybe soya based products, you need to eat maybe more vegetables if you haven’t been eating many before that.”

Tom Dunne then welcomed nutritionist

Elsa Jones on air.

She believes “there is no one size fits all diet.” In relation to John Nicholson, she said: “What would kind of worry me is that somebody would read this book and think, oh great, you know I can go out and consume as much meat as I want, particularly processed meat, burgers, sausages and whatnot, because over consuming meat and animal protein in general can have health consequences.”

She was also sceptical of John’s fast road to recovery: “to have such a massive change

though within 24 hours, hmm, I don’t know, I’d question it a little bit.”

Tom then asked Colm if he had anything further to add.

The Meat Fix: The Meat Fix: The Meat Fix: Radio InterviewsRadio InterviewsRadio Interviews By: Sarah Burnham

“If your diet has been very

narrow while you have

been eating meat you

certainly need to expand it

greatly…” - Colm

“A lot of carbohydrates can be a big problem. They can cause irritable

bowel syndrome, they can also cause fatigue & weight increase.”- Colm


NEWS

“When he [John] went back to eating meat he stopped eating a lot of carbohydrates and he said he’d been on a low fat diet as well,” Colm said.

“A lot of carbohydrates can be a big problem. They can cause irritable bowel syndrome, they can cause fatigue and weight increase. So maybe the issue there could have been the carbohydrates and the low fat diet.”

Elsa concurred: “The over- consuming carbohydrates and the synthetic proteins, I totally agree with what Colm was saying. I think that c o n t r i b u t e d t o o . ” C o l m subsequently suggested that perhaps a vegetarian diet simply did not suit John.

Vegetarian Meat Substitutes

Tom asked Colm to return again to discuss vegetarian meat substitutes. The radio researcher had an idea to

hold a sausage taste test. Colm brought along vegetarian meat substitutes; these were kindly provided by Nourish and cooked by Goloka of Govinda’s.

Tom participated in two taste tests, to see if he could determine whether he was tasting a meat sausage or a vegetarian sausage. While he passed the first test he failed the second, admitting that the v e g e ta r i an sa us a ge w a s “delicious!”

Tom admitted that the notion of where meat originates

and how it is processed is something that he tries not to think about: “I find with those kinds of things you just have to block them out of your head.”

In addition, Tom referred to a section in the novel The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where a cow wants to be eaten. He then asked what Colm thought of that. Colm in response asked rhetorically: “What if the cow could talk and said that she didn’t want to be eaten?”

Finally Deirdre Collins (of Dee’s Wholefoods) phoned in to the studio. Deirdre stated that “really vegetarian food is actually for everybody” and she encouraged people to eat more vegetables, wholegrain and pulses.

“It was amazing. It was like taking a miracle pill.”

-John Nicholson

The Meat Fix: The Meat Fix: The Meat Fix: Radio InterviewsRadio InterviewsRadio Interviews


The workshop was run over two Saturday mornings in Seomra Spraoi, Dublin 1. There were eight participants the first day and five on the second (usually it’s an average of ten people per workshop) – a mixture of new and not so new vegans and vegetarians, and people who were interested in learning about vegetarian cooking.

The workshop was facilitated by Pears who has a background in vegan catering, health care and veganic food growing. Its aim is to enable people to prepare healthy plant-based meals. There is an emphasis on using seasonal, locally produced and ethically sourced foods where possible. The group was friendly and members were happy to share their stories about veganism and vegetarianism.

At the start Pears asked what each participant was hoping to learn (e.g. vegan sources of calcium and iron) to make sure that the workshop would cover these areas over the two weeks. When people had questions everyone was welcome and encouraged to answer! Conversations also covered animal welfare, animal rights and the best places to purchase different foods.

Pears emailed us the recipes afterwards.

The menu for Week 1 was:

Oat milk

Beetroot “risotto” with sun-dried tomato served with miso and tahini dressing

Baked polenta with vegetables and creamy sauce

Carob and walnut cake with tahini topping

The menu for Week 2 was:

Tahini milk

Parsnip muffins

Green pease pudding

Nut roast

Dates slice with vanilla cashew cream

During the workshop each person was encouraged to contribute to the meal preparation in some way – be it chopping or grating vegetables, doing the cooking or a variety of other tasks.

The level of involvement was left largely up to the individual, and the group members were good at volunteering.

We ate together which was very enjoyable, and of course we did the washing up after! Pears shared his philosophy on veganism with us. It was interesting to hear about Pears’ vegan journey, and about some foods which are not used in the workshops for health and ethical reasons and what foods are used instead.

Since participating in the workshop I have made two of the dishes, which you can see in the photos, and I have bought some new foods which I had not tried - and in some cases had not heard of - previously. I would recommend the workshop to anyone interested in learning about compassionate cooking (and to anyone who likes to eat delicious food!!) in a supportive group environment.

I have been a vegan for a few years and am used to cooking vegan meals but I still learned a lot. I went to the workshop following a recommendation from a friend who has been a vegan for many years, so whatever stage you are at there is always something new and interesting to learn! The charge was a suggested

donation of €10.

For information on future courses please email [email protected].

Vegan Meanin' Food: Vegan Meanin' Food: Vegan Meanin' Food: Workshop ReviewWorkshop ReviewWorkshop Review

Beetroot risotto; Photo: Grace Hillis

Baked polenta with vegetables and creamy sauce; Photo: Grace Hillis

REVIEWS

By: Grace Hillis


REVIEWS

In her latest book, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau aims to challenge your thinking and inspire you to make lasting changes. She also warmly invites you to share in the joy of vegan eating by providing the support, nutrition information, practical tips and recipes to make this lifestyle convenient and healthy. After reading this compelling book, you might find it hard to turn down the 30-Day challenge.

The book is arranged in a chapter-per-day format, but once I started reading, I didn’t want to put it down. For several nights in a row I was up late reading, my head buzzing with new ideas and my stomach grumbling at the gorgeous photos.

The first ten days focus on the day-to-day practicalities of how to make big changes very manageable. Chapters include: stocking a vegan kitchen, understanding ingredient labels, making the time to cook, eating out, and meal ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The next sections cover the specifics of vegan nutrition and plant foods. First up, the author tackles a big obstacle for many of us—despite our best intentions, meat and cheese simply taste good. For anyone who thinks they could never give up cheese

(or burgers or what have you), these two chapters can help reframe your thinking about cravings and provide ways to satisfy them with plant foods.

Other topics include specific nutrients (calcium, iron, vitamin B12, omega-3 fats, protein), supplements, tofu, plant milks and baking without eggs. The nutrition information was reviewed by Brenda Davis, RD, a vegan dietitian and author of several books and research papers.

The final chapters focus on some of the social challenges vegans face, such as holidays and mixed households, as well as weight loss and vegan fashion.

If the inspiring text isn’t enough to motivate you, then the scrumptious recipes might. The Hearty Lasagna tasted even better than it looked, and my omnivore husband happily ate it two nights in a row. My two-year-old and I love the mild Carrot-Ginger Soup and silky African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew.

The Muhammara dip, garlicky and sweet, is a welcome change from hummus. My three-year-old devoured—honestly—a huge bowl of Kale Chips, twice.

The Green Smoothie was another hit with all of us. Who knew a smoothie made with kale or spinach could be so sweet and delicious?

If you weren’t a vegan before reading this book, you might find yourself spurred to try a plant-based diet by the time you finish it. The final chapter reminds us that intention is more important than perfection. Small steps lead to big changes. “Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything,” writes the author. “Do something. Anything.”

(Note: Irish Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are available from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (www.fsai.ie). Recipes in this book use standard US measures. Measuring cups and spoons with US and metric markings can be purchased at minimal cost from Tesco and similar retailers.)

This book is available from amazon.co.uk and other retailers.

30 Day Vegan 30 Day Vegan 30 Day Vegan Challenge: Challenge: Challenge: Book Review Book Review Book Review

By: Lisa J. Lord

Written By: Colleen Patrick– Goudreau 2011, Ballantine Books Softcover, 324 pages


REVIEWS

The title says it all, as this book offers the most up-to-date research about vegan diets while illustrating how vegan eating can be practical, easy and delicious. Veteran vegans and novices alike will find plenty of useful facts, tips and encouragement from this comprehensive and user-friendly guide.

Readers are in good hands with Norris and Messina. In addition to being long-time vegans and registered dietitians in the US, Jack Norris is also co-founder and president of Vegan Outreach, a non-profit vegan education group, and Virginia Messina is author of numerous books and research papers on vegetarian nutrition.

Above all else, this book is balanced and based on science rather than hype. The authors are clear about what the research does—and doesn’t—show about vegan diets. They also bust ten pervasive myths, including the myths that vegans don’t need as much calcium as omnivores, or that men who eat soy products can develop female characteristics.

The book starts by diving right into the key nutrients for vegans. These include protein, iron and zinc, which can have lower bioavailability from plants than animal foods. Plant-based diets may also be low in calcium, vitamins D and B-12, iodine and the omega-3 fat DHA. This isn’t just a vegan concern, since even animal-based diets are often low

in many of these nutrients.

These chapters aim to inform and reassure you that, with a little bit of know-how and planning, a vegan diet can be healthy and practical for people of all ages. To make it as foolproof as possible, the authors created the Vegan Food Guide, a convenient chart with an accompanying list of

suggested supplements.

Other chapters focus on specific groups, such as pregnant and breast-feeding women; infants, children and teens; older people; and athletes. Modified food guides are provided as applicable, and sample menus for all life stages are sprinkled throughout the book.

The authors also offer countless practical tips for transitioning to a vegan diet, including: stocking a vegan pantry; easy meal ideas; a guide to cooking beans, grains, vegetables and greens; ideas for using beans; baking without eggs; vegan diets on a budget; and a soyfoods primer. A separate chapter on soy-

food safety examines the current research and offers reassurance that soy is safe.

The final chapter takes an honest look at the deplorable conditions and rampant brutality common to US-based factory farms, including dairy and egg farms. While Ireland and other countries may have different practices, treatment of animals raised for food is a worldwide concern.

Whether you have been a vegan for years or are just experimenting with plant-based eating, this book can be a valuable resource to help you stay informed, motivated and healthy.

(Note: Irish Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are available from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland at

www.fsai.ie).

You can purchase this book from amazon.co.uk and other retailers.

Written By Jack Norris, RD & Virginia Messina, MPH, RD

2011, Da Capo Press

Softcover, 283 pages

VeganVeganVegan for Life: for Life: for Life: Everything You Need to Know to be Healthy Everything You Need to Know to be Healthy Everything You Need to Know to be Healthy and Fit on a Plantand Fit on a Plantand Fit on a Plant---Based Diet: Based Diet: Based Diet: Book ReviewBook ReviewBook Review By: Lisa J. Lord


Breakfast:

Probably the most difficult part of the trip is getting a vegan breakfast. Most of the bigger chains (like Starbucks) will have soya milk. However, the smaller local diners probably won’t have soya milk. Your best bet for something to eat (if you’re vegan) is probably a bagel or toast.

Lunch:

Maoz is a chain of vegetarian fast-food/sandwich outlets. There are quite a few in the city: http://www.maozusa.com/restaurants/locations/nyc

Blossom has a few vegan outlets in New York. We visited Blossom du Jour which is open for lunch, serving mostly vegan sandwiches and wraps. Next door is the Blossom Bakery with great vegan cakes and cookies. Below is a photo of their delicious wares:

Across the street is the Blossom Cafe – only open in the evenings for dinner.

Dinner:

Candle 79: http://candle79.com/

If you visit New York, a visit to Candle 79 is a MUST. This is a 100% vegan restaurant and their food is gorgeous. (They stop serving around 2.30pm then open again around 5.30pm for dinner). This is a great restaurant with a lovely, serene atmosphere. Their wines are really excellent also. Mi Nidito: http://www.miniditonyc.com/ This is a Mexican restaurant not too far from Times Square. They have a full page of vegetarian options, so just ask them to leave out the cheese and sour cream and you’ll be all set. They also serve a wide range of ‘Killer Margarita’s’, so proceed with caution!

Shopping:

Moo shoes: http://www.mooshoes.com/ This is a vegetarian shoe store in a quiet area of the lower east side of Manhattan. They also sell bags, veg*n t-shirts and faux-leather jackets. Not cheap, but the quality was superb and I expect the shoes and bag that I bought there to last for quite a few years!

Wholefoods: http://wholefoodsmarket.com/ WholeFoods Market is a chain of supermarkets in the U.S. which sells organic, vegetarian and vegan produce. You will find tofu, Daiya vegan cheese, plus a range of other vegan products here such as Tofurky, etc.

Getting around:

The subway is very safe and convenient, and you can easily reach any location as long as you know the address.

Airport and flight:

You can book your vegan meal online before you travel. All the meals tended to follow the same pattern ie. main course, side salad and fruit salad for dessert.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

AA Cork Vegan's Holiday in New YorkHoliday in New York By: Bronwyn Slater

Moo Shoes; Photo: Bronwyn Slater

Blossoms Bakery; Photo: Bronwyn Slater

Maoz; Photo: Bronwyn Slater

http://www.maozusa.com/restaurants/locations/nyc

http://candle79.com/

http://www.miniditonyc.com/

http://www.mooshoes.com/

http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/newyork/


At Heathrow airport the Pret-a-Manger cafe sells a vegan wrap with hummus and falafel. There is also the Giraffe cafe which has some vegan menu items including a ‘veggie breakfast’. If you’re vegan you could ask them to leave out the egg. At JFK airport, there is an outlet called Europan which had no less than 4 vegan items (all noodle-based dishes). I had the vegan ‘chicken’ noodles and they were quite good, if somewhat pricey. All in all, a great holiday. The highlights were my visit to Moo Shoes and the Candle 79 restaurant, so be sure not to miss those! There are other vegan stores, restaurants and cafes in New York also, so it’s worth doing some online research before you go. Enjoy!

Bronwyn Slater is the organiser of the Cork Vegans meetup group. You can read more about Cork Vegans on the Vegan Social & Local Groups listing.)

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

AAA Cork Vegan's Cork Vegan's Cork Vegan's Holiday in New YorkHoliday in New YorkHoliday in New York

Wholefoods Bakery; Photo: Bronwyn Slater

1) Make one vanilla and one chocolate sponge cake.

2) Once baked mash them into large crumbs.

3) Then make a frosting consisting of ½ a cup of margarine

and 1½ cups of icing sugar.

4) Add the frosting to each bowl of cake crumbles.

5) Once done roll them into balls and put them in a

container into the freezer.

6) Remove from freezer

7) To cover the cake pops use melted chocolate.

8) Add decorations and ENJOY!

Reproduced with permission. These Cake Pops were sold at the VSI’s Vegan Bake Sale. More recipes like this can be found at http://vegannyomnom.blogspot.com/.

Conor and Hope’s Cake Conor and Hope’s Cake Conor and Hope’s Cake Pops RecipePops RecipePops Recipe


Although dark clouds

hovered and winds started to gain speed outside, nothing could stop the bright, lively social gathering of this year’s Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. Even though it might have started to get dreary outside, inside Exchange Dublin in Temple Bar, vegans and non-vegans alike were sharing recipes, stories, and enjoying donated treats.

Walking into our venue, one could see the vast selection of goodies waiting to be enjoyed. From Rice Cereal Squares (made by me) to Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts (made by Giselle), a wide variety of tasty decadents were on display. At the end of the table lay a variety of information brochures and pamphlets about veganism, The Vegetarian Society of Ireland, and other animal related concerns.

As in years past, all proceeds received for our yummy sweets are given to a charitable organization. This year we were happy to support Dogs Aid Animal Sanctuary, a Dublin based organisation that helps to rehabilitate and rehome unwanted or abandoned dogs and other small animals. Although tea and coffee facilities were not offered this year, that didn’t stop the smooth flow of customers who stayed around to enjoy their bite and socialize. But why wouldn’t you with all the great desserts on offer; one of my favourites being Conor and Hope’s Chocolate Cake Pops. These little ping-pong sized balls of cake covered in chocolate frosting and colourful sprinkles were conveniently stuck on a handy stick like a lollipop.

Displayed in a cup as if they were a bouquet of flowers, it was truly eye candy. Of course this gorgeous presentation is what first attracted me to the Chocolate Cake Pops. But how would they taste? The frosting had the perfect crisp, while the cake itself was a little fudgy yet kept its crumbled texture. “These are really big in Canada,” I'm told as I finish my last lick of frosting from the stick. I have a feeling it won’t be too long before they catch on in Ireland.

If you weren’t a fan of chocolate, however, there were other delicious desserts, such as Pineapple Upside Down Cake (made by Teenuja), Mini Lemon and Strawberry Cheesecake (made by Hope), or another

favourite of mine Martin’s Apple Tart. Being a born and bred American, I've had my fair share of apple pies and tarts, and Martin's Apple Tart didn’t disappoint.

His lovely golden brown, flaky crust was the perfect texture, which only complimented the apples waiting to be devoured inside. His apples, unlike many tarts and pies I have seen in Dublin, were still very much intact, not mashed, and perfectly seasoned with cinnamon and sugar. Is it wrong to admit that I am salivating as I write this?

If pies and chocolate still didn't convince you, surely the cookies kept your attention. For what’s a bake sale without cookies? There were two types of chocolate chip cookies donated, one by myself with little chocolate drops, and one by Sarah with chocolate chunks. The decision between the two was painful. Luckily, Grace stepped in with her perfect peanut butter cookies, little drops of peanut buttery goodness, a perfect balance between sweet and salty.

Wishing I didn’t have to leave before I could witness their popularity, I can only imagine how many requests she will get for the recipe. With all the amazing donations and volunteers, we were able to raise €53.72 for Dogs Aid Animal Sanctuary.

Because Dogs Aid is staffed by volunteers and relies solely on public donations, we can imagine that any donation no matter how small can be useful. If you would like to donate to Dogs Aid or volunteer for them please contact [email protected] or check out

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The Worldwide Vegan Bake SaleThe Worldwide Vegan Bake SaleThe Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale By: Angi Mason

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Photo: Angi Mason

mailto:[email protected]


www.dogsaid.ie for a full list of how you can help them. We would like to give a great thank you to everybody

who donated, volunteered, or came to support Dogs Aid and ourselves. Also, a big thank you to Exchange Dublin for hosting as our venue. Without everybody’s time and effort, this event would not be made possible every year.

As I waddle home, stuffed with sweets, I can’t help but think about next year’s Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. All the sweets awaiting me. All the new vegan goodies I have to try. Excitement start to fill me, but it seems too far away. Maybe this should be a biannual thing.

The VSI would like to thank all of the volunteers & bakers who helped out including: Karen Bui (co-organiser), Conor Hand (co-organiser), Sarah Burnham, Teenuja Dahari, Grace Hillis, Hope Kudryashova, Angi Mason, Martin O’Reilly, Miren-Maialen Samper and Giselle.

Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts, Photo by: Giselle

1 ¾ Cups flour (white self rising/all-

purpose flour or you can use brown

and add baking powder)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup water

3/4 cups grated carrot

1tbsp vinegar

Spices: Cinnamon, mixed spice (1tbsp

or to taste). Raisins, walnuts etc. are

optional

Method:

1) Mix dry ingredients.

2) Add oil and water. Mix.

3) Add extra ingredients (nuts/

raisins etc.)

4) Add vinegar.

5) Grease baking pan and pour in

cake mixture.

6) Bake at 180 degrees for 30min. (or

until toothpick comes out clean).

7) Optional: cover it with icing:

sugar, water and small amount of

(dairy free) butter. Sprinkle with

chopped walnuts.

Carrot Cake, Photo: Angi Mason

Reproduced with permission. More recipes like this can be found at http://vegannyomnom.blogspot.com/.

Ingredients:

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The Worldwide Vegan Bake SaleThe Worldwide Vegan Bake SaleThe Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

Conor and Hope’s Conor and Hope’s Conor and Hope’s Carrot Cake RecipeCarrot Cake RecipeCarrot Cake Recipe

http://www.dogsaid.ie/


12 Newmarket, Dublin 8

Tel: 01-454425

www.dublinfoodcoop.com

[email protected]

A Member-Owned-Co-op Open Thurs 4 - 8 pm and

Sat 9.30 - 4.30 pm Wholefoods, Organic Fruit & Veg-

etables, Wholegrain Bakery, Eco-friendly products,

Café & Organic ready-to-eat delights. Organic / Fair

Trade food suitable for vegetarians. Irish, as far as

possible. Local growers and producers supported.

New members and visitors welcome!

Who are these people? Will I enjoy their

company? Is the weather going to be nice? Do I have enough layers to keep warm?

These and other questions circled around my mind as I was going to my first Vegeterian Society of Ireland meet up, which happened to be a cliff walk from Bray to Greystones. When I arrived at the station a group of friendly people of all ages greeted me and amongst them was a guy holding out an open packet of biscuits.

“Hi - I'm Rod - or the biscuit man. Any time you want to help yourself, just let me know.” I took one and smiled.

As I bit into it, I looked around. Small groups began forming. I joined the one closest to me and friendly Shona from Scotland put out her hand introducing herself saying it was her first time too. We talked about other walks we did, what we do for a living and even our dreams. I soon felt comfortable and relaxed.

As we began the walk, our groups changed, giving us a chance to talk to other people. Amongst us was a veteran walker who has taken this route many times before, and a blind woman who said she had never been so much in demand as when all the men tried to help her walk along. We also encountered a pet rabbit on a leash, beautiful seagulls diving into the water, but most importantly we made new friendships during the walk and after, when enjoying our meal in the Happy Pear.

As we sat there, savouring our food in great company, we forgot to check our watches and we missed our train. 'Not to worry' someone said as we continued our banter eating delicious salads, soups and pittas.

When it was time for us to leave, we piled into the first carriage of the train, squeezed tightly next to each other as it was taking us home. I enjoyed the cheerful chats and look forward to the next meetup.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

Find New FriendsFind New FriendsFind New Friends By: Jolanta Burke

“Hi– I’m Rod– or the biscuit man.

Anytime you want to help

yourself, just let me know…”


D4

Catering Vegan and Vegetarian Specialists Let us customise a menu for your party; large banquet

or intimate dinner. Gluten free, no problem!!

Contact Bernadette McIntyre, 087-9569178, [email protected]

Starter Assorted Dips, Crudités & Pita

Mains Roasted Peppers with Quinoa & Vegetable

Stuffing served with a rich Tomato and Basil Sauce

Cashew Nut Rissoles with Carrot & Ginger Sauce

Coconut Pancakes filled with Curried Lentils & Mixed

Greens

Chickpea and Vegetable Tagine

Three Bean Lasagna with Soya Béchamel

Sides Brown Rice Pilaf

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Pumpkin

D4 Catering, 4th Floor, Lansdowne House, Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4


FEATURES

Active Balance Clinic, Family Resource Centre, Ballyfermot,

Dublin 10 is offering discount to VSI members for selected

complementary health treatments. Contact Tomas Ronan for

more info. Tel. 0872711215 www.therasage.ie [10% discount]

An Bhean Feasa Health Shop, Unit 1, Clifden Court, Bridge

Street, Clifden, Co. Galway. Tel. 095 30671, Email:

[email protected], www.clifden-

healthandtherapy.com [5% discount]

Anahata Healing, Desert, Clonakilty, Co. Cork (Lomi Lomi

Massage, Pregnancy Massage, Holistic and Aromatherapy

Massage, Reflexology, Ear Candling, Sound Healing, Baby Mas-

sage Classes, Reiki Treatments and Attunements). Tel. Angela:

087 2030869 www.lifevibes.ie [10% discount]

Arusha Fair Trade, www.arushafairtrade.com, online gift store

(fairly traded gifts including jewellery, bags, home accessories

& children’s items.) Email [email protected]

mentioning the VSI in subject line, and you will get a discount

code by return. [10% discount]

Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork. (021) 4652531

www.ballymaloe.com [10% off vegetarian dishes]

Be Organic, fresh, local, seasonal organic fruit & vegetables +

100s other sustainably farmed organic products delivered

direct to your door. Tel: 01 8385552. www.beorganic.ie [5%

discount]

Blazing Salads, 42 Drury St, Dublin 2. Discount can only be

availed of at their Drury Street premises and can not be availed

of in conjunction with any other offer (such as in-house

promotions and the loyalty card scheme). http://

www.blazingsalads.com [15% discount]

Clare Island Retreat Centre, Ballytoohey, Clare Island, Co

Mayo. Tel: 087 2621832. www.yogaretreats.ie or www.yoga-

ireland.com [10% discount on yoga and vegetarian cooking

courses at the Clare Island retreat centre]

Cocoa Bean Artisan Chocolates Company, Limerick. Tel: 087

7594820 www.cocoabeanchocolates.com [discount on

application]

Cork Acupuncture Clinic, 50 Cornmarket Street (Above

Dervish), Cork City (run by Caroline Dwyer (Bowles), a

dedicated and caring acupuncturist). Tel Caroline: 087

2516528. www.corkacupunctureclinic.com [10% off

Acupuncture treatments]

Cornucopia Restaurant, 19/20 Wicklow, St., Dublin 2,

http://www.cornucopia.ie [10% discount]

D.A.F. Clinic, Lancashire, 17 Inglewood Rd, Rainford, St

Helens, Lancashire, WA11 7QL. Email: [email protected]

or Tel: +44 1744 884173 / +44 7050 396611 [25% off

Chiropody / Podiatry / Auricular Therapy / Reflexology

(Merseyside & Manchester) & 50% on vegetarian and vegan

nutritional therapy and profiling (by post, fax & email)]

Delhi O’Deli, 12 Moore Street, Dublin 1. The first Indian fast

food (also known as “street food”) & Indian vegetarian restau-

rant in Ireland. Tel. (01) 872 9129 http://www.delhiodeli.com

[10% discount]

Dónall na Gealaí, Gift Shop, Claregate St., Kildare Town

(books, CDs, essential oils, candles & crystals). Tel: 045

533634. www.donallnagealai.ie [10% discount]

Flying Baby Cake Company, An exclusively gluten free

bakery, all products are vegetarian and any orders can be

easily adapted to be vegan too. They are a scratch bakery and

make cakes and cupcakes for all occasions. Tel: 0857373729

www.flyingbabycakecompany.com [5% discount on orders]

Freelance translator, Patricia Tricker MCIL Cert Ed (FE),

working into English from French, German, Italian & Spanish

specializing in economics, finance, accountancy, company law

& archaeology. Tel/fax: +44 1677 450176 or email trans-

[email protected] [10% discount]

Govinda’s 18 Merrion Row, Dublin 2 and Govinda’s 4 Aungier

Street, Dublin 2 are great places to drop in for lunch or a

takeaway. http://www.govindas.ie [10% discount applies in

both restaurants, discount not applicable in the Middle Abbey

St restaurant]

Greenway Emporium, Market Yard, Bridge Street, Boyle, Co

Roscommon (Run by a family of vegetarians, the shop has a

range of health foods, natural toiletries, baby care products,

relaxing music, organic aromatherapy oils, plus Fair Trade and

ethically-traded.) Tel: 071 9664090 [10% off all purchases over

€20].

Holistic.ie Ireland’s importer and distributor of Vitamineral

GreenTM [20% discount]

Lake Isle Retreats, Inish Rath Island, Upper Lough Erne,

Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh, BT92 9GN. (Short Breaks,

Workshops in vegetarian cookery, meditation and yoga). Tel:

086 1608108. www.inisrath.com [10% discount]

Lurve vegan food in Dublin's first ethical vegan kitchen, sold in

farmers' markets and street markets around the city http://

lurve.ie [10% discount for members]

Moher House B+B, Drummin, Westport,

www.moherhousewestport.com [10% discount for members]

Nature’s Gold, Healthfood Store, 1 Killincarrig Road,

Greystones, Co Wicklow. Tel: 01 2876301 [10% discount]

Newtownpark Clinic, 7 Rockville Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin

Ciara Murphy MH Ir RGN (Master Herbalist and Colon

Therapist) is offering 10% discount on all treatments,

consultations and workshops. Tel: 01 210 8489

www.irishherbalist.ie

Quay Co-op, 24 Sullivans Quay, Cork www.quaycoop.com

[10% discount in the shops]

Sunyata Retreat Centre, Snata, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. Tel:

061 367-073. A spacious haven outside the bustle of modern

life, Sunyata is perfectly situated for relaxation, meditation,

and contemplation. www.sunyatacentre.org [10% discount on

retreats and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction]

The Happy Pear, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow

(natural food market with an organic and non-organic produce

section, a dried goods section, a world-class smoothie bar, café

and restaurant). Tel: 01-2873655. http://www.thehappypear.ie

[5% discount]

The Hopsack, Health food store, Swan Centre, Rathmines,

Dublin 6. Tel/fax 01- 4960399. Proprietor: Erica Murray.

www.hopsack.ie [5% discount]

The Phoenix Restaurant and B&B, Castlemaine, Co. Kerry.

http://www.thephoenixrestaurant.ie [10% discount]

Well and Good, Health Food Store, Coolbawn, Midleton, Co

Cork. Tel: 021 4633499 [5% discount]

VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF IRELAND MEMBERS’ DISCOUNT LIST


The Brighton Vegfest is a free annual

festival celebrating Veganism in the world today. It took place on Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th of March this year, situated in the beautiful beach

town of Hove, in Brighton, England.

We took this trip as part of the NUIM Veggie society; it’s the first year we have done a trip such as this (the society has only been around for two years in the college) and it was a fantastic experience to organise it. We had four in our party (myself included) leaving from Dublin airport on Friday afternoon and we knew we were in for some fun.

Brighton, known as “the vegetarian capital of Britain”, was a fantastic place. It has some famous vegetarian restaurants, such as Aloca café.

The festival itself took place in a massive town hall in the Hove centre - a multi-storey complex packed to the brim with shops, stalls, charities, speakers, cookery demos, cookery competitions, food tastings, live music, comedy and much more, not to mention the public who streamed in the second the fest opened up.

Initially we visited the downstairs section which had many stalls such as Fry’s burgers, blown tone – a local bakery (all Vegan for the day), as well as wine tasters, clothing sellers and even a stall for a ‘Green’ mobile phone network.

Only once we had seen the stalls downstairs did we discover a whole new area upstairs which was almost four times the size.

This one had many vendors selling hot food such as falafels, Thai food and Indian food, and some UK-based vegetarian restaurants had stalls.

This then opened up to a hall filled with more and more stalls such as Sea Sheperd, Animal Aid, Dee’s burgers, vegan sweets companies, even a coconut milk-made ice-cream stall. There were over 100 stalls in the event with such a range to choose from that there was hardly enough time to see them all.

They also had many speakers for both days. We went to a talk from ‘Yaoh Hemp’ where a very enthusiastic man told us about raw food and made us delicious smoothies. We went to see Michelle Thew from BUAV talking about animal experimentation law in Europe and globally.

We also went to a screening of the film Vegucated, where three people go vegan for six

FEATURES

The BrightonThe BrightonThe BrightonVegfest Vegfest Vegfest 201220122012 By: Conor Hand

Photo: Group Arrivial at Vegfest

Photo: Vegfest festival turnout

“There were over 5,000 people in

attendance at the event and a lot of

money was raised for charities such

as ‘Vegfam UK.”


weeks and it details their experiences – a fantastic, funny and really enjoyable watch. We even saw ‘Captain James Tea Cook’ the vegetarian pirate. There were simply so many events and so much to see that this was a mere fraction of what was on offer.

There were many amazing sights to see such as the Royal Pavilion or Brighton Pier. On the whole, the Brighton Vegfest 2012 was a fantastic

joy to attend. As a vegan there have been few places so accommodating and with such a range of delicious food available to all. The range of talks,

presentations and events organised meant that there was never a dull moment. There were over 5,000 people in attendance at the event and a lot of money was raised for charities such as ‘Vegfam UK’.

The Vegfest 2013 is going to take place on the 16th and 17th of March next year. See http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk/ if you want any more

info. I hope to see you there!

A parent of a vegetarian student in 2nd year home economics contacted the VSI. The student was told as part of the subject’s exams, she would have to handle and cook meats in the classroom. The parent discussed the situation with the school who then discussed the issue with the examination committee.

The response was that the student would have to handle meats in the class as directed. There was no answer as to whether or not there would be a n y of f i c ia l p o l i c y t h a t would exempt the student from having to handle meat.

A question was posted on the VSI Facebook page to see what other vegetarian students experienced when they took home economics as a subject. The general consensus was that the teachers allowed their

vegetarian students to prepare meat alternatives in lieu of preparing meat without any consequences.

The VSI investigated the issue further, and found that although there was mention of vegetarian meals in the official syllabus, there was no official policy regarding vegetarian students.

The VSI contacted the NCCA, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, to see if they had

any answers. They referred us to t h e S t a t e E x a m i n a t i o n s Commission, who assured us that the question has been forwarded to E x a m i n a t i o n s A s s e s s m e n t Managers, but after a long period, there is still no reply.

Perhaps if greater public interest

was expressed about this issue regarding vegetarian students having to handle meat as part of the home economics curriculum, an official answer could be provided by a governing department in this field.

An official policy for vegetarian home economics students could save current and future vegetarian students from 1) spending the time trying to seek out answers for their

s i t u a t i o n s a n d 2 ) w o r r y i n g about their s i t u a t i o n unduly.

If you would like to assist us in finding a solution, you could write to the State Examinations Commissions, 30 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, or other related public institutions expressing concern in this matter. Please do let us know how you get on.

FEATURES

Photo: Vegan Cupcakes from Vegfest 2012

“As a vegan there have been few

places so accommodating and

with such a range of delicious

food available to all.”

Home Economics and Vegetarian StudentsHome Economics and Vegetarian StudentsHome Economics and Vegetarian Students By: Karen Bui

“The response was that the student would have to

handle meats in the class as directed.”

http://brighton.vegfest.co.uk/

the irish vegetarian 137

Documents

irish vegetarian winter

irish vegetarian winter

vegetarian students

vegetarian voice

worldwide vegan

people of ireland

vegan meanin food

new yorka vegan guide