Month: October 2016

Toilet paper not vegan?

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OK. You might want to sit down for this one.

A reader contacted me yesterday and asked if I knew that not all toilet paper is vegan.

My reaction:

beabite

As vegans, we try to reduce our participation in animal cruelty by removing all animal-derived products as much as possible.

No meat? Check. Get rid of dairy? Easy. Make sure I don’t use shampoo that has been tested on animals? Way ahead of you on that one in my non-leather shoes!

But toilet paper? Honestly, toilet paper!

It is tough to know where animal by-products are being used and we do our best, but I would never have guessed that toilet paper can be manufactured with ingredients such as gelatine.

This explanatory email from Velvet sheds some light on the issue:

Strictly speaking, Tissue products (toilet paper, hankies, facials, kitchen towel) cannot fulfil the strict requirements for vegan/vegetarian products. Our products consist of more than 95% of cellulose and 5% residual moisture. The paper making process requires the addition of process aids and chemicals, to ensure the required functionality of the tissue products. All added tissue ingredients/ process aids have to be approved for safe use according the relevant chemical legislation in Europe. For approval toxicity tests are required. Secondly, we cannot exclude, that some tissue additives/process aids might be based on animal derived chemistry (e.g. Gelatin, fatty acids, etc.).

Yep, the paper you use to wipe your private parts could possibly have been made using gelatine and fatty acids… and kitchen towel and facial tissues as well!

Fucking heck!

A further response from Tesco is a bit of good news, however:

I can happily confirm that none of Tesco own brand toilet paper is made with any animal derived products.

None of us want to buy anything derived from animal products, so let’s keep each other informed on this topic.

Please post your information and company responses in the comments below. Let’s work together to make sure our loo roll is as compassionate as possible. Reach out to your favourite toilet paper, tissue and kitchen towel company and then share their responses here.

 

Vegan pizza in West London

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If you love vegan pizza, it’s a good time to be alive.

Plant-based versions of this hot meal are popping up everywhere around London from chain restaurants to independent cafés, with the latest version appearing in Fulham.

Picky Wops is a brand new non-vegan pizza joint at 347 North End Road, just a two-minute walk from vegan supermarket GreenBay.

The big thrill about dining with Picky Wops is you get to choose your base. The restaurant hand mix their own specialty flour combinations before kneading and baking to perfection.

After the multiple vegan choices you have for your base, the restaurant currently offers you one vegan choice although they welcome you to mix and match vegetables as you see fit.

The vegan cheese being used is Violife so you know you get a good melt.

Check out some photos from my trip to Picky Wops below, including my delicious burned wheat black base and the fab Paula from GreenBay who just happened to be dining next to me.

base burned kamut paula pizza-2 pizzas

I’m looking forward to the vegan options expanding in the near future but in the meantime this place is still one of the finest places to eat vegan pizza in London.

You can like Picky Wop on Facebook and follow on Instagram.

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New vegan restaurant opening

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Here is some exciting news!

A reader sent me these photos taken in Petersfield, Hampshire. Take a close look at the photos and you’ll see that this town is getting a new vegan fast food outlet… and they are looking for workers.

Check out the pics below:

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I had to do an Internet search for Petersfield as my understanding of UK geography is rather lacking, but you might all know that it is between an hour to an hour and a half drive southwest of London.

The sign on the window lists all sorts of delicious fast food items for dining in or takeaway purposes, including soft serve ice cream, burgers and milkshakes.

Is this in your area? Are you excited?

You can like Earth on Facebook.

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Crazy Bean in Great Bookham

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Guest post by Alison:

My husband and I moved to Great Bookham in Surrey about 5 years ago, and love it here. It’s close to some spectacular countryside, and about an hour on the train from London. Not a lot in this area for vegans, though. When we became vegan just over a year ago, we would do trips down to Brighton, or get on the train into London, just to get some decent food we hadn’t cooked ourselves. Now that has all changed…

Crazy Bean cafe/restaurant opened in Great Bookham a week ago. It has a fully vegan menu so there is nothing to worry about except ‘what do I feel like eating today?’ Crazy Bean also has a licence, so customers can have vegan beer or wine with dinner, and it is over the road from our local pub! We can’t believe our luck!

I have been to Crazy Bean about four times now, as they ‘unofficially’ opened a few days before the official opening. I have had a couple of lunches, and have been there with my husband for dinner, and with friends for lunch over the opening weekend. Every visit has been a success; the food has been varied and tasty, and the service has been friendly and welcoming. The lunchtime menu has items like sausage rolls and stuffed aubergine, and the evening meal we had there was a set menu: mushroom parfait, risotto balls, and apple crumble. It is so nice to go in for some lunch, and also get a soya latte! (Unheard of in Bookham before!)

Krissi and Rob run Crazy Bean; they are keeping it pretty simple for the time being, while they get established in the village, but this will probably change as time goes by. They are always incredibly hospitable. I know that many non-vegans have visited the place since it has opened, and everyone has been pleasantly surprised with the food. The last thing I was expecting was a vegan establishment opening here, and I couldn’t be happier!

Visit Crazy Bean online.

crazybean panel

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Grocery shopping with FGV… Sainsbury’s

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If you don’t follow me over on my Facebook page, you missed out on the hilarity that is my Sainsbury’s shopping adventure.

Thankfully, the social network now allows for video embedding so you no longer have to suffer in the wilderness.

Check it out:

This was filmed at Sainsbury’s in Chiswick, West London.

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