It occurred to me that I never got around to sharing all my Berlin memories.
Delicious memories, like this…
Lots of ice cream
It has been a bit quiet on the Vegan Ice Cream Wars front. Not much to report back from the trenches.
Quiet, that is, until I stumbled into Waitrose in White City Westfield today.
When you shop in a mainstream grocery store in the UK, you usually find just one brand of vegan ice cream (or two if you are fortunate). My experiences as a vegan consumer have left me disappointed by the freezer section of most supermarkets.
This is what makes the ice cream freezer at the White City Waitrose so impressive.
I didn’t see one brand. Or two. Or three. I saw four brands of vegan ice cream or frozen desserts. This sighting was also impressive as each brand featured had at least two flavours available.
Check it out below.
(After the pics, I’ll let you know which one came home with me. Can you guess?)
Vegan cookies
I love vegan cookies but it is surprisingly difficult to get a decent version. Yes, I can make special trips to Cookies & Scream or Ms. Cupcake for the good stuff, but I don’t always feel like traveling halfway across the capital for a choc chip cookie.
Thankfully, I now have the option of making the cookies come to me.
Get stuffed
Apparently it is the season for stuffing, so why not make your choice for stuffing a compassionate one.
I was in Sainsbury’s earlier tonight and their Taste the Difference stuffing range caught my eye, especially as each flavour is priced at just £1 for a limited time.
Out of the five varieties on offer, four are labelled as suitable for vegans. Check the range out below.
Veganuary
Do you know someone who you suspect is sympathetic to the idea of going vegan? You really should introduce them to the idea of Veganuary.
What is Veganuary?
This month long campaign is designed “to reduce the suffering of animals by inspiring and supporting people across the globe to go vegan for the month of January”. Not a outcome to be taken lightly!
The idea is simple.
People pledge to only eat vegan food for the entire month of January. They register with the Veganuary website and receive support in the form of recipes, inspiring stories, an eating out guide and even a vegan product directory.
Of course it would be brilliant if every person participating in Veganuary stayed vegan forever, but I think this month-long trial gives people a less threatening opportunity to explore compassionate eating. Maybe some of the people participating in Veganuary wouldn’t try an animal-free diet if they were asked to go vegan instantly and forever. The commitment of just one calendar month could work as the key to getting people to see veganism as a viable option. They come for the month, but a lot of them stay forever.
If you are not vegan, please consider taking part in Veganuary in 2015. Click here to visit the website. You can also like the campaign on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.
If you are vegan, work hard over the coming days to see if you can get friends and family to pledge to take part in Veganuary.
Strap it on
This is your warning.
Do not read any further unless you want to be exposed to content of an adult/sexual nature.
The photos included below may be considered by some people to be not safe for work environments.
TeenVGN
This is the world’s fastest blog post.
I am having dinner with Laura and Kylie of TeenVGN at Cafe Kino in Bristol.
Do you know about TeenVGN?
I’m going to ask them to dictate to me right now, telling me about their group. I’m going to type as they speak. Live blogging!
Laura is talking now:
TeenVGN is the social network for young vegetarians and vegans, supporting them as they generate creative ideas for a compassionate future.
You can follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook and visit their website.
TeenVGN not only beat me to the best blog award at the VegfestUK awards this year, they are also hosting an incredible summer camp and you can register your interest here.
FGV is judgemental
I know I’m not a celebrity, but it is still fun to be called one as part of this event taking place at VegfestUK Brighton on March 28th & 29th, 2015.
One component of the jumbo two-day long event is the New Product Showcase, where suppliers can enter their products into the competition.
Here is the lowdown from VegfestUK organisers:
Mainstreaming
I do not make a habit of reading (meaning I never read) mainstream newspapers, but I was very excited to get this photo via email this morning.
The Daily Mirror featured a double-page spread exposing the horrific torture of ducks on a foie gras ‘farm’ that was supplying the restaurant of a celebrity chef.
I am thankful to the hardworking people responsible for the undercover work leading to exposés such as this one. Animals all over the world are being routinely degraded, force fed, tortured, abused and killed for ridiculous food products. Stories such as this in the mainstream press are crucial in changing public opinion on animal welfare.
Thank you to the individuals and organisation behind this story. Here is the online version if you feel compelled to share.
Please support activist and education groups working to improve outcomes for non-human animals.
