UK

Vegan margarine advertising

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Becky was kind enough to let me use this photo she took on a recent day out and about.

Check it out.

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I find this fascinating on so many levels.

Maybe I should break it down into smaller pieces of information. I do have a tendency to ramble.

  1. It is marvellous to see The Vegan Society trademark used so prominently in a mainstream advertising campaign. It might be the first time I have ever seen it in an advert of this magnitude and I find this sort of exposure exciting
  2. I think the advert using the vegan symbol shows how differently corporations are treating veganism. It is being seen as a serious concern with direct links to making profit.
  3. I don’t like that the whole vegan and #poweredbyplants angle has been linked solely to a low carbon footprint. Where are the animals in this narrative? Is veganism being used to greenwash the campaign without recognising what being vegan means? Is veganism the ultimate greenwashing tool for corporations?
  4. Unilever is behind this product. There continue to be concerns surrounding the business dealings of this mind-bogglingly huge conglomerate, including how workers at its margarine factory in the UK are treated. You can read more about this topic here and how a union celebrated news of UK workers being paid a living wage (with the increase being rolled out across 18 months). Unilever has been praised by Oxfam for improving some of its dealings (including commitment to sourcing sustainable palm oil) but the charity reports areas of concern include workers not being paid a living wage in all countries where Unilever operates and that the company needs to develop an understanding of women being more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse within the supplier chain. If you are interested in reading more about ethical concerns and advances related to Unilever, click here.

The positive to take from this new product is that affordable vegan sandwich spread is now available to everyone in the UK. I think while we celebrate this fact, it is also important to keep thinking about how we as consumers can ask for our vegan products to be made with greater consideration to workers. No point having a fab vegan product if someone is suffering away for next to no money, right? And I haven’t even touched on the well-known links between Unilever and animal testing.

And finally.

Has anyone tasted it? What’s it like?

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Vegan market in Leicester

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Nothing warms my heart quite like news of a vegan market.

I have recently been telling anyone who will listen that vegan street or farmers markets are the way forward, so I’m thrilled to hear that the first ever event of its kind for Leicester is taking place next month.

As the flyer says below, a diverse range of products will be available as well as lots of delicious plant-based food on June 12, 2016.

The best part? Leicester Vegan Market is being staged smack bang in the middle of the historic town centre, meaning it will enjoy extremely high visibility and will help expose a lot of locals to vegan choices.

You should RSVP to the Leicester Vegan Market Facebook event and make plans to get along to support this wonderful initiative.

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Vegan product frenzy hits UK

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There is not a lot more to say other than GET READY TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN.

Online UK grocery giant Ocado has added a huge range of vegan products from Italian freefrom company Valsoia. The web-based selection includes pizza, ice cream, chocolate spread, whipping cream, ice cream sandwiches and more.

My greedy head is actually spinning.

See some of the products below and click here to see the entire range online.

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New vegan chocolates at Marks & Spencer

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A super quick post to let you know about these three new vegan chocolate bars available at UK retail giant Marks & Spencer.

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Have you tried them? Are they any good? Any mention of ethically-sourced ingredients? How is the price point?

BIG thanks to Gill for use of this photo.

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Vegan option in a German beer hall

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A friendly Twitter follower named Marie-Anne just gave me a tip that quite a few people will be interested in.

There is a Bavarian-styled pub and restaurant in London with vegan food on the menu. Check out these options:

NÜRNBERGER BRATVÜRST’L £5.90
Starter – Three grilled vegan sausages served with Sauerkraut and a pretzel

CURRYVURST MIT POMMES £7.90
Snack – Grilled sausage served with curry sauce and chips

BAVARIAN BEERHOUSE ‘VURSTPLATTE’ SPEZIAL £13.50
Main – Special Bavarian Beerhouse sausage platter: ‘BratVurst, spicy Merguez and ‘Wiener’ sausages served with Sauerkraut and chips

That grilled sausage dish with curry sauce and chips is the sort of thing I write poems about. It sounds incredible.

The staff at Bavarian Beerhouse certainly look the stereotypical part.

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You can visit Bavarian Beerhouse online and make plans to visit either their Tower Hill or Old Street location.

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Inexpensive vegan ice cream

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There are so many vegan ice cream stories to tell, I’m frankly getting tired of relaying them. My main annoyance being all the news relates to the UK and I’m a long way from that part of the world.

My fab friend Mirel sent me the following photos of what she found in her local Morrisons supermarket this week.

With each box priced at just £2, you might just be able to afford to try them all.

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It looks as though a company is making these treats for UK supermarkets to rebrand as their own product. These Morrisons ice creams look very similar to what I reported on from Tesco a short while ago.

Anyway, affordable vegan ice cream for those who want it.

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Vegan ice lollies only £1 for 5!

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Even though I’m in Mexico City sweltering with near (or just over) 30 degrees Celsius temperatures most days, I’m not going to pretend I don’t know how exciting it is when the weather gets a little warmer in the UK.

I saw on a news website that some parts of the country are even pushing 20 degrees Celsius. I am thrilled for you all as I know the last few months have been a bit rough when it comes to weather.

To help you celebrate, I thought I would share this information.

You can buy a box of five vegan ice lollies from Morrisons for just £1. That is damn good value.

Put on your best bikini, grab four of your best friends and get down to the local common with a box before the sun disappears again.

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Click on the image above to visit the listing on the Morrisons website.

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UK supermarket launches new vegan spreads

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Roll up, roll up.

Veganism is spreading (pun clearly intended) and Tesco is the latest large supermarket chain to launch its own versions of vegan margarine.

Check out these two varieties:

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Both tubs are listed as suitable for vegans on the Tesco website. Click here and here to see the detailed nutrition information.

Have you tried either of these spreads yet? I would love to hear your feedback.

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Upton’s headed your way, UK!

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This is some of the most exciting news I’ve heard in a long while.

It looks like Upton’s Naturals are heading to the UK!

If you have tried the seitan made by Upton’s you’ll understand why I am so excited. This stuff would be in my fridge 24/7 if I lived in a city where it was widely available.

Upton’s are going to be attending the Natural and Organic Products Europe trade show in London in April on April 17th and 18th, 2016.

Even better news?

The makers of some of the most delicious vegan food on the planet are looking to hire vegans to work their booth preparing samples! If you adore vegan food and want to be a part of Upton’s march into the UK, please email nicole@uptonsnaturals.com to express your interest.

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Get involved with this pioneering vegan brand! Follow Upton’s on Twitter.

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Vegan pizza at UK chain

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Alex is a reader who wants you to know about his experience at Zizzi. In case you haven’t heard, Zizzi is a restaurant chain with 140 locations around the UK and they are now offering vegan cheese as a topping option in every restaurant.

They also now serve vegan pasta, vegan wine and vegan desserts.

This is HUGE news and Alex is going to tell you all about it:

After hearing on Facebook about the new vegan cheese available at Italian restaurant chain Zizzi, we headed to the Exeter branch for date night.

The standard menu had vegan options clearly marked with a Ve symbol and our server brought us the “Allergen” menu which has a “Vegan Menu” page. Not a huge selection of vegan options but the revolution is the vegan cheese. No more dry, half empty pizzas.

As we had not booked and promised to give back the table within an hour, we just ordered olives for starters with some Prosecco. A nice touch is the little “Did you know?” box on the menu that tells you all of their wines are vegan except for a few listed. The Prosseco was lovely.

Of course for the main course we had the pizza. You have to pretty much build your own, starting with a Margarita and adding your selection of toppings. I went for artichokes and caramelised balsamic onions, my partner had mushrooms.

When the pizza arrived they looked exactly like the other pizzas, so we both simultaneously asked the server if they were vegan. Another nice touch here, Zizzi put little green stickers on the plates for vegan orders so you can be reassured you’re getting the correct thing. The pizza was brilliant. This is the Italian style thin crust pizza not overloaded with topping so you could easily have a starter and a full pizza and not be too full to order a dessert.

My caramelised balsamic onion topping was great with lots of sweet flavour. The “Mozzarisella” cheese is very creamy in taste and texture but does not take away much from the flavour of the pizza. In texture it does lack the stringy texture some people might associate with pizza, but for me that is more something for deep pan style pizza, loaded with toppings, which this is not.

No dessert for us this time, but a few vegan options based on sorbet are on the menu. Next time we are in town we will probably stop for an afternoon coffee and try the vegan nectarini which is a nectarine with scoops of coconut & mango swirl gelato.

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You can view the full vegan menu from Zizzi online, search for your nearest outlet here and thank the chain for their vegan-friendliness on Twitter.

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