Vegan stuff

Going to update this page properly soon, but for now here’s the latest on what will be happening at Bristol VegFest next year. https://kerrymccarthy.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/email-update-from-vegfestuk-bristol/

Archive:

I’ve decided (as at 6/10/10) to add a new page to the blog, as a bit of a reference guide to vegan issues. Having technical problems though, so might have to sort out links at a later date. For the time being – Google it!

At some point I might add relevant blog posts, and info on what I’ve been up to in parliament (e.g. debates, campaigns I’m supporting). For the time being you can find the latter in the Animal Welfare issues section of my *proper* website – http://www.kerrymccarthymp.org.uk.

So for starters, here’s the Vegan Society website, which has plenty of info for those who are thinking of turning vegan. And for a more political take on things, here’s the (Bristol based) campaign, Viva! which has all sorts of useful stats on animal welfare, factory farming and other such issues. It’s really about time though that they added me to their list of veggie politicians! (I could give them about twenty other names too… including two more vegans, Chris Williamson MP and Carthy Jamieson MP. At the moment they don’t have anyone who’s actually in parliament).

World Vegan Day is coming up on 1st November…. Every year around this time I have idle conversations with people along the lines that next year we “must” do something in the Commons to mark World Vegan Day, and we never get round to it. Might be able to persuade the catering people to put a token vegan dish on the menu, but would have been nice to do do something more. Doesn’t look like that much is going on in the UK at the moment – listings here.

I’ve emailed the Vegan Society to see if they’re interested in doing anything in Parliament, and, by pure coincidence also received an email today from Dods, asking if I’d be happy to speak about veganism at an event in Parliament they’re organising soon. I said yes! I gather there’s a roundtable event on 20th October, and then a day of events on 3rd November.

Bristol Vegan Fayre is of course the biggest and the best in the annual vegan calendar. It’s now been renamed the Bristol Eco-Veggie Fayre, but is still 100% vegan. Lots of food stalls, campaign stalls, talks, cookery demos and live bands. Looks as if next year’s event will be the last weekend of May. There’s also the Bristol Vegan Free Food Fair on October 30th at Broadmead Baptist Church, aimed at enticing non-vegans into the fold. It’s an annual event but unfortunately it always clashes with my best mate’s birthday and my sister’s birthday too, which means I’m out of town and I miss it.

So where are good vegan/ veggie places to eat in Bristol? Well of course there’s the award-winning Cafe Maitreya, but you’ll have to book as it’s tiny and (deservedly) very popular. Cafe Kino, off Stokes Croft, is great too. And a special mention for the Sweet Mart in St Marks Road, which has to be the best place to shop for veggie food in Bristol, especially now it’s opened a deli too (more different kinds of pakora and bhajis than you could ever imagine). There are plans to run cookery classes there at some point in the future too.

More eating out/ shopping suggestions in the Vegan Guide to Bristol.

Upcoming events:

Saturday October 30th – Bristol Vegan Free Food Fair – see above for details.
Monday November 1st – World Vegan Day – ditto.

Friday November 5th is Americana night at the Gallery Cafe – a veggie/ vegan cafe in Bethnal Green. The Union Canal String Band, who just happen to be mates of mine, are playing. They’re kind of bluegrass/ hillbilly – eg Louvin Brothers songs (and the mandolin/ fiddle player is a vegan, so warrants inclusion on those grounds alone).

Blog posts on what could loosely (or not so loosely) be termed vegan issues:

Nocton Dairy Farm/ Not in my Cuppa campaign: Milk Cow Blues , Not in My Cuppa

https://kerrymccarthy.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/more-vegan-stuff/

  Guess it’s about time I updated the above, but in the meantime here’s a video produced by Environment Films for the Vegan Society, on why people – including me – chose to become vegan. Having trouble embedding the link so here it is http://www.environmentfilms.org/EF/Making_the_Connection.html