Veg Soc in the news

April 16: Recipes4us.co.uk have a great article on National Vegetarian Week and becoming Vegetarian.

April 15: Su Taylor, Press Officer, had her letter to The Scotsman printed in which she corrected an inaccuracy in a article previously published that mentioned a vegetarian being someone who eats fish.

April 15: North-West Evening Mail urged businesses in South Cumbria to get involved with National Vegetarian Week.

April 11: Ladies First featured our National Vegetarian Week in their diary pages.

April 11: Consultant editor and omnivore Fiona Briggs from Talking Retail will be going veggie for National Vegetarian Week in response to the environmental impact of a non-vegetarian diet and the global food crisis.

April 4: Off Licence News answered a reader’s question about full page

April 1: The trade publication, Cost Sector Catering, listed National Vegetarian Week in their ‘What’s On Where?’ pages.

April Issue: Tesco Foodie magazine offered up 8 “delicious ways to go meat-free for National Vegetarian Week”

Spring Issue of Caris, the new handbag magazine for girls, ran a two page spread on what girls should consider when choosing to be veggie

March 30: Rose Elliot, our patron, was interviewed in Scotland on Sunday

March 30: In answer to a reader’s query, Sophie Butler in the Sunday Telegraph recommended our Cordon Vert Cookery School as the best place for the reader’s daughter to learn how to cook vegetarian meals.

March 27: Positive Health ran our news that Cauldron Foods will be sponsoring this year’s National Vegetarian Week.

March 25: Agalinks.com featured a page on NVW including a mention of our new recipe booklet ‘Meat-free made easy’.

March 22: The Times featured advice from Caroline Chisholm, Head of Communications in their advice column ‘Ask Your Father’. The column gave advice on what to say when a 6 year old says “Mummy, why do we eat fluffy lambs?” to which Caroline replied, “Children are empathetic to animals in the field and pets, and they don’t see any distinction between the two, which in some sense is quite right. Both are sentient beings. Children are also very perceptive and it’s important to discuss the issues with them, however young they are. Otherwise they could imagine much worse or be confused. Be honest and informative”

March 20: Woking News and Mail published a letter from a clued up veggie who pointed out the environmental impact of being a meat-eater and recommended that people contact us for more information.

March 19: Continuing the online coverage of our recipes from Cordon Vert, My Child Magazine has chosen 4 of our recipes for their ‘Vegetarian recipes for kids’ section

March 18: A London council is taking steps to encourage its employees to become vegetarian because of the environmental impact of the meat industry. Camden Town Councillors will vote at the end of May on a proposal to stop serving meat and dairy products in their canteens. The story was covered in both the Evening Standard and London Lite. Both papers not only name-check the Society but also used statistics from our environment campaign

March 17: Natural Health Magazine recommended that their readers visit our website for more ideas on how to cook more creatively with pulses.

March 13: PETA recently launched a campaign featuring Sir Paul McCartney, patron of The Vegetarian Society. The many reports on the campaign, including articles in Brand Republic and mad.co.uk, mentioned that the PETA website has been launched in the run up to National Vegetarian Week.

March 13: Easier Lifestyle name-checked us in their article about the nutritional benefits of oats recommending that their readers contact us for more detailed information.

March 1: Cost Sector Catering included NVW as a diary date.

March 10: UKTV Food has dedicated a whole section of their website to recipes from the Society’s Cookery School, Cordon Vert

March 1: National Equine Student ran a feature on vegetarian horse feed highlighting The Vegetarian Society as the name to trust when looking for vegetarian approved feed.

February 10: As part of their mini-book series, The Observer published a ‘Book of Food’ with a two page spread on ’A brief history of vegetarianism’ which heavily featured The Vegetarian Society

February 5: Vegetarian labelling was in the headlines today with a flurry of press coverage. Annette Pinner (CEO) was interviewed on the subject for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Wales as well as Caroline Chisholm (Head of Communications) talking to BBC West Midlands. The Grocer magazine and the Glaswegian newspaper The Herald also both covered the story.

February 2: The Grocer highlighted our environment campaign in a feature on new data from TNS (the food data agency) that shows that, after ethics, health is the biggest reason consumers buy veggie food.

February 1: Green lifestyle magazine, Lifescape, ran a feature article by our Press Officer, Su Taylor on the environmental benefits of becoming vegetarian

January 21: Sir Paul McCartney was interviewed on ITN's News at Ten about vegetarianism and the environment.

January 3: North West Tonight was in the Cordon Vert kitchen doing a feature on the Dr Allison story. One of our tutors recreated a bread soup from one of his recipes. If anybody missed the Dr Allison story, it was also in the Telegraph

January 2: Our fish campaign continues, visit The Independent’s web pages to find out more.

June 30:

Campaigners prepare to take on Tesco - seen in The Grocer

Chef in Tesco chicken welfare call - seen The Press Association

Even vegetarians may not be safe from 'mad cow' prions - seen in New Scientist

RSPCA suspends free-range egg farm - seen RSPCA

Music calms the savage piglet. What's the recipe for healthy pork? Play classical tunes to piglets while they are growing up, say researchers. Seen in New Scientist

EU pesticide regulation moves closer to reality. EU plans to dramatically slash the number of pesticides used in farming moved a step closer yesterday (Monday, June 24) as European agriculture ministers voted in favour of new proposals. Seen in the Farmers Guardian

More funding needed in fight against illegal fishing. FAO project helps countries close ports to pirate fishers, but additional support required - seen www.fao.org

The replacement of traditional fuels with biofuels has dragged more than 30 million people worldwide into poverty, an aid agency report says. Seen on the BBC

June 25:

Last chance to save the tuna? As demand soars and stocks dwindle, conservationists say time is running out for the fish. Urgent measures to save falling stocks of tuna in the world's second-biggest tuna fishery, the eastern Pacific, must be launched at a key international meeting this week, conservationists are demanding - seen in the Independent

Tallow is a fuel. AN EU proposal to recognise tallow as a fuel rather than as a waste product has been welcomed by livestock rendering plants p seen in the Farmers' Guardian

£850K to stop hen-pecking. SCIENTISTS have been awarded an £850,000 grant to come up with a plan to stop hens pecking each other, it was revealed today - seen in the Manchester Evening News

Is meat off the menu? Yes says Raj Patel: growing food for animals is a waste of resources in an overcrowded world. No says Joanna Blythman: with much of the world unsuitable for crops, meat is essential - seen in the Guardian

Brown pushes EU to allow more modified animal feeds - seen in the Independent

My Vegan Hell. Jay Rayner struggles through a week on a vegan diet - seen in the Guardian online

June 20:

Muddy pitch for the pig industry - seen Farmers' Guardian

Leona Lewis: Vegetarianism Never Looked So Good - seen Eonline.com

Pig farm conditions: Campaigners call for an investigation - seen in the Telegraph

Julia Wrathall: Pressure must be applied to improve animals' welfare - seen in the Independent

Best Welfare Standards in the World? The British Pig Industry Exposed. The British pig farming industry makes repeated claims that it has some of the highest welfare standards in the world. Its promotional message – which recently featured in a number of prominent national newspaper advertisements – bolsters this claim by showing healthy-looking pigs on thick straw or out in the fields with plenty of space to roam. - report by Animal Aid

Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall lobbies Tesco investors over chicken. Public sector pension funds across Britain are being urged to back Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the food campaigner and celebrity chef, in his call for Tesco to raise welfare standards for chickens - seen Business Times

Inquiry into pigs at British farms covered in excrement and sores.
Government vets have launched an investigation into Britain's pig farming industry after disturbing images showing dead and diseased animals were passed to The Independent.

18 June:

Is it really safe to bring up your child a vegan? - seen in the Sunday Express

Meat price surges as poor weather hits US feed crops - seen in the Financial Times

Veganism — lifestyle choice or child abuse? - seen in the Times

11 June:

Algae oil promises truly green fuel - seen in New Scientist

Americans urged to grow their own fruit and veg as higher prices bite - seen in The Telegraph

Pinta goes green as supermarkets offer shoppers the chance to buy milk in a bag - seen in The Times

Natural lab shows sea's acid path - seen on bbc.co.uk

Britain leads 'leads the way' in ethical shopping - seen in Talking Retail

Consumers 'reject food from cloned animals' - seen in The Telegraph

Cloned animals research report published - seen - Food Standards Agency

Government must address potential avian flu crisis - seen - CIWF (pdf)

Kick the meat habit on World Environment Day - seen - Animal Aid

One million vow to reduce carbon by being vegetarian - seen - Radio Taiwan

May 27:

Parliament calls for more focus on animal welfare - pdf

Sharks swim closer to extinction. More than half of the world's ocean-going sharks are at risk of extinction, a new analysis concludes - seen on bbc.co.uk and IUCN

Chef plans Tesco share revolt over chickens. The television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is calling for a mass revolt by Tesco shareholders over its sales of cheap, factory-farmed chickens - seen in the Independent

Animal health strategy - cloning for economic purposes should be banned say MEPs - European Parliament

Why we decided we could live without meat - ic Wales

How can we measure the emotional states of animals? - Biotechnology and biological sciences research council

UK beef production set to nose-dive unless immediate action is taken to rear dairy bull calves, experts warn - CIWF pdf

May 21:

MPs back creation of human-animal embryos - seen in the Metro

Go-ahead for Iceland's whale hunt - seen on bbc.co.uk

Abandoned! Are Britain's pets the latest victims of the credit crunch? - seen in the Independent

Eaten all your meat ration? Try chewing some grass - seen in the Telegraph

Hard times? No, we’re all full of (baked) beans - seen in the Daily Express

Atmosphere Threatened By Nitrogen Pollutants Entering Ocean - seen on Science Daily

World's wildlife and environment already hit by climate change, major study shows. Global warming is disrupting wildlife and the environment on every continent, according to an unprecedented study that reveals the extent to which climate change is already affecting the world's ecosystems - seen in The Guardian

May 9:

What a waste: Britain throws away £10bn of food every year. Global food shortages, soaring prices and alarm over the environment. But every day, Britain throws away 220,000 loaves of bread, 1.6m bananas, 550,000 chickens, 5.1m potatoes, 660,000 eggs, 1.2m sausages and 1.3m yoghurts - seen in The Independent

London Aware 2008. We are all aware that climate change is here. Everyone can choose to make a difference just by considering the options that they have in every day life (and in business too). But what should we be doing and what should we not be doing?- from UKaware.com

Cod fall may speed 'toxic tide' Declining fish stocks could be partly responsible for algal blooms in the oceans, researchers have found - seen on bbc.co.uk

Why free range meat costs the earth. Intensively reared chicken can claim to be the most climate friendly meat, says Tom Heap - seen on the First Post

New report shows edible cities are the future. There are huge opportunities to grow more food in our cities, a new report by Sustain[1] shows. Edible Cities,[2] looks at examples of urban agriculture projects in cities including New York, Milwaukee and Chicago and identifies a series of opportunities that other cities could be adopting - seen on sustainweb

Outrage at European moves to feed animal remains to chickens. The European Union is preparing plans to allow pig remains to be used to feed poultry. The practice - banned in Europe after the BSE crisis 10 years ago - would save farmers millions of pounds as prices of cereal feed for chickens soar, say officials in Brussels - seen in The Guardian

Letters: Organic farming. In a world running out of oil, we must rely on organic farming - seen in The Independent

Dove story: how you're helping to change Unilever's mind on palm oil. Potentially good news for orang-utans - Unilever announced this morning that they're now supporting our calls for a moratorium to protect Indonesia's rainforests from destruction at the hands of the expanding palm oil industry - seen on greenpeace.org

April 29:

Tesco carbon footprint study confirms organic farming’s energy efficiency but excludes key climate benefit of organic farming – soil carbon A study looking at the carbon-footprint of a range of key consumer staples sold through Tesco has reported that the two organic products studied generated no more and in some cases less greenhouse gases than the same amount grown non-organically - seen: The Soil Association

RSPCA says pets are falling prey to a throwaway society The number of pets being abandoned by owners in the UK has grown by almost 25 per cent in a year, raising concern that animals are the latest victims of a “throwaway society” - seen in The Times

Supermarket trials carbon labels Supermaket chain Tesco has announced that a range of its own-brand products will carry labels showing the size of the goods' carbon footprints - seen on the BBC

Vestal Vegan to beat global warming, you have to go veggie, claims Paul Mccartney. but how easy is it to be meat-free? Kate Smith decided to avoid all animal food products for a month to find out - seen in The Sunday Herald

‘Torture Burgers’ off the menu at Burger King Fast food chain dumps foie-gras burger after protests VIVA! – Europe’s largest campaigning vegetarian organisation – is claiming victory today after Burger King scrapped a proposal to use foie-gras in a ‘luxury’ charity burger - seen: Viva

April 25:

Animal lovers hopping mad over Bath kangaroo burgers. Business urged to drop dead wildlife from menu. A BATH pub serving kangaroo burgers has been contacted by Bristol-based vegetarian campaigning group Viva! asking them to take it off the menu, after concerns were raised by animal lovers- seen in viva.org

Exposed: How cheap factory-farmed meat, fish and eggs are passed off as luxury goods costing shoppers billions. Cheap food is being dressed up as top-quality produce in a vast fraud costing shoppers £7billion a year, it is claimed today. There is mounting evidence of battery farm eggs being sold as free range, farmed fish passed off as wild and inferior meat labelled as organic - seen in The Daily Mail

Research animals ruling overturned. A ruling that the Government was failing in its legal duty to ensure the suffering of animals used in laboratory experiments was kept to a minimum has been overturned - seen in The Press Association and BUAV (pdf)

EU bioethanol production slump. BIOETHANOL production slumped in the EU last year as high feedstock prices forced buyers to look outside of Europe for their fuel - seen in Farmers Guardian

Forum to discuss how cooperating on animal welfare can boost global trade. (pdf)

UN food chief urges crisis action . The head of the UN World Food Programme has said urgent action is required to stimulate food production and help the poor cope with soaring food prices - seen in the BBC

Brown sounds retreat on biofuels. IT WAS seen as a radical solution to tackle climate change by reducing harmful gases from car exhausts, while sheltering motorists from soaring petrol prices - seen in The Scotsman

April 22:

Large-scale biofuel production may increase marginalization of women. New study on biofuel production focuses on gender. 21 April 2008, Rome – Rapid increases in the large-scale production of liquid biofuels in developing countries could exacerbate the marginalization of women in rural areas threatening their livelihoods, according to a new FAO study - see FAO

Macca's veggie call to help climate - see The Press Association

Food Riots Begin: Will You Go Vegetarian? As food riots break out around the globe, vegetarianism seems like more than a way of being kind to animals. It's about eating as efficiently as possible, so that grains destined for livestock will reach people instead - see wired.com

Food miles don't feed climate change - meat does
That locally-produced, free-range, organic hamburger might not be as green as you think. An analysis of the environmental toll of food production concludes that transportation is a mere drop in the carbon bucket. Foods such as beef and dairy make a far deeper impression on a consumer's carbon footprint - see New Scientist

GM debate overshadows key UN agriculture report
FIERCE debate over the role of genetic technology in farming overshadowed a key UN report into the future of agriculture this week - see Farmers Guardian

Third of meat products sold in supermarkets are mislabelled, finds food watchdog. One in three meat products sold in supermarkets and High Street butchers could be misleadingly labelled, a survey has revealed - see This is London

Bourgeois Boheme, a UK-based animal-friendly fashion company who have made a name for themselves retailing vegan footwear, accessories and cosmetics online, is now opening London's first vegan fashion retail location. Based at their offices in Richmond, London the shop doors officially open on the 17th May 2008, just ahead of UK National Vegetarian Week - see PR Inside

Brazil president defends biofuels. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has rejected allegations that biofuels are responsible for the recent rise in global food prices - see BBC

April 16:

GM foods 'not the answer' to world's food shortage crisis, report says Genetically-modified crops are not the solution to spiralling food prices or Third World hunger, according to a powerful international report published yesterday seen in the Daily Mail

Half of all organic produce is imported Almost half of all organic produce sold in British supermarkets is imported, according to the National Farmers Union's Farming Outlook - seen in Meat Info.co.uk

Additional 22.8 Million Follow a Vegetarian-Inclined Diet The just-released "Vegetarianism in America" study, published by Vegetarian Times (vegetariantimes.com), shows that 3.2 percent of U.S. adults, or 7.3 million people, follow a vegetarian-based diet. Approximately 0.5 percent, or 1 million, of those are vegans, who consume no animal products at all. In addition, 10 percent of U.S., adults, or 22.8 million people, say they largely follow a vegetarian-inclined diet - seen in Earth Times

Now the shopping crunch: Food prices soar at fastest rate for 17 years. Families already struggling to cope with the credit crunch face huge increases in food bills because of global shortages - seen in the Daily Mail

Biofuel: the burning question The production of biofuel is devastating huge swathes of the world's environment. So why on earth is the Government forcing us to use more of it? - seen in the Independent

April 15:

Food price crisis 'will see thousands starve' World food prices have become so high that hundreds of thousands of people could starve, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday - seen in the Metro

Biofuels: a blueprint for the future? How sustainable the production of green energy sources can be is key to the climate debate. Politicians Ruth Kelly and Peter Ainsworth debate the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation - seen in The Guardian

Fruit and veg diet 'danger for toddlers' Nutritionists say too much fibre and too little fat on nursery menus can lead to stunted growth - seen in The Guardian

Restaurateurs must improve animal welfare policies Restaurants have been urged to introduce or improve policies on animal welfare and communicate them more effectively to customers - seen in Caterer Search

I'm going to go veggie for a week Consultant editor and carnivore Fiona Briggs on food shortages and ways to reduce environmental impact and help ensure food security - seen in Talking Retail

April 10:

Minister plans pilot badger cull . A "targeted cull" of badgers has been announced as part of a plan in Wales to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle - seen on the BBC news

Biofuel corn makes cow bug enzyme to digest itself. A genetically modified corn that produces enzymes capable of breaking down its own cell walls after harvest has been developed by US researchers - seen in New Scientist

An Apple a Day Gets Thrown Away. A staggering 4.4 million* whole apples are being thrown away untouched every day in the UK, according to the latest figures from Love Food Hate Waste, WRAP’s (Waste & Resources Action Programme) campaign to tackle food being wasted in UK homes. The figures show that in total we bin nearly £3 billion worth of perfectly good fruit and vegetables each year - seen on www.wrap.org

April 4:

Where next for ethical labelling? Labelling and accreditation systems such as Fairtrade have played a central part in raising the profile of ethical issues in food and farming. Yet debate rages over their future role. Moves towards carbon footprinting and labels, and interest in treating water the same way, have made this a particularly urgent issue -see Food Ethics Council

Global temperatures 'to decrease' Global temperatures this year will be lower than in 2007 due to the cooling effect of the La Nina current in the Pacific, UN meteorologists have said - see BBC news

Eco-towns? OK, let's measure them
Unless the inhabitants of the 15 proposed "eco towns" selected by the Government yesterday are to be wafted to work on magic carpets and take their holidays on bicycles without crossing the Channel, the reality is that these settlements are going to add to the country's demand for energy, its greenhouse gas emissions and its use of water - see The Telegraph

UK human-cow clone created
Hybrid embryos that are part-human and part-animal have been created in Britain for the first time. Scientists from Newcastle University made the embryos using DNA derived from a human stem cell and a cow egg. They survived three days - see the Metro

Government told to stop licensing household product animal tests Co-op backs drive to wipe-out needless animal testing for cleaning products. The Government must listen to the majority of the British public and finally ban animal testing for household products such as washing-up liquid and laundry powder as a priority, campaigners have urged - see BUAV

Just veg out to save planet VEGETARIANISM could be part of the solution to climate change, according to the director of the Science Museum in London. Professor Chris Rapley advocated vegetarianism as part of the solution to climate change as he was presented with the Edinburgh Medal at the McEwan Hall last night - see The Scotsman

Vegetarian aristocrats and their campaign against the cruelty of Selfridges' foie gras A campaigning vegetarian duke and duchess are leading an aristocratic revolt against the department store Selfridges from within the walls of a 14th-century ancestral home in Scotland - see The Independent

Free-range outsell battery eggs. Sales of free-range eggs have overtaken those from battery farms for the first time, it emerged yesterday. According to the British Egg Information Service, 51% of eggs bought last month were free-range, while 41% came from caged hens. The remainder came from a mixture of barn and organic farms - see The Guardian

Farmers must obtain certificate to transport animals. FARMERS and hauliers that do not hold a certificate to transport livestock more than 40 miles could be fined up to £20,000 or face imprisonment from May 1 - see the Farmers Guardian

March 31:

Warning over bowel cancer risk. Eating just one sausage or around three rashers of bacon a day can increase the risk of developing bowel cancer by a fifth, an expert warned - see the Press Association

Squid's in: British diners develop taste for tentacles. For decades it was merely a slightly exotic option for holidaymakers in Spain, Italy and Greece, but a growing number of cooks experimenting with recipes involving tentacles and black ink have turned squid into a fashionable dish in British kitchens - see The Independent

Fish-eating cow. Ever seen a non-vegetarian cow? Milk, the staple food of the veg can’t be always considered vegetarian, going by the food-habit of the milch cow at the house of C.P. Hussain, a local businessman here - see New Indpress.com

Environmental activists who thwarted Japan whale hunt to target seal cull. Environmental activists who thwarted Japan's whale hunt have promised to employ similar tactics to disrupt Canada's annual seal hunt - see The Daily Mail

Only a radical change of diet can halt looming food crises. Costs are high now, but rising oil prices will bring enormous problems for a world with appetites that it simply can't sustain -see The Guardian

Call them Pavlov's fish: Scientists train sea bass to catch themselves by swimming into net. A plan to teach fish to catch themselves is being hatched by scientists. They want to train young seabass to swim into a net when they hear a tone signalling feeding time - see The Daily Mail

Million acres of Guyanese rainforest to be saved in groundbreaking deal. A deal has been agreed that will place a financial value on rainforests – paying, for the first time, for their upkeep as "utilities" that provide vital services such as rainfall generation, carbon storage and climate regulation-see The Independent

UK: New rules threaten fruit and vegetable supplies on supermarket shelves An uncooperative and unhelpful attitude by Defra will threaten continued supplies of imported fruit and vegetables when new imports legislation is fully implemented in early April, says the industry trade association, the Fresh Produce Consortium - see Fresh Plaza

Ducks and rice play key role in avian influenza outbreaks
New scientific findings published
26 March 2008, Rome – Ducks, people and rice paddies – rather than chickens – are the major factors behind outbreaks of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Thailand and Viet Nam, and are probably behind outbreak persistence in other countries of the region such as Cambodia and Lao PDR - see FAO Newsroom

Chief scientist revolts over biofuel legislation. Could biofuels do more damage to the climate than the fossil fuels they replace? That's the fear casting doubt on the wisdom of a law that from next month will require a certain proportion of vehicle fuel to come from biological sources - see New Scientist

March 26:

EU Move May End Seal Slaughter - The European Union is on the verge of an import ban that could help end the hugely controversial Canadian seal hunt, according to animal welfare groups - see Sky News

Skippers of small boats fear ruin as EU quota limits bite - Threat of port blockades and legal action if government fails to ease restrictions - see The Guardian

Major food source threatened by climate change - Rice is arguably the world's most important food source and helps feed about half the globe's people. But yields in many areas will drop as the globe warms in future years, a review of studies on rice and climate change suggests - see New Scientist

M&S becomes first high street retailer to exclusively offer BUAV certified beauty & household products - Marks & Spencer has announced it is the first high street retailer to exclusively offer BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) “Cruelty Free” approved household cleaning products and beauty collections - BUAV

Call for delay to biofuels policy - The UK's chief environment scientist has called for a delay to a policy demanding inclusion of biofuels into fuel at pumps across the UK - see BBC

March 19: A London council wants to encourage its staff to help the environment by going vegetarian - see This is London

February 29: The Guardian recommended that its readers lower their CO2 emissions by eating less meat as part of their ‘Tread Lightly’ campaign.

February 5: The Telegraph reported that ‘Consumers are clamouring for meat-free meals after supermarket chains stopped describing their products as vegetarian.’

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