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Glasgow Vegfest 2015

December 15, 2015 by Tofu Temptress 2 Comments

Veganism is a joy!
A sign above the World Foods stand
A sign above the World Foods stand

Happily, not even Storm Desmond seemed to dampen the spirits of the plucky attendees for the inaugural VegFest Scotland. December weather here is not known for its clemency, but the harshness of the wind and rain on the opening day, Saturday, was unusual even in these parts. Still, the stallholders, organisers, stewards, performers and volunteers battled on to welcome an enthusiastic, if bedraggled, crowd. The warmth inside the venue was welcome.

Some brilliant stall holders
Some brilliant stall holders

Walking into the Glasgow SECC, I queued up to get some cash out (oh boy, what a gloriously wallet-emptying experience VegFest can be) and noticed an ad for a pantomime show starring David Hasselhoff and the Krankies. This venue is nothing if not eclectic.

 

Real Foods, from Edinburgh
Real Foods, from Edinburgh

Once I’d entered Hall 3, I could look around me with a sense of great joy and satisfaction. Finally, the biggest vegan festival in Britain was having an event in Scotland. All over the place I saw people delightedly sampling food from both UK wide and local businesses (such as Real Foods, an Edinburgh health food store). It is often commented on in vegan circles how, at a vegan festival, you can have anything you want! You don’t have to ask people if their food, or indeed clothing, is vegan friendly, because all of it is! Oh, the relaxation and sense of indulgence.

Disguising vegetables
Disguising vegetables
Sneak veggie onto kids' plates
Sneak veggies onto kids’ plates

I pottered around, sampling from all over the place. I enjoyed a secret sausage (well, quite) which is a lovely product designed to slip vegetables, undetected, onto children’s plates. They tasted so good and I could see how they would appeal to adults and children alike.

Try a sample? Don't mind if I do...
Try a sample? Don’t mind if I do…

There was chocolate too, sooooo much chocolate. It can be a bit of a struggle to give an indulgent box of chocolates as a gift, knowing they are cruelty free, but thanks to Pana Chocolate and the ever-reliable Considerit Chocolate, that need never be a problem again.

Local business, Missy's Vegan Cupcakes.
Local business, Missy’s Vegan Cupcakes.

The array of cakes too, was an absolute delight, with local business Missy’s Vegan Cupcakes proving popular. I also sampled some lovely, fudgy chocolate peanut butter-type gorgeousness from Red Rosa’s Specialist Cakery, who were new to me. I won’t forget them in a hurry though, as their cakes were amazing.

Red Rosa's Specialist Cakery
Red Rosa’s Specialist Cakery

 

Sheese pizzas were popular
Sheese pizzas were popular

The cheeses too were a revelation. Although I’d tried Sheese from Bute Island Foods (who had some great looking ‘melty’ pizzas on offer) and Vegusto (I had one of their hotdogs for lunch on the Sunday) before, a couple of newcomers caught my eye.

Tyne Chease
Tyne Chease

Tyne Chease from, unsurprisingly, the north of England, tasted great. I was also particularly pleased to see a local firm from Glasgow itself, called the Nutcrafter Creamery. If you miss soft cheese especially as a vegan, you have to try their stuff, it was really scrumptious.

samples from the Nutcrafter Creamery, Glasgow
Samples from the Nutcrafter Creamery, Glasgow

 

After all this eating it was time for a sit down, and where better to place myself than at a talk by Tony Wardle from Viva! on saving the world with you knife and fork. Tony used to be a journalist for the Guardian and during his time there he realised that although world leaders knew well that animal agriculture is the main cause of all the environmental problems we have today, none of them wanted to admit it for fear of making themselves unpopular. I mean, would you want to be the politician who tells their constituents to go veggie? Also, many of our representatives in Westminster are in the pocket of the animal agriculture industry and so continue to suppress any progress for fear of losing their money. It was an illuminating and entertaining talk, even although poor Tony had to compete with one of the louder stage performers of the day. He also has a book out, Pod, which is an environmental thriller. I bought a copy and can’t wait to read it.

Fentimans bar
Fentimans bar

The next talk in the Campaigns and Lifestyle area was by Vegan Lass, a prominent vegan blogger. She has a big following and the talk was full. She was keen to present the case for an abolitionist approach to activism. I found it very interesting and agreed that sexist campaigns and steering people towards ‘ethical meat’ (let’s face it, there’s no such thing), can do more harm than good. I do however, still find it helpful to ask people to cut down on animal products, rather than eschew them altogether overnight, as once people have done a little to help animals, they find it easier to go on and help a lot by becoming vegan. I am wary of alienating non-vegans, but still understand her point of view that veganism is a moral imperative. The discussion continues…

Talk with Jane Easton and Justin Kerswell of Viva!
Talk with Jane Easton and Justin Kerswell of Viva!

I grabbed a quick drink from the Fentimans bar (superlative ginger beer) and headed over to the Viva! Health Summit. Jane Easton (who wrote the brilliant Viva! Cookbook) and her colleague Justin Kerswell talked about all the free resources there are out there for both new and existing vegans. They are very much, as I am, about making veganism mainstream, and have a worldwide database of vegan-friendly places to eat. They hope to be able to compile it so as to make things easier for the travelling vegan. They also have great little cards which you can leave with your bill payment at a restaurant that say ‘Thank You! I ate here because you offer vegan food.’ What a brilliant idea! It’s not all about eating lentils from a clog, as Jane says!

Scrummy lentil patties and salad from World Foods
Scrummy lentil patties and salad from World Foods

With so many beautiful caterers to choose from, it was tricky to pick just one for lunch. The queue at World Food was massive, as usual, but somehow I’d managed to sneak in at a quiet bit. They serve the most delicious lentil patties in different flavours, with an incredibly varied salad, all wrapped up in a fluffy, warm tortilla. What could be better?

They work fast at the World Foods counter.
They work fast at the World Food counter.

Performances over the weekend ranged from musicians, to performance poets, to comedians and I was lucky enough to catch most of Andrew O’Neil‘s set late on Saturday.

The hilarious Andrew O'Neil
The hilarious Andrew O’Neil

It was so refreshing to hear him lampoon some of the ignorant comments that vegans can come across every day. I won’t go into details, as it’s the way you tell ’em, but let’s just say I have a few amusing retorts to the question ‘Where do you get your protein?’ stashed up my sleeve…

 

Market-style demonstrations
Market-style demonstrations

The whole place was buzzing over both days, with juicing and spiralizer demonstrations making me feel like I was at a market. It’s not all about food though of course. Honestly! There were so many other treats to check out.

 

Bohemian Chic Minerals
Bohemian Chic Minerals

The wonderful ladies from Bohemian Chic Minerals were there, with their array of cruelty free make-up especially made for those (like me) who have sensitive skin. They’d come all the way from Slough.

 

Agharta jewellery
Agharta jewellery

 

Beautiful handcrafted jewellery (I loved the Agharta pieces) and ornaments (some carved from ‘vegetable ivory‘ from Ecuador) were on display, as well as all manner of clothing and footwear.

'Vegetable Ivory'
‘Vegetable Ivory‘

I met the lovely couple from Humane Wildlife Solutions, who take care of your ‘pest’ problems kindly and effectively. What a brilliant business!

 

The team from Humane Wildlife Solutions
The team from Humane Wildlife Solutions

Let’s also not forget the many charities represented. The woman on the Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary stall was lovely, and keen to tell of the life-saving work they do there.

Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary stall
Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary stall

I bought a T-shirt from the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade and again, I’m so impressed with the work they’re doing.

T-shirts from the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
T-shirts from the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade

On the Sunday I went to a cookery demonstration that Jane Easton was doing and even got to try some of the delicious barley risotto that she made (recipe here.) I even went up for seconds. Yum! Barley is commonly used in soup in Scotland, but it was a refreshing change to see it used like this.

A cookery demo at Vegfest
A cookery demo at Vegfest

The Scottish theme continued with some gorgeous-looking macaroni pies from Cool Jerk. If only I hadn’t been too full to try them. You can’t try everything…

Macaroni (and other) pies, courtesy of Cool Jerk
Macaroni (and other) pies, courtesy of Cool Jerk

The best talk of the whole weekend was definitely Dr. Melanie Joy on Understanding the Psychology of Meat for Effective Vegan Advocacy. I am an admirer of hers, but this is the first time I’ve attended one of her talks, having seem a fair few on YouTube. She is the author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows. Her understanding of not only the subject of veganism, but also what she refers to as carnism (the meat-eating ideology) is impressive. Being a social psychologist, she detailed effective ways of communicating with people, along with ways to avoid burnout and I took copious notes.

The kids of Sunnyside Primary doing sterling work for animals.
The kids of Sunnyside Primary doing sterling work for animals.

I must also tell you about the quite inspiring children of Sunnyside Primary School. They are doing a project on how cruel it is to capture dolphins and whales from the wild and make them perform in places like the much derided Sea World. Two of the very well informed children gave me a little tour of their display. They were selling badges to raise money for their cause and of course I bought some. They’ve been endorsed and commended by Sea Shepherd no less and you can follow them on twitter here.

The smoothie bike
The smoothie bike

Goodness, I ate a lot of food. Well, if only I’d managed to get on the stationary smoothie-bike, where as you peddle you blend your own smoothie, so you get both exercise and fruit. I think it was mainly for the kids though. I also ran out of time and didn’t get a henna tattoo. Next time…

Henna tattoos. What design would you get?
Henna tattoos. What design would you get?

If you would like information about your nearest vegan festival, Animal Aid have a pretty comprehensive list here. Do go and support them and take non-vegan friends and family to introduce them to the joys of a vegan lifestyle!

Spiralizing is so hot right now...
Spiralizing is so hot right now…
...but sometimes you just want a pizza.
…but sometimes you just want a pizza.

Filed Under: Vegan News Tagged With: drink, Fashion, food, Glasgow, Scotland, Vegfest

Vegan Shoes

November 20, 2014 by Tofu Temptress 9 Comments

Wills vegan shoes at London Vegfest 2014

As you may or may not know, being a vegan isn’t just about food. Much as I love food and much as I would never call myself a fashionista in any way, shape or form, I do have to wear clothes. It’s easy to get arrested otherwise. So, what do vegans wear? Plastic shoes and ponchos? Hell no (well, I don’t anyway.) You can stay warm, look cool, stay dry and have a clear conscience all at the same time. Nobody needs leather, wool, suede or sheepskin – nobody. Keep the skin on its original owner and everybody wins.

Wills vegan shoes at London Vegfest 2014
Wills vegan shoes at London Vegfest 2014

So, women are supposed to be obsessed with shoes. I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed, but I do like shoes. As a friend once said, you can’t look fat in shoes. So, are all vegan shoes un-breathable nightmares? Absolutely not. You can have any type of shoes you want and nobody has to die to provide you with them. Take a look at the pic I snapped during London Vegfest this year of the Wills stand. Would you guess that all of that fancy footwear was vegan just by looking at it? I think not.

My favourite shoe shop is Vegetarian Shoes. In fact, I once took a day trip down to their store in Brighton, carrying only an empty rucksack and a credit card. I live in Edinburgh. That may seem extreme, but the flight was only an hour to Gatwick and then 30 minutes train ride from there to Brighton, so really, it’s not that extreme after all. With a full tummy from the lovely vegan cafe across the road and five pairs of shoes later, I was a very happy bunny indeed.

I was a teenager in the nineties, so Doc Marten was at its peak. Happily, they now make vegan shoes and boots, so you can have good looking practical footwear with not a dead cow in sight. You can even get rock boots that are vegan, so you feel at peace with yourself while moshing away to White Zombie, or in my case Green Day. If you need work boots with steel toe caps or waterproof hiking boots, no problem, as these bad boys come with steel toe caps and waterproof lining. If however, you’re in a more elegant mood, try Beyond Skin shoes. They’ve even been worn to the Oscars, so if fashion concerns you, look no further.

Fanciful or practical, casual or formal, for work, school, fell walking, welding or a night out on the town, vegan shoes come in all shapes, styles, sizes, colours and prices. The days when leather shoes were considered ‘proper’ shoes are now well and truly over. Even in mainstream shops, there’s a great choice of vegan shoes out there.

Leather logos
Leather logos
(Thanks to pleatherandfakon for this image)

Just like everything else, check the label. If shoes have these first two icons on them stay away and keep your money in your wallet. Fabric shoes are abundant and often far cheaper in mainstream shops that their cow hide equivalents. Have a look at this selection PETA have put together, including names such as Oasis, Zara, Sketchers, M&S, Esprit and Gap Please don’t be fooled by the ‘genuine leather’ sign. It’s not a good thing. It’s not a sign of quality.  All it means is that pain and suffering have gone into the shoes and nobody needs that.

Filed Under: Cruelty free Living Tagged With: Clothes, Fashion, Shoes, Vegfest

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