<http://www.water4.net?a_aid=ff3f7d9d&a_bid=a6b973b4>    Vegetarian
Omega 3 fish oil alternative with DHA and EPA
Vegetarian Omega 3 3 for 2 offer
<http://www.water4.net?a_aid=ff3f7d9d&a_bid=3082a677>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lot's happening this year - only a month to go until UK Vegan Week and
World Vegan Day <http://www.worldveganday.org,uk/>   2006!

Lots of new websites www.supervegan.org <http://www.supervegan.org>  ,
www.veganpirates.org <http://www.veganpirates.org>  ,
www.davincicode.org.uk <http://www.davincicode.org.uk>  ,
www.for-vegans.co.uk <http://www.for-vegans.co.uk>  ,

Lots of healthy new products  such as fish free omega 3 DHA and EPA from
Algae www.vegetarian-dha-epa.co.uk <http://www.vegetarian-dha-epa.co.uk>
, newproducts from Redwoods, Plamil, The Food Doctor, and all the usual
culprits.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

www.piratesofthecarobbean.com <http://www.piratesofthecarobbean.com>

www.here-be.veganpirates.co.uk <http://www.here-be.veganpirates.co.uk>

Vegan Pirates!



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Vegan Events: It's hoped Vegans from all around will help to change the
world as we know it.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/6/prweb395597.htm
<http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/6/prweb395597.htm>

Over the next few days and months there will be Vegan Festivals in
Bristol, Gloucester, and London but the Vegan event liable to make the
biggest impact on the thriving increased rate of world veganism is The
10th International Vegan Festival in Denmark.


http://www.news.for-vegans.co.uk <http://www.news.for-vegans.co.uk>
http://www.vegansworldnetwork.org/international-vegan-festival.html
<http://www.vegansworldnetwork.org/international-vegan-festival.html>
(Denmark)
http://www.veganbristol.makessense.co.uk
<http://www.veganbristol.makessense.co.uk>
http://www.govegan.co.uk <http://www.govegan.co.uk>  (Gloucester)
http://www.londonveganfestival.org.uk
<http://www.londonveganfestival.org.uk>
http://www.coventryveggies.makessense.co.uk/events/153.html
<http://www.coventryveggies.makessense.co.uk/events/153.html>
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/xmas/fayre.htm
<http://www.animalaid.org.uk/xmas/fayre.htm>  (London)




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Bristol (June) , London (Sept) , Leeds (May), Gloucester (July) East
Midlands (Dec)

Leeds

Sunday 21st may Leeds Veggie Mini-Fayre in Leeds city centre to
celebrate National Vegetarian Week. 12pm-5pm Free admission. Wonderful
vegan café with gorgeous tasty food, snacks and cakes. Stalls, lots
of free information and recipes, live music. Free Shop – bring
anything you no longer want/need and/or browse for something you like.
At The Common Place, 23-25 Wharf St, Leeds, LS2 7EQ, map on
www.thecommonplace.org.uk <http://www.thecommonplace.org.uk> . For more
details of the event contact Leedsveggies@...
<mailto:Leedsveggies@...>  or phone 0113-2484044.

Bristol

http://www.veganbristol.makessense.co.uk/index.html
<http://www.veganbristol.makessense.co.uk/index.html>

Gloucester

http://www.govegan.co.uk <http://www.govegan.co.uk>

London

http://www.londonveganfestival.org.uk/
<http://www.londonveganfestival.org.uk/>

East Midlands (Nottingham)

http://www.eastmidlandsveganfestival.com/
<http://www.eastmidlandsveganfestival.com/>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In theory you don't need fish oil as you can convert omega 3 LNA from
flax to DHA and EPA. Studies show people struggle to do this, especially
men. Vegetarians and Vegans (and meat eaters) now have a sustainable
alternative to fish. Vegan EPA and DHA from Algae.

See www.news.foodsforlife.org <http://www.news.foodsforlife.org>  for
more or www.vegetarian-dha-epa.co.uk
<http://www.vegetarian-dha-epa.co.uk>  or register for more information
at http://www.water4.net/registration.htm
<http://www.water4.net/registration.htm>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This message is about Human beings, Democracy, UNHCR, Refugees, The Iraqis,
Islam, Kurds, Human rights, Respect, Money, Donations, Angelina Jolie,
Pavarotti, Giorgio Armani, Donors, Peace, History, Campaigns and about you if
you care about these words.

Hi there,

I am SAM, an Iraqi refugee living in Lebanon at the moment; I have spent the
last 10 years of my life as a refugee registered with the UNHCR in Beirut. The
last 4 years, I have spent as an activist for peace and human rights (especially
refugees and asylum seekers) on the Internet; I'm also books author and ebooks
publisher. I have launched many campaigns to improve our situation as refugees
in Lebanon and hopefully bring more understanding to our problems worldwide. I
helped make many changes and improvements at the UNHCR office in Beirut; I used
the Internet as the field for my activities (you can read more about that in my
free ebook 'MY CAMPAIGNS'). All my ebooks are free and could be download from my
sites.

This is my newest campaign, it's about the illegal and humiliating actions of
the UNHCR, who using photos of refugees as banners and human-buttons to collect
money. This is an abuse of the dignity and humanity of the refugees and must
stop immediately and a clear public apology present by The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees. My friends, I am talking about the pictures you can
see here: http://www.angelfire.com/yt3/un4 Where you can read the rest of this
message as web page.

Also you can read my new campaign 'Urgent, we need smile' here:
http://truth4all.atspace.com/smile.html

For more info about UNHCR and life of refugees you can read my free ebooks. I
invite you as fellow humans and members of the world community to support my
campaign by reading my article on my site and see the human-buttons. The
campaign is to support and improve the UNHCR http://www.unhcr.ch especially
after the last scandals in the UN and UNHCR, just for example: The refugees
allege that UNHCR staff is selling most of the food items they are supposed to
be supplied.
"They aren't supplying sufficient food to us because they sell most of the food
items," they allege: http://allafrica.com/stories/200503140214.html

  Here is another example: Burmese Refugees Withdraw Protest Against UNHCR 
http://www.mizzima.com/archives/news-in-2005/news-in-april/12-April05-22.htm

"We make demonstration and fast because the UNHCR office in Cairo did nothing
for our problem..." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4440730.stm

Together we will build better world.

You could reach me fast via this form: http://unhcrlebanon.reco.ws/email_me.htm
and if you like to know more about me, you can google for my name 'osam altaee'.

Thanks
THE TRUTH WARRIOR
http://www.ServerX.info/un4

At last tasty and healthy guilt free chocolate!

No sugar, no dairy, higher in essential fats as made with shelled Hemp
seeds

http://nutrition-news.blogspot.com/2005/10/new-chocolate-sugar-free-
dairy-free.html

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/10/emw296951.htm

http://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/news.htm

Too good to be true?

NOVEMBER 1st 2005 - World Vegan Day.

Making a difference is easy - there are nearly 60 ideas on
www.worldveganday.org - one for every day of the year.

How are you going to make a difference to people, animals and the
environment ? What are you going to do?

World Vegan Day is the perfect day for making a difference.

POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY

I'm one of those weird people who believes humans are animals. We
might be a bit smarter than most of them, and we're certainly more
destructive and violent, but in the end we're just animals. If there
is such a thing as a soul, then I believe animals have it too - from
the greatest whale to the smallest bug that crawls across the ground.

But although we are animals, we are also something quite different. We
have the ability to think and reason, and plan our actions, and we
have the ability to understand the consequences of those actions.
Although many of the more intelligent species on this planet can push
a button to receive a serve of food, we're the only species with the
ability to build the button and the machine that does the serving.

In other words, although we are animals, we are something unique and
special as well. Our combination of brain, language and dexterity
gives us control over our surroundings in a way that no other animal
can match.

There's this great line in one of my favourite movies, SpiderMan.
Uncle Ben is talking to Peter Parker (a.k.a. SpiderMan) and he says:
"With great power there comes great responsibility."

I believe that we, as the dominant species on the planet, should live
by these words. We should - we must - take these words into our hearts
and minds, and live them daily in every way possible.

Unfortunately, when it comes to responsibility, humanity isn't doing
too well.

I could go into reams of statistics about the environment - about land
degradation, about our ancient rainforests disappearing, about our
oceans being overfished, about the Barrier Reef dying. I could talk
about the Ozone layer, or the millions of plastic bags we use and
throw away each year.

I could talk about these things, but I won't. You already know the
details, unless you've been living under a rock these last few years
with our old mate George Dubya Bush. There's no point in restating the
obvious.

I also don't want to come across as all preachy. Vegans are good at
doing that - I'm one of the best preachers in the trade (or worst,
depending on your point of view), so I should know!

What I will say is that, in order for us to advance as a species and
as a civilization, we need to learn to be responsible. We need to open
our eyes and look about, and see what we can do to change the world.

Some people say that there's not a lot one person can do. I reckon
that's rubbish. Saying there's nothing one person can do then
proceeding to do nothing is giving away both our power and our
responsibility. It's throwing this beautiful, fragile, glorious planet
into the too-hard basket. It's giving in; it's saying that being a
loser is acceptable.

I'm sick of losers. They're a pitiful, sniffling bunch. I can almost
hear them whinging from here: "But I don't want to give up meat! I
don't want to stop smoking! I don't want to be bothered with
recycling, or re-using, or with ethical shopping, or with living
within my means."

"After all," they say. "Life is short."

Well, I believe life is too short for whinging, for making excuses,
for copping out, for refusing to take responsibility for our actions.
If life is short, and this is all there is to it, and there is no
heaven or afterlife, then that makes this life, this world, even more
precious. And if there is a Goddess or God up there, or down here, or
in some parallel Universe, do you really think She/He would want to
waste Her/His time on a pack of whingers who couldn't be bothered to
take care of this planet, the most precious gift of all?

Just imagine - for a moment - that the Rapture isn't going to happen
any time soon. That there is no afterlife or reincarnation. That this
short, wonderful life is it. Then consider all those items you
purchased bulk-discount. All those steaks you have eaten. All those
gallons of fatty milk you have drunk. Have they made you a happier,
more complete person? If your honest answer is yes then go on doing
what you're doing, and stop reading this rant now because I probably
don't have anything more that you would want to hear.

But if you, like me, know that true happiness comes from loving
others, taking care of our families and friends, being kind to
non-human animals, and preserving our ancient wildernesses - if you
know that happiness can't be bought or sold in a box, no matter how
well that box is presented or which deluxe store it came from - then
we might have something in common. And there are millions of people
out there, just like us, who have this in common with us too.

I'm asking you to stand up and be counted. Make a vow to yourself, or
to God, or to your family, or to whatever or whomever you hold dear,
that you will seek to fight the good fight. Stand on the side of the
earth, and the animals, and the generations to come. They all depend
on you to do so.

With great power comes great responsibility. But responsibility can
also be a gift. We are Caretakers of this planet, Guardians of its
flora and fauna. We are Stewards of its high mountains and scorched
silent deserts and blossoming valleys and quiet creeks and deep blue
oceans.

Open yours eyes. Look around. And be proud to take responsibility for
this shining planet Earth.

====
You can read more Rants & Raves at the VeganForLife website
http://www.veganforlife.org

It's easy to get rid of junk on an egroup. I simply placed all my
egroups (I run quite a few!) onto 'membership must be approved'
status, and placed a warning on the home page of each group stating
that spamming and flaming are not tolerated. Then I simply ban anyone
who spams.

Who is the moderator of the group? If you're out there, and don't know
how to do this, email me and I'll help you.

Cheers,

daharja XXX

I have a lot of friends who call themselves animal lovers.

You would never catch them being cruel to a cat or dog. Many of them
have companion animals, and they treat those animals very well. Their
companion animals are family members, in every sense of the meaning.
In many ways, in fact, I believe we are more humane to our animal
companions than to our own fellow humans. We don't wage wars against
cats and dogs. We don't generally judge superiority or inferiority
based on colour or breed. We don't care about what colour eyes our cat
or dog might have.

But I'm not going to talk about our companion animals.

Instead, I am going to talk about the forgotten animals. The millions
of lost souls who, even as I sit here and type, are dying the slow
death of their lives in battery cages, in sow stalls, in veal crates,
and in feedlots. I try to not get emotional when I think of their
suffering, but it is so hard. I try to harden my heart to reality, so
that it won't disturb my sleep. I try to laugh and smile when good
friends order meat at restaurants, even though I know so well where
that meat came from, and the suffering that it caused. I watch in
silence, or sometimes in conversation, as that very suffering is
served up with orange sauce, or in a stir-fry, or perhaps battered,
roasted or grilled.

I wouldn't call myself an overly compassionate person. I'm just your
everyday Jane. But when I think of the animals that are in our 'food
stream' it upsets me. Why I feel the pain so strongly of the animals
we cause to suffer I don't think I will ever completely understand.
I'm no different to the next person. Or am I?

What makes a person into a vegetarian or a vegan, anyway? What made me
become a vegan? I can't even really remember anymore. I just know that
it was something that I had to do. I couldn't stand the hypocrisy of
my life any more. I couldn't stand calling myself an animal-lover
(just like any person who might be reading this 'rant') while
continuing to eat meat and cause agony to the nameless animals that
found their way onto my plate.

Something just 'clicked' - and once it had, there was no turning back.
I can't even remember what it was, but something opened my eyes. From
that point on I was spiraling along a path that would inevitably lead
me to veganism.

Every step I took along the path of veganism, I felt better. I was
making a difference. Maybe not to the millions, but at least to a few
animals. I didn't like the way the meat industry operated, so I opted
out. Such a simple thing to do, but one of the most powerful
statements a person can make. To say 'no' to the majority, to the
mainstream, can be hard sometimes. Yet this was so simple, and so easy.

In this life, we all have a choice: to do what is easy, or to do what
is right. I voted with my feet. I couldn't bear any longer to talk the
talk of being a freedom-lover, an animal-lover, and of being a good
person. I couldn't bear the hypocrisy of walking the walk of cruelty,
and of supporting the industries of pain and suffering at every meal.

I chose to do what is right. I turned my back on the easy path. I
sided with the animals, and with the vegans, and with the vegetarians.
I sided with the people of the world who truly value freedom, and
honesty, and charity, and love.

Now, several years along that path, I look backwards in amazement. I
have so much to thank veganism for. Something incredibly profound in
me has changed. I have found a life of compassion, and service, and
love. I know that I am a good person. Outwardly I still look the same.
Within me, I feel complete. I have found who I was meant to be. I have
found peace within myself. I have found my soul.

And I like who she is.

(you can read other 'rants' at http://www.veganforlife.org)

Does anyone have any suggestions for the 2005 WVD awards????

See the official Website www.worldveganday.org for the latest news
and visit the Forum to find out what you can do to join in , have fun
or make this the best international vegan day ever in 2005

Please visit

www.worldveganday.org  for latest on World Vegan Day 1st November

and www.piratesofthecarobbean.com for Vegan Pirate Day 19th Sept

Hello Vegetarian Resource Center,

VolunteerMatch is pleased to inform you that a volunteer has expressed
interest in the following opportunity:

Organization name: Vegetarian Resource Center
Opportunity title: World Vegan Day Coordinator (every year! everywhere!)

Name: Lynne Bryant
Email: theladydragonfly@...

UK Vegan Week Recipes for World Vegan Day 1st November

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
Med sized pumpkin
2 med Onions
250 ml Orange Juice
I x 400ml  tin of coconut milk
2 Tablespooons of Olive Oil
Teaspooons of Cumin, ground coriander and salt and pepper.

Cut the top off a medium sized pumpkin with a big sharp knife in
a Zig Zag pattern.

Remove the "hat" and scoop out the seeds and mush.

Score the flesh of the inside of the pumpkin with a knife in a
criss-cross pattern and then hack out 1 _ lbs (750g) of Pumpkin
flesh with a strong spoon.

Put into a large saucepan with 2 mugs of boiling water (or
vegetable stock), 2 finely chopped onions, 1 mug of orange juice,
1 teaspoon ground coriander, salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon
cumin, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 3/4 tin of coconut milk
(300ml – shake well before opening).

Meanwhile, as all that is simmering, cut some triangular eyes, a
nose and a smiley Zig Zaggy mouth from the pumpkin carcass.
All you then need is a tealight candle and you have the perfect
decoration for a romantic candlelit bath.

Once the pumpkin is soft, blend soup ingredients together with a
hand blender.

Serve the soup with a drizzle of some of the remaining Coconut
milk to decorate.



Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 mugs of self raising flour
1 mug soft brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of organic fair trade cocoa powder
1/2 mug of sunflower oil
3/4 mug of Rice milk/soya milk

Blend all ingredients together and then pour equally into 2 round
oiled baking tins (approx 20 cms dia.)

Cook on a med high heat for about 20-30 mins or until cocktail
stick poked in centre of cake comes out cleanly without gunk on
it.

Make some vegan toffee using mashed midjoor dates ( or dried
dates cooked until mushy with a little orange juice) or use jam
and Vegan Cream cheese or use Silken (Chinese) tofu with
icing sugar and cocoa and zest of lime for the filling then make a
sandwich from the 2 cakes.

Melt some dark vegan chocolate and a little soya cream in a
bowl over hot water and pour over the top of the cake to serve.

Some vegan Ice cream would go splendidly with this.



Pancakes

1 1/2 mugs of self raising flour
1 mug of Rice Milk/soya milk

Blend together with 3 teaspoons of Lemon juice.

Add herbs, garlic, vegan bouillon powder, grated vegan cheeses
or toasted crushed seaweed for savoury pancakes.

Add sugar, vanilla, cocoa, raisins, chopped apricots or zest of
lime for a sweet pancake.

In a very hot non stick frying pan put a dribble of olive oil and
enough mix to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Swirl the mix
around in the pan to get an even thickness and wait for bubbles
to rise and the mix to start to set. Then toss and cook the other
side.

If a savoury pancake you can fill with stir-fry etc.

If it's a sweet one fill with bananas and ice cream and drizzle
with Agave syrup.



Vegan toasty Tscheeze Topping/mayo/cream

1 mug of hot sweetened soya milk
(heat in saucepan – do not boil)
1 mug of cold sunflower oil

Whizz together with a hand blender (not a whisk) or liquidizer and
whilst blending add juice of 1/2 a lemon or a tablespoon of
vinegar. Like magic it turns to a mayonnaise consistency.


For salad dressing add

Garlic
Herbs
Mustard

Vegan toasty Tscheeze Topping/mayo/cream

1 mug of hot sweetened soya milk
(heat in saucepan – do not boil)
1 mug of cold sunflower oil

Whizz together with a hand blender (not a whisk) or liquidizer and
whilst blending add juice of 1/2 a lemon or a tablespoon of
vinegar. Like magic it turns to a mayonnaise consistency.


For salad dressing add:

Garlic
Herbs
Mustard
Salt & pepper

For Vegan toasty Tscheeze Topping add:

2 level tablespoons of yeast flakes (and salt) or Vegan bouillon
powder.
2 Tablespoons of Tomato sauce
Some yeast extract if you like it.

To thicken it for cheese on toast or using for a vegetable flan add
2 tablespoons of oats or potato flakes and blend again.



For delicious dairy free cream add:

In some sugar when heating the milk in the beginning then after
it has been blended together add a few drops of vanilla.

Press Release

BARBIE'S BAR-BIE-QUE CHALLENGE

Real life Barbie model Cindy Jackson has issued a challenge,
via The Vegan Society, to the world's sweet manufacturers, for
them to produce a pork/beef gelatine-free, pink, vegan
marshmallow by World Vegan Day, 1st November, 2003.

"It's not fair - I want this year's bonfire night during UK Vegan
Week to be the last year the veggie kids have to miss out on the
fun" said Cindy " We want to be able to toast an animal free pink
marshmallow on a stick just like the meat eaters can."

Vegan Society CEO Rick Savage said; "There may be more
demand for a vegan dairy free Mars bar, however whilst there are
more vegan chocolates and sweets in the latest edition of our
Animal Free Shopper guide there's nothing yet that can quite
replace that traditional toasted marshmallow on a stick."

"How could we refuse to help Cindy? Especially after she has
helped us put together a special Vegan Top Ten BBQ Tips. As
an incentive we are offering manufacturers a free year's use of
our Vegan Society Trademark and free publicity on our website
and in our magazine once the product has been authenticated by
us and is available nationally."

Anyone wishing to organise a "Barbie-que" with food that
everyone can enjoy should send 2 X 1st class stamps and their
address to The Vegan Society for their Barbie BBQ information
sheet, telephone 08454588244 or visit www.worldveganday.org.

Contacts:

Vegan Society Office: Tony Weston - Head of Media/PR
T: 01424 448828  Fax: 01424 717064
media@...

Outside office hours:  Mobile 07944068432

Cindy Jackson - c/o Cindy Jackson Ltd. www.cindyjackson.com.

Notes for Editors:

The Vegan Society (Reg. Charity No. 279228) was established
nearly 60 years ago (1944) to promote a healthful diet, whilst at
the same time avoiding animal exploitation and the wasteful use
of the world's resources.
World Vegan Day is celebrated on 1st November - National
Vegan Week (U.K.) is 27 October - 3 November 2002 see
www.worldveganday.org This year's theme targets caterers to
encourage them to provide more food that everyone can enjoy.
The Vegan Society also publishes The Vegan Shopper - a guide
to animal free shopping, Vegan Stories, the Vegan Passport, a
vegan travel guide and guides to nutrition.
For photographs, BBQ recipes and more information about The
Vegan Society see www.vegansociety.com or telephone local
rate number 0845 45 88244.


Barbie's Top ten tips for a "Barbie-Q" everyone can enjoy
**************************************************************

1) - Check out your local health store and ask them about the
very best vegan burgers and sausages. Watch out for
ingredients like battery eggs, L- Cysteine made from hair or
feathers, and hydrogenated trans-fats. Look out for new products
using organic ingredients.
2) - Make sure you have lots of fresh organic salads. Use egg
free mayonnaise to make potato and seaweed salad, coleslaw,
pumpkin seed and cumin salad, or vegan waldorf salad with
walnuts apple and celery. Quinoa, shoyu, finely chopped
smoked tofu lime and parsley is a good one.
3) - Some other ideas for the BBQ are organic vegetable, fruit
and tofu kebabs marinated and sprinkled with sesame seeds,
corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, pumpkin or potato waffles.
4) - For pudding try BBQ banana with some yummy vegan dairy
free Ice cream and maple syrup or make a vegan chocolate cake
(see www.vegansociety.com for recipe)
5) - Make sure you have a plan B in case it rains.
6) - If it is insect season have some citronella or Lavender
candles to keep the buzzy things away.
7) - Many people get the BBQ too hot too quick - it should be a
gentle glow not an eyebrow removing, towering inferno,
producing carcinogenic cremated offerings. Avoid using
flammable fluid that will taint the food and always follow BBQ
manufacturer's instructions. Keep dogs, cats, goats and small
children safely away from the BBQ area.
8) - Make sure there is lots of organic beer and wine made
without gelatine/isinglass and some nice non alcoholic drinks
for the person in charge of the BBQ and any drivers.
9) - Try some vegan music as well from vegan musicians like
Moby, Bryan Adams, Madonna, Heather Small or for something a
little more lively check out my band The Dollz ( see
www.thedollz.com )
10) - Prepare as much before hand as you can and delegate
tasks so you can relax and  enjoy yourself too. Make a list so you
don't worry about forgetting things.

If you are including fireworks as part of your BBQ please try to be
considerate of the animals. Bonfire night on November 5th
seems to be extending to the entire month of November -
fireworks going off all the time upsets the both the local wildlife
and pets.

Love

Cindy Jackson

Cindy Jackson Ltd. www.cindyjackson.com.

Vegan hitches – Getting married animal-free.

Ten, may be even five years ago, vegetarian weddings were not
that common. As for vegan weddings well this was a very brave
step indeed. Now, hearteningly, both are more common and
this, I believe, is due not only to the increasing rise in numbers of
those choosing a vegetarian/vegan diet but also to the number of
people choosing to eat more healthily in response to the health
scares that seem to besiege the meat industry on a regular
basis.  This has had a domino effect in that even those not
choosing to change their diet are forced to consider these others
who do not fit under any convenient umbrella. Some will not eat
red meat, only white, some will not eat fish and some will not eat
dairy. The potential permutations are endless and can be both
the hosts' and caterer's nightmare. Conversely, this should
make the animal-free option an even easier one since there are
no such complications.

An individual's reasons for following a particular diet obviously
will vary, but it is clearly going to be an important part of their life,
and their partner is likely to be at least sympathetic to that dietary
choice, if not sharing it. As a result there are an ever increasing
number of couples who consider meat-free weddings, wanting
their food to reflect their own tastes. Frequently family pressures
may be brought to bear on them, but in our experience more
couples are standing firm, possibly because many are now
paying for the reception themselves, but also because many
families now recognise that it is ultimately the couple's day.

We have grown used to the resistance shown by some guests to
the idea of having to eat vegan food- the inevitable "Well what is
there that I can eat?", where it is so difficult not to reply
"Everything" without a trace of sarcasm. Or the recent wedding
where 2 carnivorous guests guiltily started devouring the
children's section containing sausage rolls- we never had the
heart to tell them that they were actually vegan sausages! Nor
the  chocolate lover who refused to eat our vegan chocolate cake
because she was afraid of what was in it! The reason we are
able to overlook these incidents is the fact that without fail the
comments from guests is always so positive. Guests are
genuinely pleased to be served food that they know has been
freshly prepared for them- it might be from guests who are
already vegan or vegetarian which is nice, but it is particularly
satisfying when it is someone who does eat meat.

Many people, it has to be said, cannot even conceive what a
vegan diet comprises but what is very rarely appreciated is that,
ironically, vegans enjoy a wide range of foods, far wider than
those who eat meat, are more willing to experiment and are
generally more adventurous. Thus if you can find a caterer that
offers you a varied and imaginative menu there should be far
more choice to tempt even the meat eaters.

The greatest reward of all, of course, is when having abided by
all these rules as we as a company do, the food is presented
and consumed with relish by the guests.  It is wonderful to be
thanked afterwards not only by the veggies present but also by
those confirmed meat eaters who having been brave enough to
test (either that or starve!) what for them is, no doubt, a culinary
nightmare and surprised themselves by actually enjoying what
was on offer – and for those still sceptical parents I can confirm
that it happens with gratifying regularity.

More important than any other consideration though is that those
who have chosen a veggie diet as a way of life are comfortably
able to share this with their family and friends on one of the most
important days of their lives. It is after all a wonderful opportunity
to proudly say to people that this is the food that you enjoy. You
never know, your function might be the one where a guest
grappling with yet another health scare/suspected food
intolerance might finally discover that there is another way. Even
if you are not responsible for a wholesale conversion you might
have improved a lifelong carnivore's view of vegan food, which
can only be for the better. Now, anybody know a good caterer?

Cavanaghs was formed several years ago, and  both the
owners, Kathleen and David Smith are vegan. David received a
formal classical training from Leiths School of Food and Wine
and is probably the only vegan chef that the school has ever
produced! They specialise in providing both vegan and
vegetarian food for all types of family events from weddings for
over 200 people through to small dinner parties. Although they
are based in Essex and work mainly in London, the South East
and East Anglia they have catered for weddings as far afield as
Oxfordshire, West Sussex and even Cornwall, in venues as
diverse as the abbey ruins at Abingdon and a Napoleonic Wars
fort in Cornwall.