The Semi Vegan!

The semi-vegan!

To recieve a paper copy of “The semi-vegan”, please send a“large letter” stamp to: Caspari, Longridge, Bankend Road,

Dumfries, DG1 4TP.

Feel free to spread this pdf file!

I have started work on the next issue, so please sendcomments, letters and articles to:

[email protected]

Various well-respected health educators have,in the past, seemingly advocated a pure fruitdiet, in favour of all other diets. I am writing thisarticle as I feel that, not only are the generalpublic at risk, but that they also may fall foul toother health educators authors who are alsogiving what appears to be misleading dietaryadvice.

Text: Dr Gina Shaw, MA AIYS (Dip. Irid.)

Please be sure that I am not in any way sayingthis in a superior way, more in a motherlymanner! In my practice, I have come across

many people who are very influenced byinternational health educators, both deceased andnow active and who have decided to adopt purefruit diets to their own severe detriment at verycostly prices, and I feel that I must warn thosewhom I associate with to be very cautious as to howhealth information is interpreted and indeedwhether to take this information on board for theirown health. I am not in any way condemning a raw

food diet.Fruitarianism, taken literally, with the exclusion

of nuts, seeds, sprouts, greens and other vegetablesis not a nutrient-sufficient diet and will result, in thelong-run, in severe malnutrition problems andmaybe even death.

Diet, of course, is a matter of personal choice andI am not disagreeing with people who spend amatter of a few days or even two or three weekspurely on fruits, juices or the like. However, it mustbe noted that our individual protein needs must bemet in order for us to function adequately andhealthily and to ensure we do not run into otherdeficiencies too, such as a vitamin B12deficiency. Protein literally means to come first andit certainly needs to! Protein is essential for growth,repair and maintenance of our body and, as such, isa vital nutrient. It can be met perfectly well bysupplying ourselves with raw nuts, seeds and rawvegetables (in adequate proportions). So too, mustour mineral needs be met, and again this willusually not be met by a fruit diet alone (certainlynot on commercial fruit which tends to be of poor

quality). Dr Vetrano, a highly-esteemed American hygienicpractitioner has recently beenwarning raw-fooders to make surethey eat sufficient nuts and seedsin their diets in order to meet theirprotein requirements and I applaudher for what she is doing. Onenotable, prominent and well-respected health educator andnatural hygienist may have notonly endangered, but also lost hisown life in order to stick to hisown ideals. We must take the timeto study the diets of our closestrelatives, and we will find thattheir are no primates in the wildwho consume solely of fruits. Thiswill generally give us a goodindication of what our natural dietsshould comprise!If you would like more informationvisit: www.vibrancyuk.com

Fruitarianism

The semi-vegan

My beautiful kitchen!By: Tone Lund Berle

This is my first issue. I hope you like it, and would like to help makeit even better.

Text: Knut Caspari

You may be surprised to learn that you can subscribe for free, butthe print cost is only 32p per copy. It actually costs more to postthe magazine, than to print it!

But you may be wondering how it is funded? The funds for this issue,have come from the sale of the Norwegian books on page 29. This cannotlast forever, but with a few supporters it can be extended a few issues.

Be a supporter!By becoming a supporter you pay £7.50 for the next two issues. Youchoose if you want to receive a bundle or one copy of each issue. If youwant a bundle, you can hand out the surplus copies to friends, foes,libarys, veggie restaurants and so on.

Write an article!I posted an ad on a notice board asking for articles and someone replied:“I would be interested in writing an article, I am always looking for newchallenges! Can you send me some more information please?” Well, theidea is that the readers write the articles. My role is to put the view pointsinto print, not to decide what is printed. Think of something you wouldlike to read and write it yourself! The only thing that is important, as myspelling is poor, is to spell-check your article before you send it in.

“What is your target-demographic?”Another question was: “What is the target-demographic?” I replied I hadno time to think one up. (I am that busy!) Sadly the person felt he couldnot write an article without knowing it. (Which was just as good, as Iprefer to read articles written for fun!)

Word counts and deadlines, please!I also had requests for word counts and deadlines. I deal with neither. Ihave published a magazine for long enough to know if you ask people towrite 100 words, they write 200. If you give them a deadline, they sendin the article 3 days late. So please write something, but try and focus onmaking the article good rather than how many words you use.

Be a friend on Facebook!I will not bother with a web site for this magazine. What is the point fora printed magazine to have web site anyway? To connect with the readers,this magazine has a facebook page:www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Vegan-magazine/208728409167172You are welcome to join.

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Editor:Knut Caspari

Contributors:Rebecca BurkePolly Buttons

Sophie Christopher-BowesAmanda Hawkins (page 19)

Tone Lund BerleLiz Mackenzie

Pete RyanDr. Gina ShawIshai Silencio

Sarah 2

Cover:Janne Eikeblad

If you liked the cover, youmight wish to visitt her

website: natursamfunn.no

Address:Knut Caspari,

Longridge,Bankend Road,

Dumfries,DG1 4TP.

E-mail:[email protected]

Phone:01387 265 348

Printer:Short Run Press

Print run:2000

Editing concluded:26.9.11

Copyright:If quoting from thismagazine, please

acknowledge the sourceand do not distort the

sense.

Published by:Knut Caspari

This is a not-for-profitmagazine without paid help.So if you would like to help,please do not expect to get

paid!

From the editor

I have been vegan for over a year and a half nowand during this time I have removed andreplaced animal products within my diet,clothing, cosmetics and toiletries.

Text: Polly Buttons

My initial reason for changing my dietcame about after becoming aware of thehorrors committed by the poultry and

dairy industries. Since then I have gone on toconsider the two other main reasons people havefor choosing a vegan lifestyle:

1. A vegan diet is very healthy. By adopting abalanced vegan diet it has been documented thatpeople can reduce their risk of obesity, heartdisease, stroke and cancer.2. Veganism is also viewed as being “green”because less precious resources are used to producea plant-based diet than a diet which includes meatand dairy. Farming animals is also well-known forits heavy contribution to water pollution, landdegradation and deforestation world-wide.

Recently though I have come to realise that moreand more by-products of animal exploitation inexistence form many of the well-established itemswe have in our homes or depend on regularlyoutside the home. Items which when adopting avegan lifestyle I am sure the majority don’t evenconsider. I realise now how naive I was – it is notas easy as I once thought it would be to avoidproducts which contain animals. So what are theseitems I refer to? Well…

Most plastics and adhesives such as shoppingbags, cellophane packages and glue used forwoodwork and musical instruments contain animalfats or boiled animal tissue and bone. Buttons,remotes, children’s toys, pens… millions of items,plastic lurks all around and contains animals!Fridges in addition contain Freon which is derivedfrom animal fats. I often use carrier bags when Imake impromptu visits to the supermarket orhealthfood shop and I also have wooden furniturewhich is more than likely stuck together with glue

which contains by-products of factory farming.Does this make me less of a vegan? I personally donot believe so. By educating myself I am able tomake conscious choices, I am more aware of whatmy actions and money is supporting should Ichoose to use or purchase such items.

I was also surprised to discover that rubber items– so car, bus, bike etc. tyres often contain animal-based stearic acid to aid in their shaping process.Similarly fireworks also contain stearic acid butyou would not know which contain animal or plant-based stearic acid without some research. This canoften just be a search online or by contacting themanufactures’ directly. The essential steel, brakefluid and anti-freeze in planes and trains is alsomade using animals. Does that mean I should walkeverywhere if I am to call myself a vegan? This isnot a realistic option in my opinion. I do not have acar and walk where I can but also get lifts withfriends or use public transport when travellingfurther afield.

Popular hobbies contain animal products; gelatinis used in golf balls, bones appear in inks andpaints, hair forms artist brushes, intestines becomeguitar strings and animal skin become drum skins.Enjoy baking? One food item which sees vegansunknowingly supporting animal exploitation issugar. I had been vegan for nearly a year before Ilearnt that some brands of sugar (white & brown)use ash from crushed animal bones in filters torefine the sugar. Vegans can confidently use organicunrefined sugar or agave syrup though. Animals arealso used in the manufacturing of computers andphotocopiers. I was personally very pleased todiscover that the inks used by my tattooist arevegan because as with other inks and paints tattooink sometimes contains animal-sourced glycerineor crushed animal bones. There is also the hugearena of medicine, all of the drugs, gelatin capsules

Being 100% vegan

The Vegan Society has an online guide‘Animal Free Shopper’ (also available to

purchase as a book) which is very usefulfor sourcing animal-free items:

www.vegansociety.com

4 The semi-vegan

and jabs that contain animals.I am well aware that to create

something means the destruction ofsomething else, but I cannot abidethe suffering of any sentient being insuch an unnecessary and exploitativeprocess. Humans as well as animalsare also exploited in horrific ways ascapitalism and corruption continuesto flourish. I believe we have losttouch with nature and the essentialawareness that we are on a par withthe other beings that inhabit theEarth. To respect them is both torespect ourselves and the Earth as awhole. Compassion should be at theheart of our existence. Given thelevel of exploitation which surroundsus, to make a difference can seem anoverwhelming, even impossible feat.I believe though that everyoneshould be confident that they canmake a difference to alleviate thesuffering in the world and it is up tothem to determine their own level ofcomfort in regards to what they cando. Living a 100% cruelty-free orvegan lifestyle in my opinion is not(currently?) achievable. Suffering isa fact of life but the exploitation ofanimals and people currentlyexperienced can be improved by ourchoices.

Start small, one little act orcompassionate choice can have aconsiderable impact. You mayinspire others through youractions or motivate yourself to domore in supporting those workingtowards positive change. Ipersonally feel that education andcommunication are the best way tospread the message and initiatechange. Talk to friends, family andcolleagues. Express your viewsdirect to the companies involvedand write to your MP. Tell themhow you feel. Your opinions matterand they really can have a positiveimpact.

The semi-veganSpare time on your hand? Write an article!

During this series we’re going to go into thedetails of training, diet & recovery in somedetail. You have options. If you don’t want toknow the ‘whys’, then you can just follow alongwith the example at the end, but if you want toknow why things are as they are, then readingthe first part will explain that.

Text and photos: Pete Ryan Dip ISSA CFT SPN

So let’s start with diet & getting a healthy bodythrough nutrition. Your diet will depend uponyour lifestyle more than any other factor. The

more active you are, then more you will need toconsume. It will also be affected by your genetics,the climate, stress & other factors. Obviously wecan’t cover all of those in details, but there are waysto make general, broad statements

Firstly whole foods are the best way to eat themajority of your food. Having some raw foodeveryday will also be helpful to your goals. Eatingwhole foods will help control total calories eaten &they will also help get all the trace nutrients you canmiss if you’re eating processed foods.

Next up is water. For those who wish to lose fator are training, or even who wish to think clearlywater plays a vital role. If you are even slightlydehydrated then several things happen. For those

trying to lose fat it ‘switches off’ the fat utilisationsystem & starts storing energy as fat. That’s right, ifyou are dehydrated you will store more fat eveneating the same calories! For those doing exercisedehydration limits performance, so you can do less

6 The semi-vegan

Building the perfect vegan

BreakfastPorridge (add in ground flaxseeds AFTER cooking, you

can also add protein powder ifyou are a strength athlete)

Mug of herbal tea B12 pill, multi vit/min pill,

vitamin D pill

Mid-morningWhole grain humous sandwich

Glass of oat milk

LunchBean salad

Piece of fruitMug of herbal tea

Mid-afternoonHandful of nuts

Glass of rice milk

Evening mealBuckwheat pasta, tempeh &

steamed veggiesPiece of fruit

Mug of herbal teaDHA pills

SupperSandwich or protein shake

Glass of almond milk

An example of a meal plan:

& what you do has less of a positive effect on thebody than it should. Finally even mild dehydrationadversely affects the brain both directly by nothaving enough fluid & indirectly by causing therelease of stress hormones (being dehydrated is astress on the body), so it gets a ‘double whammy’of bad effects.

There are a few supplements I recommend. Irecommend these to everyone whether vegan,veggie or meat eaters. First up is B12. You don’tneed it every day, but the pill is so cheap I suggestthat getting into a habit is a good thing. Next up isvitamin D. In the UK probably the majority ofpeople have sub-optimal levels, so taking somevitamin D is best. I suggest 1,000 IUs for smallerpeople, 2,000 IUs if you are normal or larger. Somepeople need more, but I suggest you have a vitaminD test – make sure it’s a test for calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D – abbreviated to 25(OH)D), asthat’s the active form. Recently it’s been found thatmushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light producehigh levels of vitamin D & are starting to be sold instores right now. Vegans need to buy vitamin D2 asvitamin D3 is nearly always from animal sources(there is one manufacturer on vegan D3 so it ispossible to get D3 that is vegan, just rare). The finalnecessity is an omega-3 fatty aid source. This is theone essential fatty acid that people are generallylow in. Commonly found in flax seeds, walnuts &hemp seeds. One of these should be consumeddaily. Having 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds, ahandful of walnuts or 2 tablespoons of hemp seedseaten first thing in the morning will generally beenough, but I do suggest that most people add aDHA supplement in the evening just as insurance(& as necessity for pregnant women, athletes, theelderly & those on restricted calories). Choose onefrom an algae source, not from fish, krill or other

sea critter (they’ve eaten the algae, so why not getit directly from the source).

To soya, or not to soya that is the question! Wellthat would be question if you believed the scaremongers on the net who rely on your lack ofknowledge to frighten you into avoiding what isbasically a normal bean. There are some things towatch out for in soya it can affect iodine uptake, soif you are low in iodine then you could slow yourthyroid (personally I have a small amount of kelppowder daily, you only need a quarter of a teaspoonto get all the iodine you need). Soya does notfeminise males. This is a complete myth – theyhave taken extreme animal experiment results &used them as ‘proof’ of effect, this is absurd! It’slike taking mother’s milk, filtering out all theoestrogen, force-feeding a male the concentratedhormone & then when he develops femalecharacteristics saying “see mother’s milk feminisesyou!” it is a silly idea. Personally I eat tofu, tempeh& soya milk on occasions, but I do avoid soyaprotein powder, not because it’s bad, but because Ieat soya, so prefer to get a pea, rice or hemp proteinpowder just for variety. So, treat soya like any otherfood, don’t binge, but don’t starve rather than eat it.

I think we’ve covered enough of the background,so now let’s get onto an example of a meal plan.(See box below.) I believe the average size maleshould eat about 6 times a day, the average femaleabout 5. For smaller people you may want to eatless frequently or meal sizes will be too small tosatisfy.

If you need any further advice or help, feel freeto contact me. As well as being a personaltrainer & massage therapist I am also a fullyqualified clinical nutritionist, so can help youwith any issues you are likely to face. Reach mevia the web site: www.veganbodybuilding.org

The semi-vegan 7

Following a Permaculture course on the Isle ofMan 2008 the decision was made, that when wegot back home we would get an allotment withthe intention of growing food. Especially herbsand flowers for home use. This venture did notstart straight away, as we moved house fromEvesham to Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Text and photos: Sophie Christopher-Bowes

Once we had settled down we then put ourname on the mailing list and then waited.But in the mean time read lots in books and

did research on the internet. Our window sill in thekitchen came in very handy for growing herbsespecially in winter months, we regarded this asmall scale miniature ecosystem of which we arethe chief wardens. We kept the herbs tidy andhealthy, even learning the Latin names of the herbswhich also give use a sense of pride andachievement.

Months went by and we still did not hearanything from the council about a allotment space.Then in the winter of 2009 we had a call from Johnthat a half plot had come available. Hooary!!!

Once the site visit was completed we marked outour plot, with a couple of sticks. The land itself wasvery over grown and we knew that first we wouldneed to conduct a full site survey.

We followed the Permaculture Designconsideration that we had learnt on ourPermaculture Design course. The considerationwere size, security, physical challenges, on siteresources, potential catastrophes, plans anddrawings, know problems (e.g. local knowledge),level of food self sufficiency required, privacy,water catchment, soil condition, water.

Before any work ie. clearing the site could bedone we did the following:

1. Information gathering – observation andcollecting data this was carried out at differenttimes of the day and during the week andweekends.2. Analysis phrase – reflecting, examination andcollecting data, recognizing patterns. Discussions

Our organic journey

8

about what food we wanted to grow, where wouldplots be place, where was the sun highest in midafternoon. 3. Design phase – determining strategies, re-organisizing and placing elements in the system.Zoning and sector planning. This is where wewould need to do a design of where we would liketo place our shed, polytunnel, compost bin…4. Management phrase – how are we going tomanage it? We had to think about holidays,weekends away, how much time did or could wehave for the allotment, festival season, business torun, other commitments.

Our allotment was full of weeds but at this stage wehad no idea what they were, we also had a lot ofclay in more than half of the site, with areasbecoming very water logged almost to the point ofwellingon boots getting stuck knee deep. We alsolearnt that the site does flood and has done in thepast on a number of occasions, with most peoplelosing their main crops.

So we had to start right at the beginning we didnot have access to a local map but used the existinglandscape features, contours and also looked atwhat other gardeners had been doing.

We knew that we would only grow vegetablesand fruit that were organic but also to look at theidea of companion planting.

In November on a cold morning we startedclearing the site; slowly we dug and dug out weeds

which at a later stage we identified. Couch grass was identified which a persistent

and invasive weed. Burying or turning couch grasswill not get rid of it, the roots spread and shoots willreappear. Digging the roots of couch grass isHARD work they are dense and bind even thelightest soils. The couch grass grows extremelyquickly.

We decided to use a non chemical clearance forthe couch grass.

We cut the site to 2cm high and used aneighbour’s strimmer and also a scythe. We thendug the soil using a fork and not a spade as thishelps keep non –rotovated lower roots of the couchgrass uncut and easier to remove in long strips. Wehad to make sure that all of the couch grass hadbeen remove we hand picked this out, pretty backbreaking stuff so we made sure that we took plentyof breaks. This method had to be continued overmonths to make sure that it was all removed.

But remember if you already have a garden,allotment or just a small balcony, you can trygrowing winter lettuce:

Mizuna – oriental lettuce with mild flavour.Valdor – large solid hearts puts up with poor weath-er.Winter Density – sweet and dense, crops in earlyspring.Winter Marvel – cold resistant.Until the next time…

The semi-vegan 9

This will strike a chord with many vegans andfor that matter vegetarians. You sit eating yourdinner at work, or in a restaurant with friendsand this question is asked. Indeed when I firstannounced my decision to become vegan thevery first question a colleague asked me with anincredulous look on her face was “Where willyou get your protein and calcium from?”

Text: Rebecca Burke

You could ask the same sort of questions toanybody who chooses to follow a particularlifestyle and way of eating. If somebody

embarks on the Atkins diet do people ask themwhere they get their carbs from? It also insults ourintelligence. I can understand if a young childdecided to give up meat on a whim or to copy afriend, it would be reasonable to check that childunderstood what they were doing. But I am an adultmy friend! Thirty five years and counting! I haveaccess to books and the internet, I have done myresearch!

I value my health and would never jeopardise itby just cutting out a food group and not botheringto see how I could replace it. That is why I lookedinto soya products, looked at vitamins andminerals, and also looked around in shops andonline to see where I could buy stuff. I doadmittedly get annoyed if I see messages on veganforums that go something like this:

“I’ve decided I want to be vegan. I am trying tolose weight and heard it’s healthy, thing is I dunnowhat I can eat. I really miss burgers and cheese.I’ve only eaten crisps and bread today.”

The common misconception is that vegans mustlive on junk food, chips etc because there is nothingelse for them to eat. Hang on a minute! Peruse theaisles of any supermarket – how much of them areoccupied by meat and dairy? What about theendless choices in the fresh fruit and vegetablesection. The aisles extensively furnished withbeans, pulses, nuts, rice, pasta? Many of these arestaple foods. If they weren’t designed to sustainpeople why are they sent over to Africa instead ofhotdogs and pizzas?

How many meat eaters generally think about the

nutrients they are getting? Do they assume thatbecause they have downed a milkshake and eaten asteak they are healthy in every way? Of course theyaren’t. Have they been eating carbohydrates asthese are vital to energy. What about fibre? Fibre isessential for the healthy workings of our digestivesystems, it can help reduce blood cholesterolstudies have shown. It has also been found theaverage American only consumes 14g fiber a daywhen the recommended amount is somewherearound 35.

Maybe I could turn the line of questioning aroundon my colleagues next time they ask. Turn thatmeddling self-righteousness back onto them. Hereare some of the questions I could fire at them whenthey are trying to eat their lunch:“How much fibre was in that greasy AsdaQuiche?”“Was there folic acid in that rubbery ChickenShish?”“Did that bottle of Lambrini contain one of yourfive a day?”

Is it not considered etiquette to actually leavepeople alone when they try to eat, and live and letlive? Or at least to google stuff before askingquestions – a simple question typed into a searchengine “Other sources of protein than meat” wouldof saved the Spanish Inquisition would it not? Theycan’t seem to fathom why you’ve made thetransition, some people have become almost irateand overly defensive when I say I’m vegan. Is itguilt?

Part of me wants to educate them. To furnish theirquestions with full responses and enlighten andinform them. The other part of me wants to usesarcasm in my replies. When I am asked “So whatdo you eat?” I am tempted to reply “Actuallynothing. I go without food I am a medical miracle,a freak of nature in every way!” I wonder if perhapsthey would actually believe me.

When I am at home I cook a wide variety ofmeals. Rather than being “fussy” as many peoplewould presume I love food! Some meat eaters mayturn their noses up at many types of vegetable, therereally isn’t a vegetable I don’t like. I enjoy chilli, allherbs and flavourings, all types of rice, pasta,

Where do you get your protein from?

10 The semi-vegan

beans, lentils – hardly fussy at all! I can cook lovelyvegan delights in my own home, eat a three coursemeal with about 10 different types of food in. If I goto a veggie restaurant there is a vast array of choice.

All sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Except when Iam faced with the family meal situation. Cut to ascene around a table in some Beefeater typerestaurant. Nothing on the menu I can have – it’seither steak and chips, chicken and chips, burgerand chips, pie and… you get the drift. Yet vegansare seen as not having variety! Major LOL! Theconfused face of the waitress when I ask if theyhave anything suitable. If I am lucky then I may geta mixed salad, a bowl of chips or some pasta intomato sauce. Pasta Neapolitana or whatever otherfancy name – pasta in tomato sauce.

Others around the table observe this with wrycomments and inner thoughts of “Why would shewant to choose not to eat meat or dairy look at allthe things she’s missing!” Thus perpetuating themyth of the unhealthy, undernourished, odd, sado-masochistic person who has chosen to no longer eatcheesy chips and Dairy Milk. Yet that is not seeingthe whole picture is it? If only these people couldsee me at home!

Another way of carrying on the stereotypes ofwhy it’s bad to be vegan is the typical tale of areformed vegan. Yes… just as irritating as reformed

smokers. The classic story will be “I went veganonce but I got really ill and had to go back to eatingmeat. In fact my doctor told me to eat some steak toget my iron up and some cheese as my calciumlevels were so low.” It makes veganism sound likea risky lifestyle choice one best abandoned at thefirst sign of ill health. Well pardon me but what theblazes were these people existing on? Tomatoketchup sandwiches?!

I am happy to say that since going vegan myhealth has improved! I feel healthy, my hair is longmy nails grow so long I have to file them down. Myskin I am told is good and I feel good inside andout. Hardly the picture of a malnourished impliving on spaghetti hoops that y’all carnivoreswould love to see is it?

I am tired of justifying my lifestyle to anyone.It isn’t even what I call a lifestyle it’s just WHATI DO! I don’t think about not eating meat or dairyanymore than I think about brushing my teeth itjust happens. It really isn’t anyone’s businesswhat I put in my mouth. It has nothing to do withanyone what I eat or why?! So the next timesomeone looks at me in dopey bewilderment,carcass meat dangling from their confused ill-informed lips and barks silly questions at me, Iwill mimic them and do the same! “What haveyou got there?!!!!” “What are you eating?”“Eurgh what’s that?!” It’s food – that’s what it is!Healthy, vegan, scream-free food!

The semi-vegan 11

1. Melt some cocoa butter… 2. Prepare some cacao butter.

4. Get some natural honey, still in it’s comb.

� 3. Cut the cacao butter so it melts easier.� 5. Cut the honey so it melts easier with thecocoa and cacao butter.

How I made my first raw chocolate with lucuma, cocoa butter, coffee beans, hemp and pollen granules.Text and photos: Ishai Silencio

Home made raw choco snacks

� 7. Add some natural vanilla by preference.� 10. Shelled hemp seeds.

� 8. Add some cocoa flower nectar powder. Asmuch as you want the chocolate sweet.� 9. This is too much hemp seeds. The liquidchocolate did not fix it all. Next time I wil useless.

6. Mix the honey and bees wax in the partlymelted cocoa and cacao butter.

� 12. Prepare the molds.

� 15. Lots of lucuma powder.

� 13. You actually get 500g organically grownwhole coffee beans in some stores.� 14. Coffee beans and flower pollen granules.Here I put too much pollen granules. Thechocolate did not stick to all of it.

11. Put three coffee beans in each. In addition tothe coffee beans, I want to use organic instantcoffee powder in the chocolate next time.

16. Even more cacao powder, the raw one.

� 19. Not surprising, it tastes wonderful!!! :-)� 20. The author.

� 17. I used a small spoon and a kind of butterknife to enter the thick masses into the mold.� 18. If you are a beginner like me, you willmost likely have ,“beginner’s luck” and make aperfect amount to fit the molds you haveprepared.

How lucky we are to have tumbled on beingvegan in this lifetime! What a blessing to avoidimbibing & swallowing all that pain & sadness! –although there is still my consumption ofproducts organic but tahini, millet from China,rice from Basmati…

Text: Sarah 2

Ihave long been trying to avoid food miles &grow some of my own food, & to plant fruittrees for the future. I’ve also planted, & they’ve

grown quite big now over several years, hedgeswith a variety of fruit & flowers for insects & birds& shelter for the wild animals & reptiles, which areall part of the multicultural way nature functions –multifaceted complex ways of wonder – which wehave only started to see, blinded by our arrogance& fears.

Last week I went to Foix to the yearly‘Résistances’ film festival & gliding around seeingfamiliar stalls & noticing what was absent also &how publicity was a little more shiny & lessinteresting, I landed on the esperanto stall, & a littlecorner was given over to vegan animal rights tracts!And someone started to explain to me about noteating fish… a nice surprise as recently I’ve notmet any new vegans! Our conversation meanderedaround languages & esperanto & then he askedabout my interests. I found it hard to give my wholelife story (I’m 66) in 5 mins, & I felt he wasdisappointed in me for not supporting any ‘causes’;& since I was low in energy – very tired from eatingtoo late the evening before & overexertion fromyoga & gardenwork & not sleeping at night becauseof heavy thundery atmosphere – I was incapable ofanything sensible & just rabbiting on to keepawake!!! I felt he was quite annoyed with me whichI found upsetting, although I’m used to peoplefinding me uncomfortable in some way or another.

Now I feel grateful to that man for making mefeel uncomfortable & pushing me to confront mydoubts about what I’m doing now & giving me theopportunity to clarify what I am really trying to dowith my life.

What I am doing is loving my house which is old,

tall & small, & sandwiched between my two –neighbours’ houses in a little village. I’ve beenconstantly having walls down, chimneys off, solarwaterheating panels fixed on roof, lime rendering,lime wash, a new wood floor etc, etc. What my‘cause’ is, is probably ‘planting fruit trees for thefuture’ – i think of it as my work – & growing food.All this with a minimum of machines & maximumof observing how nature works – & trying to fit inwithout too much ugliness. Vegan-organic ofcourse, with mulching & no-dig methods. My fieldis 3 acres & 3km from my house so I usually driveover – often needing to take the pump & otherthings.

Somehow I’ve ended up living my life fairly inpublic – as my neighbours’ windows all overlookmy garden at the back of the house. It is very shadyas north-facing & surrounded by tall terraced

16 The semi-vegan

Our vegan

neighbours houses & a high wall with bamboo allalong. Right ouside the back door is a very tallhazel tree, & for a month or so, when they areready, the nuts fall & it’s a favorite 2 or 3 times-a-day occupation for me picking them up! There arealso little pear trees & a fig tree which producesome delicious fruit. Next door there is a 400 yearold yew tree which sheds leaves & berries everynow & then and provides a wonderful sanctuary forbirds… All this in spite of being the 6.th year ofadvancing drought (very low rainfall) and drasticclimate changes with odd plant growth…

The field is also public, at one end bordered bythe small road which is the main thoroughfare.People sometimes mention seeing me out therewhen they pass, or seeing a women working outthere, not realising it was me. The road runsalongside the field for 50m and just above it, and I

can hear people chatting as they cycle past &passing cars beep from time to time, yet they’re alla long way away. The field runs 300m back downto the river where there are sometimes fishers ordog walkers… There are 2 sizeable wild patchesseparating three parts that are cut 2 or 3 times a yearby me with my scissor scythe machines that I pusharound that require several visits to the machineworkshop in Pamiers 25 km away for fixing andparts. At each side there are poisonous agriculturefields of maize or sunflowers.

There are apple, cherry, peach, apricot, quince,pear, plum, persimmon, walnut, hazelnut & figtrees & some strawberries, raspberries,gooseberrries, black & red currants many of whichare suffering over the encroaching drought & othereffects of our massive misuse or misunderstandingof nature & my own particular shortcomings ormistakes!! The trees are interspersed with lots oflavender, sage & tansy clumps & patches of flowers& green manures: phacelia, buckwheat, sainfoin,mustard, lucerne, clover, vetch…

So, being vegan for me involves trying to growfruit & grains & veg locally & avoiding food miles;not eating sugar & feeling so lucky not to eat meat,fish, honey, or dairy products. I feel good especiallywhen I don’t eat too much (too rarely) & do a bit ofwork in the field (quite often). I enjoy not wearingwool, leather or silk. I do not want to “own” anypets now (though I did have 2 cats for 16 yearsearlier in my life who were very close to me!! AndI have very good friends who have animals!!) Iprefer for animals to be free… From my childhoodI hated & feared bird cages or rabbit hutches, micecages, chicken runs all that wire netting.

I think probably what I do in my life is pleasemyself – sometimes quite a hard task – but that isno doubt the best I can do… sometimes this feelslonely or difficult, but I find it’s full of unexpectedhelp from nature spirits and flower faires & angels.

And it’s not just eating of course which is at issue:• In the field – people not familiar with no dig.• No manure, no smoking.• No fences, but using prickly branches from thehedge around the trees & vegetable beds, to try to

The semi-vegan 17

n paradise

protect them from deer, wild boar, rabbits, dogs,humans or other animals.• Always consulting the biodymamic lunar calendar(Thun) and the other lunar calendar for sewing,planting & all activities. Keeping the rainwaterwhich runs off the shed clean by siphoning thewater out of the 2 butts regularly, & cleaning with alittle ‘purifitout’ essential-oil cleaning liquid, & bynot washing hands directly in the butts…

AND

Trying to have faith & deal with my fears & lettingsome trees die (nature’s ways are multifarious)doing things with love (for oneself first), & at atime which happens well – gardens are magicplaces which are always packed with lovelysurprises – they are always there for us – the‘weeds’ too! Such variety of textures & forms &ways of growing from roots up & along & through& round thrusting & spinning, sprouting &shooting, flowering, seeding & disappearing again.

I tread carefully with people in this meat-eatingnon-ecological world… now for instance there areapples falling before they’re ripe, windfalls &unripe apples half eaten by birds etc, which a friendwelcomes to feed her rabbits but which I avoidgiving to her as I find keeping animals in cagesvery offensive so abhorrent that I cannot say this(waiting for the person herself to make theconnection) how can people love animals & cagethem, kill them & eat them?

A very wonderful book was published in Franceat the end of 2009: “Bidoche – l’Industrie de laViande Menace le Monde” by Fabrice Nicolino.This might translate as “Meat (in the vernacular) –

the Meat Industry Threatens the Earth”. For me averitable miracle! Written by a not quite vegan &yet more vegan than almost all the vegans that Iknow, it’s a very daring exposé of shocking truths.This was soundly backed up by Fabrice’sparticipating in radio discussions, & appearanceson TV, & twittering & articles in magazines. – Allthis made me feel more comfortable in myself,putting back these meat & milk habitués into theirrightful place, & showing all the evils of theworldwide agriculture industry & the ill health &insanity & the mega proportions of the nightmareon this small planet. It is extraordinarily wellwritten & easy to read & is a sign of changing timeswhere vegans are taken more seriously & manypeople are changing attitudes to food & agriculture,while the powers-that-be are mega-invasive of ourlives & thinking.

So there are big changes in awareness & so nowif we can command more respect for vegan-ness &real ecology how do I set about finding more waysof deserving it, & changing myself…

I am quite often concerned about the difficultiesof communication & the lack of company in mydeliciously vegan life. However on a good day,when I feel so grateful for all the friends &neighbours I have here, I am less bothered by thesedifferences in lifestyle. As I get older I find it easierto be grumpy about the world & feed in some infoto non-vegan friends. I think quite often one maysay things strongly or gently or comically ordramatically, or any way you like, & people willthink about it, but we will not necessarily everknow. Daring to just BE whoever we are, & veganorganic is a big part of this every day, doescommunicate in the best way leaving people to findthere own ways to this lightness.

It’s hard work living & visiting withnonvegans! It’s hard work life in general! – Aswe are all very different (& interesting). Themore we can love ourselves (not always easy),the better we can appreciate others. I think it’s ofprime importance to please oneself under allcircumstances. Often one cannot predict anyconsequences – just go with each moment –make all our mistakes – do whatever we feel wecan & appreciate our own nature & itspeculiarities. It’s also hard work with othervegans! – Although they have more chance ofrealising what we’re on about of course!!!

18 The semi-vegan

Vegan ViewsReprinted

Typed and edited by: Knut Caspari and Polly Buttons

Vegan Views started life in1975. On the following pages you

will find articles reprinted from thefirst and second issue. In the next issueyou will find another batch of articles.

Some may feel that reprinting out-of-datearticles is a waste of paper, but I happen to

think they still have value. If you agree, you arewelcome to help by typing. Just let me know.

Knut Caspari

Veganism is essentially a reaction to certainnegative aspects of society, and there would beno more need for a Vegan Society in a veganworld than there is need for a Society of Non-Cannibals at present. But veganism doesn’tprovide the complete answer to all that isnegative in ourselves and society and is but onecomponent of the complete reaction that isneeded. It must be remembered that I amconsidering only the negative aspects of us andsociety and I am not denying the goodness andbeauty that exists in the world and which shouldbe affirmed.

Text: James OkellReprinted from issue 1 of Vegan Views, 1975.

The Vegan Society performs invaluablefunctions, especially in dissimulatinginformation, and I would not wish to belittle

the efforts of those individuals who give such greatservice: it is having the ‘proper’ attitude toveganism that I consider so important and howmuch time and effort one gives to the Society is apersonal decision dependent on valid but differingindividual characteristics.

To work wholeheartedly for veganism, or anyother worthwhile cause, is one thing, to crusadeveganism as if veganism were the answer to all ofthe world’s problems and as if vegans areparticularly enlightened generally, compared withthe rest of the human race is something else. Bysome quirk of fate, vegans have recognised thevalidity of the vegan ethic, but how many othergreat ‘Truths’ have many of us not recognised?Many non-vegans have literally and selflesslygiven their lives for their fellow humans. Most ofus, as vegans, are living materially comfortablelives on a planet where half the human populationstarve and millions suffer unspeakable agonies atthe hand of other people. How much do we care?What would we be prepared to die for?

The distant suffering in other parts of the world(and even here in Britain) may seem beyond ourresponsibility, yet I believe that imbedded in thestructures of our British society, and, ultimately,embedded in our individual personalities, are those

factors which cause the horrors of the world. In somuch as we support and perpetuate our society as itis (through our work, relationships, possessionsetc.) and in so much as our society helps as a nationto perpetuate, on an international scale, the presentstate of the world, we are responsible for thehorrors of this world. To be normal citizens, (exceptfor being vegans!) to respect the laws andinstitutions of this immoral society for the sake ofour mental and physical security and comfort – is tobe accomplices in the perpetration of the horrors ofthe world.

Our first responsibility is not to animals, not evento fellow humans, but to ourselves. The revolutionin attitudes that the world needs must begin with us.As R.D. Laing wrote: “We are bemused and crazedcreatures, strangers to our true selves, to oneanother, and to the spiritual and material world –mad, even from an ideal standpoint we can glimpsebut not adopt”. We should seek first to understandand discover ourselves and to do this we mustrealise that we are conditioned creatures,conditioned by the customs, traditions, habits,roles, rules, taboos, etc, of this society, and we mustnegate these things when they are not in accordwith what we know, feel, and can ascertain forourselves. Ultimately we can only ‘know’ anythingfor ourselves and not by following blindly thedictates of others.

“To be nobody-but-myself – in a world which isdoing its best, night and day, to make youeverybody else – means to fight the hardest battlewhich any human being can fight, and never stopfighting” says E. E. Cummings. Only byunderstanding ourselves and being ourselves canwe love ourselves; and, as is well known, if wedon’t love ourselves we can’t love others. I wouldsuggest that vegans try not to label and identifythemselves specifically as ‘vegans’. To seeourselves as peculiarly different from the rest of thehuman race, purely because of our diet etc isdifferent (important as this is), and to empathisethis difference by the conspicuous use of anappropriate label can only be a divisive strategy, asare the use of so many other labels by which peoplesee the status, class and economic-value rankings

Veganism – a personal view

20 Vegan Views reprinted

of themselves and others in this divisive society.First and foremost, we are humans – not vegans. Iwould further suggest that as individuals we aremost likely to influence other people, with respectto veganism, not by self-righteously trying to ram itdown their throats, but by gaining their affectionand respect for our whole selves as people. If we’renot likable people we can hardly expect non-vegansto take our vegan attitudes seriously. We can onlybe likable people through understanding ourselvesand opening ourselves and our weaknesses up toothers. The more open vegan meetings are tooutsiders, and the more that outsiders get to know

vegans as a group, then (if vegans are generallyworth knowing!) the more likely that outsiders willtake veganism seriously.

But I would finally suggest, on the same noteas I began, that ‘veganism’ is not a suitablebanner under which to attack the whole world‘problem’. Perhaps individuals, who mighthappen to be vegan but are also committed totheir own necessary revolution and in theirrelationships to others will group together toform an alternative society (or community)which attempts to discover a better way of livingwhich encompasses veganism but much, muchmore.

Vegan Views reprinted 21

Veganism directs one’s attention towards basicfoods as opposed to the incorrect feedingpatterns of modern society.

Text: Harry MatherReprinted from issue 1 of Vegan Views, 1975.

For this reason vegans are drawn away fromthe sophistication of urban living andtowards the country and agriculture. Many of

us feel we want to get away from the stress of therat race of conformity and to find out true selves ina struggle for self-sufficiency. But self-sufficiencyis unlikely to prove to be Eden. It is more likely, atleast temporarily, to be a cold, dark and hungryexistence, a hard school of experience and aboveall, lonely. Veganism should provide an answer tothe problems facing present day mankind withoutnecessarily going back to a grim struggle withnature.

On the other hand, we have the ridiculousworkings of the modern economy where apples aredear because they are transported from distantplaces, when in fact we could grow them for free inour gardens with less trouble than we lavish onhouse plants. Again many neglect the upkeep of thehouse they live in because it is not their property.The last few years have proved that modern societyis aimed in the wrong direction with wars, inflation,

violent strikes, petrol crisis’s, cars destroying ourcities and so on. The answer can only lie in a formof society where the individual will find happinessand pride in supplying most of their basic needs andin recognising their duties as well as their rights.

As I see it, each family should acquire thenecessary knowledge; devote enough labour andskill to provide at least a part of its basic needs forfood, housing, fuel and clothing. There should be abasis of self-sufficiency but not necessarily doing itall one’s self. We could live in small communitieswhere sick and aged would be taken care of by theirneighbours (not an impersonal state). Thecommunity would be aiming to live in accordanceto standards of ecology and beauty rather thanmeasuring all effort in terms of cash. Solar energy,wind and water power would be used to provideamenities. Simple scientific studies would surelyevolve a lifestyle suitable for contemporary humansrather than some heroic Robinson Crusoe.

This form of society would need trulydemocratic citizens, conducting their lives, notby the increasingly complex regulations of thepresent state, but genuinely observing thecentral law of respect for one’s neighbour andall creation and doing what they feel to be rightas against the selfish ideal of doing what onecan get away with. We need a change of heart inthe individual and also an environment whichwill foster this new attitude of mind.

A new form of society

We hear a lot, and see a lot of ‘organicallygrown’ food. This is obviously preferably tochemically grown and sprayed non-food.

Text: Ann ShepherdReprinted from issue 1 of Vegan Views, 1975.

But this term ‘organic’ includes the use ofblood, bone-meal and slaughterhouse offal.Is there any system by which veganically

grown food may be distinguished? If not wouldgrowers marketing their produce make this clear?

HerbsWhen I buy herbs I am usually offered herbs grownin other countries – and understandably costly.There is obviously an opening here for herbgrowers, wild herb gatherers. I’ve been told thatpeople in England can’t be bothered to gatherherbs. Yet there are herbs growing all other thecountryside. When I was a child during the war, Iwas taken out gathering hips and haws…

Food in seasonIf all food were bought and eaten only in season, wewould be healthier, more content, have more fun(it’s so nice looking forward to apples and pears inthe autumn instead of eating them almostmechanically all year around) and we’d bespending less money. Last week I was offered in awholefood shop, tomatoes, baby marrows andbroad beans from Cyprus! What is in season in theMediterranean is not in Britain.

Indiginous foodI feel strongly (and, incidentally, am supported bycertain macrobiotic teachers) that one should onlyeat food which is indigenous to one’s own place oforigin – other animal’s tend to suffer ill health andeven death if fed ‘foreign’ food (e.g. pandas).

Natural living patternsOther animals fit their living patterns to naturalcycles – diurnal creatures of which man is one, risewith the sun and retire with the sun. What makes usthink we can step out of line, and stay out, and get

away with it? The main objection to thisrevolutionary notion is that the winter day shouldbe so short – but then winter is the time for resting,renewal – in preparation for the long busy days ofsummer. Meanwhile, for the ills that afflict perversehomo-sapiens…

Hidden evilsAs a vegan, I avoid the use of articles, food,materials derived from slaughter or exploitation ofanimals – wool, leather, bone, ivory, skin, fur …fine. But two points worry me. First, so often I runup against ignorance, my own and others – I don’tknow what things are made of!

Secondly – the alternatives available in, forexample footwear seem to be largely plastics –which are not only unhealthy and uncomfortableand aesthetically unpleasing – but also polluting –and pollution entails the destruction of theenvironment – including plants, other animals (notto mention ourselves). And what about batteries,petrol, paraffin, candles, electricity…? Avoidingsuch materials – animal derived and polluting –entails the loss of many otherwise enjoyable objectsand activities for which it is important to findalternative materials and methods of production.

TreesThe use of wood, though aesthetically and ethicallypreferable to many other materials in many ways,entails the destruction of trees – which are moreuseful, for a start, if they are left in the ground. Soshould we not be exploring possibilities ofexpanding the use of stone and other minerals forbuilding or as in flints in place of matches? Whatelse?

Futher on “foreign plants”At one time, linen was used exclusively in thiscountry for making articles which are now made ofcotton – hence the term, still in used ‘bed-linen’.The term linen was used to refer to householddrapery, cloths, sheets and underclothes. Thereseems to be a need to renew the cultivation of flax.Is this possible, or has the climate changed or what?For more info, visitt: www.veganorganic.net

Organically grown


During the early history of man, the communalneed for protection gave rise to semi-urbanisedcommunities which later developed intolegislated social structures – cities as we knowthem today. What needs communal protectionnow is the environment and non-renewableresources.

Text: Lawrie CorbettReprinted from issue 2 of Vegan Views, 1975.

Ihave been attending an interesting courseentitled “Low-impact living”. The purpose ofthis course was to show how low-impact (i.e.

low energy consumption) living could beimplemented on a personal level and to provide alayman’s introduction to alternative technology.

The lectures commenced with an outline of theproblem and continued with talks on solar energy,alternative materials, organic gardening, windpower, cycling, and alternative medicine andmethane digesters.

As the course progressed, it reinforced myfeelings that only by the adoption of morecommunitarian feeling in our cities, of morecommunity-based alternative technology projects;of more self-reliance will we be able to freeourselves from the pressures and the oppression ofurbanisation and an unthinking, energy-dependantindustrial society.

For example, let us consider food production.The process of urbanisation has concentratedpeople around pockets of energy or raw materialsand away from the sources of food. The result isthat an urban community can only exist if it isfurnished with a distribution system backed up by astorage system supplied by a delivery service usingstandardised (hence factory-processed) products.The energy consumed in this chain of events is notlikely to be much reduced by the exhortations of theDepartment of Energy and energy-savingregulations.


Thoughts on low-impact living

Continued on next page

When we think “food”, most of us are concernedwith filling our stomachs because otherwise weget hungry, and that’s not too pleasant! Few ofus are really hedonistic to the point of choosingour meal contents for their particularly exotic orsubtle savoury taste – perhaps simply enoughbecause we usually do not have the economicmeans to supply us with the palatable things, orperhaps not the time to prepare them properly –yet most of us are food-conscious and have ourpreferences.

Text: Veran Van DamReprinted from issue 2 of Vegan Views, 1975.

The body, however, is less concerned withtaste-bud thrills as it is with the acquisitionof the energy it needs for survival, for deep

down inside our genetic make-up is a particularmessage which reads, “if me (the body) wishes tocontinue functioning as an active viable vehicle IMUST GET ENERGY”. This it does by convertingthe food it digests into adenosine triphosphate,which is the essential chemical-energy link beforethe food is properly broken down into its chemicalconstituents and the finer material which iseventually is integrated by the body cells, used orstored according to need.

Energy – we have isolated what truly matters.Energy as we all (should) know is universal sinceevery single atom in itself is nothing more than a

bundle of it. Nuclear fission attempts to release thatenergy from its atomic form. Atoms in combinationmake molecules. Molecules in combination makechemical compounds. Chemical compounds incombination make up cells… bodies (when DNA ispresent)! We, in so far as our bodies are concerned,are energy, so in effect we eat what we are.

When we eat an animal we eat the essence of thatanimal’s body. An animal is heavily motivated by

Energy foods


Food classified!Essentially one could classify foods asfollows, from fine to gross or heavy:

1 – Vital energy as “prana” which is to befound in the air, sunshine, clean fresh water

and in foods generally.

2 – Fruit and fruit juices.

3 – Grains, greek vegetables and branchnuts.

4 – Ground nuts and root vegetables.

5 – Milk and milk derivatives.

6 – Eggs.

7 – Meat.

The vegan way-of-life, with its emphasis onhome-grown produce, is clearly an important partof low-impact living. If the bonds betweenmembers of the vegan community existed in thecommunity at large, there would be little difficultyin persuading neighbours to cooperatively worktheir gardens. There would then be much lessdemand for processed foods, with thecorresponding reduction in energy consumption.There would also be sufficient output of qualityfoods to allow rejection of inferior material andthere would be no marketing organisation toconfuse the buyer: a situation which incidentally,

existed in the Middle ages.The adoption of community-based alternative

technology would share out the cost of any rawmaterials for solar heaters or wind-generators andprovide sufficient area for the production of foodand energy crops for human consumption andmethane digesters respectively.

It is hard to say how far this course haschanged the consciousness of the participants,but we hope to pursue some aspects of what wehave learnt through whole-food cookeryclasses, a whole-food co-op and workshops insolar energy and wind power.

its instincts, action-reaction, day-to-day struggle tokeep alive in the wild, and though much of thatinherent (DNA coded message) impulse is lessnoticeable in domesticated animals, it persists.Anyone who has been inside an active slaughter-house will properly have noticed that somehow theanimals to be killed are apprehensive. Somethingdeep down inside is bringing up the survivalmessage in reaction to its instinctively perceived“notice of death”. The animal’s bodies areconditioned with that apprehension and fear beforethey are killed.

We then eat their fear, as well as the animal’sflesh. It conditions us in turn. We tend to fear…things, people. We war because of our fears (not tomention our greed and fundamental stupidity). Weinherit karma from the animals we have slain andsuffer in return, perhaps by experiencing acontinual fear of death ourselves.

In effect we get what we deserve. In the East thewise men of past understood the above and othermatters related to animal-food consumption andremained sanely vegetarian or what we now callvegan. Plants do not react to their death in the same

way animals do. Their emotional equipment issensitive but not as survival-conscious as that ofanimals. The plant registers its dismissal as a briefelectrical shock. Some people talk to their plants todiminish this shock. This is very powerful whensincerely and lovingly used, therefore the notion oftalking or thinking to plants before killing them tosoften the blow is less farcical than it mayotherwise seem.

The food-value of plants is superior to that ofanimals from the point of view of flowing vitalityof a relatively refined nature. Animal food is moreconditioned by emotions etc as we have previouslyseen. A meat-eater tends to be violent andaggressive, have a higher blood pressure and ismore prone to heart attacks amongst a number ofother things. A plant-eater is more passive, serene,meditative, all of which help bring about a higherawareness of life and a finer response to externaland internal pressures and activity.

If we are to transcend our shameful war-ridden, pain-bearing past it might just pay off toconsider just what sort of quality of energy weput into our mouths next time we reach for food.


With many scientists, publications, churchand environmental groups at long lastputting forward the view that valuablefoodstuffs are being lost through the practiceof feeding grains to livestock andrecommending changes in the average dietto include more primary food, I feel that thetime is ripe for as many vegans as possible tomake their presence felt within their localcommunities to show that a society if alreadyin existence which can offer advice and proofthat a diet free from animal produce is quitefeasible.

Text: Keith BryanReprinted from issue 1 of Vegan Views, 1975.

Although I realise that many vegans are ofthe opinion that the best way ofspreading knowledge of their beliefs is

by allowing anyone with whom contact is madeto see that a normal life can be led with theminimum of fuss, I believe that it is our duty topresent the facts about veganism as wide a rangeof the public as possible to allow individuals tobe aware of alternatives to their normal way oflife. In doing so it is totally unnecessary to act ina forceful manner but it is better to confine anyefforts to a presentation of facts in anunemotional and non-righteous manner with theemphasis being on allowing the person inquestion to make up their own mind.

Possibilities for action could be anoccasional stall in a market with literatureand examples of food, a mini street survey toascertain people’s knowledge of veganism,leafleting, joining groups such as War onWant and Oxfam and quietly putting overyour views, and finally correspondence inlocal papers.

View to action

I have come to visualise a new mode of living,where the criterion is not “What can I get out oflife?” but “What can I put into life?” and wherethe individual, necessarily carrying the wholeworld – according to his experience andperception of it – in his own mind, isnevertheless aware that neither he in particularnor man in general is the centre if the universeor the end-all and be-all of creation.

Text: Ruth HowardReprinted from issue 2 of Vegan Views, 1975.

In this realisation the individual begins to liveobjectively in sympathy with the rest of theworld rather than in conflict with it. Thus he

becomes “of the world” by general relationship and“earthman” by specific relationship. He is “with it”in the highest possible sense, and, to coin a Greekword, a “Cosmopolite”. An intending communityof Cosmopolites might like to consider thefollowing draft aims:

HarmlessnessTo work out the principle of “Ahimsa” so far aspracticable, recognising that while vegetable lifewith few exceptions is supported by lifeless matter,animal life is supported by other forms of life.

Personal growthTo enable the individual to develop full through theseven social (psychic) spheres (self, family,neighbourhood, country, earth, universe, infinity)by providing means for self-realisation andexpression in service of humanity, with respect forthe rest of the world.

VocationTo afford ideals and projects to which realisationthe individual can dedicate himself without losinghis identity in an enormous society nor his materialwealth in taxes devoted to wasteful/destructivepolicies.

Horticulture and craftsTo demonstrate the viability of a largely self-

supporting community producing food andcommodities in accordance with veganicprinciples.

Rescue and rehabilitationTo receive and absorb much needy persons oranimals that may seek sanctuary in the communitye.g. orphans, wounded wildlife.

Natural healthTo improve health and happiness by demonstratingand teaching the adoption of a natural “ahimsa” dietand treatment on drugless lines.

Mental healthTo create an environment minimising emotionaltension and mental strain, with non-mechanicalpsychiatry.

EducationTo educate community children according toindividual capabilities and provide educationopportunities for all.

InternationalismTo demonstrate the unity of the human race byabsorbing people of all races and nationalities.

Conservation and bio-ecologyTo enrich the earth by practising and fostering soilfertility, afforestation, water conservation, florafauna preservation, anti-pollution etc.

ResearchTo undertake any practicable research inconnection with problems met within thecommunity, e.g. acclimatising exotic food plants,diet trials, educational trials.

MissionsTo sponsor cosmopolite groups forming nuclei forsimilar communities abroad, particularly to tackleland impoverishment, deficiency disease, povertyetc.

Draft aims of a community


CommunicationTo promote outside contact rather than isolation inan idyllic setting, so that the ahimsa way of life andits benefits may be known, by visits, newsletters,leaflets etc.

RepresentationTo support or affiliate to such bodies as promoteideals of the cosmopolite community, e.g. VeganSociety, and to send delegates to such bodies.

Deployment of labourTo apportion community labour and duties tomembers according to individual abilities e.g.gardening, carpentry, diet, healthy, advice,secretary-ship, dressmaking, decorating, and todivide menial tasks among members.

UnanimityTo study and debate all matters of the functioningof the community, voting only when urgentdecisions are needed.

Economic solvencyTo pay all outgoings e.g. mortgage repayment,seeds, services, from the wealth of the community.

Extension workTo sell goods/services as far as basicallycompatible with its principles of ahimsa living andto use any monies in hand after payment of allexpenses and debts for any special needs ofmembers or extension work as may be approved.

Free thinkingTo foster individual independence from externalpolitical religious ties and pressures.

Self-disciplineTo encourage altruistic actions by members ratherthan to impose discipline, to achieve harmoniousrelationships in accordance with the teaching, “lovefulfilleth the law”.


Having been born and bred within the confinesof a large city it was with some trepidation that Ileft the security of the tarmac road and steppedreverently onto the moorland but with everystep that I took from that moment on I becamemore and more liberated as the wind took meinto its arms and hurried me along.

Text: Keith BryanReprinted from issue 2 of Vegan Views, 1975.

The very ground upon which I tread seemedto impart a feeling of friendliness and wherea few minutes earlier I had had feelings of

fear of the harsh landscape it now seemed as if I hadnever known anything else.

As I progressed, my thoughts turned to thoseupon whom the opportunity to experience suchnatural beauty had never fallen and a wave ofdespair washed over me. Was the answer for me todesert such people and turn back to the land where

I could be at one with Nature or to bear the trialsand tribulations of a forced existence in a built-uparea in an attempt to explain to the inhabitants thattheirs needn’t be the only lifestyle? Was myconsideration of the idea merely because I felt theneed to escape from the uniformity of life and if sowas this sufficient reason. Should I not be workingto bring about changes within cities by encouragingrecycling activities, more growth of food etc. If Ileft my present circumstances behind would I cutmyself off completely and forget that the outsideworld existed and if so would this be a selfishaction, or would the very act of showing who evercared to look at alternative ways of living existedbe a different excuse for a free conscience. ShouldI at intervals return to the big wide world outsideand inform people of my activities.

Feeling now in a very confused state I threwmyself into my surroundings and allowed thewind to cleanse my mind for a few delightfulmoments.

Random thoughts

«Bygg ditt egetjordhus!» avMichael G. Smithhandler om byggingav jordhus. Bokenveileder nybyggerengjennom alle stadi-ene i å bygge etnaturlig hjem.

Boken er på 146sider og koster 198 krinkl. porto. ISBN-nr:978-82-92316-245.

«Det enkle oggode liv» av Helenog Scott Nearingbeskriver utfluktenfra storbyen for åfinne det gode liv.At valget ble et ødeog forfallentsmåbruk, kan virkesnodig. Menforfatterne ønsket ånøye seg medmindre og laøvrigheten fare sinegen vei.

Boken er på 164 sider og koster 200 kr inkl.porto. ISBN-nr. er: 978-82-92316-238.

«Kunsten å gå på do…» av Joe Jenkins er enhåndbok i kompostering av menneskegjødsel.

Boken er på 112 sider og koster 225 kr inkl.porto. ISBN-nr. er: 978-82-92316-221.

«Bygg din egenjordovn!» av KikoDenzer beskriverhvordan du kanbygge en bakerovnav leirejord.

Boken er på 128sider i A5-formatog koster 200 krinkludert porto.ISBN-nummereter: 82-92316-01-9.

«Bygg ditt egetkubbehus!» av TonyWrench handler om byggingav kubbehus.

Boken er på 112 sider i A5-format og koster 148 kr inkl.porto. ISBN-nummeret er:82-92316-02-8.

«Bygg din egen husvogn»av Walter Lloyd handler om bygging av husvogner.

Heftet er på 36 sider i A4-format og koster 68 krinkl. porto. ISBN-nummer er: 82-92316-05-1.

«Melk og honning» av John Seymour handler omerfaringene fra Seymours første småbruk.

Boken er på 160 sider i A5-format og koster 150kr inkl. porto. ISBN-nummeret er: 82-92316-00-0.

«…mitt hjem av jordog hamp» av TeresaBerubé handler ombygging av jordhus.

Heftet er på 36 sider iA5-format og koster 48kr inkl. porto. ISBN-nummer er: 82-92316-08-6.

«Gutten på bomulls-farmen» av MerrittMauzey er en barnebokom bomullsdyrking på1900-tallet.

Boken er på 96 sider iA5-format og koster160 kr inkludert porto.ISBN-nummeret er: 82-92316-02-7.

«Bygg med ved!» avRob Roy inneholder 60bilder om kubbehuset hanbor i.

Heftet er på 40 sider iA5-format og koster 25 krinkl. porto. ISBN-nr: 82-92316-03-5.

BYGG DIN EGENJORDOVN!

Kiko Denzer

Det enkle og gode liv

Helen og Scott Nearing

Bygg ditt eget jordhus!

Michael G. Smith

Bygg ditt eget

kubbehus!

Slik bygget jeg et

av jord og hamp!

organisk hus

GUTTEN PÅBOMULLSFARMEN

Merritt Mauzey

Bygg med ved!

Norwegian books for sale

Under følger Stiftelsen Markens Grødes bokliste. Alle prisene inkluderer porto! Ønsker du noe såvennligst sett kryss ved det du ønsker.

� Abonnement på “The semi-vegan!” 2 nummer for 75 kr. (Nummer 2-3)

Bøker og hefter: (Alle prisene inkluderer porto!)� «Bygg ditt eget jordhus!» av Michael G. Smith for 198 kr. � «Det enkle og gode liv» av Helen og Scott Nearing for 200 kr. � «Bygg din egen jordovn!» av Kiko Denzer for 200 kr. � «Kunsten å gå på do…» av Joseph Jenkins for 225 kr. � «Slik bygget jeg mitt hjem av jord og hamp!» av Teresa Berubé for 48 kr. � «Bygg ditt eget kubbehus!» av Tony Wrench for 148 kr. � «Bygg med ved!» av Rob Roy for 25 kr. � «Melk og honning» av John Seymour for 150 kr. � «Gutten på bomullsgården» av Merritt Mauzey for 160 kr. � «Bygg din egen husvogn!» av Walter Lloyd for 68 kr. � «Vegan Views/Self-sufficiency» bok på 224 sider: 100 kr.

Mitt navn:

Min adresse:

Mitt postnr./poststed:

Fast telefon: (Dag/kveld)Send kupongen til: Caspari, Sognsveien 4, 0451 Oslo. E-post: [email protected]

Bestillingskupong!

Overfør rett beløp tilbankkonto:

0530 30 49616(Konto-eier: Stiftelsen

Markens Grøde)

Send kupongen til:Stiftelsen Markens Grøde,

c/o Caspari,Sogns veien 4,

0451 Oslo.

E-post:[email protected]

Vegan ViewsFood � Health � Low impact living � Self-Sufficiency

På motsatt side finner du boklisten til Stiftelsen Markens Grøde.Hvis noen av bøkene faller i smak, gjør du lurt i å kjøpe de. Vil duta bøkene i nærmere øyesyn, kan du oppsøke gardsbutikken tilSogn Jord- og Hagebruksskule, da de har alle bøkene på lager.

Abonner på Non-Vegan!The semi-vegan er et engelsk språkelig tidsskrift. (Som du holderi hånda!) Er en blanding av Sjølberger´n og Vegan Views. Støttprosjektet ved å abonnere for kun 75 kr for 2 nummer.

«Vegan Views» er en todelt bok på224 sider. Første del er vegansk, menssiste del omhandler sjølberging.Boken koster: 100 kr inkl. porto!

Slik kan bøkene kjøpes:

If you liked this magazine, you might wish to receivethe next issue. While you are welcome to subscribe forfree, please bear in mind that a few paying supportersare needed to cover the print and postage costs.

Text: Knut Caspari

As a rough estimate, every paying supporter funds3 free subscriptions. To make it easy, you choosebetween recieving one copy or a bundle. (The

price is the same.) This may be confusing, but while somesubscribers might wish to hand out spare copies to friends,others would prefer to fund free subscriptions.

You can also support this magazine by buying the VeganViews book. It only costs £4 including postage for 224pages! Normal price is £7.

Please make cheques/postal orders out to “Knut Caspari”.All prices include postage within UK and Europe.

Subscribe!If you wish to pay for your subscription, please tick if you would like one copy of each issue or abundle. (If you do not tick, then you will get one copy of each issue.)If you tick for a free subscription, please bear in mind that they are funded with income from payingsubscribers. So if nobody pays, there will be no funds for the free subscriptions! � Supporter: £7.50 or more. (You will receive a bundle of issue 2 and 3.)� Supporter: £7.50 or more. (You will receive a one copy of issue 2 and 3.)� Free subscription. You will receive issue 2 and 3 free of charge. (UK only!)

Magazines and books:� Vegan Views number 117: £2.00.� One copy of the Vegan Views book at: £4.00. (See cover over.)

�………… copies of Vegan Views book at: £3.00 each.� Sunshine and shadow by Wilfred Crone at £5.00.

Name:

Address:

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Landline phone no:Post: VV, Longridge, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TP. E-mail: [email protected]

Order formIf you do not wish to cut out the form, please tear along the dotted line.

Vegan ViewsFood � Health � Low impact living � Self-SufficiencyBe a supporter!

Vegan Views book. £4 incl. postage.

Most of us, from an early age, are taught what is“right” and what is “wrong” by our parents, bysociety and, to a certain extent, by ourconsciences.

Text: Malcolm HorneReprinted from issue 2 of Vegan Views, 1975.

And, for most of us, our moral standards areneither particularly high nor low – they aresimply those ingrained into us by our

immediate culture. To the extent that it is possibleto escape from this cultural backdrop some peoplego beyond the standards imposed on them by lawand society and set themselves strict moral codeswhich few others either ask or expect them to liveup to. Vegetarianism is a very obvious example,pacifism is another.

But what constitutes a “moral” person? If thisquestion is thoroughly examined, I think it can beseen that morality is very much a relative conceptand that no absolute ethical standards do in factexist. The orthodox religionist might well takeobjection to this statement and indeed quite a fewother people might as well!

However, average standards of morality varygreatly in relationship to place and time, and, ingeneral, these standards depend on the degree ofcivilisation a particular society has evolved to. Thepractices of one section of people at one particulartime, e.g. cannibalism or slavery may seembarbaric to us, but, just because we have evolvedbeyond this, are we justified in calling thesepractices “evil” when, perhaps the participators inthe “evil” simply knew no better? We may certainlysay that it is better to live peacefully and humanely,with due regard to fellow humans and all livingcreatures, but this may be as far as we can take it.The responsibility for moral evolution lies not somuch with society but mainly with the individual.To quote Gurdjieff “Conversations about moralityare simply empty talk. Your aim is inner morality.”

It should be clear that the lack of any absolutemorality is not a licence for us to behave in anymanner we please. On the contrary, within theframework and conventional limits of a human

community there are clear distinctions betweengood and evil. But “these disappear when humanaffairs are seen as part and parcel of the wholerealm of nature”. A good analogy to this principleis “within this room there is a clear differencebetween up and down; out interstellar space thereis not”.

Clearly this question of morality cannot be setaside from religion. Christians have for long beentroubled at the amount of apparent evil God“allows”. They generally answer this, somewhatunconvincingly, by stating that God has given manfree-will and that it is man, not God, which hassinned. I don’t find this view at all tenable and itmakes more sense to accept that “God’s universecontains the built-in realities of physical and moralevil”. The writer of this, Dom Aelred Graham, is aBenedictine monk and I think one can also findsense in his statement that “good is good and badis bad, but both – and as is usually the case, a moreor less subtle combination of each – have theirplace, like the entire range of colours in the visiblespectrum of God’s scheme of things”. Is thisenlightened Christianity?!

Like most religions, Christianity undoubtedlycontains truth at its heart but, in order to get to thatheart, one has to survive the onslaught of “thoushalt”and “thou shalt not”! Of course, one may takethe view that the universe is pure chaos. A comingtogether of random elements but that doesn’t diveany grounds for an absolute morality either! If thereis a meaning to our existence is it not reasonable tosuggest that the evil and the suffering that each ofus has to experience is in some way necessary toour development and growth of understanding?Eventually we may perceive the truth which,proverbially, lies “beyond good and evil”.

Veganism is clearly a more humane way of lifethan flesh-eating but can we say that people are“wrong” to exploit animals and that suchbehaviour is “evil” when the participants inthese practices, perhaps do not know anybetter? Even amongst vegetarians there isprobably still much violence of mind and actionand our behaviour, in turn, may appear barbaricto more evolved societies.


What is morality?

The “London Animal Charities Fair” has beenrunning for 38 years. It was previously beenheld at Kensington Town Hall.

Text and photos: Liz Mackenzie

Over the years it has helped many animalwelfare organisations raise much neededfunds, and has provided a good day of

shopping, socialising and information gathering.Approx 40 stalls representing lots of wonderfulorganisations helping animals in the UK andWorldwide.

Date: Sunday 6th November 2011. 10am – 4pm.The Camden Centre, London WC1H 9LZ.

Admission charge: £2 (Accompanied children: free)

Children’s activity area plus information treasure

hunt. (Goodie bags for all who complete!)

Our wonderful vegan cafe, this year run by “TheLoving Hut”, will serve hot and cold food, pluscakes, tea and coffee.

Talks and workshops from: • Sea Shepherd• Stop Puppy Farming End the Cruelty• Care for the Wild• Animal Defenders International(more to be confirmed)

Come along for a great day out!

No better way to buy gifts and support someamazing animal charities and organisations at thesame time.

Web site: www.animalcharitiesfair.org.uk

London animal charities fair

The Semi Vegan!

Documents

bygg med ved

stiftelsen

keith bryan

send kupongen

crushed animal

vegan views

vegan views

ground flax