THE VEGAN NEWS THE VEGAN NEWS
The Vegan News is written and edited by P M Lloyd. Please e-mail your contributions to the editor at: lloyd@bury-rd.demon.co.uk or fill in the form provided.
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Recipe of the Month(Source: Another one of Rose Elliot's recipes, as demonstrated at the Living Without Cruelty Exhibition earlier this year.)
June
Product Review Licorice Yogi Tea
![[Picture of Product]](yogi.jpg)
Produced
by Golden Temple, Licorice Yogi Tea is made from licorice,
ginger, chicory root, orange peel and various spices, such as
cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. This is a delicious, warming,
sweet tea, to which you are supposed to add soya milk, although I
prefer mine black. Nearly all of this tea's ingredients are
certified organic. The organic licorice is produced in Spain and
the cassia cinnamon is produced in the volcanic rainforest
mountains of Sumatra, Indonesia by small-scale farmers. By
purchasing this tea you can help to support organic agriculture
in Indonesia, help to save the rainforest and also provide
economic opportunities to small-scale farmers. Fifteen unbleached
teabags cost £1.85. Licorice Yogi Tea is
available from the Clearspring catalogue. To obtain a copy of
their catalogue Tel: 020 8746 0152, or e-mail:
mailorder@clearspring.co.uk).
Yannoh (Ground)
Yannoh is produced in France by Lima. It's a tasty coffee substitute made from organic rye, wheat, chicory and chickpeas. Easily prepared, Yannoh is a great caffeine-free alternative to coffee. Simply place a few spoonfuls in a filter and add some boiling water. (A filter isn't essential though. I make mine in a mug, then strain it through a tea strainer into another cup.) Yannoh is also available by mail order from the Clearspring catalogue. I paid £1.79 for 500g. Clearspring also offer an instant version which costs £2.99 for 125g, although I haven't tested this version personally.
Using Seaweed in The Veganic GardenContaining levels of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium similar to those present in farmyard manure, seaweed also supplies many other essential plant nutrients including trace elements, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, plant hormones and carbohydrates. Farmers and gardeners have long since appreciated its virtues, applying it directly to their land where it makes an excellent fertiliser and soil conditioner. Traditionally seaweed is dug into the soil in late autumn and winter. Here it decomposes slowly over the winter and is taken down by earthworms, conditioning the soil and providing a good supply of nutrients for Spring crops. However, you don't necessarily need to dig your seaweed in. Seaweed also makes an excellent mulch, if you prefer to use no-dig methods in your garden. And if placed in a layer about 4-6 inches deep, a mulch of seaweed helps to control weeds as well as supplying valuable nutrients to your plants.
So, if you live near to the sea, then by all means make use of this free resource. However, you should only collect seaweed that has been freshly washed up, such as after high tides or storms. Avoid old weed which has been lying around on the shore for a long time as it will be very high in salt. And NEVER under any circumstances remove live weed from rocks, or take it from the shore. Live weed is the home of many small sea creatures who feed on it, or use it to shelter from the force of the waves, or from the drying action of the sun and wind. If live seaweed is taken from the shore, then many of these small creatures will be removed too, or else die of exposure. Periwinkles and other molluscs, small crustaceans (e.g. amphipods and isopods), mites, hydroids, sponges, polyzoans, tube worms such as Spirorbis borealis and insect larvae, are just some of the creatures that live on seaweed. These creatures are found not just on the fronds of the weed, but are particularly abundant in the holdfasts that attach the seaweed to rocks. So if you do collect seaweed please be careful to follow these instructions and only collect washed up weed. And even then, it may be a good idea to quickly check it for small creatures before removing it from the shore!
Alternatively, if you wish to use seaweed in your garden but are unable to obtain a supply of your own, you may be interested to know that the Organic Gardening catalogue offers several useful animal-free seaweed products, all obtainable by mail order.
I find their seaweed meal to be particularly useful in the veganic garden. Rich in trace elements, it helps to build up the humus structure of the soil and it's also long-lasting and can thus be applied up to three months before planting. Try some. I am sure you will soon notice how wonderfully green all your plants look. Potatoes, peas and beans seem to benefit particularly and it is also supposed to be very good for lawns, although I've never used it in this way as my lawn seems to grow quickly enough without it! (A 2.5kg packet costs £5.65, but it's also available in larger amounts.)
SM3 seaweed extract is another very useful seaweed product, available from this catalogue. Again it is rich in trace elements and contains natural plant growth stimulants. In addition, trials have shown that when it is used on plants they become less susceptible to disease. However, you do need to be careful to dilute it properly, otherwise it can have a rather unfortunate effect on your plants! I usually just add a capful to my large watering can, rather than spraying it directly onto plants. I find that it's particularly good on tomatoes and brassicas seem to like it too. A small 125ml bottle lasts me all season and costs only £2.15, but again this product is also available in larger amounts.
Alternatively, if you suspect iron deficiency (pale leaves with brown edges on margins) which is something that often occurs on chalky soils, then you might find the Organic Gardening Catalogue's 'Seaweed Plus Iron' useful (£4.95 for 500ml).
Avoid purchasing calcified seaweed from this catalogue, or from elsewhere. Although calcified seaweed is an excellent fertiliser and soil conditioner, the Vegan Organic Network (VON) does not recommend its use because it is obtained from the temperate ocean equivalent of coral reefs and is being harvested in an unsustainable way.
Finally, if you consume seaweed products in your vegan diet, then you will probably sometimes have odd scraps of left-over seaweed. The ribs of wakame perhaps - or even the odd half packet of dried seaweed that migrated to the back of your food cupboard and went well past its sell by date! Don't waste any of it. If you can't eat it, then compost it. Dried seaweed makes a wonderful compost activator and incidently fresh seaweed can also be used in this way too. Fresh seaweed is sometimes stacked in a heap, but HDRA does not recommend doing this as the seaweed can turn slimy and smelly when treated in this way. So seaweed is best chopped up and mixed in with other ingredients in the compost heap.
Further Information:
Seaweed Products by Mail Order:
Seaweed Meal, SM3, Seaweed Plus Iron, Seaweed Root Dip are all available from: The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4RG. (Tel: 01932 253666.)
What's
Happening in the Veganic Garden This Month?Once all danger of frost has past, young tomato plants can be planted outside, sometime towards the end of May or beginning of June. Tomatoes like a sunny, sheltered position and should be planted about eighteen inches apart. Stake and water the plants soon after planting and after about 2-3 weeks, once the plants are well established, apply a mulch of compost and/or leaf-mould to the surface of your tomato bed. Incidently, if you have the room, then it's well worth sowing a row of the companion herb, basil, somewhere nearby.
Indoor-raised runner bean plants can also go outside now. Or you can still sow the bean seeds directly into the ground, if you forgot to plant them in trays earlier! Early June is a good time to sow pumpkin and sunflower seeds too. Sunflowers are very easy to grow and their seed heads make excellent bird food. You can even harvest the seed heads yourself in the autumn. Sow the individual seeds in trays of potting compost indoors and they will provide a good supply of sunflower greens throughout the winter months. (See Sprouting article for more information.)
Continue to make sowings of French beans, lettuce, beetroot, salad onions, swedes and carrots this month. And I always make another sowing of 'Little Marvel' peas in June, to give an autumn crop. Leeks can be planted outside up until mid-July. This month start to make sowings of Chinese kale and endives for autumn use.
Protect soft fruit from birds this month, strawberries and raspberries particularly need protection. Look in your local DIY shop for special bird netting, or use old net curtains. I even had some success with draping small onions net bags over clusters of fruit last year! You will also need to keep the weeds down in your beds by hoeing between crops regularly. Water flowering crops such as peas, early potatoes and beans well. Watch out for black fly on your broad beans. And if they do become infested, then use a soft soap solution or squash the flies between your fingers.
Make indoor sowings of 'Nine Star Perennial Broccoli' and winter cabbages such as 'January King' and 'Ormskirk'.
Asparagus, peas, broad beans, lettuce, spring onions, spinach, radish, broccoli, spring cabbage, potatoes, turnips, gooseberries, strawberries and rhubarb.
Vegan Organisation Review
Ethical Investors Group
The Ethical Investors Group was founded in 1989 by Lee Coates. Ethical Investors provides information and specialist financial advice for individuals and organisations, concerned about the social and environmental implications of their financial decisions. Their aim is to increase public and institutional awareness of the links between the financial sector and environmental and social issues. And by campaigning and discussion, to persuade institutions to apply strict cruelty-free criteria to their investments. Investment is thus encouraged in areas such as alternative energy, cruelty-free products, energy conservation, fair trade and recycling and discouraged in areas that involve oppressive regimes, alcohol and tobacco promotion, the arms trade or anything that causes environmental pollution or cruelty to animals.
At least 50% of Ethical Investor's net profits are donated to charities and other ethically responsible groups, nominated by investors and at no extra cost to the investors. In total, the Ethical Investors Group have distributed over £250,000 to charities and campaigning groups between 1989 and 1998. You can read about how some of this money has been spent by obtaining a copy of their newsletter - Investor News. But to give a few examples here: Recently money was made available to help provide food, medicine and clean water after the cyclone caused flooding in Orissa, India, last October. The charity, Joliba, also received £4,000, about two thousand of which was used to build wells in the Dogon community, West Africa, so that the villages of Binsoye and Ireli now have a source of clean water. A further £2,500 was donated to support a WaterAid project in eastern Nepal. Here the money is being used to fund education programmes to make local people more aware of the link between hygiene and disease and also to build latrines and a water supply, delivering water to nine freestanding taps.
If you have some money that you would like to invest, or are interested in finding out more about Cruelty Free financial planning and the work of the Ethical Investors Group, then you can either visit their website or write to them at:
PlantLife
In recent years the building of new roads and houses and intensive farming methods have destroyed many of the habitats where wild flowers would normally grow. As a result, many of Britain's wild plant species have been driven to the brink of extinction. By joining the organisation Plantlife you can help to save our wild flowers and their habitats. Members receive a copy of Plantlife (a colour magazine), a new member's pack and can also visit any of Plantlife's 22 nature reserves, whenever they wish. Plantlife has saved and protected dozens of species of wild flowers and other plants. In the last 12 months they have helped to increase the numbers of greater and lesser butterfly orchids at their Cae Blaen-dyffryn Reserve, helped ban the sale of wild bluebell bulbs and have campaigned with other organisations to secure a Countryside, Amenity and Conservation Bill for Britain. By joining, you can help them to do so much more! Subscription level is variable and can be anything ranging from £16 to £250. To join Plantlife, or to obtain more information write to: FREEPOST LON 10717, London, SW1W 9YY.
Other
Interesting WebsitesAn excellent site and a particularly good starting point for obtaining information for the new or intending vegan. You can now visit their online shop or become a member.
Affordable organic wholefoods. Whole Earth offers a range of vegan foods.
The British Anti Vivisection Association
BAVA seeks to expose the uselessness and counterproductiveness of animal experimentation with regard to human health. They campaign to educate the public on these matters through the distribution of leaflets, books and videos etc.
Sells vegan body, face and hair products. All products are BUAV and Vegan Society approved and come in recyclable, reusable or biodegradable containers.
At this site you can sign up for a free 7 part course, revealing the secrets of the living foods approach to wellness. You can also order a copy of the Raw Gourmet online and receive a free copy of The Little Book of Raw Soups. Oh and don't forget to check out the recipes and the links!
Operating a strict no GM policy, the Soap Tub produces a range of soaps, shampoos, creams and oils, almost all of which are vegan. And there's a 15% discount on all products if you're a member of the UK Vegan and Vegetarian Societies!
The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon
The Raw Gourmet can be obtained by mail order from The FRESH Network, PO Box 71, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4GU for £16.00 (plus £2.50 UK postage). Or from The Juicer Company, Suite 2011, Acorn Business Centre, 30 Lawrence Street, York, YO10 3BN for £15.90 (plus £1.59 postage). It can also be purchased at Nomi's website (see website section).
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June
Book Review