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: pauline@bury-rd.demon.co.uk or fill in the form provided.
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Recipe of the Month(Recipe source unknown)
Serve with crusty bread. Quick to cook and easy to prepare.
March
Product Review 
Spectrum Essentials Organic Flax Oil
Flax oil is an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid, as previously mentioned in the January 2000 issue. The flax seeds used to produce this organic oil are grown along the USA/Canada border where the soil is black and very fertile. Here the long summer days generate a high ratio of omega-3 fatty acids in the seeds. When I tested this oil I thought that it definitely had a superior flavour and it's also nice and thick. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it is sold in a plastic bottle - I'm a bit wary about storing things in plastic bottles, particularly fats!
Spectrum oils are produced using the Spectra-Vac process, a unique processing method which extracts the oil at cold pressing temperatures (under 120 degrees F) whilst eliminating light, heat, oxygen and soil-borne bacteria (mycobacteria). The manufacturers claim that this is 'the best tasting oil available' and to date I'm inclined to agree with them, as I certainly haven't come across a flax oil that tastes any better! Available by mail order from Clearspring, Spectrum Essentials Organic Flax Oil costs £6.49 for a 237ml bottle or £11.49 for 474ml. (If you would like a mail order catalogue telephone: 020 8746 0152 or e-mail: mailorder@clearspring.co.uk.) You can also find out more about Clearspring products by visiting the Clearspring website.
Holland & Barrett Flaxseed Oil
This flaxseed oil is also produced without the use of solvents, using a cold pressing method. It's runnier than the previously mentioned flax oil, isn't produced from organically grown flax seed and when taken neat doesn't in my opinion taste quite so nice. However, its fine in salad dressings etc and slightly cheaper at £9.99 for 473ml. It's packaged in a brown glass bottle. Look out for it in your local Holland & Barretts health food store.
Crohns Disease and Cow's MilkA recent article published in The Guardian on 23rd January 2000 suggested that it is pasteurised cow's milk, infected with bacteria, that is responsible for causing the inflammatory bowel disease known as Crohn's disease. It was originally thought that the bacterium, mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), was destroyed by pasteurisation, but according to Prof. John Hermon-Taylor of St George's Medical School, London, this is not the case. He claims to have 20 years of research to prove that Crohn's disease in humans is linked to Johne's disease in cattle and that it can be passed on in pasteurised milk. In the original article Prof Hermon-Taylor said 'The problems caused by MAP in the milk supply constitute a public health disaster of tragic proportions, for which a range of remedial measures are urgently needed and for which the government must take responsibility'. He then went on to say 'I am certain that MAP causes a substantial proportion of Crohn's disease'. However, other medical specialists are much more sceptical and assess the risk of infection from drinking a glass of pasteurised milk as one in 5m. In the meantime the National Dairy Council is voluntarily increasing the pasteurisation time as a precaution. But Prof Hermon-Taylor wants to see the sterilising time doubled from 15 to 30 seconds, the disease made notifiable and for testing for MAP in dairy herds and in the water supply. So far the government has rejected calls for a ban on the sale of raw cow's milk. Consult the original article for a more detailed account.
Fact: Crohn's disease afflicts 80,000 people in the UK, with an estimated 4,000-8,000 new cases each year. Although it is not fatal, this disease can have a devasting effect on people's lives (something which I have seen for myself, as I have a close relative with the disease). Crohn's disease has become five times more common in young people in the last 20 years.
What's
Happening in the Veganic Garden This Month?Brussels sprouts, leeks, forced rhubarb, spring cabbage, kale and purple sprouting broccoli.
In my recent article on Heritage Vegetables, I mentioned The Heritage Seed Library. The Heritage Seed Library is part of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA), Europe's largest organic gardening group, dedicated to researching, demonstrating and promoting environmentally friendly growing methods. I joined the HSL, just after New Year and have recently sent off for my six free packets of seeds. Each year, members receive a copy of the HSL catalogue, from which they can select their free packets of seeds. In the year 2000 catalogue there were 166 seed varieties to choose from, including a good selection of beetroot, beans, tomatoes, lettuces, peas and carrots. However, the selection of seeds offered in each catalogue, varies somewhat from one year to the next, due to a different proportion of the collection being grown out each year.
HSL Members are encouraged to save their own seeds and to swop any excess seeds with other members, via the 'Seed Swop' section in the catalogue. If you are thinking of joining, then it's important to note that seeds are only dispatched between January and early March each year. So if you don't manage to get your order in before the end of February, then you will not receive your seeds until early the following year.
In total the Heritage Seed Library currently contains over 750 vegetable varieties. The purpose of the Heritage Seed Library is to safeguard vegetable varieties and to encourage gardeners to grow old and rare varieties, alongside the new, thus maintaining genetic diversity. The collection contains many heirloom varieties and varieties that have been dropped from the National List which the Heritage Seed Library makes available to ordinary growers. But as well as supplying seeds, the HSL works closely with genebanks, offers advice and training on seed saving, conducts research and produces a quarterly newsletter called Seed News. It is also working hard to change current legislation.
If you would like to become a member, then annual membership costs £18.00 (£9.00 to HDRA members). For more information telephone: 024 7630 8232, or e-mail: enquiry@ hdra.org.uk. You can also find out more about The Heritage Seed Library by visiting HDRA's website.
Please Note: The Heritage Seed Library is not specifically a vegan organisation! I have included it here because I thought that it might be of interest to vegans.
Your Queries
I was wondering what you fellow vegans do about vegetables, such as mushrooms being purchased in grocery stores that may be grow in animal manure. Eating these products would not be following a vegan lifestyle. Your thoughts please.....
Sent in by: Christina, Vancouver, Canada.
Christina would like to hear what other readers have to say on this matter, so do e-mail in and let us know what you think. Indeed this is a potential problem with any organically grown vegetable, not just with mushrooms!
Editor' Reply:
As regards mushrooms though.... May I suggest Christina, that perhaps the most reliable way of ensuring that any mushrooms you eat are animal-free is to grow your own! You may not be aware that many types of mushrooms can be grown by gardeners without using animal manure? Ordinary field mushrooms can for example be grown in your lawn by lifting grass turfs (about ten inches square), loosening the soil underneath and scattering mushroom spawn over the soil. If the underlying soil is poor, add some chopped hay, straw, dry grass, or dried out garden compost before replacing the turf. Success using this method can be variable, however, as the tiny mushrooms are prone to devastation by garden slugs, especially when they first come through.
Mushrooms can also be grown on logs, in bags of sawdust (or straw), in mulches intercropped in beds with vegetables, or even on your compost heap. Any UK readers who would like to have a go at growing their own mushrooms may be interested to know that HDRA produces a useful leaflet entitled 'Exotic Garden Mushrooms' which details the mushroom species which can be grown in Britain and the various methods by which they can be grown. Basically though, to grow mushrooms on logs you will need some mushroom spawn and a supply of winter-felled logs of any of the following hardwood trees: oak, beech, birch, sycamore, alder. Species which can be grown on such logs include the oyster mushroom and shiitake and in addition the pine oyster mushroom can be grown on logs from spruce, pine or larch. Trees, used to provide logs for growing mushrooms, must be healthy at the time of felling and after felling the logs must be stored off the ground in order to prevent contamination by soil organisms. In addition, there are quite a few species of mushrooms which can be grown in plastic bags of straw (or sawdust) and shaggy cap and wood blewit can both be grown on your compost heap.
Unfortunately though, I do not have any information on mushroom spawn suppliers in Canada, Christina. But, UK readers may be interested to know that good quality mushroom spawn can be obtained by mail order from Future Foods. Future Foods stocks several species of oyster mushroom spawn, plus shiitake, shaggy cap and wood blewit and they also offer a very useful, free leaflet called 'Grow Your Own Fungi'.
Further Information and Useful Addresses:
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.
Vegan website design consultants. So, if you are looking for someone to design a vegan website for you, then why not check out this site?
Scottish vegan and vegetarian guesthouse, situated in the heart of Edinburgh and providing bed and breakfast accomodation. No smoking. No pets.
'The most radical and happening of all London vegetarian restaurants!' Buffet and large vegan, organic wine list.
Uncaged Campaigns is a Sheffield-based animal rights organisation. Check out their vegan recipes. At this site you will also find some good links, plus up-to-date news, jobs and info on animal rights events.
Why Vegan: The Ethics of Eating and the Need for Change. Kath Clements. (GMP Publishers Ltd. 1985.)
Much of the suffering and exploitation in the world today could be eliminated if more people chose to eat an animal-free diet. In Why Vegan Kath Clements puts forward the case for veganism and her persuasive arguments make interesting reading. After dispelling the myth - perpetuated by vested interests - that meat and dairy products are necessary for human health she goes on to examine the food industry, pointing out how we contribute to the inbalance of food resource distribution when we import animal feedstuffs from Third World countries. She looks at animal exploitation, factory farming, the connection between meat and wars, pets, the health hazards associated with consuming meat and dairy products and finally covers the nutritional aspects of the vegan diet, offering some recipes and main meal ideas to aid dietary change.
Why Vegan is available from the Vegan Society for £6.95, plus £1.50 postage. It can be obtained from: The Vegan Society, Donald Watson House, 7 Battle Road, St Leonard's-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN37 7AA. (Tel: 01424 427393.)
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The Heritage Seed Library
March
Book Review