THE VEGAN NEWS
SUMMER 2003
The Vegan News is written and edited by P M
Lloyd. Please e-mail your contributions to the editor at: paulinelloyd1@btinternet.com or fill in the form
provided.
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In This Issue:
Watercress and Carrot Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Place the washed and prepared vegetables
into an individual serving bowl.
- Mix in the sultanas, orange pieces and nuts.
- Mix together the oil and lemon juice. Pour the dressing over
the salad.
Serves 1 for a light
lunch (double the amounts for a main meal). This
refreshing and nutritious salad will supply appreciable amounts of
iron, folic acid, calcium, vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids.
Curried Lentil Salad
Source: The Raw Gourmet
by Nomi Shannon (Alive Books, 1999)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp of tamari (or Braggs Liquid Aminos)
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp of curry powder (or to taste)
- 2 cups of sprouted lentils
- 1/2 cup of chopped onion
Method
- Mix together the tamari, lemon juice,
garlic and curry powder in a small bowl.
- Combine the lentils and onion in a separate bowl and
pour on the dressing. Mix well.
Serves 2-4
Sprouted lentils have a nice crunchy texture and are a good source of
iron and vitamin C. I prefer to use sprouted green lentils when I
make this recipe, but any kind of sprouted whole lentil can
be used. For
more information on how to produce your own sprouts, see my earlier
article on sprouting.
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Agnus Castus
The Chaste Tree (Vitex Agnus Castus) grows in the
Mediterranean region and in Western Asia, where its berries are
used by women to regulate their menstrual cycles. Since the 1950s,
various scientific studies have been carried out and these have shown
that agnus castus is especially useful for treating female conditions
such as premenstrual tension, cyclical breast pain (mastalgia), painful
periods and menopausal symptoms and seems to cause few side
effects. I tested out this supplement myself to see if it
would improve my own menstrual cycle and I am pleased to report that so
far there has been a noticeable improvement. Although whether this
improvement is due to the agnus castus, or is simply a coincidence is
difficult to determine because of the rather erratic nature of my
condition.
Agnus castus is readily available from health shops, but most of the
supplements they sell appear to be unsuitable for vegans.
I, therefore, obtained a supply of Vega's
standardised agnus castus berry extract, which is available in
vegetable cellulose capsules, each capsule being equivalent to about
300 mg of the herb powder. This Vega product is both Vegetarian
and Vegan Society Approved and is free from GM products, gluten, wheat,
sugar, artificial additives and colourings and of course from
all animal ingredients. The dark-green capsules
(VCaps) are available in brown glass jars in units of 60
capsules for about £6.95. Incidentally, if you are
unable to find this product in shops near to you, then it can be
purchased off the Internet from the Green Valley
Trading Company (UK) or from Vega Vitamins and Herbals
(USA). Otherwise, Nutricia, Quest and Phyto Products also produce vegan
agnus castus products in the UK.
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Sowing and Planting Schedule:
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In the Wildlife Garden
Many of our wildflowers and garden plants are beneficial to
animals and can be used to attract wildlife into the garden. By
including a selection of such plants in our gardens we can do much to
help British wildlife. In the Last
Issue I covered three kinds of violas that are used as caterpillar
food plants by fritillary butterflies. Now, in this issue, I am going
to take a look at three plants that will attract butterflies, moths and
birds into your garden.
Buddleia (Buddleia spp)
Buddleia (or Butterfly Bush) is an excellent wildlife plant.
Plant one of these shrubs in your garden and on a nice sunny day
it will soon be covered with many different kinds of butterflies. Look
out for peacocks, whites, red admirals, brimstones, painted
ladies, white admirals, meadow browns, gatekeepers, commas and small
tortoiseshells taking nectar from its flowers. If you are lucky you may
also see a humming bird hawkmoth visiting the flowers in the daytime
and of course many other types of moths visit buddleia flowers at
night. Buddleia is also a magnet for many kinds of bees, including
bumblebees. Even after buddleia has finished flowering, it
remains a useful wildlife plant, its seed heads being a source of food
for many types of birds, including bullfinches. So don't be in too much
of a hurry to remove the spent flowers, even if they don't look
especially attractive! Buddleias need to be planted in a sunny position
and often do especially well if planted against a wall. Prune them well
in spring to ensure a fine display of flowers. The best varieties to
plant to attract butterflies are: Buddleia davidii (the white and
lilac varieties are most popular), B. alternifolia, B.
crispa, B. globosa and B. x weyeriana. And of course
it's possible to extend the flowering season by planting more than one
variety.
Ivy (Hedera helix)
Although not as showy as buddleia, ivy is also of tremendous value
to wildlife. For example, ivy's black berries provide food for many
types of birds in winter, often being eaten by wood pigeons,
collared doves, thrushes, warblers, blackcaps, jays and robins.
In addition, ivy provides shelter for small birds at night and is often
used by nesting wrens. Ivy comes into flower between September and
November and in my garden its inconspicuous, greenish-yellow flowers
are
a magnet for butterflies on sunny, autumn days. Red Admirals seem to be
particularly attracted to these flowers, but
you may also see commas and painted ladies nectaring on ivy
flowers and they will also be visited by hoverflies, bees and various
moths. The holly blue butterfly lays its eggs on ivy flowers in the
autumn, ivy being its larval food plant, as well as providing food for
the caterpillars of the swallow-tailed moth. In
addition, the brimstone butterfly hibernates in ivy over the winter
months. This evergreen climber will do well in a sunny position
or in partial shade and looks especially nice when it is grown on
trees, fences, walls and other supports.
Evening Primrose (Oenothera
biennis)
Even after growing evening primroses in my garden for many years,
I still find it fascinating to watch their flowers open up in the
evening just as
the light levels start to fall. At times, these scented, yellow flowers
almost seem to glow in the dark! Often visited by bees and hoverflies
in the daytime, the flowers prove to be just as attractive to
night-flying moths such as the convolvulus hawk moth at night. (And
of course any moths that are attracted to the plant will
in turn act as a food source and encourage bats to visit your garden.)
Birds also like to eat evening primrose seeds, so
do keep your eyes open for chaffinches, bramblings, greenfinches,
goldfinches and siskins. Evening primrose plants are best grown
in groups of five or six and should be placed at the back of a wildlife
border because these low-growing plants suddenly shoot up to about 180
cm in their second year. Incidentally, evening primrose seeds
are perfectly edible and so are the first year roots, which can either
be eaten cooked or they can be sliced and eaten raw in a salad.
Seeds of the above plants are available from the John Chambers
Wild Flower Seed Catalogue. Tel: 01933 652562. Or write to: John
Chambers, 15 Westleigh Road, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northants,
NN15 5AJ, if you would like a copy of their latest catalogue.
For more information on plants that are attractive to wildlife consult
the Wildlife Database.
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Twenty Tips for Producing Low-Allergy Gardens by Thomas Leo
Ogren
What we plant in our own yards often has a direct effect on our
own health and the health of those near us. A pollen-producing male
tree in our own yard will easily expose us to ten times more pollen
than would a similar tree growing just down the block. This can be
compared to second-hand smoke. It is possible to inhale some smoke from
a person smoking a block or two away from you, but it is hardly the
same as someone smoking right next to you. It is the same with plants.
If your own yard is full of allergenic plants, then you will be exposed
most. The greater the exposure, the greater the incidence of allergy
and asthma. Here are some tips to avoid allergies and asthma:
- Don’t plant any male trees or shrubs.
These are often sold as 'seedless' or 'fruitless' varieties but they’re
males and they all produce large amounts of allergenic pollen.
- Do plant female trees and shrubs. Even though these may be
messier than males, they produce no pollen, and they actually trap and
remove pollen from the air. There is also some very good all-female sod
to use for pollen-free lawns. As an added bonus, these female lawns
stay low and require less frequent mowing.
- Plant disease-resistant varieties: mildew, rust, black spot
and other plant diseases all reproduce by spores and these spores cause
allergies. Disease resistant plants won’t get infected as much and the
air around them will be healthier.
- Use only trees and shrubs well adapted for your own climate
zone. Plants grown in the wrong zone will often fail to thrive. Because
they are not healthy, they will be magnets for insects. Insect residue,
'honeydew,' is a prime host for molds and molds produce allergenic mold
spores. Often native plants will be the healthiest choices.
- Be careful with the use of all insecticides, fungicides, and
herbicides. Accidental exposure to all of these chemical pesticides has
been shown to cause breakdowns in the immune system. Sometimes one
single heavy exposure to a pesticide will result in sudden
hypersensitivity to pollen, spores, and to other allergens. This is as
true for pets as it is for their owners. Go organic as much as
possible. Make and use compost!
- Diversity is good. Don’t plant too much of the same thing in
your landscapes. Use a wide selection of plants. Lack of diversity
often causes over-exposure. Use lots of variety in your gardens.
- Wild birds are a big plus because they eat so many insects.
Plant fruiting trees and shrubs to encourage more birds. Suet also
attracts many insect-eating birds. (Ed: Try using a vegan,
vegetable suet e.g. Broadland.) Insect dander causes
allergies and birds consume an incredible amount of aphids, whiteflies,
scale, and other invertebrate pests.
- Use pollen-free selections whenever possible. There are many
hybrids with highly doubled flowers and in many cases these flowers
lack any male, pollen parts. Formal double chrysanthemums, for example,
usually have no pollen. Another example would be almost all of the
erect tuberous begonias. These have complete female flowers, but their
male flowers have nothing but petals, making them pollen-free.
- If you simply must have some high-allergy potential plants
in your yard, just because you love them, then watch where you plant
them. Don’t use any high-allergy plants near bedroom windows or next to
patios, well-used walkways, or by front or back doors. Place the
highest allergy plants as far
away from the house as possible and downwind of the house too.
Remember: the closer you are to the high-allergy tree or shrub, the
greater is your exposure.
- Know the exact cultivar name of a tree or shrub before you
buy it. Don’t buy any that are not clearly tagged with the correct
cultivar (variety) name and the Latin, scientific name. Compare the
exact name of the plant with its OPALS/TM allergy ranking. With this
scale, 1 is least allergenic, and 10 is the most allergenic. Try to
achieve a landscape that averages at OPALS #5, or below.
- If you have a tree or hedge that has high allergy potential
and don’t want to remove it, consider keeping it heavily sheared so
that it will flower less. Boxwood, for example, has allergenic flowers
but if pruned hard each year, it will rarely bloom at all.
- Get involved with your own city’s tree and parks
departments, and encourage them to stop planting any more
wind-pollinated male trees. There are thousands of fine choices of
street trees that do not cause any allergies and we should be using
these instead. Working together we can make a healthy difference, and
we’ll all breathe better for our efforts.
- Some localities have enacted pollen-control ordinances.
These prohibit the sale and planting of the most highly allergenic
trees and shrubs. These ordinances can help save lives and lead to more
responsible and more considerate landscaping. Why not get involved and
have such a rule of law in your own community?
- There are a great many very useful female cultivars of Red
Maple (Acer rubrum), such as ‘October Glory’ and ‘Red Sunset.’ These
trees have exceptional autumn colour and are pollen-free.
- Female Junipers (Juniperus spp.) are pollen-free and have
beautiful blue-green berries. Numerous female cultivars are sold, such
as ‘Blue Point,’ ‘Icee Blue,’ and ‘Hollywood Juniper.’
- Some trees such as the sycamores and London Plane trees
(both Platanus species) produce a fuzz on their leaves and stems. This
fuzz can become airborne and causes skin rash, itching, and irritation
of the eyes, throat and lungs. If you must use them, avoid planting
them too close to your house.
- Pets can and do get allergies too. Often the exact same
plants that cause us allergy, will also affect our pets. Dogs and cats
in particular may be allergic to pollen. Animals can’t tell us what
bothers them. They need us to look out for them.
- Children are especially susceptible to allergies and asthma.
It is crucial that the shade trees in elementary schools be selected to
be as pollen-free as possible. Asthma is now the number one most common
chronic childhood disease.
- Older people and especially those in hospitals or retirement
homes are also at increased risk from excessive pollen. Shrubs near
windows need to be allergy-free. Pollen is tiny and can easily pass
through even the tightest window screens.
- Trees and shrubs next to any bedroom windows will have a
large effect on the health of the people inside these bedrooms.
Poisonous plants such as Podocarpus or Yews, if they are male, will
shed many millions of grains of airborne pollen. Pollen from the males
of these two species is both allergenic and poisonous.
*Note, with the dioecious plants (separate-sexed) only males cause
pollen-allergy, and females because they are pollen free, do not. Some
examples of some of these dioecious plants are: red maple, silver
maple, box elder, holly, willow, aspen, cottonwood, poplar, fringe
tree, pepper tree, carob tree, Osage orange, mulberry, cedar, juniper,
Podocarpus, yews, ash, date palms, and even such common garden plants
as asparagus.
Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, from Ten
Speed Press. More than 3,000 plants are individually allergy-ranked
(OPALSTM) in this book. Tom does consulting work on landscape plants
and allergies for the USDA, Allegra, county asthma coalitions, arborist
and landscape design associations, and the Canadian and American Lung
Associations. He has appeared on HGTV and The Discovery Channel. He has
an MS in Agriculture/Horticulture and writes for such diverse
publications as New Scientist, Earth Island Journal, Landscape
Architecture, American Rose, Pacific Coast Nurseryman, Alternative
Medicine, Women’s Day, and Wild Ones Journal. He has also written the
book, Safe Sex in the Garden, which was published in March of
2003. Tom can be reached through his website
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An excellent site
and a particularly good source of information for the those who are new
to veganism, or anyone who is thinking of going vegan. You can now also
shop or become a member online.
Vegan Traveller
Presently covering eight countries, this A-Z provides
information on hotels, eating out and shopping and offers general tips
and advice from the people who have been there. Why not
help to make this site even better by adding some of your own
contributions?
Cool Vegan
A fairly international website, offering a selection of vegan
recipes and providing some coverage
of vegan shopping and services worldwide. Why not try out the
sliding puzzle in the games section, if you have time? Or include a
link to your
own web page in the community section? The resource page offers links
to many topics that should be of interest to vegans everywhere.
Unfortunately, I found this site rather difficult to read in
places due to the choice of the background and text colour.
Freerangers
Here you can view and purchase Freeranger products online. Take
a look at their range of men's and ladies' shoes, as well as
their bags, purses, belts and fleeces. Products from
this UK vegan footwear and clothing
company are Vegan Society Approved and are
created by skilled craftsmen.
Vegan
Stockholm Resource Group
The VSRG website provides much
useful
information on
where to shop and eat in Stockholm. Well
worth taking a look, if you are thinking of paying
Stockholm a visit in the near future. (English version available.)
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of Page
Summer Book Reviews
Renewal
by Timothy J Smith, M D (Rochdale Press, 1999).
Do you want to live to be 120? In Renewal,
Timothy Smith shows us how
it may be possible to achieve this feat and also how to improve our
quality of life by following his revolutionary programme of diet,
exercise and supplementation. I must admit to me his
recommendations for the use of supplements seem to be somewhat
excessive at times, not to mention expensive! And I am also
rather dubious about his recommendations for the extensive use of
hormones to slow down the aging process - even if he is recommending
natural hormones and not the synthetic versions. Considering that
women seem have a higher risk of developing breast cancer if
they start their periods early and have a late menopause, I wonder
whether it is wise to take sex hormones for extended periods in this
way and indeed whether it is worth the risk? I mean do you
really still want to be having sex when you
are 120 anyway? You do? Oh well, grab a copy of this
book and start reading then! Seriously though, I found the positive way
the author promotes the vegan diet very refreshing. In addition, the
book contains a lot of useful information. Use it to find out about the
right sorts of fats to eat, why you should avoid pesticides and food
additives, how you can reduce your risk of getting cancer, why garlic
is so amazing, which foods to eat to keep you youthful
and why it's so important to get plenty of exercise. There are
vegan meal plans, meal ideas and a whole chapter of tasty vegan
recipes (although some of these do contain honey). All in all a
useful reference book for your bookshelf. ISBN: 0312972091 Price
£4.44. Available from Amazon Books.
The Wildlife Database by Pauline Lloyd(Vegan
News, May 2003).
This
new, updated version of the Wildlife Database contains detailed
information on over 300 garden plants and
wildflowers that can be planted in the UK in order
to attract wild animals such as bees, butterflies and birds into your
garden. Each record in this MS Access database describes a particular
plant and lists the
animals that are most likely to use it, as well as supplying
information on flowering dates, optimal growing conditions, the
plant's general characteristics and how it can be grown. Possible
suppliers are listed and their contact details are provided in a
separate section, enabling you to obtain your wildflower seeds or
plants easily by mail order just in case you are unable to track down a
local supplier. There's also a search facility, allowing you to
search the database for information on a particular plant, for example
by using its Latin or common name. And a print facility allows
you to print out reference
lists of different types of plants such as those that will grow in
woodlands, meadows or by the coast, or listings of plants that are
especially useful for attracting bees, butterflies, moths, or birds.
Finally, there's a comprehensive booklist so that you can read
more about this exciting topic. What's more you don't need to be an
expert in using MS Access either because the database is highly
automated. Costing just £10.00,
the Wildlife Database is available either by email, or on a
floppy disk by mail order. Note: This database will only run in MS
Access 97. Please visit the Order Page to
find out how to place your order.
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