Hello  

Although we have been taking something of a break from business as usual at 3 Valley Vegans we thought it would be good to have a pre-Christmas mini-newsletter.

For one thing, it gives us a great excuse to share these magnificent photos of Joey the turkey. Joey lives with the wonderful people from Sacred Space who, as well as delivering fantastic food at their café in Albert Street, Hebden Bridge run a bird sanctuary from their home. They are currently fund-raising to buy some land so they can expand their excellent work. If you’d like to send them a Christmas present to support their efforts, please go to their GoFundMe page. 

Please note that our Facebook page and Facebook group remain active. Also, Liz has updated our eating out guide. If you have any changes or additions to make to the eating out guide, please let us know by social media or by email: info@3valleyvegns.org.uk

Three issues uppermost in many minds at the moment are Christmas, Covid and climate change. The latter has unfortunately taken something of a back seat this year, but the Prime Minister has just announced challenging new targets on UK emissions. We await details on what policies will be put into place to meet the targets, and it remains to be seen whether the critical role of animal agriculture in driving climate change will feature in the government’s plans.

Coming up in this Newsletter we have:

• News: good and bad
• Blog: Viva! campaign to protect against future pandemics
• Vegan Society response to the Covid-19 vaccine
• Meet a member: Anne Taylor
• Christmas recipe

Myra and 3 Valley Vegans

Image of Joey the turkey by Sacred Space

Kaavan, an elephant who had spent 35 years living in poor conditions in a zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan, the last eight of those all alone since the death of his companion, finally made the journey to a sanctuary in Cambodia last month where he met others of his kind for the first time in eight years. His rescue was coordinated by Four Paws International, with the support of Cher.

Image:  Twitter/Four PAWS/via Geo.tv

An outbreak of avian influenza means that from 14 December, all domesticated birds must be kept indoors, or in enclosures which ensure that wild birds cannot access the food and water.

Anyone who feeds garden birds is advised to maintain careful hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting feeders regularly.

Image by NickyPe from Pixabay

Calderdale based group 3 Valley Vegans are backing the Viva! campaign which highlights the risks from the coronavirus to those with underlying health conditions. A healthy vegan diet can help you lose weight, reverse type 2 diabetes, and protect heart health, reducing your risk of severe Covid-19.

Viva!, the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, have written an open letter to Boris Johnson, urging the government to support and encourage plant-based food initiatives to transition our food system and eradicate our reliance on unsustainable animal agriculture.

The new Covid vaccines, the first of which, from Pfizer/BioNTech, is being offered from this week, present something of an ethical dilemma for many vegans. Like all medicines, the vaccines have been tested on animals ahead of the human trials. Some vaccines contain animal products. [I don’t know whether this applies to this vaccine or to the Oxford/AstraZenica one – Ed.] However, widespread vaccination could offer us a way out of the current restrictions and associated hardships.

Anne works tirelessly to promote veganism and plant-based living, particularly in relation to provision of vegan school meals, as we highlighted in the August newsletter.

Anne has coordinated a number of street stalls in Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and Keighley. She has set up Worth Valley Vegans and also made good contact with vegan activists in the Skipton area.

Her article on the Viva! campaign to protect against future pandemics (see blog above) was published in the Keighley News and in the Craven Herald.

This recipe comes courtesy of Rose Elliot, via Viva!

Thanks to Rose Elliot, the goddess of veggie food, for the lovely recipe! This is so easy – and it frees you up to do other things while it’s baking. Serve with piles of roast potatoes, butternut squash and parsnips – plus gravy, of course!

We would like to remind you that 3 Valley Vegans have a Facebook page, a Facebook group and our own website...

Our Facebook page is open to the public and is updated with lots of  events both local and national, interviews, videos, information, news and tips from the wider vegan community. To like, or visit this page please click: Facebook Public Page.

The Facebook group is a closed group and is a good place to air and vent any local vegan issues.
Information relating to local shopping and/or eating out can be posted by members of this group and also if any businesses in the local area would like to promote any vegan products or offers then this is the group to use.
If you would like to join then please click: Facebook Closed Group

On our website you will find local eating guides, recipes, upcoming and past events, blogs and lots of vegan articles.
What our group is all about is detailed on this site along with our contact details. 
To visit the website please click on link: Website

Twitter @3valleyvegns

YouTube

Eating out and shopping can be tricky when you're vegan, especially when just starting out. To make things a little easier, we have compiled a list of vegan-friendly eateries and shops in Calderdale:

View our Guide to Eating Out in Calderdale

View our Vegan Friendly Calderdale Shopping Guide

Have we missed anything off these lists? Please send your suggestions to tech@3valleyvegns.org.uk