Despite being a fairly small group, we have managed to stage(or take part in) approx 50 events of one kind or another during 2007 - everything from socials, group meals & speaker meetings to food sample stalls, leafletting and big environmental marches! Our activities have made many 1,000`s of people more aware of the benefits of vegetarian/veganism and we have no doubt that many people have changed their diet as a result.

We have put together the following Review of 2007 which is basically a summary of everything we! `ve been doing in the last 12 months. If you would like to help us make 2008 even more successful, please come along to one of our meetings or contact us.

If any of the links below don`t work, you can find the same review and links on our website here http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1488.html 

We wish you all a Happy & Healthy New Year!!

JANUARY

Group Meal Out
On Friday 12th January, 11 members of our group ventured into Birmingham to Jyoti`s Vegetarian Restaurant for our first meal out of 2007. Read more

FEBRUARY

Public Screening of `Jill`s Film`
Our meeting in February was devoted to the memory of Jill Phipps, who died whilst campaigning against the live export trade 12 years ago. We screened Jill`s Film and displayed an exhibition about her life. Read more and see www.jillphipps.org.uk

MARCH

Guest Speaker Meeting
At our meeting in March, there was a talk and presentation about the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, given by Julie Roberts of Coventry Veggies and Vegans. Read more and see www.drhadwentrust.org

Redditch stall and leafletting
In conjunction with Viva!`s Farrowing Crate Day of Action(timed to coincide with Mothers Day), we held a stall and handed out hundreds of leaflets in Redditch Town Centre. www.viva.org.uk

RVV Talk at Everywomans Circle Meeting
We were invited to give a talk at a meeting of the Everywomans Circle(similar to Womens Institute) in Redditch. A group of 40+ women listened to an hour long talk about RVV and veggie/veganism. After the talk, there was a question and answer session and finally, many of the women tucked into some vegan food samples which we took along. Many of the ladies thanked us for our informative talk and delicious food, for which we received enough donations to cover the cost. Read more 

MAY

Guest Speaker Meeting
At our meeting in May, alternative therapist Angie Westwood gave a fascinating talk about Bach Flower Remedies. Angie has been vegetarian for 20 years and is fully qualified and experienced in various alternative treatments, including Reiki and Reflexology. Read more

Festival Fever at Ragley!
Eco-friendly living was the name of the game at the first Ragley Green Fair, held from 5th - 7th May in the grounds of Ragley Hall near Alcester. Never before has such a large eco festival been held so close to Redditch. RVV jumped at the opportunity to educate the masses - we held a stall there on all 3 days. Gallery of photos

An Audience with Benjamin Zephaniah
Half a dozen members of RVV travelled to Stratford to see vegan poet Benjamin Zephaniah perform his poetry and talk about his life before a 300 strong audience. www.benjaminzephaniah.com

Weekend Ramble/Meal
On Saturday 19th May, nine members of RVV (and five 4 legged friends) enjoyed a leisurely 3-4 mile ramble alongside the River Arrow at Studley, before ending up at The Little Lark for a delicious lunchtime meal. Gallery of photos

Meal, Quiz and Social at Hillfields Animal Sanctuary
On Saturday 26th May, as part of National Vegetarian Week, Hillfields Animal Sanctuary (at Blackwell near Bromsgrove) held a `Friends of the Sanctuary` meal, quiz and social evening. 9 members of RVV joined over 30 others for a fantastic evening and a scrumptious 3 course meal. The event raised £175 for the sanctuary and brought together lots of old friends. www.hillfields-animal-sanctuary.com

JUNE

Redditch Eco Fair Success
On Sat 2 June, the second annual Redditch Green Fair was a fantastic, fun filled, informative event. Who would have thought that Redditch could ever be home to a vibrant and growing `green` movement?!! But this green fair proved that`s exactly what is taking shape in Redditch! Vegetarian and vegan awareness was a key part of the day and there was masses of free, climate-friendly, vegan food on the RVV stall. Not only did RVV volunteers feed the masses, we also served fair trade, organic, vegan refreshments all day long. Read more on our website and see the dedicated green fair website www.redditchgreenfair.org.uk

Cookery Demo Meeting
Our June meeting was devoted to the culinary skills of Liz Hughes of Birmingham Vegetarians & Vegans. Liz demonstrated how to make mouthwatering vegan cakes that not only look great, but are delicious too, as we soon discovered!! Read more

RVV addressed a full council meeting
A member of Redditch Vegetarians and Vegans, along with 3 members of other environmental campaigning groups in Redditch, formed a deputation on Mon 25 June at the full council meeting of Redditch Borough Council. The deputation related specifically to a screening of Al Gore`s film An Inconvenient Truth, but one of the councillors chose to make an ill informed comment about how soya(health food) production is destroying Amazon rainforests! Of course, he was very quickly made aware that the large majority(perhaps upto 90%) of this soya is actually fed to livestock!! Read more

Animal Aid Street Collection in Redditch
RVV members staged the annual Redditch street collection for Animal Aid. Not only did we collect inside the Kingfisher Shopping Centre, we were also allowed to hold an information stall inside due to the heavy rain. £91 was raised for Animal Aid`s peaceful campaigns. Read more

JULY

Library display in Redditch
Throughout July, a veggie/vegan display was on show in Redditch library.


AUGUST

Indian Cookery Demo/Workshop
Our August get together attracted by far the most people ever seen at our meetings. Hardly surprising since it was an Indian Cookery Demonstration and Workshop! Anita Sharma-James of The Spice Trade showed 29 of us how to make vegetable pakoras, then everyone had a go themselves and spent all evening sampling the delicious results! Read more

Fun, Fun, Fun and Lots of Vegan Food at Council Fun Day
On Sat 11th August, the annual Morton Stanley Family Fun Day was bigger and better than ever. The sun shone all day and 1,000`s of people flocked to this free council organised extravaganza. The RVV food sample/info stall is now a familiar sight at many such events in Redditch, but at each one, we meet masses of new faces eager to taste the wonders of healthy, veggie living! Another increasingly familiar attraction is vegetarian/vegan caterers, this year in the form of The Warehouse Cafe from Birmingham.Gallery of photos and see www.thewarehousecafe.com

Cut the Carbon March in Birmingham
Several members of RVV joined approx 40 more veggie/vegans from groups across the Midlands, at the `Cut the Carbon` march and rally in Birmingham City Centre on August Bank Holiday Monday. Organised by Christian Aid, the march and rally aimed to raise awareness of climate change. We joined them to highlight the fact that livestock production is a major cause of climate change. This event marked the launch of Midlands Vegan Campaigns. Read more and see www.veganmidlands.org.uk

Cut the Carbon March in Bromsgrove
When the Christian Aid climate campaigners marched through Bromsgrove, 2 members of RVV were there to hand out leaflets and generally raise awareness of the connection between livestock and climate change.

SEPTEMBER

Guest Speaker Meeting
At our September meeting, the new chief ececutive of The Vegan Society, Nigel Winter, gave a talk about the environmental benefits of veganism and about basic vegan nutrition. He also spoke about the society`s recent move to Birmingham. www.vegansociety.com

Friends of the Earth Conference Success!!
Our biggest achievement of the year came when FoE local group members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a `Food Production` motion, which was drafted by RVV, at the local groups conference in Reading. The motion called on Friends of the Earth to "publish detailed information via FoE literature and the FoE website, that will explain how the production of various foods have vastly differing environmental impacts, in order to clearly illustrate the many environmental benefits of adopting a plant based diet."  Read more

Free Food Fever at Fresher Fairs in Redditch and Bromsgrove!
RVV held stalls at NEW College Fresher Fairs in Redditch and Bromsgrove. Our free vegan food samples were ever popular with the students as they crowded round and emptied our plates faster than we could fill `em up again!!!! Gallery of photos

OCTOBER

Guest Speaker Meeting
At our October meeting, complimentary therapist Lisa Kite of Red Kite Health Foods (shop in Bromsgrove) talked to us about natural ways to combat stress. Red Kite Health Foods

Sustainability Meeting, Redditch Borough Council
Councillors and council officers met with 3 members of Redditch environmental campaign groups to discuss how the council could become more sustainable. RVV was of course represented! We submitted a page of information detailing how the council should ensure that climate friendly veggie/vegan options are available in all their premises, at events they organise etc. One of our suggestions was that they could promote awareness of the issues via a `No Meat Monday` where only veggie/vegan options would be available in their staff canteen!! Read more

Climate Change Public Meeting in Redditch
At a public meeting titled "What on earth shall we to do about climate change" we gave a talk about the impact of livestock on the planet and distributed leaflets. Our eco-veggie posters were also on display. Read more

NOVEMBER

Free Vegan Food Fair in Birmingham
7 members of RVV helped to ensure that Midlands Vegan Campaigns first food fair was a fantastic success. Upto 700 were thought to flock through the doors. Read more

DECEMBER

Bring & Share Xmas Supper
Our December meeting took the form of a Bring & Share Xmas Supper. A small culinary contribution from everyone produced a festive feast for all to share. A great night was had by all.

Veg*n Climate March
Members of RVV joined many other veggie/vegan campaigners on a coach that travelled from Redditch to the Veg*n Climate March in London. The veg*n march formed part of the National Climate March, which was attended by an estimated 10,000 people from across the UK. Read more


AND WE`VE ALSO BEEN BUSY WITH THE FOLLOWING
On top of the stalls listed above, we`ve held a further 10 stalls at local eco fairs, family fun days, animal sanctuary open days etc.

We have spoke at several other local meetings - aimed primarily at spreading awareness of the environmental impact of meat/dairy production.

Several of our members letters have been printed in local papers.

We have featured approx 20 times in local press articles.

Throughout the year, we have produced 4 newsletters, hundreds of which have been distributed at events we`ve attended and also via our website.

Our website now attracts over 1,000 unique visitors every month and we have also set up a MySpace page! www.myspace.com/redditchveggies (needs alot of work!)

We continue to work closely with various local eco/ethical/social justice groups under the banner of Redditch Alliance of Greens. Under the RAG banner, we also continue to work with Redditch Borough Council and the college in Redditch.

The following 2 letters appear in todays Redditch Standard. The environmental impact of animal farming has now been a hot topic in their letters page for 5 weeks running!!

Kevin

An abuse of animals and the planet

LES CLARKE in his letter last week contends among other things, that animal manure is essential for agriculture and that a complete shift to vegetarianism by the human race would be disastrous for the environment.
Far from this being the case, a shift to a fully vegetarian (vegan) outlook is increasingly needed for the benefit of people, animals and the environment.
Animal-based agriculture is harming the environment. For example, the immense damage done to the oceans by run-off pollutants from animal farms, such as the huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
All livestock manures originate from the plants that the animals eat, and these do not have to be wastefully passed through an animal in order to provide fertility - far from manure being necessary it is inefficient, nitrogen fixing legumes and other green manures have been shown by the Elm Farm Research Centre and other bodies to provide the necessary fertility.
In an animal free organic system beneficial creatures would continue to thrive, no longer poisoned by agro chemicals. Livestock for the most part do not simply graze on otherwise unproductive land but need vast quantities of feedstuffs, which in the case of the West are grown in and at the expense of the developing world.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme 35 per cent of land degradation is caused by over-grazing and a further 30 per cent by deforestation, which is usually done to grow animal feed crops.
Livestock need another scarce resource in vast amounts - water. Raising farm animals requires far more water than the equivalent in plant foods. Even the hardly vegetarian Max Hastings wrote not so long ago that "Livestock are among the biggest consumers of water, yet are the least economic source of food. Far too many of the world's crops are grown exclusively as animal feed, a wildly unproductive use of water and grazing".
With increasing pressure worldwide on farming and the environment, debate on these issues, including Les's contribution, is welcome and vital. Anyone interested in the topic (and we should all be) should find out about the work of the educational charity Vegan-Organic Network at www.veganorganic.net and for more local information, see www.redditchveggies.org.uk or contact us at the address below.
Apart from the economic and environmental issues, humanity should aim to become more compassionate and move away from the exploitation of farm animals, rather than rush headlong into even greater abuse of animals and the planet, considered necessary to feed a growing population.

Kevin White
Redditch Vegetarian & Vegan Society

Woolly veggie logic

I WAS glad to read that Les Clarke (letters page, October 19) has no problem with veggies. However, I suspect that many veggies may have a problem with his lack of knowledge and woolly logic.
Firstly, he seems unaware of the distinction between vegetarians and vegans. Basically, the former drink milk and eat dairy products and even bird's eggs.
There are, as Mr Clarke points out, very good reasons to keep animals for the useful products they provide both while alive and after they die. Most vegetarians do not suggest that we stop keeping animals altogether, they simply suggest that doing away with the practice of keeping animals purely for slaughter would be more humane and would also free up large areas of land which are currently only used for pasture.
In countries where good farming land is scarce this could result in a greater variety of more nutritious crops. It is well known that if the amount of grass needed to fatten up a single cow for slaughter is converted into soya beans the result is several times the amount of protein.
More efficient composting, which we are now at long last moving towards in this country, would make up for any shortfall in manure. Cattle and sheep only eat vegetables - by making compost from vegetables we are merely missing out the 'middle animal'.
It is difficult to understand his point about insects. If there were a decrease in the number of insects this would presumably affect locusts and aphids as well. Anyway, no vegetarian that I have ever met is suggesting the sudden slaughter of millions of animals because we no longer want to eat them. Any change in the eco system would be gradual.
There are many good reasons to become a vegetarian, but the only good reason for eating meat that I have ever come across is that it tastes good! But that is due in no small part to the fact that most of us become used to the salty taste of meat from an early age.
I respect anyone's right to eat what they want, but it's important to get the facts right when helping people to make decisions about what they eat.

Basil Gotterick
Woodrow

FoE members vote for more honesty regarding meat/dairy devastation

Society stages cookery demo

From Redditch Advertiser`s website

REDDITCH residents are invited to an Indian cookery demonstration and workshop which will take place at the next meeting of the Redditch Vegetarian & Vegan (RVV) Society, this Wednesday evening.

Anita Sharma-James, of The Spice Trade, Bromsgrove, will demonstrate how to make delicious Indian food such as vegetable pakoras and samosas.

A workshop will provide an opportunity for everyone to get stuck in and have a go and then sample the delicious results.

The Spice Trade offers Indian cookery courses and demonstrations as well as catering for dinner parties and special occasions, allowing clients to sample and try their hand at home-cooked Indian food.

The demo will take place at St George's Community Hall, St George's Road from 7.30pm. Refreshments will be available, as will a range of recipes, nutrition factsheets, magazines etc.

Admission is free and everyone is welcome. People planning to attend should book by calling 458395.

For more details, see the RVV website at www.redditchveggies.org.uk

The following article is taken from Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans website here http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1027.html 

Please forward across the UK and particularly to members of Friends of the Earth.

FoE Under More Pressure on Meat/Dairy Production

RVV have recently helped Redditch Friends of the Earth to draft a Motion which will(hopefully) be presented at the FoE Local Groups Conference in September. The Motion urges National FoE to publish detailed information about how plant based diets are infinitely more eco-friendly than meat/dairy based diets. If you`re a member of a local FoE group, you can help make sure this Motion is passed!

Currently, the national environmental campaigning group Friends of the Earth pay very little attention to the fact that the production of meat & dairy products is one of the biggest causes of global warming. Livestock production is also at the heart of almost every other environmental catastrophe confronting the planet - rainforest destruction, spreading deserts, loss of fresh water, air and water pollution, acid rain and soil erosion (all detailed in a report titled `Livestock’s Long Shadow`, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

Despite the mounting and indisputable evidence, the FoE website totally ignores the issue and neither do they produce relevant literature, which would both help FoE members and the general public alike to make an informed choice regarding their diet. With a little help from RVV, Redditch FoE are seeking to address this disgraceful situation, by drafting and submitting the following Motion for the FoE Local Groups Conference, September 2007:

This conference calls upon the Board of Friends of the Earth Ltd. to consider publishing detailed information via FoE literature and the FoE website, that will explain how the production of various foods have vastly differing environmental impacts, in order to clearly illustrate the many environmental benefits of adopting a plant based diet.

This conference notes that there is an ever increasing amount of research & evidence from a wide variety of organisations, that suggests that meat and dairy production are amongst the most environmentally damaging practices carried out by mankind.

(Please click here to see the background info that has also been submitted with this motion)

In total, 18 Motions have been submitted, but only 6 can be debated at the conference. Therefore, full details of the Motions will be sent to all local groups on 13 July 2007 and groups will be given the opportunity to vote on their preferred top 6 Motions via a prioritisation ballot. If you`re a member of your local FoE group, please urge them to vote for the `Food Production` Motion!

If the Motion gets through this stage, it will be debated and voted on at the FoE Local Groups Conference from 7-9th September in Reading. If passed, it will become a Resolution for the Board of Friends of the Earth Ltd. to integrate within Friends of the Earth’s policy and strategy. So if the motion gets that far, it`s crucial that as many `eco-veggie` members of FoE as possible, attend the conference and cast their vote!

It is vitally important that FoE start to address this issue NOW - for far too long they`ve remained silent. It`s time that the `UK 's most influential environmental campaigning organisation` dealt with mankinds most environmentally destructive habit.

Click here for more details of the FoE Local Groups Conference.

Article taken from our website http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1011.html 

RVV addressed full council meeting!

A member of Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans, along with 3 members of other environmental campaigning groups in Redditch, formed a deputation this evening(Mon 25 June 07) at the full council meeting of Redditch Borough Council(RBC).

The deputation, before 29 councillors (and numerous council officials), was aimed at inviting all councillors to attend a special screening of Al Gore`s film `An Inconvenient Truth` to take place in September, and also to remind councillors that RBC has already signed `The Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change` which commits them to taking positive action in tackling this issue, the greatest threat to our planet!

Other groups that took part were Redditch Friends of the Earth and the Redditch Trade Justice Network. Together with these & other local `green` groups, we have formed the umbrella group Redditch Alliance of Greens.

Due to the deputation being specifically related to Al Gore`s film screening and the Nottingham Declaration, there was no intention to raise the issue of the environmental impact of meat/dairy production. But out of the several councillors that asked questions of the deputation, one chose to make an ill informed comment about how soya(health food) production is destroying Amazon rainforests! Of course, he was very quickly made aware that the large majority(perhaps upto 90%) of this soya is actually fed to livestock!!

RVV believe that our involvement in this evenings deputation, and the ongoing project of screening the film, will reinforce our reputation as a well respected `environmental` campaigning group within the town, ie we promote the environmental benefits of plant based diets, not just the animal and health benefits!

As awareness grows of the devastating impact that climate change will have on the planet, more and more people are seeking ways in which they can reduce their personal ecological footprint. There has never been a better time to create awareness of sustainable, climate friendly diets!! How big is your eco footprint?? Find out with this simple questionnaire 

We firmly believe that by building strong links with a broad range of local environmental, ethical and social justice groups, we can get our message out to a much wider audience, as we did at the recent Redditch Green Fair. See our report here http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1006.html and the dedicated green fair website here http://www.redditchgreenfair.org.uk/ 

Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans website has been extensively updated with news, photo galleries and forthcoming events. There has been so much going on lately that we`ve got behind updating the website! News articles include the following:

Redditch Eco Fair Success http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1006.html 

Ramble and Meal Out in Studley http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1002.html 

Dairy Free Cakes Cookery Demo http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1008.html 

Bach Flower Remedy Talk http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/998.html 

Meal Out for National Vegetarian Week http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1003.html 

Festival Fever at Ragley! http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/1001.html  

Follow any of the direct links above or go to our homepage here http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk  We have some more, exciting news on the way very soon, watch this space!!

Best wishes,

RVV

The Redditch Green Fair, held last Saturday, was undoubtedly a fantastic success, with an estimated 600 people attending, 23 eco-friendly stalls, visited by the Mayor of Redditch and endorsed by the United Nations!! And not forgetting, free, planet-friendly, vegan food galore!!

Read a full report here http://www.redditchgreenfair.org.uk/2007.html and see a gallery with over 40 photos from the event here http://www.redditchgreenfair.org.uk/2007gallery 

The following article(accompanied by 3 great photos) filled page 2 of yesterday`s edition of the Redditch Standard. See http://tinyurl.com/3aqknx 

Eco-fair success

ENVIRONMENTAL issues were placed firmly on the agenda at the weekend when as many as 600 people visited Redditch town centre to celebrate the town's annual Green Fair.

Around 23 stalls filled St Stephen's Church and surrounding grounds as visitors tested out such things as eco-friendly cleaning products, electric-assisted cycles and wind-up radios.

Environmental and ethical groups represented included Redditch Friends of the Earth (FoE), Redditch Trade Justice Network, Redditch Vegetarian & Vegan Society and Redditch Freecycle, all of whom got together to organise the fair under the banner of the Redditch Alliance of Greens.

Kevin White from Redditch FoE said the fair was a great way of raising awareness of the importance of the environment.
He said: "We were delighted with how the day went, it turned out to be more than twice as big as our first Green Fair last year.

"The fair succeeded in showing hundreds of people we can all massively reduce our individual impact on the planet, just by making a few simple changes to our daily lives."

Taken from the Redditch Advertiser website,

http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/ranewsroundup/display.var.1442286.0.no_dairy_at_demo.php

No dairy at demo

A DAIRY-free cookery demonstration is being held by the Redditch Vegetarian and Vegan Society on Wednesday evening.

Amongst the food prepared will be lemon and ginger cheesecake, treacle pudding and chocolate fudge cake.

Yvonne Cooper, from the society, said: "Once they've been made, all the mouth-watering culinary creations will be available to sample and the recipes free to take home.

"There will also be general hints and tips on vegan cake making.

"This event will not only suit veggies and vegans, but also those with milk allergies or the lactose intolerant. We aim to show that dairy-free desserts are not only delicious, they're also suitable for all."

The demonstration is at St George's Community Hall, St George's Road, and starts at 7.30pm.

For more details, call 458395 or visit www.redditchveggies.org.uk

Taken from todays edition of the Redditch Standard http://redditch.standardtoday.co.uk/   

Eco-fair has UN stamp of approval

WIND-UP radios and electric assisted cycles are just some of the things being showcased by a selection of local 'green' groups at the annual Redditch Green Fair tomorrow (Saturday).

The event is being organised by the Redditch Alliance of Greens, which includes Redditch Friends of the Earth (FoE), Redditch Trade Justice Network, Redditch Vegetarian & Vegan Society and Redditch Freecycle, and will see stalls set up in and around St Stephen's Church in the town centre.

Organisers are predicting this year's event to be the best ever and will be promoting the use of environmentally-friendly items including natural Aloe Vera products, electric cycles, organic produce, wind-up radios, ethical stationary, Fair Trade goods and eco-friendly cleaning products.

Paul Roberts of Redditch FoE said: "The fair will perhaps be twice as big as last year, so there will be a far greater variety of eco-friendly products on sale and more issues covered on the campaign stalls."

As well as being free, there will also be lots of freebies available on various stalls, including eco-books, car stickers and veggie food samples.

Kevin White, also of Redditch FoE, added: "The aim of the fair is quite simply to promote sustainable, eco-friendly ways of living whilst showcasing the town's ever-increasing network of 'green' organisations and companies.

"We all worry about how global warming will affect our children's future, but we can massively reduce our impact on the planet by making a few simple changes to our daily lives."

The fair has been timed to coincide with World Environment Day on June 5 which has been celebrated since 1972, and is aimed at raising awareness of important environmental issues.

The United Nations has also officially endorsed the Redditch event and will be promoting it via its website.

Mr White added: "We believe this is the first time an official World Environment Day event has been staged in Redditch - we're delighted the United Nations are supporting us."

The event runs from 10.30am until 3pm and further information on stallholders can be found on the Green Fair website at www.redditchgreenfair.org.uk.