VIVA! EMAIL NEWS ALERT

April 2005

Viva!

8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH, UK

Tel: +44 (0)117 944 1000 Email: info@... <mailto:info@...>

Web: www.viva.org.uk <http://www.viva.org.uk/> www.factoryfarming.org.uk
<http://www.factoryfarming.org.uk/> www.savethekangaroo.com
<http://www.savethekangaroo.com/>





Please do not reply to this email. Contact us at: info@...
<mailto:info@...>



In This Viva!City: Day of Action against the Co-op: Doing it for the Ducks!

Incredible Veggie Roadshow comes to Town!

Food Allergy Survival Guide

Help Needed from Veggie Mums and Dads

Vegan picnic in London

Sweet Toothed Vegans Rejoice!

Your Viva!City





Day of Action Against the Co-op: Doing it for the Ducks on the 21st May!



Our Day of Action for the ducks is now looming, when Viva! supporters just like
you will be outside Co-op stores up and down the country letting their customers
know exactly what is happening at the Co-op's duck suppliers. The response to
our campaign has been phenomenal: we have already sent out over 40,000 Co-op
leaflets and we're working hard to make sure everyone gets their orders on time.
Come the 21st the call for change will be deafening (we already have nearly 150
confirmed demos happening and over 500 more people have committed to
distributing leaflets locally!) - the Co-op simply won't be able to ignore the
call for change.



Despite their claims to be an ethical trader, at the Co-op's suppliers we found
ducks crammed into dirty, stinking sheds in their thousands; countless dying
birds thrashing around on their backs in distress, unable to right themselves;
insufficient clean water to bathe or preen properly; a duckling trapped behind a
pipe, left to die; and ducks incapable of walking, dragging themselves along by
their wings.



Many of you who have written to the Co-op (and we know they have been absolutely
inundated!) will have received their laughably weak justification for their
involvement in barbaric factory-farming practices. Unbelievably, the Co-op has
tried to justify cramming thousands of birds into one shed by saying they are
"extremely gregarious" and "often flock together in large numbers" - it doesn't
wash with us, and judging by the calls we've been getting from our supporters it
doesn't wash with you either! To read our response to the Co-op's standard reply
go here <http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/coopresponse.html> .



We want to persuade the Co-op to clear their shelves of factory-farmed duck meat
and prove that 'ethics' are more than just a marketing term - and that's why we
are holding the Day of Action on Saturday May 21 2005. Many of you have already
answered our call to do it for the ducks, but the more people who join us on the
day, the louder the message will be. To find out more about the day, how you can
get involved (there's still plenty of time!) and how to order our specially
designed Co-op materials go here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/coopdoa.html> .



Find out more about our investigations into the duck suppliers to the Co-op here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/coop.html> .



Complain to the Co-op and speak up for the ducks!:



Free phone customer services on 0800 0686 727



Send a virtual postcard here <http://66.175.52.253/coop/postcard01.php> (it
only takes a second and every single one counts!)



If you bank with the Co-op find out what you can do here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/coopbank.html> (updated with a response
from the Co-op Bank).





Incredible Veggie Roadshow comes to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Southampton!



Viva!'s Incredible Veggie Roadshow will be rolling into Edinburgh this coming
Saturday (30 April). Then we hit Cardiff on Saturday 14 May 2005, and then on to
Southampton on Saturday 11 June. Bristol, Brighton, Solihull and Manchester have
already had a taste of veggie magic! We continue to be pleasantly astounded by
the sheer volume of eager punters flowing through the doors. The Roadshows are
designed to bring the vegetarian message to people right where they live - and
the feedback is now rolling in, with many people telling us how the shows have
helped them dump meat and ditch dairy!



Find out more about it and see the full list of shows here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/roadshows/edinburgh.html> . If you can offer us help for
any shows - we would especially like to hear from you if you can help publicise
the event locally by putting up posters or handing out invites, or if you can
help out on the day itself - please get in touch <mailto:angie@...> .
It's incredibly rewarding to see so many people interested in vegetarianism and
the shows have proved so busy so far that we really need all the help we can
get!





Food Allergy Survival Guide



Allergy-free no longer means flavour-free! This has got to be the definitive
guide for anyone who might be panicking about a food allergy or intolerance
diagnosis - and we are now selling it in the Viva! shop. Written by two
dieticians and the celebrated author of The Uncheese Cookbook, the first half of
this tome discusses food allergies and sensitivities in detail. The second half
of the book contains recipes for every occasion and there are even informative
tables which provide the nutrient content of the included menus. Also
indispensable is information about how to spot 'hidden' culprits in prepared
food. The book doesn't stop at the most common allergies such as gluten and
nuts. It encompasses everything from dairy to yeast and more. We're very
excited about this book and hope that you will be, too.



Find out how you can order the book here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/shop/booksslimming.htm> .





Help Needed from Veggie Mums and Dads



Are you veggie or vegan and bringing up your kids the same? We often get calls
from the media asking to talk to parents. If you're proud of the fact that your
kids are cruelty free and eating a healthier diet than most - and prepared to
have your photo taken (it's for the animals!) on the odd occasion for a
newspaper or magazine - please help us! Send your name and address and
children's names and ages (and whether they and you are veggie/vegan) in
confidence to juliet@...; write to us at Veggie Mums and Dads, c/o
Viva!, 8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol, BS2 8QH, UK - or call Jane Easton
(director's PA) on 0117 944 1000.




Vegan picnic in London



It might not seem like it just yet, but Summer is just around the corner! The
North London vegan families group are holding a picnic on Sunday the 26th June
in Regents Park, London, from 1pm, exact meeting place to be confirmed. Please
bring some vegan food and/ or drink to share.



Email Julie on fletcher_julie@... <mailto:mfletcher_julie@...>
for more info or to let her know if you think you will be able to make it.





Sweet Toothed Vegans Rejoice!



New to the shop are Viva!'s truly scrumptious Peppermint Crèmes. These are
seriously minty crème centres covered in deep, dark choccie. Go on, treat
yourself!



Order a little taste of heaven here <http://www.viva.org.uk/shop/chocolate.htm>
.





Your Viva!City



This email alert reaches thousands of people but we'd like your help to make it
even better. At the moment, we have just one list of addresses which means that
we have to send the same email to everyone. From time to time we'd like to let
people know about things happening in their area or get in contact with our
younger supporters but we don't want to fill everyone else's mailboxes with
information that isn't relevant to them. What we'd like to do is compile email
lists separated into different regions so that if we do have something we'd like
to tell people in Scotland or Yorkshire about, we can send them the information
without bothering anyone else.



The simplest way for us to identify which area you live in is to know your
postcode and so we'd be grateful if you could take a minute to fill in our
online questionnaire <http://www.timetogoveggie.com/emailconfirm01.php> . We'd
also really like to know your age if you're under 18 - you can fill in your date
of birth on the form. You won't receive any postal mailings (unless you want
them and fill in your other details) and the information will be used only to
sort your email addresses. You don't even have to give us your name if you don't
want to.



As ever, if you would like any more information about any of our campaigns,
check out our website www.viva.org.uk <http://www.viva.org.uk/> or get in touch
with us directly - contact details at the top of this email. Please don't click
"reply", however - your email won't be seen at that address.



Thanks again for all your support.





Note: Viva! does not forward emails from other sources or supply email addresses
to other organisations. The only emails you receive as a result of being on this
list come directly from us. Viva! has full and current virus protection.



<https://secure46.cedant.com/timetogoveggie/donate01.html>

<http://www.viva.org.uk/Viva!MembershipForm/membershipform.htm>

<http://www.viva.org.uk/goingveggie/index.html>



If you would like to be removed from this email list please send a blank email
to: remove@...
<mailto:remove@...?subject=Please%20remove%20me%20from%20Viva!'s%20email\
%20list>



If you would like a text-only version of this email, please send an email to
textonly@... <mailto:textonly@...>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]