2008: VVF Review

2008 was a great year for the VVF!  We are very grateful for your continued support. It has enabled us to expose the detrimental health effects of eating meat and dairy foods in a way that no other organisation does, so we can bring about the changes that will lead to a healthier, happier world, for us and the animals!

Below is a list of some of things we achieved in 2008.

January
The VVF started the year out-and-about, with our V-Plan diet tour going to Salisbury. The VVF’s Food & Cookery Co-ordinator Jane Easton gave a school talk in Alton in Hampshire and later in the month VVF’s Senior Health Campaigner, Dr Justine Butler gave a talk and Jane Easton did a cookery demonstration at the North West Vegan Fayre in Manchester.

The VVF’s Senior Nutritionist, Amanda Woodvine, was featured in Women’s Fitness magazine and wrote an article for Yoga & Health magazine on a veggie detox.

The VVF’s media release “A Fighting Chance” promoted our new exciting breast cancer guide, A Fighting Chance, which describes how you can help prevent or overcome breast cancer.

February
The VVF’s One in Nine breast cancer campaign launched with a media release promoting our public talk on breast cancer and diet with Professor Jane Plant, Juliet Gellatley and Justine Butler at Guy’s Campus, King’s College, London. This was followed by a release describing the successful launch.

For Obesity Awareness Week, the VVF told the press: Veggie diet is a failsafe way to lose weight, according to leading health charity.

The VVF featured in an article called ‘the Dairy Debate’ in Natural Health magazine with reference to our ground-breaking scientific report White Lies.

As part of its Have a Heart tour, the VVF’s Jane Easton and Amanda Woodvine presented a cookery demonstration and talk to the Stroke Association in Yardley, Birmingham.

March
The VVF published a feature in Yoga & Health magazine asking “Soya milk or cow’s milk, which is better?” based on our soya fact sheet the Safety of Soya.

The VVF’s Amanda Woodvine and Jane Easton presented another talk to the Stroke Association, this time in Solihull, Birmingham, also as part of the Have a Heart tour.
The VVF’s V-Plan diet tour went to Chieveley Village Hall as part of a women’s health evening. 

VVF media release New website reassures on the safety of soya to reassure people about the nutritional and health benefits of soya.

The VVF attended Viva!’s Incredible Veggie Roadshow in Northampton with a stall and talks.

VVF media release Health charity celebrates sixth year anniversary with six top health tips to celebrate our sixth anniversary next month.

April
VVF media release Get Cooking Veggie this Spring to promote our fantastic new Vegetarian Recipe Club.

VVF media release Brits advised to go veggie to improve heart health to promote the launch of the new Healthy Heart campaign.

The VVF voiced support for the World Cancer Research Fund’s warning that eating just 50g of processed meat (the equivalent of one sausage) a day increases your risk of bowel cancer by 20 per cent with a media release Health charity backs cancer expert’s warning on processed meat.

The VVF’s Amanda Woodvine and Jane Easton gave a talk to the Stroke Association in Tardebigge in Worcestershire.

VVF media release Get in great health and shape with free veggie Magic Menu plan to celebrate National Vegetarian Week.

May
The VVF were out-and-about again taking a stall to Primary Care 2008 at Birmingham NEC, an event attended by over 5,000 health care professionals. We also had a stall and gave talks at the celebrated Bristol Vegan Fayre. The VVF’s Have a Heart tour went to the health food shop Nature’s Corner in Newbury.

Lifescape magazine featured a three-page-spread on the VVF with recipes from Vegetarian Recipe Club and Yoga and Health magazine featured an article ‘Veggie health for kids’ written by Amanda Woodvine.

VVF media release Eat veggie and slash your stroke risk for Stroke Awareness Day and Boost your health and wellbeing by going veggie for National Men’s Health week.

June
This was a busy month for the VVF in the media with features in: Optimum Nutrition magazine, Lifescape magazine, Health Food Business and The Grocer.

June also saw a host of irresponsible scare-stories circulating about vegan diets and children. The VVF released a Statement from the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation (VVF) about children and vegan diets offering reassurance, and the Daily Mail and Independent published responses from the VVF. See the VVF’s letter in the Independent here:  Balanced vegan diets benefits all children.

The VVF’s V-Plan diet tour stopped in Lincolnshire and Louth and its Have a Heart tour visited GPs and patients at Falmouth Health Centre.
 
The VVF helped out at Viva!’s 18th School Speakers’ Training Day in Birmingham, helping to train the speakers who spread the veggie message around the country’s schools.   

July
The VVF had a stall and gave talks at Viva!’s Incredible Veggie Roadshow in Nottingham.   
VVF media release Veggie fun in the sun with cracking new tips and recipes for the summer issue of Vegetarian Recipe Club.

The Irish News published a feature called ‘Dairy Products and the link with Breast Cancer’; a long article based on our breast cancer report One in Nine, a good write-up!

This month we also sent a survey to Food Technology teachers across the UK to tell them about VVF’s forthcoming ‘TeachVegetarian’ website.

August
The Independent published an article on our campaign to improve the provision of vegetarian food in hospitals ‘Vegetarians go hungry because hospitals do not cater for them’.

Fish-free recipes including seafood paella and tofu were sent out to many UK restaurants to promote fish alternatives in National Seafood Week in September.

September
VVF media release Guide gives a fighting chance against breast cancer further promoting our breast cancer guide with recipes.

The VVF had a busy month travelling around the country. We attended Viva!’s Incredible Veggie Roadshow in Portsmouth, giving talks and running a stall. VVF’s Amanda Woodvine gave a talk on White Meat Myths at the London Vegan Festival and the VVF’s V-Plan diet tour visited Natural Health stores in Hertford and Welwyn Garden City. VVF’s Jane Easton also did cookery demonstrations at the University of the West of England’s Freshers’ Fayre.

The VVF sent out a national school mailing to over 4,000 UK schools to offer our school speaker service and VVF resources.

October
The VVF was in the press again with a feature in Yoga & Health magazine on breast cancer.

To promote the VVF’s new fact sheet Simple Tips to Sharpen Wits the VVF released Going veggie can do wonders for mental health and the VVF’s Justine Butler gave an interview on BBC Radio West Midlands.  

The VVF’s Amanda Woodvine and Jane Easton gave talk and cookery demonstration to foster carers and social workers for the organisation Action for Children (Adoption & Fostering South West).

The VVF’s Jane Easton gave an interview on BBC Three Counties Radio for Roberto Perroni’s Drive Time slot promoting VVF’s message and materials.   

November
The VVF had a five-page article in Yoga & Health magazine promoting our new fish guide Fish-Free for Life and featuring three tasty recipes from the guide.

VVF media release Ironing out the Facts to promote the VVF’s new iron fact sheet that shows how veggies don’t go short of iron.

Network Health Dieticians journal featured a two-page article on breast cancer based on One in Nine, great exposure for the VVF – taking our message straight to the dieticians.

VVF’s Amanda Woodvine gave an interview on our local Bristol Community Radio on the health advantages of vegetarianism/veganism and promoting Viva!’s Incredible Christmas Roadshow in Bristol.

The VVF attended Viva!’s Christmas Veggie Roadshow in Bristol with a stall and gave talks and cookery demonstrations. VVF’s Jane Easton also gave cookery demonstrations at the West Midland Vegan Festival in Wolverhampton and presented an all-day event at Cullompton School in Devon.

December
This was a very busy month for the VVF. We published a 54-page colourful guide Fish-Free for Life featuring delicious fish-free recipes. A new guide, White Meat Myths, was also published, explaining why white meat is not the healthy option for adults or children. We re-launched a new revised version of our informative guide Nutrition in a Nutshell and published a new fully-referenced fact sheet Chewing the Fat which explains how a plant-based diet provides all the essential fats you need – and why animal fats are particularly detrimental to health.

VVF media release No more porky pies as all Irish pork products were recalled from stores after the discovery of toxic substances called dioxins in slaughtered pigs.

VVF’s Amanda Woodvine was interviewed on BBC Three Counties Radio on the general health aspects of vegetarianism

Following our media release Vegetarians and vegans suffer under poor catering provision in hospitals, VVF’s Jane Easton discussed the poor provision of veggie food in hospitals with Jonathan Vernon Smith on BBC Three Counties Radio and James Hazell on BBC West Suffolk Radio.   

Thanks again for all your support and here’s to a busy, productive 2009!