VSS eNewsletter 17 November 2009
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17 November 2009 |
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| VSS NEWS Nov VSS Library Talks – 21 & 28 Nov VSS at Countdown to Copenhagen Concert The Next Veg Congress – Oct 2010 in Jakarta VSS at International Vegetarian Forum in Xiamen Letter to the Forum Page on World Hunger GENERAL NEWS New Organic Vegan Restaurant List of Health Food Shops in KL Author of Eating Animals Appears on the Ellen Degeneres Show Global Warming and Singapore’s Economy A New Class from Ami Veggie Heart – Veg Snacks Finally – Al Gore Says Cut Meat Consumption WWF Joins the Choir New Veg Blog: ‘Hungry Ang Mo’ Are Other Animals Stupid? Interview with Bala |
'If you don't eat meat, where do you get your protein?' is perhaps the most common question asked of vegetarians. Read on to see what Jonathan Safran Foer, author of the new book Eating Animals, has to say. Dr George M Jacobs If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to drop us a line here. Subscribe to this newsletter here. Unsubscribe here Visit us at www.vss.sg |
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Nov VSS Library Talks – 21 & 28 Nov |
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VSS has two talks at Central Library this month. 1. Date/Time: 21 Nov, 3pm-5pm Presenter: Louis Ng, ACRES Title: Making a Difference for Animals Venue: Central Public Library, Multi-Purpose Room, B1 near lending library (capacity: 70pax) |
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2. Date/Time: 28 Nov, 3pm-5pm Presenter: Dr Harvey Neo, Geography Department, NUS Title: Meat Production and Land Use Venue: Central Public Library, Multi-Purpose Room, B1 near lending library (capacity: 70pax) We hope to have another series of talks next year. If you’d like to help plan them, pls contact VSS at info@vss.sg  Top |
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VSS at Countdown to Copenhagen Concert |
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VSS was invited to participate in the Countdown to Copenhagen concert at Indochine Waterfront last Friday night. In addition to a display and a flyer on how meat production damages the environment, we livened things up a bit with cow, chicken and rabbit costumes. Dancing in those costumes was lots of fun. Top |
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The Next Veg Congress – Oct 2010 in Jakarta/Bali |
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With the Asia Vegetarian Congress successfully concluded earlier this month, we can now turn our attention to an even larger event coming up next year, the World Vegetarian Congress - http://www.wvc2010.org - being organised by the International Vegetarian Union and the Indonesia Vegetarian Society, with a little help from VSS. Top |
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VSS at International Vegetarian Forum in Xiamen |
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The photo shows VSS member, Lee Song Mau, addressing participants at the International Vegetarian Forum 2009, which was part of a larger vegetarian and organic fair. Song Mau’s talk was on how businesses can cater to the needs of their vegetarian and meat reducer customers. Top |
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Letter to the Forum Page on World Hunger |
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A VSS Exco member sent the following letter to The Straits Times forum page. We’re waiting to see if it is published. I refer to “Save the hungry, give one euro a week” in the Straits Times of 15 November, 2009 and “Gearing up for the end of cheap food” in the Straits Times of 14 November, 2009. As these pieces point out, the situation is indeed urgent with approximately one billion people without enough to eat. In addition to donating money, as proposed by the World Food Programme, we can also address world hunger by changing our diets, because what we eat strongly impacts the world’s food supply. When we eat one kg of meat, we are actually eating many kgs of plant food, the plant food fed to the animals on our plates. In fact, there is already more than enough food to feed everyone, if some of that food were not diverted to become feed for meat production. Estimates of how many kgs of plant food are required to produce one kg of meat vary widely, but certainly chickens, pigs, etc. are not going to gain one kg of weight for every one kg of plant food they eat. The point is that we who can afford to eat meat regularly make a choice each time we have a meal. Will I eat food that comes directly from the earth, nurtured by the sun’s energy, or will I eat indirectly by eating animals fed plant foods? It’s not just a lifestyle decision; it’s not just about what tastes best. It’s also about freeing resources to feed our fellow humans. Top |
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New Organic Vegan Restaurant |
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Vegsenz is the name of a new organic vegan restaurant in Little India. They are having a 20% off opening promotion. Below is more info. A complete listing is on the Food Outlet page of our website: http://www.vegetarian-society.org/node/1124 Address: 2 Serangoon Road #01-24, The Verge, S. 218227 Bus Number (separate with commas if there is more than 1 bus): 2N, 4N, 48, 56, 57, 131, 166, 170, 851, 960, 980. MRT: Little India - Exit C. Open: Daily 10am-10pm |
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List of Health Food Shops in KL |
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VSS has a list of veg outlets in Singapore that includes restaurants, stalls and organic shops: http://www.vegetarian-society.org/?q=fdl We don’t have such lists for other places, but our friends at Cielo Sereno have put together the following list of health food shops in KL: http://www.cielosereno.net/healthfoodshop.htm Top |
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Author of Eating Animals Appears on the Ellen Degeneres Show |
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Last month, we had an article by the Jonathan Safran Foer, author of the new book Eating Animals: www.eatinganimals.com Here’s a clip from his recent appearance on the Ellen Degeneres’ tv show (available in Singapore): http://www.vegsource.com/news/2009/11/ jonathan-safran-foer-on-thanksgiving.html BTW, we hear that Ellen is also veg. Here a hilarious video of hers on the topic: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=38570661 Here are a couple reviews of Foer’s book. The first review is from a Nobel Prize winner in Literature, and the second review is from a leading name in alternative medicine. "The everyday horrors of factory farming are evoked so vividly, and the case against the people who run the system presented so convincingly, that anyone who, after reading Foer's book, continues to consume the industry's products must be without a heart, or impervious to reason, or both." (J.M. Coetzee) "Eating Animals carefully, deliberately, takes you through every relevant dimension of factory farming...One sees it from the inside, the outside, the moral high ground, the dithering consumer level, through Foer's family stories, from slaughterhouse workers, animal behaviorists, even from defenders of the system... Foer's aim is not to make your choice, but to inform it. He has done us all a great service, and we, and the animals, owe him our thanks." (Dr. Andrew Weil) And, here’s an extensive review from The New Yorker magazine: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/ 2009/11/09/091109crbo_books_kolbert Top |
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Global Warming and Singapore’s Economy |
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One of the speakers at the Asia Vegetarian Congress, held earlier this month in Indonesia, was Dr Art-Ong Jumsai, who has had a distinguished career in Thailand as engineer (including work on NASA’s Viking Space Project), university lecturer, businessperson and elected politician in Thailand. Dr Art-Ong’s presentation focused on the impact of global warming. One of those impacts is that because the ice is melting in the Arctic region, ships will soon be able to travel by a northern route between Europe and Asia. This could mean a decrease in the number of ships travelling past Singapore. Another impact highlighted by Dr Art-Ong could be more earthquakes and tsunamis. This impact would arise because the melting ice from certain parts of the world flows to other parts of the globe, resulting in a shift in the distribution of weight on the planet, putting pressure on the tectonic plates, such as the plate under Indonesia. Top |
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A New Class from Ami Veggie Heart – Veg Snacks |
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Ami’s next class is on Fri, 20 Nov, 10am-12noon, and specializes in snacks such as Upama and Aloo Poha. For details and to register, email mehtaami_66@hotmail.com or call 9144.6105. If there is demand for a specific menu, additional classes will be added. Each class will be at $60, payable on that day by cash. If you have a custom requirement for any specific item or menu or for weekend classes, please feel free to contact Ami. Top |
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Al Gore Says Cut Meat Consumption |
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After years of being queried by vegetarian activists, Nobel Prize winning Global Warming campaigner Al Gore has come out to advocate meat reduction: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/ 2009/11/05/2733587.htm Excerpts below. In an interview with ABC News, when asked if he agreed with British climate expert Lord Nicholas Stern’s call for people to be vegetarian to reduce emissions, Mr. Gore replied, “It’s a legitimate point of view. Nick Stern is a very able advocate for whom I have enormous respect… I have cut back sharply on the meat that I eat and it’s absolutely correct that the growing meat intensity of diets around the world is one of the issues connected to this global crisis. Not only because of the CO2 involved, but also because of the water consumed in the process.” The former vice president went on to say, “You can add in the health consequences as well. We’ve all heard from our doctors for many years that vegetables and fruits should occupy a bigger part of all of our diets, and that’s important for a lot of reasons. I’ve made those changes.” Top |
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WWF Joins the Choir |
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Another long established environmental/animal welfare NGO, WWF, has joined the eat less meat choir: http://www.wwf.org.uk/news_feed.cfm?3306/ The-meat-eating-vs-global-warming-debate Top |
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New Veg Blog – ‘Hungry Ang Mo’ |
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A lacto-ovo veg from England has started a Singapore food blog: http://thehungryangmo.blogspot.com Go there for “tell-it-as-he-tastes-it” reviews of local veg eateries. Nice photos too. Top |
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Are Other Animals Stupid? |
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-solomon/ animals-are-stupid_b_336049.html Top |
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Interview with Bala |
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Bala is a yoga teacher and a teacher of so much more. You can frequently see him at events by VSS and other animal-friendly groups. Here’s an interview and video with Bala done by Bhavani of EcoWalkThe Talk: http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/ profile_view.php?Mid=156&Nick=smilingyogi Two more valuable resources on Bhavani’s site are: 1. A video, called High Stakes, on Global Warming in SE Asia, by the UK government: http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/blog/2009/11/14/ high-stakes-a-movie-on-the-economics-of- climate-change-in-se-asia 2. A Quicklist of 1001 Steps to Save the Planet is a free e-book in first draft form which can be downloaded at www.ecowalkthetalk.com Top |
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