Vegan Festival of Britain

Vegan Festival of Britain

Celebrating 40 years of Animal Aid – The Vegan Festival of Britain. May 20th-June 10th 2017

vegetablesA guest post from Animal Aid:

We thought long and hard about how to mark the Animal Aid’s 40th anniversary of the foundation of Animal Aid so while we’re proud of what we’ve achieved for animals over four decades – such as an end to compulsory dissection for school students in our early days to more recent undercover investigations exposing the brutal world of slaughterhouses – we didn’t simply want to dwell in the past, we preferred to look at what comes next.

This lead us to decide that probably the greatest sign of our influence has been the change in public attitudes to animals and especially the huge rise in the popularity of veganism.

Last year an Ipsos MORI survey of nearly 10,000 people in the UK – conducted on behalf of Vegan Life Magazine and The Vegan Society – found that there are now more than half a million vegans in the UK – that’s a rise of over 350% in the last ten years.

While we wouldn’t want to claim all the credit for this heartening progress, we can certainly claim to have played our part. From the beginning, we have championed veganism as the non-violent response to animal cruelty, environmental degradation and human poverty. And it was Animal Aid that launched the first all-vegan Living Without Cruelty Festival (way back in 1987).

Therefore, to celebrate our anniversary, we thought that our vegan campaign ought to be right at the centre. This is why we are co-ordinating the first Vegan Festival of Britain and asking for support from the whole vegan community to ensure its success.

Vegan Festival of BritainThe Vegan Festival of Britain is not about one single big event, the idea is to pull together and inspire all the boundless creativity, talent, energy and commitment out there – whether businesses, cooks, campaign groups, celebrities, local campaigners or individuals. From special events and promotions to dedicated restaurant menus, online promotions such as the one that Ethical Superstore are offering  and company/shop involvement – right down to individuals inviting their neighbours over for a meal or a slice of cake – we want to inspire with the idea of a national celebration of veganism and see where it takes us. While Animal Aid’s 40th anniversary is the catalyst, we see it as collaboration with other groups and individuals.

How can you help?

We hope that you will want to join us by becoming a key part of this groundbreaking initiative. Can you organise a vegan cake sale to raise funds, invite a friend to try some vegan food, give out leaflets, put up a display in a local library, order leaflets and posters, arrange a vegan party, take in biscuits or cakes for work colleagues, persuade your local wholefood store to do a promotion or a restaurant to offer a special vegan menu – even it’s just for one day some time between May 20-June 10? There are lots more ideas on our website – veganfestivalofbritain.org.uk – as well as information on what’s already happening. Or possibly you have ideas of your own? Either way, please do get involved, in whatever way suits you best (and let us know about it), because every contribution will help us to make a difference.

And we’ll look forward to the Vegan Festival of Britain 2018!

ANIMAL AID, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, TN9 1AW
Tel: 01732 3654546. E mail: info@animalaid.org.iuk

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