VEGAN CATERING FOR ALL
Interview by Claudette Vaughan

Clare Persey from the UK Vegan Society spoke with us recently on their latest campaign, Vegan Catering for All, and we asked her a host of other vegan necessity questions such as where to find support, what’s a typical good quality vegan meal, how to cater for vegans and news on their trail-blazing Vegan Catering Into Hospitals and Care Homes campaign.

Abolitionist: What’s the UK Vegan Society’s latest campaign Vegan Catering For All about Clare?

I am really excited about this campaign, the aim of which is to improve the quality and availability of vegan food in the UK. Once individuals make the decision to go vegan we want to make it easier for them by working with caterers to ensure that vegan food is readily available in restaurants, cafes, work places, schools, colleges and everywhere else!

We have already been in touch with a large number of restaurant and café chains and received a positive response. This is, though, a campaign that anyone can take part in. We are urging vegans to send off for Vegan Catering For All to present to caterers so that they have guidelines on how to provide delicious vegan meals.

Does veganism suit all people including all religious people such as Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and Hindus?

Yes indeed, vegan food has the wonderful advantage of being suitable for many different groups of people:

• Lactose-intolerant
• Egg-intolerant
• Vegetarian
• Vegan – of course!
• Meat-reducers
• Healthy eaters
• And more

Vegan food can also be adapted to suit the requirements of many religions, raw fooders and coeliacs, though not all vegan food fits into these categories.

How popular is a plant-based diet in Britain today?

Veganism is extremely popular. There are an estimated 150,000 vegans with many more embracing the diet to some extent. Soya milk sales have gone through the roof and sales of meat-free foods are steadily rising, year on year.

Vegan festivals are cropping up all over the country. The first vegan festival in the UK took place in 1998 and has gone from strength to strength. It outgrew the first venue and this year the venue was full to bursting point with queues outside: a wonderful testament to its success.

What can you tell us about the founder of veganism, Donald Watson

Donald Watson was a driving force within the group of people who founded The Vegan Society in 1944. He lived to the grand age of 95 and sadly passed away in 2005. Here is a selection of quotes from an interview that Donald gave in 2002:

The word vegan
“I did appeal to my readers to suggest what the name might be, and I had a list of very bizarre suggestions, but, in an inspired moment, I settled for the word “vegan", which was immediately accepted and, over the years, became part of our language and is now in almost every world dictionary, I suppose.”

A turning point
“One of my earliest recollections is of holidays on my Uncle George’s farm where I was surrounded by interesting animals… It wasn't long before the business of killing one of the pigs began. I still have vivid recollections of the whole process from start to finish, including all the screams of course, which were only feet away from where this pig's companion still lived. I suppose at that point I decided that farms, and uncles, had to be re-assessed: the idyllic scene was nothing more than Death Row, where every creature's days were numbered by the point at which it was no longer of service to human beings.”

The future
“I think the genie is now out of the bottle, no-one can ever put it back, to the ignorant days before 1944, when this seed was planted by people full of hope, full of aspiration that surely this idea would attract enough followers for it at least to survive.”

Is there a 'typical' vegan meal?

Sceptics would have you believe that the typical meal is a stick of carrot or a lettuce leaf, but essentially you can take any type of cuisine and come up with dishes that are vegan and delicious, from gourmet, ethnic or fast food to traditional or Mediterranean.

What vegan meal ideas has the campaign come up with?

There are so many that I don’t know where to start and I know this is going to make me hungry so excuse me if I nip off halfway through!

The full English breakfast is very popular over here and the vegan full English is loved by vegans. It could include sizzling vegan sausages and rashers, juicy fried tomatoes, freshly cooked potato wedges, saucy baked beans and crumpets with melt-in-the-mouth vegan cream cheese. I love to throw some lightly steamed broccoli on my full breakfast to finish it off.

Other lovely breakfasts are tasty scrambled tofu on toast, fresh fruit smoothie or one of the many breakfast cereals that are suitable for vegans.

For lunch you could have a fast snack like a sandwich (chunky roasted Mediterranean vegetables and creamy hummus on sundried tomato bread is good) and for dinner you could have rich moussaka, mouth-watering lasagne or sumptuous cashew nut roast with spring onion mash and gravy. There are so many other possibilities that you really need to see our guide!

To finish off I would suggest trifle with squirty cream, soya milk custard and wobbly fruit jelly. On the cake side chocolate fudge cake or vanilla sponge cake would be two tasty choices.

Most desserts are possible to make vegan whilst being impossibly delicious. Which reminds me, I have a gorgeous fluffy chocolate torte in the fridge that I can no longer resist, it’s time for a tea break.

How successful is your current running ‘Vegan Catering into Hospitals and Care Homes’ campaign?

Our work to help elderly vegans dates back many years. A recent development of the campaign was in the production of a full-colour catering booklet. We asked vegans who had encountered hospital or care home food to describe their experiences. Using the feedback we received from patients and hospital caterers we compiled the catering booklet especially for hospitals and care homes. So far it is has gone out to hundreds of them and the signs so far are positive because hospital and care home national bodies seem keen to work with us and help disseminate information around the industry.

What advice can you provide for somebody starting out wanting to become a vegan?

The Vegan Society supports potential and new vegans in a number of ways:

Vegan starter pack
We offer a free vegan starter pack which provides lots of tips on going vegan, lovely recipes, sound nutritional advice and product information. Our product information mainly relates to the UK, but we are usually able to put non-UK residents in touch with a vegan group in their country or a neighbouring country.

Vegan pledge
A vegan pledge has just been set up for people who want a taster of veganism: they can sign up for 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. If they wish we can hook them up with a ‘mentor’ who can answer any niggling questions they have and of course they are always welcome to contact the office.

Advice line
There is a volume of information on our website. If the required information can not be found, then we are always at the end of phone and email and we are always happy to answer questions.

What’s your views on achieving total animal liberation. 

I do very strongly believe in animal liberation: that animals should exist in their own right and not be viewed as the ‘property’ of humans, as happens in so many situations. When I became vegan it was to take animal cruelty and oppression out of my diet and the thought of animal suffering continues to be the driving force behind my commitment to veganism.

Support the UK Vegan Society
Email: info@vegansociety.com

Their excellent magazine is called The Vegan.