I was invited to a party once, the hostess was so excited to
have a vegan as her guest and she informed me that she knew exactly what she
would prepare for me. I have to admit, I was rather skeptical but preserved a
pinch of faith that she would Google what a vegan was. Day of the party came
and she really had done an extravagant food display but to my dismay she had
googled “Vegetarian”.
The difference between a vegan and vegetarian is usually
perceived as the same thing BUT this is not the case.
VEGAN: A person who doesn’t eat or
use animal products or by products
VEGETARIAN: A person who doesn’t eat
meat or fish and sometimes other animal products
In such a world filled with diverse palettes, the Breath of Life Institute decided to take
full advantage of Vegan Awareness Month 2013 which was initiated by The Vegan Society in November 1944.
Vegan Awareness Month (Also known as VAM) series was held over the weekends
from 9th November 2013 – 24th November 2013.
VAM series was
divided into 4 activities which explained the benefits of veganism for the
animals, environment and humans, the last activity involved food tasting which
gave non-vegans a taste of great, healthy vegan food and those who were already
vegans more options to explore.
The first 3 activities were held at The Cape Town Central Library and each Saturday an exhibition was
on display. Patrons were educated with power packed answers to questions asked
about pictures, statements and information given. Books about veganism from the
library were on display for patrons to explore and BWC (Beauty without cruelty)
pamphlets.
The vegan cuisine day was held at The Company
Gardens where Breath of Life Institute had a stall with spinach spring rolls,
vegan recipe and lifestyle books on display,
Good Hope International Beverages
had a stall with soy milks (sweetened and unsweetened) and soy milkshakes
(Chocolate and Strawberry),
BWC has
Fry’s products display,
Crush Café stall
with vegan cake,
AVO (African vegan outreach) with booklets that went into the
dynamics of animal cruelty of the meat industry and Veg Fund stall with bite
size Fry’s foods and pamphlets to accompany them. The day exemplified the
saying of Yah in Genesis “Thou mayest freely eat”
Health Connectionwholefoods donated vegan products, Laura Cooke supported and marketed the event
on her blog
veggie.buntch and also the
Green Times team who marketed it
on their website
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| BWC stall representing Fry's products |
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| Jacques and Lucas at AVO stall |
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| Study material |
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| Prizes for lucky draw and study material |
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| Sample kebabs |
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| Fry's Polony |
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| Soy mince rolls |
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| BWC pamphlets |
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| Sisyah at the Good Hope International Beverages stall |
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| Volunteers at Crush and Avo stall |
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| Delicious and mouthwatering! No eggs or milk! |
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| Arikeeyah demostrates the different tastes of soy milkshakes |
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| Luan and Laura |
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| The Team |
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| The Team |
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| Somchiyah and Laura |
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| Luan, Simkhiel and Somchiyah |
BWC also held a Veg
Parade where vegan community took the streets of Sea Point with their banners
and pamphlets to create awareness of veganism, the danger it causes to our
animals and environment and food alternative with a Fry’s products stand where
free fry’s vegetarian sausages were given.
Hopefully such steps will educate and make one more aware of
the differences between a vegetarian and vegan, the vast list of benefits it
has and the possibilities it introduces in making a difference for our earth,
animals and health.
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