Television sitcom writer Carla Lane dies, aged 87

Very sad news about Carla Lane, who was born in Liverpool and later became known for her animal rights activism, also wrote Butterflies and co-wrote The Liver Birds.

Image courtesy of kaale

Rumour has it that Quorn may be experimenting with making their whole range - VEGAN!!!

We have emailed Quorn and this was their response

Thank you for your recent email.
We are delighted Quorn customers are so enthusiastic about our new Vegan range. We are aware that a statement has been circulating regarding our Vegan plans for the future. Whilst as a business we remain wholly committed and passionate about developing our Vegan range further and launching more delicious products, due to the technicalities involved as well as a shortage of potato protein – a vital ingredient – we cannot at this stage commit to making the entire Quorn range completely Vegan. But watch this space as more products are coming.
NOW WE HAVE VEGAN QUORN CHICKEN STYLE FILLETS, MAINLY FROM ASDA BUT OTHER GOOD SUPERMARKETS AND SHOPS TOO!
Quorn vegan new range chicken pieces non meat plant based

Chinese Millionaire intentionally goes broke buying a Slaughterhouse to save 2,000 Dogs!

Wang Yan was looking for his missing dog in 2012 when his friend suggested he search a dog slaughterhouse. He arrived at the slaughterhouse to the sight of dogs being horrifically treated. While Yan didn’t find his dog there, for a week, he hung around the butcher shop to witness the mistreatment and bloody killings. Yan, who was a successful steel manufacturer, in a move that would leave him broke, bought out the slaughterhouse and ended its killings.
Yan spent 3 million Yuan (USD 470,186) to turn the slaughterhouse into a rescue shelter and save all the dogs. Now, three years in, Yan has saved 2,000 dogs’ lives there, reports China News Service. At one point, the shelter housed over a thousand dogs at the same time.
Once a millionaire, Yan is now in debt from running the shelter. Yan is not accepting money, but for help, he will oblige anyone wanting to donate supplies or adopt any of the 200 dogs currently under his care. For more information please view the full article:

Here

Plant based Gelatin - Research in USA December 2015

Like so many other common products, the traditional versions of jellied sweets and marshmallows contain gelatin, a macabre ingredient derived from skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones of cows and pigs.
Thankfully for animals and consumers alike, a new start-up, Gelzen, is working on creating vegan gelatin.
The San Francisco-based company was founded by partners Alex Lorestani and Nick Ouzounov. Lorestani was in a physician-scientist training program, and quickly learned about the growing risk of infectious disease thanks to antibiotic resistant bacteria (fueled by antiobiotic use in farm animals). Ouzounov earned his PhD in Molecular Biology at Princeton University, and as a vegetarian was frustrated by the lack of an animal-free gelatin alternative.
Gelzen’s version of gelatin will be cruelty-free, sustainable, and safer for human consumption.
“We have taken the machinery that builds collagen in animals, and moved it into microbes. These microbes can produce animal-free gelatin at massive scales. Building gelatin from scratch also eliminates the risk of pathogens that can be transmitted from animal material to humans, greatly improves the efficiency of protein production by using fewer land and water inputs, and allows us to precisely engineer its key properties like stiffness.”
Considering that gelatin is in a countless number of products, from gel-caps to Jello, the market for a better version has the potential to be huge. As The New Omnivore put it: “With its special versatility, stability, and more predictable quality, as well as the fact that conventional gelatin is a by-product of the hugely wasteful factory farming system, Gelzen’s new gelatin represents another bright step forward to animal-free food production.”
. So where does production currently stand?
“We built the collagen-producing microbial factories,” explains Lorestani. “Now, we’re focusing on scaling production up and making prototypes for customers to test. We are thrilled by how supportive the vegan community has been. There’s a real and urgent need for animal-free gelatin, and we’re working hard to get it out there!”
I will keep you posted on any new updates!
Thanks to Hannah Sentenac and Latest Vegan News for the information, you can read more at: For more information please view the full article:

Here

Mock Meat made from Lentils

Scientists reveal they have recreated a vegetarian version of every carnivore’s favourite meat… from LENTILS. Scientists in the Netherlands invent 'meat substitute' made from legumes. Its texture 'resembles steak more closely than other meat substitutes'
Researchers at Wageningen University an create 1.2in thick 'steaks' Dutch scientists claim to have invented a meat substitute so good it has enabled them to create vegan steaks.
The new 'fake meat' uses legumes - beans, lentils and peas and according to the Wageningen University researchers the substance has a fibrous texture that resembles steak more closely than other meat substitutes. The researchers can create 'steaks' with a thickness of 3cm unlike with other substitutes that are often limited to small mince-sized pieces.

World Vegan Month

Though this is a Vegan Society event we are going to do our best to promote it by running a few items through the month, one of which will be "The New Vegan Survival Pack".
The World Vegan Month event runs from :-
Sunday 1st November 2015 to Monday 30th November