Out of the trillions of non-human animals who are used and killed each year by humans, from land and sea, a very small number are rescued from exploitation and live out their lives as much as possible according to their own interests. Morally, this is the right of every living being, but currently most are denied this; most are used for what humans want from them, and most are killed at the hands of humans. The very few who escape exploitation are cared for in sanctuaries, from tiny micro-sanctuaries in people's homes and gardens, to larger farmed-animal sanctuaries, where many species live side by side. One way in which vegans can help other animals is by offering them sanctuary in their homes and/or by supporting dedicated animal sanctuaries s...

Since 2014 it has been the Scottish Government’s policy that Scotland should become a Good Food Nation. What does it mean to be a Good Food Nation? The Scottish Government set out some broad objectives for the policy, which are laudable and in line with a country that values fairness, justice and equity for all. They said that a Good Food Nation Scotland would look like this:

• "Everyone in Scotland has ready access to the healthy, nutritious food they need;"

• “The people of Scotland have improved access to, and understanding of, the benefits of healthy local foods”;

• "Dietary-related diseases are in decline, as is the environmental impact of our food consumption;"

• "Scottish producers ensure that what they produce is increasingly h...

The Second Lancet Report

Lancet 1:
 

On 16th January 2019 the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health released a report setting out “the first full scientific review of what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system, and what actions can support and speed up food system transformation.”

Their report, Food in the Anthropocene, considered nutritional targets and environmental sustainability and concluded that there is an urgent need to shift away from using and consuming animals and to plant-based production and consumption.

We commented on EAT-Lancet Food in the Anthropocene, welcoming its confirmation that for the sake of human health and to avoid the destruction of the environment upon which we all (human and non-human) dep...

Go Vegan Scotland attended an evening event on veganism and plant-based production and consumption at the Scottish Parliament on 24th January 2019, which was hosted by the Vegan Society and sponsored by MSP Richard Lyle. All MSP’s and their staff were invited, along with a number of others with an interest.

At the event Barbara Bolton spoke briefly about the urgent need for Scotland to start to view the related matters of animal rights, environmental destruction, food justice and the right to health as matters of social justice. She also drew attention to the joint Go Vegan Scotland and Vegan Society petition currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament Petition Committee, which calls for guaranteed plant-based options in the public sect...

EAT-Lancet Report

On 16th January 2019 the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health released a report setting out “the first full scientific review of what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system, and what actions can support and speed up food system transformation.”

The Commission is a group of “more than 30 world-leading scientists from across the globe” brought together to “reach a scientific consensus that defines a healthy and sustainable diet. https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission/; https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/EAT

Their report, Food in the Anthropocene, highlighted the critical need to shift away from using and consuming animals and to plant-based production and consumption if we are to avoid destro...

We recently gave a talk at Vegan Connections covering some of the potential challenges of being vegan at this time of year and we thought it would be handy to cover it as a blog post with links to some of the things we mentioned. This will be of most use to new vegans and people who are not yet vegan, but longer-term vegans may also find some helpful tips. The talk seemed to go well, with people finding it useful so we hope you do too!
 

Firstly, an easy one. What to eat! 

In terms of food and drink, there are so many options now that it's impossible to cover even a fraction of it. We can only highlight some of the things that came to mind. 

Most high street supermarkets have a wide range of vegan options now and most are doing a Christmas range t...

(Photo: “When a Scottish Primary School announces last minute that the children will be having a special Xmas meal, the vegan parent asks what their vegan child will be given and the attached is the response, i.e. “Nothing.” This was the evening before the meal.)

While we're pushing the Scottish Parliament to pass legislation guaranteeing a vegan option in every state institution every day, (see: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/public-petitions-committee-december-6-2018) in the meantime we know many vegans in Scotland are being denied vegan food in schools, hospitals and elsewhere. We can all be pushing for provision, in reliance upon our legal rights, informing the state of its obligations and educating people about veganism really is.

...

Go Vegan Scotland and The Vegan Society have been invited to speak to the Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee, in support of our petition for guaranteed plant-based options in all of Scotland’s state entities, including schools and hospitals.

We will attend on the morning of Thursday 6th December, in the Scottish Parliament Building. The Committee begins at 9:30am, and we will be notified of the timing of our half hour slot shortly.

The Committee hearings are public (to view only, you won't be able to participate), so if you wish to attend you should go to the Parliament as a visitor in good time to be shown to the room where the Petitions Committee will be sitting.

The sessions are filmed and the recording will be shared on the Scottish Parl...

We have only 6 DAYS left to gather signatures on this one-off petition calling on the Scottish Government calling for plant-based options, suitable for vegans, to be guaranteed in every state entity, every day. 

This is a one-off opportunity to push our Government to take this crucial step to ensure that vegans can continue to live vegan when in hospital, school etc, and to make a significant step towards embracing plant-based agriculture and consumption. 

The Proposed Law

The law would apply to hospitals, schools, care homes etc, places where vegans rely on state provision in order to avoid the consumption of animals and things taken from animals.

Veganism is already protected under Human Rights and Equality law, but that is not well known or under...

In 2017 Go Vegan Scotland carried out a survey to find out what issues Scotland-based vegans were facing in terms of their ability to live vegan when dependent upon the state / government. 

This arises when we're in hospital, school, prison, care homes and other contexts. The responses from some 480 Scotland-based vegans highlighted a lack of understanding of the moral conviction that vegans live by, what it means to be vegan in terms of avoidance of all forms of animal exploitation and killing, and how vegan convictions should be taken into account by our state entities.

Picture from: https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/campaigners-call-vegan-options-every-15225308

Hospitals

In terms of food provision, NHS Respondents who ha...