News from our Member Societies

Laying Hens: How to draw the attention of the public to the inhumane treatment of hens in the egg industry? Very simple – lock yourself in a cage for one day! In a one-by-one meter cage, to make things worse. Three of our brave activists locked themselves in a ‘battery’ cage for one whole day on the Starcevic Square in the center of Zagreb. “It was tough, the wire got into every inch of our skin. After thirty minutes being locked in the cage our limbs went to sleep, and after two hours we wanted to ‘peck’ each other out of frustration,” the activists said honestly. Reactions of the passers-by were as we expected them to be: from rather stupid sniggering from those who were not capable of comprehending what we were trying to achieve by locking ourselves in a cage, very unimaginative remarks from some ‘jokers’, to the true support of others and their enthusiasm. One way or another, our mission was completed – we have exposed the truth! No more idyllic farms where happy hens peck the grass and wander freely all day. Millions of eggs on our market come from farms where hens are packed in small battery cages, where they are de-beaked with a hot iron and manipulated through use of artificial light, where their lives are nothing else but suffering

Animal Friends Croatia
Gunduliceva 21a
10000 Zagreb - Croatia
prijatelji-zivotinja@inet.hr
Website: http://www.prijateljizivotinja.hr

Can you help? Animal Friends Croatia would be grateful for books (about vivisection, factory farming, vegetarianism, hunt, fur, famous thinkers, campaigning, etc. etc.) for the organization's library and for website material. In case you can donate suitable material, please send to:

PRIJATELJI ZIVOTINJA -
(Animal Friends Croatia)
Gunduliceva 21a
10000 Zagreb
Croatia

In France, activities celebrating World Vegetarian Day are spread over the first week of October with most of the action happening this year on Friday October 3 and Saturday October 4. Regional delegates of the Vegetarian Alliance, as well as individual members, organize:

• outings to vegetarian restaurants
• stalls at markets for the distribution of free vegetarian literature and food samples
• book booths at alternative lifestyle exhibitions
• public lectures
• information stands in organic food stores
• vegetarian menus in company restaurants

A list of events and regional contact people will be available in early September at www.ivu.org/avf or in printed form. A recipe brochure specially prepared for World Vegetarian Day can also be had upon request. Menus for 4 to 6 people are provided, both for lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans. A second brochure is available offering a menu suitable for company restaurants with recipes indicating quantities for 50 and 100 people. An excellent book by chef Jean Montagard outlining vegetarian catering is on special offer. People are invited to purchase and donate it to a cantine or cafeteria in order to encourage an alternative menu for employees.

For more details please contact:
Alliance Végétarienne
11 bis, rue Gallier
F-77390 Chaumes en Brie
Email: avfsecretariat@wanadoo.fr

How many hungry travellers on Italians highways pass the “Autogrill” thinking: “it’s useless to stop, there is nothing I can eat!”?

But now you you will find Ischia, the sandwich suitable for vegetarian and vegan people. It is a stuffed sandwich containing only grilled vegetables (egg plants and courgettes), fresh vegetables (tomatoes and lettuce) and asparagus cream. The bread is strictly without animal fats. Ischia is a sandwich with the classical Mediterranean taste and it fulfils the needs of vegetarian and vegan customers. It’s easy to recognize because of the label with the name of the sandwich and also the Italian Vegetarian Association (AVI) logo.

The sandwich Ischia was created by the “Autogrill” and the Italian Vegetarian Association (AVI). “Autogrill” is a world leader in catering for tourists with branches in 15 countries, offering quality catering services to people who travel by highways, plane and train. The Italian Vegetarian Association (AVI) was created in 1952 and has worked for the vegetarian interests ever since.

For further information about products approved by the Italian Vegetarian Association’s logo please visit:

http://www.vegetariani.it -
http://www.vegetariani.it/vegetarismo/marchio.htm

On 27 July 2003, the Swiss Union for Vegetarianism hosted the second EVU label-meeting at their Neukirch office. Two of the main discussion points were the exchange of experiences in label matters and the development of a further general strategy, as well as determining the conditions for granting the vegetarian labels for special foods.

After 50 Swiss restaurants have already been granted the V-label, the importance of this EVU project is growing so much so that other sections of the catering trade are now also showing an interest, with shops selling take-aways being the latest. Naturally different control mechanisms need to be developed in special circumstances, so these questions have to be discussed, not only with the interested companies, but also with those national vegetarian organisations already working with the Vlabel in their respective countries.

It is planned to hold regular exchanges on label-matters in the future with the aim of discussing any upcoming issues and to streamline all national and European label-requirements. This work is not only done for vegetarians everywhere but also on behalf of all consumers who are following special diets and are therefore interested in finding out more about the different categories of food products on the shelves (see also http://vlabel.info/index.php?content=groups&lang=en).

More information about the European V-label is available in English German, French and Italian on this website: www.v-label.info.

European Vegetarian Union (EVU)
Label-Department
c/o Swiss Union for Vegetarianism
Bahnhofstr. 52
CH-9315 Neukirch-Egnach
Switzerland
Email: svv@vegetarismus.ch
Website: http://www.vegetarismus.ch