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Press Release: New Scientist Article Provokes Massive Response

Thursday, 22 July 2010 11:07 Sally Ford

Individuals and groups representing vegetarians and vegans up and down the country have been responding to a recent article in New Scientist magazine.

VON (Vegan-Organic Network) welcomes Bob Holmes’ article “Veggieworld: Why Eating Greens Won’t Save The Planet” (issue 2769 14 July 2010) as part of the increasing debate about the future of food but was disappointed by its muddled logic and several omissions.

Holmes gives figures for the greenhouse gas emissions of beef, chicken and pork but omits plant protein from his comparison. He quotes a 21% reduction in land use if the world went vegan, yet later talks about marginal land as if it could not be re-forested, used for energy crops etc. He omits to mention the environmental damage caused by the tanning of leather, avoiding the comparison with a pair of shoes made from a renewable crop such as hemp.

Press Release: Growing Green Going Strong

Monday, 28 June 2010 11:04 Sally Ford

The Vegan-Organic Network (VON) marks the 25th edition of its fascinating magazine Growing Green International with a bumper issue full of encouragement and sustenance for vegan-organic (stockfree organic) growers everywhere.

From Arizona to the French Pyrenees, from Cheshire to Florida, from Essex to New Mexico, from Sri Lanka to Cornwall: all around the world, vegan-organic growers are sowing the seeds of progressive agriculture and finding the time to write about them for the vegan-organic movement’s most enduring publication. The history of the movement is given prominence in an interview with pioneer Mary Bryniak, a member of the Dalziel O’Brien family, who established one of the first vegan-organic (and indeed one of the first organic) market gardens in Leicester during the 1940s and 50s.

Others look to the future with articles by Susan Morris, David Stringer and John Walker about growing your own healthy food, community food production and the use of plastic in gardening. Student Jane Fanshaw reports on her Organic Horticulture & Project Management FdSc course at Glyndŵr University, where stockfree organic standards and principles are integral to her studies.

Amongst technical issues covered is the vital topic of excess nitrogen through agriculture. The magazine also features nutritional information, seasonal recipes, book reviews and even a crossword: something for everyone,whether you’re a commercial grower, an allotment holder, a gardener or just interested in the future of food.

To join VON and automatically receive your copies of Growing Green International, see the website www.veganorganic.net where samples of copies can be seen and back issues ordered.

Press Release: Go Stockfree Organic to avoid Aminopyralid

Monday, 21 June 2010 11:26 Sally Ford

Crop losses caused by aminopyralid [a] contaminated manure have hit the headlines once more as the Vegan-Organic Network (VON) urges growers to adopt its climate-friendly stockfree methods.

VON, an international educational charity promoting the benefits of vegan-organic (stockfree organic) horticulture and agriculture, wants to dispel the myth that animal inputs are necessary in order to grow healthy crops in an environmentally sustainable and economically profitable way. Manure does not have to come from animals!

Press Release: Vegan-Organic - The New Paradigm

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 08:32 Sally Ford

“Animal products, both meat and dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives” states a report by the United Nations Environment Programme which has hit the early June headlines. *

The report provides further evidence of the huge environmental impact of meat and dairy products, a fact which has already led to initiatives such as meat-free Mondays and a big increase in the consumption of vegetarian and vegan alternatives.

VON (Vegan Organic Network - an international network of farmers, growers, gardeners and anyone interested in food, growing food and the future of food) has a particular interest in the report.

“Once again we see official acknowledgement of the problems caused by livestock farming” says representative Sally Ford. “One look at the picture on page 80 of the report should be enough to convince most people that we need a new paradigm. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but growing vegan-organically is clearly the way forward for a world where abundant animal manure is soon going to be a thing of the past. Vegan-organic growers (or stockfree organic as they are known in the trade) have been successfully producing food all around the world for many years, with zero animal inputs. Fertility is built up and maintained by careful crop rotation, use of green manures, composting and mulching. These techniques can be used anywhere from gardens to field-scale production. Global sustainable food production is our goal and we hope that the UN and other major organisations will soon be promoting vegan-organic techniques worldwide.”

Press Release: Visit a Stockfree Organic Farm – more than a day out in the country

Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:04 Sally Ford

If you’re curious about how farmers and growers around the UK are producing “organic plus” food, now’s your chance to find out more.

Stockfree organic is the term used to describe vegan-organic methods for commercial growing purposes. Commercial stockfree farms have been feeding people for many years and have often found that, along with the environmental and ethical benefits, these methods provide a better finanical return for growers than conventional farming.

The Vegan-Organic Network (VON) is organising a series of unmissable opportunities to visit commercial growers, enjoy a farm walk, ask questions and discuss with others the ins and outs of growing stockfree organic food. Advance booking is essential.

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