Veggies
Encyclopedia
Veggies of Nottingham, also known as Veggies Catering Campaign, is a campaigning group based in Nottingham
, England
, promoting ethical alternatives to mainstream fast food
. It does this by hosting events such as the annual East Midlands Vegan Festival , publishing books and leaflets, and maintaining an extensive website, including a Contacts Directory of groups with similar aims. As a non-profit worker co-operative it also provides affordable, wholesome, minimally-packaged vegan catering at a wide range of events and protests using fair trade
, organic
and/or locally sourced ingredients
.
activists who were frustrated at the lack of vegetarian fast food available at the time . They began by selling veggiesburgers to the public from a mobile stall, later also providing locally
baked pasties and cakes, and other foods and drinks. The co-op has since gone on to provide both snacks and full cooked meals for many thousands of people at peace movement
marches
, animal rights
demonstrations
, festivals, protest
camps and reclaim the streets
events .
From 1985, Veggies ("probably the best vegan catering outfit on the planet") were based at (and later took on the co-ordinating of) the Rainbow Resource Centre in Nottingham City Centre. In 2001 this relocated in to the Forest Fields
area of the city and was renamed the Sumac Centre
, part of the emerging UK Social Centre Network
.
, including Samosas for Social Change (supporting, amongst others, the charity
Vegfam and Food Not Bombs
' Hurricane Katrina
appeal), the Vegan Business Connection , the all-vegan bakery, Screaming Carrot , and vegan catering
projects in other towns.
Veggies has been reported to have a "vast and extensive internet capability" , used for networking on issues affecting human rights
, animal rights
, environmental protection
, anti-militarism and social justice
. Veggies is dedicated to furthering the aims of the campaigning community, with links to organisations such as Amnesty International
, Greenpeace
and Friends of the Earth
, although they increasingly campaign on a more grassroots
level, rather than relying on the resources of (inter)national organisations. From 1987 to 1996, and through to the present day, Veggies has been closely associated with the McLibel Campaign and London Greenpeace
, continuing to help with the co-ordination of Days of Action and the distribution of campaign resources.
The publications of the Movement for Compassionate Living
, promoting simple living
, are printed and distributed by Veggies, who also act as local contacts for Animal Aid
, the Vegan Society
, the Vegetarian Society
and Viva!.
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, promoting ethical alternatives to mainstream fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
. It does this by hosting events such as the annual East Midlands Vegan Festival , publishing books and leaflets, and maintaining an extensive website, including a Contacts Directory of groups with similar aims. As a non-profit worker co-operative it also provides affordable, wholesome, minimally-packaged vegan catering at a wide range of events and protests using fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
, organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
and/or locally sourced ingredients
Local food
Local food or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular...
.
Background
Veggies was set up in 1984 by seven animal rightsAnimal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activists who were frustrated at the lack of vegetarian fast food available at the time . They began by selling veggiesburgers to the public from a mobile stall, later also providing locally
Local food
Local food or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular...
baked pasties and cakes, and other foods and drinks. The co-op has since gone on to provide both snacks and full cooked meals for many thousands of people at peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
marches
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
, animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
, festivals, protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
camps and reclaim the streets
Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim The Streets is a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterize the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalization, and to the car as the dominant mode of transport.-Protests:Reclaim The...
events .
From 1985, Veggies ("probably the best vegan catering outfit on the planet") were based at (and later took on the co-ordinating of) the Rainbow Resource Centre in Nottingham City Centre. In 2001 this relocated in to the Forest Fields
Forest Fields
Forest Fields is an inner-city area of the City of Nottingham in the county of Nottinghamshire, England.-Geography:The area is known to be very multicultural and is located just North of the city centre, in between the areas of Hyson Green, Basford and Sherwood, close to the site of Nottingham's...
area of the city and was renamed the Sumac Centre
Sumac Centre
The Sumac Centre is an independent community and social centre in Nottingham, UK, part of the UK Social Centre Network and Radical Routes. It provides resources, meeting spaces and skills for groups and individuals campaigning for human rights, animal rights, the environment, peace and co-operation...
, part of the emerging UK Social Centre Network
UK Social Centre Network
The UK Social Centre Network is a grass roots initiative to establish a network between self identified radical independent social and community centres in the United Kingdom. There is no single policy statement but clearly a general desire to improve communication and co-operation between the...
.
Projects
There have been many other campaigns and projects set up or supported by past and present Veggies members and volunteersVolunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
, including Samosas for Social Change (supporting, amongst others, the charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
Vegfam and Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance...
' Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
appeal), the Vegan Business Connection , the all-vegan bakery, Screaming Carrot , and vegan catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
projects in other towns.
Veggies has been reported to have a "vast and extensive internet capability" , used for networking on issues affecting human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
, environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
, anti-militarism and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. Veggies is dedicated to furthering the aims of the campaigning community, with links to organisations such as Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
and Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
, although they increasingly campaign on a more grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
level, rather than relying on the resources of (inter)national organisations. From 1987 to 1996, and through to the present day, Veggies has been closely associated with the McLibel Campaign and London Greenpeace
London Greenpeace
London Greenpeace was an Anarchist environmentalist activist collective that existed between 1972 and 2001. They were based in London, and came to international prominence when two of their activists refused to capitulate to McDonald's in the landmark libel case known as "McLibel".-Origins:In 1972...
, continuing to help with the co-ordination of Days of Action and the distribution of campaign resources.
The publications of the Movement for Compassionate Living
Movement for Compassionate Living
The Movement for Compassionate Living is a UK based organisation promoting veganism and sustainable living. Membership is informal, based on subscription to the group's journal New Leaves, with subscribers in many countries....
, promoting simple living
Simple living
Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include reducing one's possessions or increasing self-sufficiency, for example. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they need rather than want...
, are printed and distributed by Veggies, who also act as local contacts for Animal Aid
Animal Aid
Animal Aid, founded in 1977, is a British animal rights organisation. The group campaigns peacefully against all forms of animal abuse and promotes a cruelty-free lifestyle. It also investigates and exposes animal cruelty....
, the Vegan Society
Vegan Society
The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan society in the world, founded on November 1, 1944, in England by Donald Watson, Elsie "Sally" Shrigley, and 23 others....
, the Vegetarian Society
Vegetarian Society
The Vegetarian Society is a British registered charity established on 30 September 1847 to "support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK."-History:...
and Viva!.