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August 2010
[27] Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
Questioned! The deputy PM replied: We are a nation of animal lovers and the government wants to do as much as possible for animal welfare. Banning of experiments on animals for cosmetics is one of our achievements as a country. The reaction of the public to the recent dumping of a cat in the bin shows how passionately people feel about animal welfare in this country. Though the answer was not very positive, the question has been shown on BBC TV and in a interview on LBC radio the question was brought up again. Nick repeated that he was aware of the immense concern amongst the public about animal welfare. Nick referred the question as one of the good ones!
[25] Desmond Tutu World Statesman
Questioned! Desmond Tutu laughed his infectious laugh and said he liked eating chickens! He then said in the garden of Eden everyone was vegetarian but we have slipped. He said he agreed that all humans and animals should be treated with compassion and no one should be harmed. But he said, 'I am not going vegetarian!' There were over a thousand people and I was glad to put across the cause of animals.
February 2010
[27] A prominent vegetarian campaigner
from Nottingham Pat Smith was awarded a Mahaveer Award at the Nottingham Hindu
Temple on Saturday 27th Feb. 2010 for his untiring efforts to promote a
vegetarian and vegan lifestyle for almost 25 years.
March 2009 [09] Nitin gave a speech at Trafalgar Square, London on Feb 22nd 2009 organised by The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association to raise public awareness on the impact of livestock and dairy industries on global warming. Click here to view video.
November 2008 [07] In October the International Vegetarian Union interviewed Nitin Mehta as part of their series of email interviews with leaders of IVU member societies. read interview here
October 2008 [29] On 26th October the Mahaveer Award was Presented to Sri Mata Amritanandamayi . read more
June [25] On 17th May 2007 the Mahaveer Award was Presented to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Lord Swraj Paul. read more
February [12] On 29 Jan 2007 the Mahaveer Award was Presented to Sadhguru Jagi Vasudev. read more January 2007 [18] The YIV Annual Christmas Lunch. We have been organising a Christmas Vegetarian Lunch for over 25 years in Croydon. The objective is to promote friendship with the people of Croydon….. read more July [18] PRESS RELEASE - Swami Ramdev who has brought about a health and cultural revolution in India through Yoga was presented with a Mahaveer award on 13th July 2006. Click here to read more. January 2006 [16] In response to an article in the Guardian Weekend Magazine about Morgan Spurlock who ate nothing but MacDonalds (the film Supper Size Me) and the damage it did to his health, the following letter was published.
December
[18] We organised our annual lunch which
we have been doing. for over 25 years on 18th December.This year we jointly
organised the event with the Wanza Community of South London Around 100 people
enjoyed the lunch and came to understand better the need for adopting a
vegetarian diet. The Mayor of Croydon councilor Maggie Mansel was present as
well as Lord Weatherill (former speaker of parliament and a vegetarian) Tony
Newman (leader of Croydon Council and a vegetarian), Brenda Kirby (past Mayor of
Croydon and a vegetarian) Malcolm Wicks Minister for Energy. Members of Croydon
police as well as representatives from local churches and the Rotary club of
South Croydon were also present.
November [15] The YIV annual Christmas lunch will be held on Sunday 18th December at Lanfranc High School at 1 PM. [15] I was invited to give a talk to the Rotary Club of South Croydon on 14th November. The title was, 'Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet.’ It was a lunch time meeting at a Chinese restaurant. Click here to read more.
October
[28] The Vegetarian Society held its
annual awards day yesterday ( 27th ) at , ' Cutty Sark' an 1830 ship marooned at
Greenwich. Wendy Turner Webster a TV personality and former MP Tony Banks were
amongst the guests. The best vegetarian cafe awards went to the, 'Maitreya' of
Bristol and the 'Rainbow' of Cambridge.
September [21] The YIV will be at Guys Hospital on Tuesday October 4th at 10am in the Children's ward giving a short talk and serving a vegetarian meal.
[12] Nitin will be a guest speaker at the World Congress of Faiths - Interfaith Celebration of Animals, Sunday September 18, 3pm to 5pm at:
Golders Green Unitarians,
[09] Finally we have our web site up and running. Feel free to explore our pages and feedback any comments you may have. There are currently 2 newsletters available for perusal. We hope to update this selection soon. |
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On
27th August the deputy Prime Minister did a question & answer session with a
select audience. I had the privilege to ask the first question. The question:
Mahatma Gandhi said 'the moral well being of a nation and its greatness should
be judged by the way it treats its animals'. The time has come to form a charter
of animal rights so that their abuse in blood sports, factory farming and
vivisection can be stopped. The government also needs to promote a plant based
vegetarian diet to help stop global warming and improve the health of the
nation. Can the animals count on your governments support Mr. Clegg?
Desmond
Tutu came to Croydon Fairfield Halls on Thursday 5th August for a meeting with
the public. He was interviewed by Trevor McDonald. This was followed by
questions from the audience. I made sure Trevor asked me to put a question! This
is what I asked: Thanks to great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson
Mandela and you Sir that some of the cruelties and injustices perpetrated by
human beings to their fellow humans have ceased. The time has now come for we
humans to stop the violence and abuse we inflict on the animal kingdom. Can the
animals count on your support Mr. Tutu? Gandhi strongly believed that animals
need to be treated with compassion and dignity. Can you help the cause of
animals and go vegetarian also? 