THE WAY AHEAD FOR VEGANS: THE VEGAN-ORGANIC NETWORK

Why vegan-organic?
The vegan movement has made great progress since the Vegan Society was started in 1944 in the UK. Veganism is now recognised as a healthy, sustainable, ecologically sound way for people to live. The food that we eat, the clothes that we wear, the lifestyles that we adopt, are all part of vegan culture and trying to live in an environmentally friendly way. We try to remove all animal products and by-products from our lives - the next step is to remove them from vegan food-production. Vegans need to eat vegan food which has been produced outside the animal industry. Vegan organic agriculture is also the most environmentally friendly, sustainable form of agriculture for everyone.

The origins of vegan-organic agriculture
David Stringer and Jane and David Graham founded the Vegan-Organic Horticultural Agricultural Network – VOHAN - in Manchester in 1996, with support from the Movement for Compassionate Living, VIVA!, The Vegan Society, Vegan Views, VEGA and many vegans. All three founders were vegans with a background in horticulture, agriculture and the food industry. VOHAN was later changed to VON - the Vegan Organic Network. Vegan organics was not intended to be a single-issue campaign, but an integrated international movement.

VON information
VON publishes a twice-yearly journal GROWING GREEN INTERNATIONAL, with two Bulletin supplements, now edited by Peter White. Articles on research, the theory and practice of vegan-organics and the broader ideas of ecology, non-violence, social justice and the abolition of animal abuse are discussed.
VON has developed a worldwide membership with the aim of promoting growing food without the use of animal manures, slaughterhouse by-products, artificial chemicals or genetically modified material. This, together with crop rotation, green manures, compost and chipped branch wood, forms the basis of vegan-organic growing. VON made a subtle change from the term most widely used in animal-free agriculture which is 'stockless' to 'stockfree'.
The VON produces information sheets which cover most areas useful for vegan growers.

The campaign
There are three main strands to making vegan-organic grown food more widely available:

• To specify the methods and standards for stockfree organic growing and to enable growers to become certified using these standards.
• To establish a Demonstration, Education and Research Centre.
• To encourage vegan-organic cultivation on a small scale as well as farm-scale growing.

VON has a distinctive logo and has produced a set of standards - the Stockfree Organic Standards (SOS). In 2004 the Soil Association Certification Ltd (SA Cert.) appended the Stockfree Organic Standards (SOS) to their own inspection process, thus giving farmers and growers the opportunity to be aware of and to apply for SOS status. Farmers and growers wishing to adopt veganic or stockfree organic cultivation will now be able to obtain both the Soil Association and the Stockfree Organic symbol simultaneously. VON has now set up a new department, Stockfree Organic Services, to deal with all queries relating to the Standards, issue application packs and provide advice and support. SA Cert. carries out the inspection and certification on behalf of the Stockfree-Organic Services. Although the Stockfree Organic Standards do not represent the views of the Soil Association, their inclusion with SA Cert. gives them international recognition. The Stockfree Organic Standards offer an ethical and pragmatic route for future food production and products for vegans, ecology, and human and animal well-being.

Vegan-organic growers
Four growers are already signed up for the Standards: these are Tolhurst Organic Produce in Berkshire; the Welsh College of Horticulture in Mold (selling produce as Northop Organics); Sow and Grow Organics in Lancashire; and Growing with Nature in Lancashire. The Welsh College now runs courses in Stockfree-Organics.

The way forward
VON must now create the demand for animal-free food which is grown in accordance with their Standards, and to do this it needs the co-operation of vegans, vegan organisations and local groups.
Vegan-organic agriculture is spreading in countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Austria, Germany, France and the USA.
In 2000, the Vegan-Organic Trust (VOT) was registered with the Charity Commission in the UK, although its constitution allows for operation in any part of the world. The charity is also a registered company limited by guarantee. In 2005, the name of the charity was changed to the Vegan-Organic Network to match the name of the organisation.
The constitution of the charity states that its object is 'to advance the education of the public in the principles of vegan-organic horticulture and agriculture, in particular but not exclusively through the undertaking of research into such horticulture and agriculture and disseminating the results of this research for the public benefit...'

What you can do
There is an urgent need for vegans to promote vegan organic agriculture and to create a demand for food produced in that way, perhaps to grow their own food on an allotment, and, if they live near a vegan organic farm, to join their vegan organic box scheme. Vegan organics can also be used in your garden or even in a window box!
The intensification of production, brought about through the development and use of synthetic chemicals, mechanised farm machinery and high-yielding hybrid seeds, has devastated the soil, water resources and farmland ecology, causing irreparable damage to agricultural land and raising concerns about long-term ecological sustainability and loss of wildlife diversity.
Food production is one aspect of a dynamic vegan culture which embraces justice for people, animals and the environment in a sustainable balance. To achieve this we must change our lifestyles and introduce a philosophy which will continue to maintain our unique planet.
VON needs practical support and more members to achieve its aims.

Information
Copies of the stockfree farms list are available free to VON members, for £6 sterling to non-members.

For more information contact Peter White, 10 Charter Rd, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA15 9RL or email: p.a.white[at]ukgateway.net

VON welcomes enquiries from growers and anyone else interested in the Stockfree Organic Standards: for further information and a copy of the Standards, please send £5 (payable to VON) to Jenny Hall (administrator), Stockfree Organic Services, tel. 07855 392 037 or email sowandgroworganics[at]phonecoop.coop

Details of how to join and support VON are available from VON, 80 Annable Rd, Lower Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2DF,UK, or 'phone 0845 223 5232 or email INFO[at]VEGANORGANIC.NET

See VON website at www.veganorganic.net