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ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS
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October 2009
Asian Vegetarian Congress – 6-10 Nov, 2009
The 4th Asian Vegetarian Congress, organised by the Asian Vegetarian Union and the Indonesia Vegetarian Society, will be held on Batam Island, Indonesia, near Singapore from 6-10 Nov. People from everyone in the world are warmly welcome to enjoy delicious Indonesian vegetarian food.
Among those who have agreed to speak are 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, R.K. Pachauri, well-known vegetarian crusader Maneka Gandhi, and IVU Regional Coordinators for India and for Asia-Pacific, Shankar Narayan and Susianto Tseng.
China Xiamen International Vegetarian Food Fair, 12-15 Nov, 2009
Where: Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center, China
Who: Xiamen Municipal Government, Xiamen General Chamber of Commerce, Xiamen International Chamber of Commerce, Xiamen Jinhongxin Exhibition Co., Ltd.
With: Vegetarian materials, vegetarian food, organic food, natural food, healthy food, vegetarian snacks: fruits, vegetarian books, vegetarian restaurants, and other vegetarian products - Plus: International Vegetarian Forum, a million signatures for vegetarianism, food tasting, cooking competition.
IVU World Vegetarian Congress – 1-7 Oct, 2010, , Jakarta and Bali
The 39th IVU World Vegetarian Congress will be held in Indonesia in two places, Jakarta, the capital (and the economic centre of the country) and Bali, the country’s most famous tourist destination. The Congress starts in Jakarta and then moves to Bali. An outline of the programme is available.
Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
CHINA:
Chinese Vegetarian Recipes - www.chinesevegetarianrecipes.org
MALAYSIA :
Vegetarian and Vegan Chinese Food in SE Asia - verdantreports.org/.../veg...-food-chinese
PHILIPPINES:
Greens Vegetarian Restaurant and Café - www.facebook.com/.../Greens - ...
September 2009
Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
NEW ZEALAND :
Revive Vegetarian Cafe (2 Auckland Locations) - www.revive.co.nz
PHILIPPINES :
Integral Transformation Group, Inc. (Vedic Perspective) - itgthegroup.blogspot.com
August 2009
And, A Petition for Taiwan
A petition is circulating on the internet urging the government of Taiwan to adopt Meatless Mondays: www.gopetition.com/. . /meat-free-monday-taiwan.html People from outside Taiwan are welcome to sign the petition.
Similar petition campaigns are happening in several other countries: www.meatfreepetition.com
Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
MALAYSIA -
Woods Eco-cuisine - www.macrobiotics-malaysia.com
July 2009
How I Became a Vegetarian 
Here’s an autobiographical stories about a person’s recent vegetarian journey. Please send such stories from your country to
I have been a vegetarian since 5/Jan/09. My shift towards vegetarianism started when I read a book about the horrendous treatment of the non-human animals whom we eat. I learned more and found that livestock’s food is not regulated, including the amount of chemical pesticides and fertilizers used in growing their food. I saw how our fellow animals are treated as profit making machines, how they are mutilated and confined with almost no space to move and how some go insane due to the unnatural and cruel conditions. This got me wondering how we are able to inflict so much pain on other species just for our personal gain.
I also learned more about the many ways that meat production wastes food and other resources and how this damages our planet. For instance, many hectares of forests are cut down to provide space for animal herding, and animal faeces pollute seas and rivers. The seas also suffer as marine species are decimated by overfishing. Our Earth is dying at our own hands.
Frankly speaking, I knew these reasons for sometime before I eventually switched to vegetarian. Why did I take so long to switch? No matter how compelling the reasons were, I had been brought up thinking of other animals as food rather than as fellow beings who can feel pain and love and can even think. Refraining from meat also seemed too limiting and too difficult a lifestyle to follow, especially when everyone around me was a non-vegetarian. Despite these obstacles, on that fateful day last January, I decided to do a 30-day vegetarian trial.
When the 30 days ended in February, I decided to keep going, and I am still happily a vegetarian. It has not been as hard as I thought it would be, and I can see all the benefits that it has brought to my life. For instance, my family members are now taking more vegetables. I also feel a self-esteem boost knowing that I am doing something good for the Earth and the other animals every time I choose not to eat meat. Currently, I’m moving toward a vegan diet.
I Love Vegetarianism!
Andrewson Tan,
Singaporean, 28 years old, andrewsontan.blogspot.com
Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
JAPAN -
Vegan Society of Japan - www.vegan.jp
THAILAND -
Free Bird Cafe - NGO Vegetarian Cafe - www.thaifreedomhouse.org
Events:
Minding Animals Conference 13-18 July, 2009, Newcastle, Australia
June 2009
Organising Vegetarian ‘Meetups’ 
Joe Goh is a local vegetarian activist in Singapore, where he heads the Singapore Vegetarian Meetup Group: www.meetup.com/singapore-vegetarian In this interview, Joe tells us what Meetup is, what kinds of activities Singapore Vegetarian Meetup does and his ideas for the future. The hope is that the Singapore experience will inspire others and that others may wish to share ideas with Joe and his Singapore friends.
New Registred Group:
SINGAPORE -
Friendly Vegetarian Food Supplier - www.friendlyvegetarian.com.sg
May 2009
Japan Veg Soc President Publishes Article in Leading Nutrition Journal 
The president of the Japan Vegetarian Society - Prof/Dr Mitsuru Kakimoto's research paper, ‘Vegetarianism and Vegetarian Diets - History and Types’, has appeared in The Japanese Journal of Clinical Nutrition, No. 4 (2009), the most prestigious academic journal in this field in Japan. Below is a short summary.
Considering that nowadays almost all the international airlines that arrive at and depart from Japan's airports offer vegetarian options for the airline meals, one can say that vegetarian food is world food. This article covers the history of vegetarianism, from its origin in India and Greece, to the modern vegetarian movement in Britain in 19th Century, to the foundation of IVU in 1908 as a global network of vegetarian organizations. The author further discusses the various types of vegetarians and explains that IVU's definition of vegetarian includes vegans, lacto vegetarians and lacto-ovo vegetarians. Reasons for becoming a vegetarian and trends in the U.S. and Japan are also discussed, by pointing out that many health conscious people in the U.S. have turned to vegetarianism because of the American Dietetic Association's 1997 recognition of the preventative effects of vegetarian diets. People are also moving towards vegetarian for global reasons, such as environmental protection, assistance to developing countries and animal rights. The journal’s next issue will carry an article by another leader of the Japan Vegetarian Society on vegetarian diets in hospitals.
Vegan Diets and Buddhist Nuns in Vietnam 
The following research abstract was sent by Dr Michael Gregor
Osteoporos Int. 2009 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print]
Title: Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: a study in
Buddhist nuns.
Authors: Ho-Pham LT, Nguyen PL, Le TT, Doan TA, Tran NT, Le TA, Nguyen TV.
Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
This cross-sectional study showed that, although vegans had lower dietary calcium and protein intakes than omnivores, veganism did not have adverse effect on bone mineral density and did not alter body composition.
Introduction: Whether a lifelong vegetarian diet has any negative effect on bone health is a contentious issue. We undertook this study to examine the association between lifelong vegetarian diet and bone mineral density and body composition in a group of postmenopausal women.
Methods: One hundred and five Mahayana Buddhist nuns and 105 omnivorous women (average age = 62, range = 50-85) were randomly sampled from monasteries in Ho Chi Minh City and invited to participate in the study. By religious rule, the nuns do not eat meat or seafood (i.e., vegans). Bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and whole body (WB) was measured by DXA (Hologic QDR 4500). Lean mass, fat mass, and percent fat mass were also obtained from the DXA whole body scan. Dietary calcium and protein intakes were estimated from a validated food frequency questionnaire.
Results: There was no significant difference between vegans and omnivores in LSBMD (0.74 +/- 0.14 vs. 0.77 +/- 0.14 g/ cm(2); mean +/- SD; P = 0.18), FNBMD (0.62 +/- 0.11 vs. 0.63 +/- 0.11 g/cm(2); P = 0.35), WBBMD (0.88 +/- 0.11 vs. 0.90 +/- 0.12 g/cm(2); P = 0.31), lean mass (32 +/- 5 vs. 33 +/- 4 kg; P = 0.47), and fat mass (19 +/- 5 vs. 19 +/- 5 kg; P = 0.77) either before or after adjusting for age. The prevalence of osteoporosis (T scores </= -2.5) at the femoral neck in vegans and omnivores was 17.1% and 14.3% (P = 0.57), respectively. The median intake of dietary calcium was lower in vegans compared to omnivores (330 +/- 205 vs. 682 +/- 417 mg/day, P < 0.001); however, there was no significant correlation between dietary calcium and BMD. Further analysis suggested that whole body BMD, but not lumbar spine or femoral neck BMD, was positively correlated with the ratio of animal protein to vegetable protein.
Conclusion: These results suggest that, although vegans have much lower intakes of dietary calcium and protein than omnivores, veganism does not have adverse effect on bone mineral density and does not alter body composition.
Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
CHINA and ECUADOR :
Ceres Journey - veg travel in Ecuador and China - www.ceresjourney.com
April 2009
Don’t Eat the Planet – A Musical Video
Here’s a simple, clear 6.5 minute video from Hong Kong, entitled ‘Don’t Eat the Planet’:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWNwbzoSuw8
NEW BUSINESS SUPPORTER: Meat and Egg Free - www.meatandeggfree.com - based in New Zealand and of interest to all English speakers.
Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
CHINA :
sq-ss - vegetarian restaurant - www.sq-ss.com
March 2009
Welcome to New IVU Full and Associate Member Societies
MONGOLIA:
Vegetarian Earth Green (Non-Governmental Organization) -
Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU
AUSTRALIA - Peace Kitchen - www.peacekitchen.typepad.com
INDONESIA - Kafedaun.com - The Largest Vegetarian Info - www.kafedaun.com
January 2009
“A Delicate Balance: The Truth” - New Video on the Many Ills of Meat 
An Australian filmmaker has produced an 84-minute video titled, “A Delicate Balance” www.adelicatebalance.com.au/trailer.html
You can view the trailer or order the DVD online or pay per view to watch the entire video. The video features interviews with such experts as T. Colin Campbell, Howard Lyman, Neal Barnard, John McDougall, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., Maneka Gandhi and Peter Singer. Two sequels are planned.
December 2008
Parent Support Group Launched 
Moving from the older generation to the younger generation, last month, Vegetarian Society (Singapore) launched a Parent Support Group to help parents who are trying to raise their children as vegetarians. Present at the first meeting was a dietician and a counsellor who offered advice. Additionally, the making of a tasty, healthy smoothie was demonstrated. To learn more, including to view a survey used by the group, visit www.vegetarian-society.org/?q=node/936
Does your organisation have such a Parent Support Group or something similar? Please let this newsletter be a forum for exchange of ideas on this important topic. To contact one of the organisers of the Singapore group:
New Associate Member Society:
Society for the Teachings of Sadhu Vaswani (organisers of the World Meatless Day), Malaysia - www.meatlessday.com
November 2008
More Memories of Dresden, and Information on Indonesia 2010
The 100th anniversary IVU World Vegetarian Congress, held earlier this year in Dresden, Germany, lives on in many people’s memories.
At www.ivu.org/congress/2008/texts/reports.html - even if you don’t read Japanese, you’ll enjoy the photographs from Congress coverage by Japanese magazine 'Veggy Steady Go'. Amongst their photos is one of Susianto Tseng, IVU Regional Coordinator for Asia-Pacific.
Susianto is also one of the key organisers of the 2010 IVU World Vegetarian Congress to be held 1-7 October in Jakarta and Bali, Indonesia: www.ivu.org/congress/2010
October 2008
Chinese Language Email Group on Vegetarianism
IVU has a wide and growing variety of email groups, for example, groups for various regions of the world, such as Africa and Asia/Pacific. Recently, a Chinese language email group, ivu-cn, was launched:
groups.google.com/group/ivu-cn
If you enjoying reading and writing about vegetarian issues and news in Chinese, this group is worth a look.
September 2008
Major New Addition to History Section of IVU Website 
Last year Edgar Crook, of Canberra, Australia, published his book 'Vegetarianism in Australia: 1788-1948 - a cultural history'. This is an excellent, fascinating, and very readable account of the long struggle for acceptance of vegetarianism in a country that exports huge quantities of meat.
Edgar has now revised and extended the book, bringing it right up date - and has made the entire book freely available on IVU. It is divided into 19 PDF files for ease of downloading and reading. See www.ivu.org/history/australia
We're looking forward to meeting large numbers of Australians when the IVU
World Vegetarian Congress is held in Jakarta and Bali in 2010, and we will
now expect them all to be well informed about their own history!
Many thanks to Edgar for this highly impressive book, and for making it free for all on IVU.
2010 Congress in Indonesia 
The 2010 IVU World Vegetarian Congress, 1-7 Oct, is being hosted by the Indonesia Vegetarian Society (IVS). Here’s the start of the Congress website, featuring 2007 and 2008 IVS events: www.ivu.org/congress/2010
IVS plans to open the Congress in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, before moving to Bali, the country’s most famous tourist destination. Both places have hosted domestic IVS events with 1000 and more participants.
Vegetarian Magazine Launched in Japan 
The first vegetarian magazine in Japan, titled "Veggy Steady Go", was launched this past June. It's a beautifully designed quarterly magazine sold in bookstores nationwide. The magazine not only features Japanese vegetarian and vegan lifestyles and trends but also offers lots of veggy information from all over the world. The Fall 2008 issue will include a feature story on the 100th anniversary IVU World Vegetarian Congress in Dresden, with reports on IVU history, the programme, food, delegates, and lots of pictures.
The publisher and editor-in-chief is vegetarian and wants to raise awareness and to foster an environment for veg-related businesses. She realizes that it will take a while for this kind of magazine to become profitable in Japan, but she believes that her magazine meets the needs of the times. The website is in Japanese at www.veggy.jp
August 2008
Kyoto Vegetarian Festival 2008
Date: Oct 5 (Sun)
Place: Okazaki Park, Kyoto City (Sakyo-ku, in front of Heian Shrine)
This is the 6th annual Vegetarian Festival (formerly the "Veggie & Peace Festival"), an event bringing together vegetarian-, environment-, and peace-minded people from all over Japan. An event for all ages, the festival gives you a place to enjoy vegetarian food and listen to music while learning about vegetarianism, the environment, and more.
In an effort to reduce garbage, please bring your own eating utensils and bags for the items you buy: www.vegetarianfestival.jp
Tokyo Vegetarian Festival 2008
Date: Oct 18-19 (Sat-Sun)
Place: Yoyogi Park ("Keyaki Namiki" the tree lined street in front of NHK Hall), Shibuya, Tokyo
www.tokyovegefest.com
(4) Minding Animals Conference – 2009 
Date: Jul 13-18, 2009
Place: Civic Precinct, Newcastle, Australia
www.mindinganimals.com
A transdisciplinary conference exploring the interrelationships between animals and society
- where academic meets activist
- where environmentalist meets animal advocate
- where all can participate in consideration of past, present and future interrelationships between human animals, nonhuman animals and the total environment.
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