The UK’s
latest Veggie Lifestyle Magazine Off The Hoof (www.offthehoof.co.uk) has responded
immediately to Croydon’s 999 emergency health call that went out on
recently, by announcing their first ever Eco Veggie Fayre at The Fairfield
Halls Croydon on November 1^st 09

‘The Eco
Veggie Fayres are a brand new concept in family entertainment’, says show
organiser and magazine editor Tim Barford. ‘They are full of Kids
activities, entertainment, films, talks and workshops as well as loads of food
and products – but everything is eco friendly and veggie friendly, with a
fair trade influence too. It’s got to be one of the best ways of finding
out how to improve the health of ourselves, our kids and our planet, whilst
still having a cracking day out. And its excellent value too – only £3
for adults and £1 for Kids!’

The Eco Veggie
Fayres (www.ecoveggiefayre.co.uk
) will be touring several regional venues including Reading
(Dec 19^th 09) and Brighton (March 20^th 2010) before
heading to Bristol
for a 2 day spectacular at the end of May (29th and 30^th 2010). But
event host Tony Bishop – Weston from Off The Hoof, himself a Croydon resident,
is thrilled that the Veggie Fayres are starting in Croydon.

‘Its just
what we need to help focus the local community in bringing through a designated
veggie day in Croydon’ says Tony, ‘a huge get together with a party
spirit. We need to act together to provide healthy and sustainable choices for
the generations to come.’

Croydon has
recently been named London’s
most unhealthy borough and with obesity rates on the rise it’s time to
act – and act now. A number of health experts such as local nutritionist
Yvonne Bishop – Weston, and healthy food producers (including Heather
Mill’s latest acquisition Redwoods) are gathering their resources
together to try and push through a Veggie Day once a week to be adopted by
Croydon Council in an attempt to encourage a lot more fruit and veg consumption
and less intake of meat and dairy throughout the borough.

The Meat Free day idea has already been adopted in Ghent
(Belgium) and is backed worldwide by hi profile celebrities such as Paul
McCartney and Joanna Lumley (www.supportmfm.org). The organisers of the Eco Veggie Fayres
intend to join the push forward the Veggie Day idea to all the councils they
visit, starting with Reading, Brighton and Bristol after their opening campaign
in Croydon.

999

The 9th September
2009 (999) seemed the perfect date to 
launch a campaign by a consortium of different groups and companies to
tackle Croydon’s emergency health situation.

Croydon’s  Health Problems

Croydon’s dire
health situation mirrors the plight of the planet. If something isn’t done soon
the future looks bleak. Rising childhood obesity in Croydon is now approaching
the thousands and Croydon topped recent league tables winning the title ‘Unhealthiest
borough in London’

Meat Free Monday Solution

London
Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston says one solution is to promote having a meat
less day once a week, a Meat Free Monday as Vegetarian Paul McCartney and
celebrity pals urged, or a Flesh Free Friday as the church used to
advocate.  “It’s not more meat that we
need to improve Croydon’s health,  it’s
more fruit and vegetables that we need in our diets.  Very few people in the UK manage to reach the
NHS target of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day and the actual optimal
target is even higher (5 portions of veg and 3 of fruit)” says the
nutritionist.

Health & Sustainability Campaign Coalition to
Target Croydon

Having won the
title of unhealthiest borough in London Croydon is now a prime target for a
number of different environmental, health and animal welfare organisations. 

• Croydon
  Friends of the Earth plan to launch a Food Chain Campaign
  about animal feed
• Animal Aid have launched www.meat-free-monday.com
• The Vegetarian Society are
  launching a healthy eating project
• The Vegan Society has
  launched two catering guides for World Vegan Day, one for restaurants and one
  for hospitals and care homes. They also have a CD Rom for schools.
• Foods for Life Nutrition and
  Health Consultancy in Croydon is targeting parent groups, offices and restaurants with their
  CHOP Healthy Business Awards
• Passion
  for the Planet Digital Radio Station is
  launching a ‘Munch Less Meat’ campaign

·        
Viva! have launched Fruity Fundays – Choose Your
Veggie Days

·        
Croydon based  Young Indian Vegetarians, SEAR, Yaoh, Croydon
Vegetarians,  Oasis Natural Health, Foods
for Life, Off the Hoof magazine, Veggievision , Plamil, Redwoods, Beanies and
Lush are all working  on a health and
sustainability family fun day at Fairfield Halls on November 1^st  that will encourage people to eat less meat.

See
www.croydon.ecoveggiefayre.co.uk and  www.meatfreecroydon.blogspot.com for more information.

www.habitataid.co.uk

Habitat Aid is launching a small range of bee friendly non-native trees
to complement the native trees and nectar plants we are already selling.
These trees are recommended by the
British Beekeepers’ Association, except for one specifically for
bumblebees.

This
is part of the continuing expansion of our product line
in support of charities working to protect and promote biodiversity in
the UK. We are donating half of our profit from the sale of these trees to the Laboratory of Apiculture and
Social Insects at the University of Sussex. This is an important cause, and as
a beekeeper myself particularly close to my
heart. 

You can
find the trees at http://www.habitataid.co.uk/acatalog/exotic_trees.html and more information from the contact details
below. 
Nick Mann
Habitat Aid
Phone: 01749 812775
Fax: 01749 812971
 
www.habitataid.co.uk

Yvonne has been busy with the media in recent weeks

RADIO
Yvonne did a radio tour last week on healthier eating for safer driving – she appeared on Radio Stations from Moray Firth in Inverness in the north  down to Southampton and Portsmouth – literally coast to coast

BBC
Yvonne appears in one of the later episodes of the current BBC series on bad parenting “Young, dumb and living off mum” – excruciatingly bad masochistic viewing for any parent.

ITV
Yvonne was also recruited to contribute to a Grenada
series on celebrities – each week they take a female celebrity and
politely pull her life apart and put it under a magnifying glass to
dispel the myth that success is just a question of being in the right
place at the right time and a look at the pressures of society on
appearance.

MAGAZINES
Yvonne will be appearing in a
number of magazines in the coming months. Harpers Bazaar are running an
article on the UK’s top therapists that Yvonne features in.

INTERNET
Yvonne
is booked to make a number of guest appearances on high profile
interactive websites as part of a series of webchats on fertility and
parenting.

Other Projects
Yvonne is also part of the talented team on the Fat Attack programme  – www.fatattack.co.uk

Foods for Life www.foodsforlife.org.uk – Tel 08712884642