Out and about today.
A vegan fair, an epic fail from Waitrose, and a new (for me) eco-crypto project.
And some great new films to watch too.
1. Abergavenny Vegan Fair
Today we went to the Vegan Fair in Abergavenny.
I'm not a vegan, but I am vegetarian with three chickens who still lay eggs.
I certainly support the ideas of veganism - particularly from the environmental and planetary point of view.
So I was interested to see what was on offer at the fair.
The event was in the old Market Hall where a portion of the famous food festival is held in September.
There were a number of speakers and more than 50 stalls with a large range of ethical clothing brands, cruelty free cosmetics and skincare, eco-friendly household products and an impressive line up of vegan food from chocolate to pizza and everything in between.
The fair was from 10am - 3pm. We arrived around 1.30pm. Alas by then several of the main hot food stalls had already run out so we had a much reduced choice for our lunch. We opted for some very tasty vegan pizza.
The stalls were interesting but nothing we hadn't seen before.
This was the first vegan fair in Abergavenny, and it was reported that up to 2,000 people attended.
It will be interesting to see how it develops in future years.
2. Epic Fail at Waitrose
You may recall a couple of weeks ago I visited a Waitrose cafe and was served peach tea in a disposable plastic cup instead of a glass. This was despite the company's policy to reduce plastic usage - and a sign in the cafe to that effect.
I complained to Waitrose's Customer Services. They saw the point, took up the idea to swap to glasses, and promised this change would be pushed out to all their 130+ store cafes as soon as possible - starting with the one I visited in Abergavenny.
Today I was back at the same cafe. I ordered a peach tea just to see...
And what did I get?
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!
I got the tea served in the same plastic cup - but this time with a plastic lid as well.
What the heck Waitrose?!
Wake up and smell the peach tea will you?
Guess who I will be calling again after the bank holiday?
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3. EverGreenCoin
I have just discovered a new eco cryptocurrency - EverGreenCoin (EGC).
EverGreen describes itself as a "An Environmental Organization & Currency".
EverGreenCoin is much more than a new currency, a new 'cryptocurrency' as it's called. Cryptocurrency is a sort of digital money that can be used as a store of value or in exchange for goods and services. The EverGreenCoin currency itself is only the mechanism leveraged to nourish our more important focus, taking responsible care of our environment and the world we live in by helping to raise funds for environmental green projects.
EGC supports environmental projects and relief charities with money crowdfunded through the currency.
People can earn EverGreenCoin through Proof of Environment (PoE) actions such as tree planting, clearing litter and other environmentally positive acts.
This will be an interesting project to explore. Maybe some of the things I do for my daily challenge will qualify as Proof of Environment.
4. Films for Action
Have you seen Films for Action?
Films For Action is a community-powered learning library for people who want to change the world.
It is a fantastic catalogue of world-challenging and world-changing independent films covering a whole range of topics including globalisation, politics, consumerism, immigration, the food industry as well as environmental issues such as climate change.
You really should take a look.
I dip in and out of the site every so often. Now I have decided to go a bit more full on and watch one new film every day. If I can manage it I will post a short review of each film here on steem.
Grab your popcorn and learn a lot...
5. The Daily Donation - Viva!
Well, we went to the Vegan Fair today, so let's talk vegan...
There are two main vegan organisations in the UK - the Vegan Society and Viva!.
The Vegan Society is the older of the two. Viva! seems to be more animal rights focused.
The Vegan Society takes me off to Just Giving when I press the Donate button which makes the whole process much more complicated.
Viva! donations connect straight to PayPal. Much easier.
My £10 donation today therefore goes to Viva! Sorry Vegan Society.
It's all about the talking. All about the networking.
When we join together - the sum is bigger.
