Heather Mills stars in 'My Planet Vegan' on Italian TV

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‘My Planet Vegan’ is a new new Italian innovative vegan cooking show (mostly in original language and in English) and stars Heather Mills and Marco Tricomi, accompanied by special guests – noted chefs, friends, and wine makers. The 10-episode series will showcase exquisite vegan recipes, influenced by Mediterrean cooking and share the vegan diet and philosophy.  

My Planet Vegan's first two episodes have already been launched on September 12th 2019 in Italy, distributed exclusively by the European largest media sat network SKY on Gambero Rosso HD Channel.

Heather Mills Launches Plant-Based Valley In UK To Tackle Climate Change

The valley 'is designed to become the Northern powerhouse for the brightest vegan minds'

Vegan entrepreneur and VBites owner Heather Mills has officially launched her Plant-Based Valley in the UK, in a bid to tackle climate change and build a 'world center for food future' in the North East. 

Heather - who owns three plant-based factories totaling 600,000 sq ft in the Newcastle area - also aims to create hundreds of more jobs in the region.

'Global social responsibility'

"This is not merely a business and investment enterprise, this is an enterprise on which the future of the planet is going to depend," said Heather at the launch of the project today at her VBites factory at Seaton Delavel, near Newcastle.  

"I have been warning about this for more than 20 years and it is now an accepted scientific fact... that the cattle culture diet is having a disastrous effect on the climate and it threatens our very existence. Every expert agrees that for the sake of continued life on Earth we all have to make significant changes to our traditionally meat-based diet, each of us now has that global social responsibility...

"I want the North East to be up and running with innovative new ideas and discoveries and ready to deal with the demand for climate-friendly living which without a doubt is going to happen."

'Essential artery' 

Heather also called on the Government to begin investing in the 'plant-based economy' and to not abandon plans for HS2 - which she described as an 'essential artery' for businesses in the North. 

"HS2 is not only crucial to bolstering the economy of the North and the North East, it is indispensable to the key role that the area can have in providing a manufacturing innovation which will be a lifeline not only for the UK, but for the planet," said Heather.

"HS2 is not a Crossrail for the North, it is an essential artery for a region which has for centuries been the powerhouse of our world-leading nation. Now, at a time when the planet is facing the gravest threat in its very history, it is going to be very much needed for us to build this new Northern powerhouse which will lead the way again."

Omega-3

Heather also announced the launch of Vmega-3 - a plant-based alternative to Omega-3 supplements.

"Most people think Omega-3 oil comes from fish, but the truth is it comes from the algae that fish eat. People get their Omega-3 by eating the fish, but with Vmega-3 you by-pass the fish and get it straight from the algae," Heather commented.

"Omega-3 oil from fish is no longer sustainable. Overfishing and fish-farming have a seriously detrimental effect on the marine environment, plus there’s the worry from research which has shown that the vast majority of fish caught now contain industrial toxins and pollutants."

Originally published at Plant-Based News

Talented trio get their teeth stuck into apprenticeships at VBites Peterlee plant

Talented trio get their teeth stuck into apprenticeships at VBites Peterlee plant

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A trio of talented young engineers are getting their teeth into life in the real workplace as they have been taken on as manufacturing apprentices at the new VBites factory in Peterlee as part of an exciting new partnership between the company and East Durham College’s apprenticeship team.

Owned by celebrity media personality, businesswoman and activist Heather Mills, VBites creates healthy, plant-based foods sold all over the world.

The three apprentices – Ben Bridges, 19 from Peterlee, Calvin Wise, 20 from West Rainton and Szymon Gruchala, 20 from Horden – are working at VBites’ new production facility in Peterlee opened earlier this year. VBites and East Durham College worked in partnership to recruit and train their apprentices.

Heather said: “We’re really pleased to be working with East Durham College.  They’ve helped us a lot with finding apprentices and it’s really important that more training happens, and you get assistance.

“We’re a family business just starting up and all the costs and everything are dependant on us so it’s good that we get this assistance to work out who’s going to be a good worker and who’s not. We’ve spent loads of money on agencies and they haven’t turned out very good, but these apprentices are turning out great and East Durham College is doing a good job training them up.”

Emma Norbury, Business Development Advisor at East Durham College, said: “VBites is set to bring a great amount of job opportunities to the North East, and at EDC we are thrilled to be supporting them with this.

“It’s great to see a company investing in the future, and our three apprentices are already hitting the ground running and doing some fantastic work at VBites.”

Alongside their work at VBites, the three apprentices work with East Durham College to complete their apprenticeship.

Originally publish in: East Durham News

Heather Mills exclusive: Burgers To the University That Ditched Beef

Vegan businesswoman and athlete Heather Mills has offered to donate at least 1,000 plant-based burgers to Goldsmiths University.

The London university recently announced plans to ban the sale of beef on campus as part of a slew of initiatives aimed at making the institution carbon neutral by 2025. These include phasing out single-use plastics and installing more solar panels. The ban follows the 2018 publication of an Oxford University study that suggested eating a vegan diet is the 'single biggest way' individuals can reduce their environmental impact.

Now Mills wants to help students and staff change the way they eat by giving the institution her VBites burgers made in her plant-based food factories in the North East. 

Goldsmiths beef ban

Professor Frances Corner is the new Warden of Goldsmiths. She ordered the beef ban, saying: "The growing global call for organizations to take seriously their responsibilities for halting climate change is impossible to ignore."

She added that staff and students at the university 'care passionately about the future of our environment' and are determined to take action.

"Declaring a climate emergency cannot be empty words," she continued. "I truly believe we face a defining moment in global history and Goldsmiths now stands shoulder to shoulder with other organisations willing to call the alarm and take urgent action to cut carbon use."

'Action is needed'

"I totally applaud this inspirational move by Professor Corner and I completely support her stand," Mills said in a statement sent to Plant Based News. "She is absolutely right, empty words will not tackle the climate emergency, action is what is needed, and I have been saying this for 20 years.

"That's why I am prepared to donate at least 1,000 vegan burgers in order to help students and staff at Goldsmiths ease into a plant-based way of eating which is so much less damaging to the planet. 

"The meat-eaters at Goldsmiths won't miss their beef because these British-made vegan burgers taste so much like meat that in America, the very home of the big meat-eaters, where we've been taste-testing them this summer, they have consistently scored 10 out of 10 against alternatives."


Originally posted at Plant Based News by Maria Chiorando

Heather Mills exclusive: Bringing the plant-based revolution to the North East

Heather Mills exclusive: Bringing the plant-based revolution to the North East

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As a businesswoman with strong ties to the North East, Heather Mills is very clear on what she feels is its main strength. When she spoke to Bdaily, she enthusiastically praised the “hard-working, dedicated, loyal staff” that the region has to offer.

It makes sense then that she has chosen the North East as the location of a ‘plant-based valley’ development, as part of her vegan food company VBites, based at the former Coty and Procter & Gamble site in Northumberland village Seaton Delaval.

Heather shared her ambition for the site: “My plan with my team and our plant-based valley is to make the North East the capital of food and drink manufacturing in Britain.”

The ‘plant-based valley’, in addition to the anticipated opening of a VBites factory in Peterlee this summer, reflects Heather’s commitment to creating jobs and boosting the local economy in the North East.

Speaking about the new Peterlee factory, she explained: “My friend called me and said because of Brexit, factories were dropping like flies, so I wanted to do my bit to try and help this nightmare situation for everybody.

“I have now bought three factories in the North East and I am hoping the food industry supports British manufacturing in light of the situation we are currently in.”

Heather in the former Walkers factory at Peterlee, which will open as a VBites factory this summer.

Heather in the former Walkers factory at Peterlee, which will open as a VBites factory this summer.

For Heather, the region’s main challenges include a “lack of financial support for private family businesses compared to large corporates” and the task of “convincing people and supermarkets that they cannot have cheap products without consequences”.

Heather’s passion and personal motivation for supporting small business is apparent as she talks about VBites Ventures, an initiative to support local plant-based entrepreneurs, which she described as “the first plant-based incubation unit of its kind in the world”.

She explained: “My motivation to help small startups was to help them prevent and overcome the hurdles that I had suffered with no help in my early days of small business as a teenager.

“I felt one of the key things was to incubate them all under one roof not only to stop the feeling of isolation as a business owner, but to mentor, manufacture, distribute and help them sell into our distribution network covering 24 countries.”

As the popularity of plant-based food rises, it is clear that VBites, first established in 1993, has been ahead of the current trend for some time: “We have been pushing it as a community for years and years.”

Heather attributed the current trend of vegan products to the community’s long-time advocacy and activism, as well as “the huge sale of Quorn for £550m to the Philippine company Monde Nissen, Field Roast Vegan Sausage for £120m to [Canadian company Maple Leaf Foods] and dairy free Daiya cheese for £320m to [Japanese firm Otsuka]”.

VBites uses plant-based ingredients to create a range of vegan foods including burgers, sausages and pies.

According to Heather, this level of financial potential “is absolutely why the corporates have sat up, listened and jumped on the bandwagon.”

Heather’s views on adopting a plant-based lifestyle are unambiguous, and she is on a mission to spread the word: “My plan is to educate people - as I have been trying to do for 25 years - on the fact that you cannot support climate change without being vegan.

“Intensive farming - resulting in huge deforestation - to grow crops to feed cattle instead of people, is the primary cause of global warming three times more than all planes, trains and automobiles put together.

“Yet daily, people scream about climate change and head for a burger… we just need them to head for a Vbites vegan burger!”

With sustainability becoming increasingly important to consumers and companies, the plant-based revolution doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Heather’s message to companies resisting the tides of change on this topic was very simple: “Get with the program and get ahead of the curve.”

Article originally published at bdaily.co.uk

Heather Mills calls on governments to support plant-based food market

The exponential rise in the number of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians has seen the popularity of plant-based alternatives soar

The exponential rise in the number of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians has seen the popularity of plant-based alternatives soar

The plant-based food market has grown at a remarkable rate in the past decade, but if further progress is to be made, governments will need to support citizens in their move to a healthier, more environmentally friendly diet

The days of vegan food products being consigned to a meagre shelf at the back of the supermarket are over. The exponential rise in the number of vegans, vegetarians and ‘flexitarians’ – those who follow a predominantly vegetarian diet as part of an active effort to reduce meat consumption – has seen the popularity of plant-based alternatives soar, leaving countless retailers scrambling to cater to the heightened demand.

According to Mintel, 56 percent of adults in the UK ate meat-free or vegetarian products between January and July 2018. Value sales in the meat-free market, meanwhile, are expected to increase by 44 percent between 2019 and 2023, rising to £1.1bn (€1.3bn). Initiatives such as Veganuary and Meat-Free Monday have also impressed upon consumers that the decision to follow a plant-based diet is not all or nothing. Instead, they can make ethically and environmentally conscious food choices on a meal-by-meal basis.

As a result of this shifting mindset, a record-breaking 250,310 people from 190 countries registered for Veganuary in 2019, 46 percent of whom cited health reasons as the principal factor behind their decision to ditch animal products for a month. Rich Hardy, Head of Campaigns at Veganuary, said at the time: “Vegan living is growing – it’s here to stay, it’s part of the national conversation and it has credibility. That’s great news for people, animals and the planet.”

The root cause
While many have been caught off guard by such a rapid rise in the popularity of plant-based diets, for Heather Mills, CEO of meat alternative and vegan cheese company VBites, it has been vindication of a lifestyle she has supported for more than 25 years. The activist and former model first discovered the power of botanical therapies in 1993, after being hit by a police motorcycle that was responding to an emergency call. As a result of the collision, Mills’ pelvis was crushed, her lung was punctured and she lost the lower portion of her left leg, around six inches below the knee.

During her four-month recovery period in hospital, Mills suffered a number of infections that necessitated the amputation of a larger proportion of her lower leg. She was desperate not to lose her knee, as this would have made it far more difficult to have a prosthesis fitted, and so began seeking alternative therapies. “I was willing to try anything at that point,” Mills told European CEO. On the recommendation of a friend, she flew to Hippocrates Health Institute, a controversial holistic treatment centre in California, where she underwent a health regime that centred on a raw food diet and the application of herbal poultices to her wound. “Within two weeks, I was healed,” she said.

Mills continued to follow Hippocrates’ recommended diet for several years, but found it socially alienating. “I began to develop plant-based alternatives to my favourite foods – burgers, hot dogs and such – so I could join in with family mealtimes,” she said. “It took me a couple of years, studying food science and nutrition, but in 1995, I started my own company, VBites, and it’s grown and grown since then.”

By raising her own profile and expanding her portfolio of businesses, Mills is well placed to capitalise on any commercial opportunities presented by the plant-based food market

By raising her own profile and expanding her portfolio of businesses, Mills is well placed to capitalise on any commercial opportunities presented by the plant-based food market

Today, the VBites Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of meat, fish and dairy-free alternatives, while its range of more than 140 plant-based products is sold in 24 countries, including the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The company produces own-label vegan alternatives for supermarkets such as Morrisons, and provides ingredients for brands including Birds Eye and Goodfella’s. VBites also has its own eponymous collection of 84 plant-based products, which are sold in Holland & Barrett, the largest health food retailer in the UK.

Mills credits her current success to two decades of dogged determination: “[When we started] 26 years ago, everyone laughed at us, but I was convinced plant-based eating was going to be the future. I’d love to claim the mantle for its popularity today but, really, the reason it has grown so much globally is because of huge [mergers and acquisitions].” Mills cited deals such as the sale of vegan cheese alternative Daiya to Japanese firm Otsuka Pharmaceutical for $325m (€289.3m) and US protein manufacturer Maple Leaf’s acquisition of plant-based producers LightLife and Field Roast for $140m (€124.6m) and $120m (€106.8m) respectively.

While among the most notable, these are just a few examples of a spate of deals in the plant-based food market: according to a report by FoodBev Media, acquisitions of plant-orientated companies were four times higher in 2017 than the previous year. Prominent players in the traditional dairy market have also recognised the opportunities to be gleaned from shifting their own business models towards plant-based products.

Danone, for example, announced in October 2018 that it would aim to triple its global plant-based business by 2025, placing a particular emphasis on accelerating the development of non-dairy drinks and yoghurts. “When [corporations] started to see these huge figures, they jumped on the bandwagon – that’s why we’ve seen this colossal 900 percent market growth in the last three years,” Mills said.

By raising her own profile and expanding her portfolio of businesses, Mills is well placed to capitalise on any commercial opportunities presented by the plant-based food market

Cultivating the market 
The growth of Mills’ own business has been slower and more organic. In fact, she has dedicated just as much of her time and energy to supporting smaller businesses through her venture capital firm, VBites Ventures, as she has to expanding her own. Founded in 2006, VBites Ventures seeks to invest in start-ups within the plant-based food sector, providing them with access to VBites’ production line to help significantly lower the upfront costs of growing a fledgling business. According to Mills, founders continue to hold the majority share in their companies.

What’s the wurst that could happen? In December 2018, the German Government invested €694,227 in a research project that aims to make the texture of vegan ‘meat’ more realistic

What’s the wurst that could happen? In December 2018, the German Government invested €694,227 in a research project that aims to make the texture of vegan ‘meat’ more realistic

“We manufacture, sell and distribute for them, and put them into our chain of procurement, so that helps keep their prices down and improves their margins,” Mills explained. As they become part of VBites’ existing production line, these start-ups are also automatically granted the kosher, halal, vegan and British Retail Consortium accreditation that the parent company has earned, eliminating yet another initial cost and potential hurdle.

The foundation of VBites Ventures is part of Mills’ wider goal to ensure smaller brands retain a slice of the plant-based sector as it grows. Put simply, she is keen to prevent the market from being monopolised by multinational corporations, preferring instead to keep it as a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. “The last thing we want is a whole supermarket aisle of VBites products,” Mills said. “We want a multitude of plant-based brands and we want them all to have a monopoly on the market – not the corporations.”

VBites Ventures is part of Heather Mills’ wider goal to ensure smaller brands retain a slice of the plant-based sector as it grows

Mills sees her venture arm as a middleman, helping smaller brands strike the best deals with distributors. “We can negotiate with the supermarkets in a better way because we’ve had control of a lot of the shelf space for the past 25 years,” she told European CEO. “VBites is a trusted brand, to the point that supermarkets are much more willing to negotiate with smaller companies if they know they’re backed by us.”

To house her growing venture and manufacturing empire, Mills has spent the last few months building what she calls a “600,000sq ft plant-based valley” in the north of England. In March, she purchased a 180,000sq ft factory near Sunderland, the town in which she grew up. The facility, which was formerly owned by crisps manufacturer Walkers, closed down in 2017, leaving around 350 local workers without jobs.

Unfortunately, this is indicative of a wider trend that has afflicted the UK for the past decade, with more than 600,000 manufacturing jobs having been eliminated since 2005. The problem has been exacerbated by the UK’s decision to leave the EU, as a significant number of international companies have shifted their operations back to the continent amid fears of unstable economic conditions.

Mills, who intends to have the former Walkers factory up and running again by Q3 2019, has already rehired a number of those who were made redundant, finding jobs for them on VBites’ production line. “It’s my hometown; it’s where I came from,” Mills told European CEO. “When I found out the factories were closing down, I wanted to try [to] help, [to] get people motivated and create jobs in the local area.”

A substantial proportion of VBites’ budget is dedicated to research and development to ensure the company is at the forefront of new biological and technological developments

State support
Despite housing VBites’ headquarters, the UK has only recently become the company’s largest market. Prior to the explosion of plant-based eating in the country, Mills’ business had found greater success in the German and Scandinavian markets, in which veganism and flexitarianism have been on the rise for some years.

According to Innova Market Insights, 69 percent of consumers in Germany follow a flexitarian diet, compared with 53 percent in the UK. “We launched in Germany around 12 years ago, when a couple of vegan supermarkets had opened,” Mills explained. The offering has grown exponentially since then: according to Mintel, 15 percent of all new food and drink products launched in Germany between July 2017 and June 2018 carried a vegan label, and the number of vegan product launches in the country grew by 240 percent between 2013 and 2018.

“In Germany, the plant-based sector has had a lot of support and awareness from the government, [which is] very much behind it because of the difference it can make for climate change,” Mills said. In December 2018, for example, the German Government invested$780,000 (€694,227) in a research project that aims to make the texture of vegan ‘meat’ more realistic.

The country’s Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Svenja Schulze, has even banned the inclusion of meat and fish on menus at official government functions. Michael Schroeren, a spokesperson for Schulze’s department, told The Guardian: “We decided to take the symbolic step to ban meat and fish at external events because we want to practise what we preach. For us, it was a matter of credibility.”

Mills would like to see similar support from other European states. She pointed to the Canadian Government’s recent Protein Industries Supercluster proposal, under which a research and development complex that aims to develop new sources of plant protein will be constructed, as a good example to follow. The Canadian Government has invested $153m (€136.2m) in the project to date, and expects it to contribute over $4.5bn (€4.01bn) to the country’s GDP, as well as create more than 4,500 jobs, in the next 10 years.

“Governments should be supporting more green, ethical businesses,” Mills told European CEO. “In the UK, there are no grants available for businesses like VBites.” Rather, Mills has been forced to fund her entire business independently from the outset – a daunting prospect when you consider the cost of building production lines. “Cash flow is a huge issue, especially when buying equipment, because you usually have to put down a deposit of 50 percent, which is locked in for six months,” she explained. “That means we can only buy so much equipment at a time, so we can only grow so fast.”

Alongside manufacturing, Mills dedicates a substantial proportion of VBites’ budget to research and development to ensure the company is at the forefront of new biological and technological developments in the plant-based sector. “We began with soy and coconut-based products, then we moved to pea proteins – now, we’re working with algae oils,” she said.

Algae oils are a rich source of omega-3, which has been traditionally thought to only be present in fish and, as such, was challenging for vegans and vegetarians to incorporate into their diets. “There are only three types of algae in the world that contain the same levels of DHA and EPA (omega-3 fatty acids) as fish – we’ve been working with these for some time, but they’re not widespread across the market yet,” Mills explained.

VBites’ current research is focused on microalgae, which, like algae oils, are rich in omega-3, but could also be used to ‘grow’ proteins using specialised underwater fermentation systems. According to the European Algae Biomass Association, there are more than 2,000 companies worldwide that are active in the production and processing of microalgae. Swiss biotechnology firm Bühler, for example, is currently working on a pilot programme that uses microalgae biomass to make pasta with a protein content of 63 percent.

“That’s the ultimate future,” Mills said. “Where you can make fish-tasting products, which have a complete amino acid profile, are very high protein and extremely environmentally friendly, from biomass produced by microalgae.”

What’s the wurst that could happen? In December 2018, the German Government invested €694,227 in a research project that aims to make the texture of vegan ‘meat’ more realistic

Bearing fruit 
Despite her many business-related responsibilities, Mills has remained devoted to her public speaking and activist commitments. She is an ambassador of Viva!Health, a vegan advocacy charity, and regularly speaks at conventions on the future of agriculture and plant-based products.

In April, Mills was a keynote speaker at the Forum for the Future of Agriculture at the European Commission, at which she shared her thoughts on how plant-based eating can provide a solution to myriad environmental and agricultural issues. Further, two days prior to her interview with European CEO, Mills was in Milan, speaking at the world’s leading food innovation summit, Seeds&Chips, which is attended by more than 12,000 people every year.

The plant-based food market is on the verge of a wide-scale explosion – something Mills is personally, as well as professionally, very excited by

Mills’ schedule is particularly full at the moment as she is in the midst of launching a vegan cosmetics brand, Be At One. It’s part of a push to expand her empire beyond plant-based foodstuffs into clothing, shoes and other lifestyle products, with the overarching aim of forging a pathway for consumers to adopt a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.

“When someone is plant-curious or decides to pursue a flexitarian lifestyle, they start to consider what they’re putting on their skin, what’s in the wine they’re drinking, what they’re wearing,” Mills said. “We’re providing solutions to those concerns by creating products that help people continue down the plant-based path.”

All Be At One products are 100 percent vegan, meaning they contain no animal derivatives and are not tested on animals – a fact Mills believes marks the line out from its competitors. “Often you’ll see a brand calling itself vegan, but in reality, it’s one lipstick out of 100 products,” she said. “We want people to recognise our brand as the go-to for ethical, environmental and animal-friendly [products].”

No doubt, it’s a strategic move by Mills: by further raising her own profile and expanding her portfolio of businesses, she is extremely well placed to capitalise on any commercial opportunities presented by the burgeoning plant-based food market. Mills is certainly aware that the industry is on the verge of a wide-scale explosion – something that she’s personally, as well as professionally, very excited by. This is perhaps unsurprising, considering she has campaigned for environmental and plant-based causes for more than two decades.

“I’ve waited 25 years for this market to become what it’s become,” she told European CEO. “It’s a movement, not just a trend… In a couple of years, it’ll all settle down and [plant-based eating] will become a natural way of life for people. For the next year or two, as the market grows more and more, it’s going to be a rollercoaster – but I’m enjoying the ride.”

Article originally published in the European CEO https://www.europeanceo.com/?s=heather+mills

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Get To Know The Fastest Woman On Earth – An Interview With Heather Mills

Just try to keep up with Heather Mills. Literally. She holds the world record for the fastest disabled woman on skis, reaching a top speed of 103.6 miles per hour in 2015. Her accolades in alpine sports also include multiple international wins for the official British Disabled Ski Team and an additional three world records as the first disabled woman to compete professionally in the Bobsled, Skeleton, and Ski Jump. She’s also a serial entrepreneur, building and selling 3 successful businesses by the time she turned 20, and later, launching an enterprise that would become the world’s leading manufacturer of plant-based meat alternatives. Out of breath yet? Heather isn’t. Among her professional ski and entrepreneurial careers, Heather also set up a refugee crisis center in London for those fleeing from the Balkan Crisis and regularly advocates for the eradication of landmines, survivor assistance, and amputee support. She does all of this on a dairy-free, plant-based diet, with a prosthetic lower left leg. Heather is living life at lightning speed, but we were able to keep pace for just a moment to learn more about what makes her fast-paced lifestyle.

Growing Up

Q: You’ve accomplished so much and lived through so many unique (both good and bad) experiences. What do you identify yourself as? Entrepreneur? Vegan? Athlete?
A:
 All of the above, however, I suppose I would say I am someone that can overcome adversity, and I do this by problem-solving in any area in a simple way. I suppose with my life experience my greatest gift is to see no hurdles just clear green fields that I can run through. However, even in green fields, there are potholes, so when I fall down one I just climb right back out and start again.

Q: Were you involved in sports growing up as a kid? When did you discover a passion for fitness and alpine sports? 
A: 
My father was ex-army, and although what he put us through was extreme, I have to admit it is probably why I excelled in sport. My mother left when I was 9 years old so I became the housekeeper being the oldest girl. After ironing three school uniforms and two of my father’s shirts daily, I would have to jog four miles to school and back as we had no money for bus fare more than once a week. When I reached school I had training of 100 lengths every morning in the pool.

I had a choice to go to the Paralympics after I lost my leg in 1993 and had some training with Olympic gold-medallist swimmer Duncan Goodhew. However I also had huge media exposure and the chance to bring the plight of the war where I had been working previously, in the then Yugoslavia to the world, so I had to give up my dream of the Paralympics, of which I have no regrets as ultimately we fitted up over 400,000 people in nine countries around the world with prosthetic limbs and cleared 21,000,000 m² of mine-filled land.

Ironically, it was not until the age of 42 that I learned to become a Ski Racer after being stuck on a mountain in Austria when flights were stopped because of the Icelandic volcano. I was spotted by the Austrian ski team recreationally skiing in a straight line (I didn’t know how to turn with the prosthetic leg), and the rest is history.

Q: Describe the mental stages you passed through after the accident.
A: 
According to the doctor and psychotherapist, I am not your normal type of person. I did not suffer despair, the fact my mother lost her leg and they reattached it, as well as working in a war zone seeing people blown up all the time, may have had a lot to do with it. Ultimately, I believe it’s my innate determination to overcome any form of adversity of which I have had a lot in my life but not as much as others. In my 51 years, I can honestly say that from everything that seems so bad ultimately creates something so amazing—if you stay focused on your dreams.

Training for Success

Q: As an athlete, how did it feel to not be able to work out, and how did you return to fitness? 
A:
 The loss of my leg was the least of my physical problems after being hit by a police motorcycle. My biggest injury was the crushing of my pelvis. If I had just lost my leg with no other injuries I could’ve got back to physical therapy very quickly. However, a crushed pelvis in 1993 meant you have to stay still in the hospital bed for months.

Once I was able to move around I lived on my crutches rather than in a wheelchair which gave me great upper body strength, and I got my biceps and triceps back. Later, I would sit on the bike and pedal one-legged for hours to try and rebuild the awful atrophy that takes place.

Once I was fitted with a prosthetic leg I learned to rollerblade in Hyde Park in London, something I had never even done with two legs. Then, I learned to dance on ice, something nobody had ever done with a prosthetic leg including an able-bodied gold-medallist from Australia, who told me after losing her leg she could only be a coach. For her, ice skating was impossible, but this just made me more determined, so much so I designed and developed an ice-skating leg and competed in “Dancing On Ice”—the equivalent of “Dancing with the Stars” on ice skates, creating another first.

Q: What does the training for alpine sports entail, beyond being out on the slopes? Weight training? Cardio? Endurance training? A: The typical training week is a 5am start to get on the slopes before the public does. We train at altitude from 6am to 9am for downhill, and if it’s slalom we continue until mid-day on a cordoned-off slope. In the afternoon we would go to the gym and do balance and weight training. Google Lindsey Vonn—one of the best female Skiers of all time—and you’ll see the videos of the type of training we do.

Q: Your schedule seems packed. How do you stay active, and what is your advice to those who say they “don’t have time” for fitness?
A: 
I’m going from 4am to midnight, as I am one of those lucky people (maybe because of my vegan diet) that only needs 4-5 hours of sleep. Because of this, I have more time in the day to fit things in. However, “having no time is just an excuse.” We all have busy lives; you just have to block time out even if it’s 30 to 40 minutes 4 times a week instead of going to the pub. I start at 4am and do all my emails in peace, go to the gym before the family wakes up from 6-7am, then see the kids off to school. The rest of the day is taken up by meetings, travel, and the various needs of my business and charities.

Q: You seem to have discovered the dairy-free lifestyle through a mostly raw diet at the Hippocrates Institute. How long did you adhere to a raw diet, and why did you decide to incorporate cooked foods? 
A: 
When you are seriously ill, you will do anything, and the Hippocrates Raw food diet worked for me and healed the constant infection that the hospitals could not within a matter of weeks after the hospitals had tried for months. However, as you get older, with stress I find I don’t I have enough hydrochloric acid or digestive enzymes to break down raw food. Now I cook everything, even if it’s just a bit.

Q: Were you an avid cook growing up? Can you name a childhood food memory? 
A: 
As my mother had left I was actually forced to cook and became very good at it through lack of money and having to be creative with a bean pie. I used to envy the kids at school that had ham sandwiches whilst ours were void of any meat or dairy; however, I am now eternally grateful with my understanding of the detriments of meat and dairy to the body and the mind.

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Living Plant-Based

Q: Your plant-based food company, VBites, has over 130 products now. What were some of the first products to launch? 
A: 
I was never keen on cheese, but I had lots of friends who were so this was the early development to create plant-based vegan cheeses, from nuts, coconut, and soy. I also missed fish, and one of the VBites biggest sellers is our fish steak which is popular in a lot of the pubs in the UK. People love it with sweet potato fries and mushy green peas. It’s a British specialty.

Q: Do you find it easy to maintain a dairy-free diet while traveling? For example, how vegan-friendly is Austria? 
A: 
Austria is surprisingly vegan-friendly. In fact, the town I chose to ski train in has a biodynamic vegetarian supermarket and restaurant. I was so excited to come off the slopes, walk over in my ski boots, and have an almond latte. However, when touring the world ski racing was very difficult. One funny story: I had an overweight suitcase and the airport check-in lady insisted on opening it…much to her surprise the tub of almond milk powder I often carry around for emergencies exploded! It made me look like a drug dealer!

Q: What did a typical day of eating and training look like for you during your ski career, and what does it look like now? 
A: 
When I wake up I have a very weak rice milk latte, followed by a gluten-free vegan chocolate protein bar, then I make a pea, hemp, and rice milk mixed protein shake to sip on throughout training. For lunch, I would have a big bowl of rice and vegetables and a pack of my VBites vegan duck, which the whole ski team got hooked on. They couldn’t get enough when I brought them in whole wheat tortilla wraps with hoisin sauce. Dinner I would usually do a rice-based pasta.

When I have some time, I love making up tons of Gyoza dumplings with a mix of VBites plant-based meat and vegetables. Then, I just heat them up throughout the week in an organic bouillon soup. I love anything green…spinach, bok choy, kale, broccoli, peas…I’ll take it all!

Q: What are your current fitness goals? Are you just looking to maintain, or try something new? Any exciting recreational ski (or other fitness) trips coming up? 
A: 
Due to major new developments with VBites and VBites Ventures (a mentorship-type company that helps plant-based start-ups expand), in regard to training, it is maintenance right now for me. However, I tend to do three sports charity events with Franz Klammer the ski racer every year, so I up the training six weeks before those. We typically participate in a skiing event, biking through the Alps, and golfing (which is surprisingly great for the mind as my ski coach introduced it to me, much to my surprise).

Q: Any final thoughts? 
A: 
Since we (VBites) started making meat, fish and dairy-free alternatives 25 years ago, the world is finally catching up and realizing that to save the planet—alongside people’s health, the animals, and the environment—we must move to become more plant-based, even if that means starting as a flexitarian.

My hope is to work with more people to create the best plant-based meat, fish, and dairy alternates possible. These foods are the necessary bridge to helping others move away from meat and dairy toward a more whole food, plant-based diet.

Visit the original article here

Heather speaking at Remax 2018 about VBites

Heather speaking at Remax 2018 about VBites

Vegan Festival Eastbourne

Vegan Festival Eastbourne

Heather attended the Vegan Festival as a special guest in Eastbourne, giving a speech about her varied businesses and experiences on the 25th January 2019. This free event had varied exhibitors, vegan food samples and beauty products.

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This event was held at the Kings Building, East Susssex college and you can find out more about the event here: www.sussexvegan.com

REMAX 2018

REMAX held their annual convention on the 17th-19th  October, 2018 at Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.

2018 was the 10th anniversary of the European convention and Remax choose the overarching theme "X Change” where they focused on building a connection between the history of the former stock exchange in the city of Amsterdam, their anniversary and most importantly about the Remax business itself.

Heather on stage giving her talk

Heather on stage giving her talk

The convention was attended by over almost 2,000 attendees from around 40 countries including Europe, Canada, US and South Africa. The attendees were made up of real estate agents and   regional owners.

Remax promotes a franchise system where everyone is independently working and thinking as an entrepreneur. Their goal is to share ideas and experiences with the best in the industry, and build relationships taking businesses to the next level!

Heather was invited by Sebastian Troll

Executive Director Marketing after seeing her speak at The Fifteen Seconds festival in Graz

Sebastian said:

“From what I saw and heard from Heather at the Fifteen Seconds Festival in Graz, was very inspiring and personal. I saw the perfect match and believed that she would create a huge value for the people at the European Convention”

Heather was welcomed to the stage, to a standing ovation to deliver her keynote speech on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:15 - 12:00 

The speech titled ‘Inspiration from Within: Overcoming the Odds’  was a huge success. 

Heather discussed challenging people’s perception and proving all adversity can be overcome with the right frame of mind and belief in one’s ability. This was followed by a Q and A session on stage.

Members of the audience took to their social media platform.

“Thank you for your dedication to the cause Heather, the world and the animals in it need more people like you”


“Such a lovely human being”

 “You were a star, thanks”

Later on that day Heather joined a woman’s panel in the Xpertise Suite.  

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Alongside Heather were two other female entrepreneurs Michelle Goodridge and Daria Vodopianov.

The ‘Women's Power Breakout Session’ was an exchange of thoughts and ideas between the panels and the audience.

The aim of the panel was to help everyone work better, smarter and recruit more women into their local markets.

Michelle Goodrige (Remax Ambassador) said:

“You were amazing Heather and a true inspiration! Thanks for being a part of our conference and my women’s panel” … “You killed it!”

To read more about this event, click here:

FAST FORWARD FORUM 2018

The exclusive FASTFORWARDFORUM took place this year on the 12th - 14th of October 2018 at the Hotel Villa Belrose in Saint-Tropez, South of France.

It was a gathering of 8 international top speakers and 25 top managers and thinkers for 72 hours generating a new kind of intellectual adventure. 

The main aim of the Forum being that everyone took an active part and the top priority being audience involvement. It was not just about keynotes but an in-depth and thought provoking weekend of conversations. 

HEATHER GIVING HER TALK

HEATHER GIVING HER TALK

Heimo Hammer who leads one of the biggest Austrian communications agency,  Kraftwerk invited Heather to the exclusive event, as one of the 8 International speakers after seeing her speak in Graz.

He said: 

“I attended the Fifteen Seconds Festival earlier this month and was really impressed by Heather’s opening keynote”
The weekend comprised of 8 major topics of how the future of business could be built and which trends would be impacting businesses over the upcoming years.

Lectures ranged from the future of business, to the future of health care and nutrition as well as how hybrid thinking and thinking like a kid will change our way of living. 

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Each speaker, including Heather, had a 30 minute speaking slot and a discussion period afterwards with the other speakers and invited attendees. Heather spoke about how adversity can shape your life and take you in a direction you never would have taken if you had not endured the extreme nature of that event. In Heather’s instance following on from her horrific accident in 1993 where she was hit by a police motorcycle, sustaining multiple injuries and losing the lower part of her left leg, evolved into her being one of the leading pioneers of the plant-based food industry.

Heather created such an impression with her speech that her contagious conviction persuaded everyone that they all wanted to try the benefits of a plant-based diet

The weekend was a resounding success and great lifelong friendships were made.

Walter, an attendee said:

“Thank you, Heather, for helping us to build a healthier, more sustainable future”

Penelope, also an attendee said:
“You did a great job at inspiring and changing the opinion of the ‘mostly closed’ locals of St Tropez”

The output of these highly creative sessions is being created into a valuable handbook for business leaders across the world and will be available in 2019.  It will focus on giving these leaders information about some of the most pressing issues and opportunities for business today. It will also give them practical actions they can take to help their own business be better prepared to take advantage of. As well as having chapters by the speakers, it will include input from the specially invited attendees, who will add to your thinking and share stories and case studies to help illustrate the topics. 

To read more about the event: Click here

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This year, Plant Based Live will be taking place on 8th & 9th September at ExCeL in London. Prepare for two days full of inspirational talks, cookery demos, and wonderful food.

Heather will be showcasing her plant based products from her award winning vegan food company, VBites and will be doing a cookery demonstration on Sunday 9th September at 1500 in the Vegan Life Kitchen.

We have exclusive 2-for-1 tickets available for the show. Treat a friend and book your 2-for-1 tickets through our special link below - be sure to select the 'VBites' ticket. Alternatively, when booking through PlantBased Live's website, simply use the promo code 'VBites'.

BOOK YOUR 2-FOR-1 TICKET HERE

 

Switch 4 Good

Switch 4 Good

Switch 4 Good Training Camp - Plant Based Athlete Summit                      

Los Angeles 25 - 26 August 201

Heather, invited by Dotsie Bausch an Olympian cyclist and a fellow compassionate activist for plant-based living, participated as a keynote speaker and panelist to help Athletes ditch dairy, in a Plant Based Athlete Summit held in Los Angeles, USA, 25 – 26 August 2018. 

 

The S4G Summit prides itself in being a training Camp for athletes, influencers, scientists and doctors who are all assisting with spreading the message that dairy is not a health food. 

 

The summit was filled with passionate humans, wanting to make a difference in the world and have a monumental impact on changing people’s hearts and minds to ditch dairy.

 

During the 2018 Winter Olympics, Dotsie, along with several other influential vegan athletes, produced a commercial, titled Switch 4 Good, in response to an advertisement put out by Milk Life. The S4G commercial, which can be viewed here, was a huge success. Dotsie and her team are now taking what was the original Switch 4 Good (S4G) Olympic commercial and are creating that into a world-wide movement.

 

Heather opened the Summit with an incredible keynote speech, hitting home the true dangers and myths surrounding dairy and the medical complications that can arise from consuming dairy and the impact dairy consumption has on the animals and the environment.

 

Throughout the course of the weekend Heather also joined other athletes and key individuals on various selected panels to discuss related topics such as the significant importance of a plant based diet and the benefits this can bring to the mind and body, as well as solutions on converting the carnivore in the short term with exact alternate meat, fish and dairy products to wean them off animals.

 

Each vegan athlete and influencer had their own unique story inspiring people to ditch dairy and embrace in the wellbeing of a plant based lifestyle.

 

Jessie Lingenfelter | Director of Public Relations said:

“Heather's presentation, video, and delicious V-Bites absolutely stole the show, and we are so grateful for her attendance!

 

Thank you for your help in everything related to Switch4Good and the summit.”

 

To read more about Switch4Good: Click here

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EXHILARATING SPEECH - VEGAN CAMP OUT 17 AUG 2018

EXHILARATING SPEECH - VEGAN CAMP OUT 17 AUG 2018

HEATHER GIVES AN EXHILARATING KEYNOTE SPEECH TO OVER 2000 PEOPLE

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Vegan Camp Out returned this August 2018 for another successful festival.

Vegan Camp Out, who are partnered with Viva is the UK’s largest vegan camp out, this year sporting an impressive line-up of speakers, activist workshops, yoga and fitness classes, plus a huge array of plant based food options throughout the 2 day festival.

Heather was invited by Jordan Martin the organiser, to open the festival with a keynote speech on Friday 18th September.

At 8.45pm Heather took to the stage with a crowd of over 2000 jostling for a space in the main hanger at the Nottingham Show ground.

Heather’s inspiring hour long speech covered many topics that are prevalent amongst today’s ever growing vegan society, such as the current dairy industry problem and its 3 billion cost to subsidise them from we the taxpayer to transitioning to living a plant based lifestyle, as well as activism and nutrition.

But the main message was working with the opposition and problem-solving by making the farmers self-sufficient and not a burden to the taxpayer by changing the dairy industry to grow pea protein and crops instead. Heather's company VBites can buy and utilise in the millions of tons.

Heather focusing heavily on offering solutions said:

“Instead of working against the meat and dairy industry look at offering ideas to work with them to offer solutions to stop their harm”

After the speech many attendees came up to Heather to express their motivation as to how they had been inspired to actually go out and make a difference.

 

Here is a brief resume of some of their social media reports:

 

“We need more people in the world like her. Woohoo”

“Great talk Heather! Bold and full of humour. Hopefully see you next year"

“Thank you for all that you do. It was so great to meet you and thank you in person"

“You inspire me to change”

 

Jordan, the organiser said:

“Thank you to everyone for being part of an event that's going to be remembered for a long time to come!"

 

To read more about Vegan Camp Out, click here and if you wish to buy any of the 104 award winning products from the VBites range, click here and order online today.

Challenging people’s perception of a plant based lifestyle and solving the problems people face.

Challenging people’s perception of a plant based lifestyle and solving the problems people face.

The future belongs to the curious ones...

Heather Mills gives an exhilarating keynote speech at the Fifteen Seconds Festival Europe June 7-8, 2018

Heather Mills was invited as the keynote speaker to open Europe’s leading interdisciplinary business festival in Graz, Austria at the 15 Seconds Festival Europe June 7-8, 2018.

Heather, speaking to a full house, talked about how she has pushed through incredible boundaries to become a  successful Entrepreneur, Charity Campaigner, World Record Holder and Gold medal Paralympic Ski Racer, amongst many other achievements.

The main topic of her talk however was how she founded her multi award-winning plant based vegan ethical food company, VBites, which now exports to over 24 countries and has 104 products in its range.

Heather’s speech was both uplifting and invigorating.

Afterwards Stefan Stücklschweiger said:

“It’s safe to say that the fifth edition of Fifteen Seconds Festival was our most successful ever. Heather Mills did an incredible job holding the opening keynote in front of 5,000 curious minds and really triggering emotions with her unique story and strong, motivational statements. The feedback was impressive, thanks for joining us, Heather! ”

Some of the followers of the event on social media said:

“ I loved your speech. It inspired me a lot ”

“ I admire your out of the box thinking ”

“ Well done Heather, keep speaking up for the vegans ”

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What started in 2014 as a contemporary marketing conference has then since grown into an interdisciplinary business festival gathering thinkers and makers from all around the world.

In 2017 more than 4100 curious minds attended the Fifteen Seconds Festival in Graz. This year the festival attracted numbers in excess of 5,000.

Heather was invited by the organisers to deliver a motivational keynote speech at this highly influential festival, in order to bring more awareness to a plant-based lifestyle.

Over 194 specially selected top speakers joined Heather this year.

The focus of this year’s festival was Leaders, Solvers and Visionaries driving forward towards a positive change.

To read more about the festival, click

 

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You won't believe it's not meat...

You won't believe it's not meat...

Heather shares simple recipes replicating your favourite dishes, but meat and dairy free, proving that going vegan isn't as hard as it looks...

Download article here

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Watcha Do: Interview with Heather Mills

Watcha do's vision is to make people happy by helping them find the profession that suits them perfectly!

They have interviewed more than 6,000 people, who have already found their professional happiness. 

From Youtubers to company founders.

Watcha do can find a broad variety of professional opportunities that is out there to assist people to learn how to end up in the company culture they have always dreamed of!

Whatchdo interviewed Heather 20th April 2018

Heather, Founder of VBites, the multi-international plant based vegan food company, inspiring business aspirations for teenagers at school in Europe. 

Heather is speaking precisely and slowly in order to enable the oversees students to clearly understand her.

4GAMECHANGERS

4GAMECHANGERS

HEATHER MILLS TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT 4GAMECHANGERS 20 APRIL 2018

4 Game changers is the international digital festival for influencers, rebels, visionaries and game changers.

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Heather Mills has been invited to join their eclectic mix of prestigious speakers for this years conference to be held 18 - 20 April in Vienna.

Heather will be addressing an audience of 3000 attendees.  She will be talking about how her incredible journey through life lead her to discover the entrepreneurial skills that lay within her.

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Heather not only owns the multi-award winning, vegan ethical plant based food company VBites, but she also is a renowned public and motivational speaker, a philanthropist, campaigner and activist, a para-athlete in skiing winning numerous medals and a 4 times World Record Holder in Winter sports, including being the fastest disabled woman in the world, speed skiing at 166.84km/ph.

The 4 Game Changers Festival is a stage for webstars, a hub for future-oriented digital projects, the breeding ground for start-ups and the get-together for Gamechangers of all ages, industries and communities. 

It is an innovative mixture of trade conference, symposium, with an entertainment court and live music, too. 

Heather will be speaking alongside the Chancellor of Austria - Sebastian Kurz, Businessman, Pilot and Lead Singer of Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson,  Founder Women without Borders - Edit Schlaffer, CEO and Director, The Blue Minds Company - Eveline Steinberger-Kern, Founder Celebrity Sports - Detlef Soost and many, many more, that you can check out here

This festival is the place to be for the World’s most innovative and influential speakers, they will inform, inspire, surprise and delight the audience on the 4GAMECHANGERS stage. 

Previous speakers include: Randi Zuckerberg, Forest Whitaker, Sebastian Kurz, Hikmet, Ersek, Alejandro Plater, Peter Bosek and tonnes more.

Review last year’s amazing festival highlights right here

For further information on the event and how to book your ticket, click here:

https://4gamechangers.io/tickets/

follow:

@4gamechangersTwitter - @4GamechangerInstagram - @4gamehangers

Vevolution Festival 2017

Vevolution Festival 2017

Well, what can we say about Vevolution? Lots of great things - what a well-rounded and informative festival - it is one of many innovative and inspirational plant-based events that the UK has to offer, and they will be making great strides in the future - we're sure of it. 

The day was jam-packed full of panel discussions, inspirational talks, delicious food and workshops from some of the most creative and brightest vegan thinkers. 

Heather Mills took to the Vevolution main stage alongside the likes of Sarah Bentley (Founder of Made in Hackney) Hilary Jones (Ethical Director at LUSH) Derek Sarno (Wicked Healthy) and Vevolution’s own Damien Clarkson amongst an array of other exceptional plant-based innovators. 

Heather was there to promote her plant-based company V-bites alongside some other giants taking over the plant-based world. In her speech she discusses the importance of making the switch to plant-based and vegan foods, that are not only healthy but delicious and nutritious, too.

There was a ProVeg stage which hosted athletes who live on a plant-based diet just like Heather, and there were conversations with local entrepreneurs, animal activists and advocates. 

There were many different panels ranging from environmentalists leading the “Let’s talk about the cow in the room” discussion to the fitness panel, “Powered by Plants” with athletes discussing and answering questions regarding their nutrition surrounding a plant-based sustainable and achievable diet. 

The Parenting Panel was extremely informative in “Raising the next generation” where parents such as Laura Pierson (Vegan Mama) gave tips and advice on a range of topics with first-hand experience of raising the next generation of vegans and activists.

Matthew Glover (Founder of Veganuary) also shared his thoughts on effective communication and strategic campaigning for the plant-based movement and discussed his new book “How To Go Vegan” which you can check out and pre-order here.

It’s December, and yes you should totally go and sign up for Veganuary, and it’s free. 

The founders of BOSH TV, Ian and Henry were also there. These TV Vegan cooks have a burning desire to show the world just how easy it can be to eat plants. Their inventive food creations reached more than half a billion people in their first year. They cooked up a storm at the show generating an ensemble of aromas tempting all to try their delicious recipes.       

                                    
Heather delivered an inspirational and eye-opening speech to a full house on the main stage. Heather spoke passionately about the plant-based industry, the marine eco system and the importance of buying British for an hour.

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Following on from Heather’s talk there was some great feedback popping up on social media:

 “The way the media can portray someone can influence your perception. @heathermillsoffical is a force to be reckoned with! What a story, what an inspiration and what an amazing woman! Loved her talk and her openness and humour. Speaking from the heart. Gutted I didn’t chat to her after” - @Louisejaynesimpson

“Heather was mind-blowing – loved her talk” - @veryanwj

“I had no idea how much amazing stuff Heather Mills has done until I saw her talk at @vevolution. She has achieved so much for human and animal welfare. She also helped launch Winchester’s Centre for Animal Welfare last year, where I’m studying” - @moonlolly

Heather said:

“It was such a pleasure to be able to inspire people from all over the country, and it was so wonderful to talk to many of them following the discussion along-side so many advocates for this movement.”

Vbites is a company delivering excellent plant-based meat alternatives, and has been making great strides for over a decade. Heather discusses how the plant-based change in the 90's had been much more difficult because there weren't any alternatives, but she managed to change that, and this is when V-bites was born.

Heather then went on to say:

“Vevolution is one of my favourite organisations in the UK right now, and for them to bring so many young and talented folk into one room was a real success. Their workshops didn’t disappoint either, and they were hosted by young and budding geniuses in this movement such as Bright Zine – who created “faces in veganism” a collaborative piece bringing everyone at the festival together in a fun and dynamic way.”

Heather was interviewed for the official program / zine created in collaboration with both Bright X Vevolution. The zine is jam-packed full of exciting articles, tips and stories by people from all walks of life.

In the article, Heather discusses her journey and hopes for the future of the vegan movement with the founder of Vevolution, Damien.

She discusses the shift in the media from the 1990’s until now, and goes on to talk about the:

 “Evidence of improvement on health from scientists like Professor Colin Campbell who wrote the China Study and making VBites incredible meat, dairy and fish replacements to make the transition easier.”

This is a step in the right direction to changing mind-sets and implementing change.  

Heather also talks about her dynamic sporting achievements and her drive towards becoming the record holder for the world’s fastest disabled speed skier. 

“I like to challenge people’s perception of disability and show that being a vegan athlete is the healthiest, proving that at nearly 50 years old you can become a world record holder and ski at a speed of 166.84kph. Plus, I am an adrenaline junkie and love extreme sports.”  

Check out a selection of photos from the event via their gallery here

Keep your eyes peeled on Vevolution’s social media for the latest updates about events!

See you next time Vevo! 

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