World Vegetarian Day Food Fair - this Sunday!

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday September 25, 2002 00:44 by Graham caswell - Vegetarian Society caswell at indigo dot ie

Sunday, September 29th

The Irish Vegetarian Society is holding their annual Vegetarian Food Fair this Sunday, the 29th of September to mark World Vegetarian Day (12:00-5:00pm in St. Andrew's Resource Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Admission Euro 2.50 for adults, Euro 1.50 for OAPs, students and the unwaged. Children free). The fair, now in its 9th year, is a celebration of vegetarian food and drink and highlights the many healthy and delicious possibilities for cooking and living without meat.

There has been huge interest in vegetarianism in recent years for many reasons including heightened health awareness and meat-related food scares such as BSE and contaminated chicken and other meat products. The decline of the traditional 'meat and two veg' mentality, together with the increased availability of vegetarian options in supermarkets and restaurants has made it easier to be a vegetarian than ever before.

Last year's World Vegetarian Day Fair was the biggest ever, attracting over 1,500 people, and this year's fair is expected to be even larger and will include:

-Talks and video viewings on cooking without meat, vegetarian nutrition and health, being a vegetarian mother, Fair-Trade and ethical trading issues, ethical investment and animal rights.

-Information stands from the Vegetarian Society of Ireland (VSI), Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), The Irish Donkey Sanctuary, The Seal Sanctuary, The Irish Anti-Vivisection Society (IAVS), The Monkey Sanctuary, Alliance for Animal Rights, The Dublin Cycling Campaign, Cat's Aid, Irish Animals on the Web, Earthwatch, Irish Women's Environmental Network (IWEN), Forest Friends, Seed Savers, Sonairte (The National Ecology Centre), Fair Trade, The Kildare Animal Foundation and more.

-Stands and foods from some of Irelands finest vegetarian restaurants, including Blazing Salads, Cornucopia, Fresh, Govinda's, Juice, Moorthy's Cosy Café and others.

-An organic food market, with stands selling organic vegetables and fruit, vegetarian Wines and beer, fresh home-made breads & cakes, fresh vegetarian cheeses, wheatgrass, Beansprouts and fresh herbs straight from the farm and much more.

-Vegetarian cookery demonstrations, raffles and entertainment (including clowns and musicians) throughout the day

Sponsors of the World Vegetarian Day Fair include Down to Earth, Munster Wholefoods, Wholefoods Wholesale, The Health Store, Swords, and Full Life Health Store.

Since this year's World Vegetarian Day Fair follows the upcoming Earth Summit on Sustainable Development, a significant theme of the event will be the positive contribution that vegetarianism and the reduced consumption of meat has on our shared global environment and on combating hunger among the world's poorest people.

Although the world produces enough food to feed its population of 6 billion twice over, much of that food is fed to animals that are in turn eaten by people - a very inefficient way to produce food. For example, sixteen kilograms of grain are needed to produce one kilogram of grain-fed beef while over 6 kilograms of grain are required to produce a kilogram of pork.

Meat production also has very serious environmental consequences. Intensive livestock farming causes soil and water pollution, contributes to climate change and uses up precious resources. For example, a day's food for a meat-eater requires over 15,000 litres of water, compared with 5,000 litres for a person with a vegetarian diet and 1,500 litres for a vegan. Overall, a vegan requires only 1/8 of the land needed to feed a meat-eater. A vegetarian diet - particularly an organic vegetarian diet- is extremely environmentally friendly.

Further information about the World Vegetarian Day Fair, the Irish Vegetarian Society and vegetarianism in Ireland can be found on the Irish Vegetarian Society's website at www.vegetarian.ie.