With food, our current challenge is doubling production by 2050 to feed the rapidly multiplying population, using sustainable methods and leaving the smallest carbon footprint. The most expensive item to grow happens to be meat. According to PETA, a cow must consume around 7.2 kg of vegetation and 9463 liters of water to grow 450 grams of flesh, while it takes only 95 liters of water to grow 500 grams of wheat. Making just one hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car for 32kms. While meat production is absurdly expensive, in the recent years many secret cameras and sting operations have revealed cruel treatment of these animals including injections to make them ready for early reproduction or gain weight.

Since the vegan movement started a few decade ago, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and the United States have been in the forefront, setting an example. They are all surprisingly, heavy meat consuming countries. Its safe to say following a vegan diet is not as difficult as it was before. The pioneers went out of their way to invent recipes, find replacements, and even creating lab grown meat. This generation of vegans do not have to sit ducks at restaurants and skip invitations, or show up with their own food. As plant-based diets become more popular, the community seeks more ways to connect, discover new things, and further educate the world about going meat-free. Here are some of the celebrated vegan festivals from around the world.

BlackVeg Festival, NY came into existence as an idea to introduce vegan deit to black and other marginalized communities. Often they are the last ones to get the benifits of healthy alternates. They cater food from 70+ entrepreneurs of color who have bring a twist of their ethnic backgrounds from parts of Africa, Carribean infused in the spirit of NewYork.

The Vegan Summer Festival, Germany is a free event organized by vegan volunteers in Berlin and happens to be the biggest food event in Europe with more than 65,000 footfall. They have stalls to introduce replacement for popular dishes, workshops and opportunity to chat with a vegan. They stand apart with live music, fashion show of vegan labels, speed dating with fellow vegans and tattoo’s with vegan ink.

VegFest, UK is the oldest vegan festival in Europe. It is held in different cities in the United Kingdom featuring 300+ stalls for food, fashion, and other lifestyle products. The festival present awards for 20 categories, selected by votes from attendees.

World Vegan Festival, Australia Every year on World Vegan Day, Melbourne hosts a free event with over 100 food stands, cooking demonstrations, talks, and fashion shows of vegan brands from Australia. As a tribute, they showcase indigenous food recipes and discuss the relevance of using local ingredients.

Vegan Street Fair, California is held in March of every year. Being the vegan largest food fairs in the US, they boast around 60,000 in footfall with 200+ stalls. The founder, Jessica Schoech, initiated this event so people could “eat all the vegan things” in one location. Food from various cultures can be found along with vegan fashion, and lifestyle choices.

Vegan Gourmet Festival, Japan is held 5 times a year, in 3 differnet cities. Traditional japanese food is meat heavy and the organizers want to display variations of traditional cuisine with vegan alternates. Ingredinats and their nutrional details are displayed prominently to encourage people to see the health benifits.

Today people of diverse cultures and traditions are living together than ever. Food is an integral part of international culture because it brings people from diverse backgrounds to sit at the same table. Plant based movements have commenced a their own culture, which we find to be backed by science, through educating people, and have conversations as the force and fuel. Whatever diet you may follow these festivals are bucketlist worthy and we hope to attend some of them.