There was no safer place to be a cow, pig or chicken in New England this weekend than Roxbury’s Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, where thousands of vegetarians and vegans feasted on soy and tested out leather alternatives to celebrate their meatless lifestyle.
Vendors packed the gymnasium with an earthy allure, peddling products like vegan-friendly cupcakes, natural peanut butter, soy yogurt, social justice literature and natural leather shoes among other eco-friendly fashions.
“The goal of the event is to show. . . . that you have a wide variety of delicious and healthy foods readily available in the market,” said BVS President Evelyn Kimber. “I am most happy about the non-vegetarians that attend and introducing them to the whys and hows of being a vegetarian.”
According to the event’s website, the Boston Vegetarian Society’s 12th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival is the largest vegetarian festival in the United States, boasting hundreds of vendors, speakers and lecturers and thousands of interested patrons.
Jill Robbins, the president of Gak’s Snacks in Quincy, which produces cookbooks and baked goods for children with dietary restrictions like food allergies and attracts the meatless and meatless-curious with its tagline “so good you won’t believe what’s not in ’em,” said the festival is to spread awareness.
Vendors said buying organic and locally grown foods is crucial to reducing food production’s impact on the environment and keeping business in state.
“The use of fossil fuels is significantly reduced by buying goods from two towns away versus buying from California or even Chile,” said Harvest Co-op Markets Director of Membership and Community Relations Chris Durkin. “Buying local also means keeping money and control in the area, supporting local farmers and fostering economic diversity, rather than the huge McMansions we are seeing today.”
U.S. Humane Society Factory Farm Campaign spokeswoman Erin Williams said the choice to be vegetarian is about a deep-seeded investment in the earth.
“Choices need to extend to the dinner plate, especially when every major contributor to environmental destruction is contributed to by factory farms, erosion, deforestation, fresh water depletion,” said Williams. “Not eating meat, studies have found, can decrease your environmental impact more than switching from driving an SUV to driving a compact car.”