08/28/23 Inspirational Talks on Stage of the 15th Veggie Festival
Two days of education on food, sustainability, environmental science, and animal rights at the heart of Zagreb
– Find out the opening date for a vegan butcher in Croatia and how to reduce the environmental debt
Excitement is in the air in the run-up to the 1st and 2nd of September when Europe Square in Zagreb is due to be overflown by vegan food and cruelty-free cosmetics manufacturers, as well as select restaurants offering exquisite vegan dishes. Love and compassion for animals, better health, and care for the environment and our planet are among the main reasons behind the increasing number of people going vegan. Events such as this Veggie Festival are a good starting point for building connections with like-minded people, tasting new food and learning about how to make the first positive step forward.
While enjoying good food and refreshing drinks, visitors to the 15th Veggie Festival of Sustainable Living will have an opportunity to listen to dynamic, inspirational and educational talks by the host and her guests. The speakers will share useful information on the benefits of veganism and sustainable living for health, the environment, and other creatures with whom we cohabitate on our planet, but also for urban biodiversity, ecological debt, and climate change. On Friday, September 1, visitors will be able to hear why it is unethical to consume meat, milk and eggs; why cows do not live like queens; what we can do to reduce the ecological debt; why plant-based food is the food of future; when we can expect the first vegan butcher to open in Zagreb, and where to find a place under the sun that is fit for absolutely everyone.
The event’s host, Sara Mešin, will talk to activists Nikolina Plenar Jeličić and Dominica Firšt, Petra Boić Petrač from WWF Adria, entrepreneur Eduard Beg, and Sunny Hill Refuge founder Nikola Bosak.
Saturday, September 2, is reserved for a workshop for children and their parents on recycling textiles, followed by a presentation on how to build healthy habits from a young age and why we need to go vegan to save our oceans. Visitors will have an opportunity to learn something about animals as research subjects in animal anthropology, the “End of Plastic Era” initiative, urban biodiversity and how each of us can contribute to it, how to be cruelty-free in a cruel world and why it is cool to join in the Super Challenge. At the end of the educational program, visitors will receive practical advice on a healthy and fit vegan lifestyle.
Saturday speakers will include nutritionist Maja Ljubas, Country Director of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the face of the 15th Veggie Festival Lidija Lijić, Suzana Marjanić, PhD Sci, from the Zagreb Ethnology and Folkloristic Institute, Petra Andrić from Greenpeace, Dubravko Dender, MSc in Biology, from the Biom association, science promoter and animal right activist Nikolina Kanjer, MSc in Biology, Matej Smolić from the Pobjeda association, and fitness trainers and nutritionists Ivana Martinec and Marko Samardžija. The recycling workshop will be led by Damjanka Terstenjak from the Humana Nova Social Association.
The Veggie Festival of Sustainable Living, organized by Animal Friends Croatia on a non-profit basis, represents a major contribution to the development of green and sustainable policies, as well as a healthier society. As such, it is an important event for the city of Zagreb and Croatia in view of their “Low Carbon Development Strategy” that defines plant-based food as a “medicine’ for mitigating climate change and prevention of global warming causes.
The programme is available from the Festival’s website at www.zegevege.com and on Facebook
![15th ZeGeVege [ 246.51 Kb ]](/data/image_3_16316.jpg "15th ZeGeVege [ 246.51 Kb ]")
