08/18/23 Go Vegan to Save the Oceans!
Multiple freediving world record holder and champion is the face of the 15th Veggie Festival
- Lidija Lijić invites all to dive into the sea of vegan food at the 15th Veggie Festival
![lidija lijić_zegevege [ 201.33 Kb ]](/data/image_3_16278.jpg "lidija lijić_zegevege [ 201.33 Kb ]")
To say that Lidija Lijić is a versatile person is an understatement. An architect and a freediver who is also into photography, sport climbing, mountaineering and aviation, Country Director of Sea Shepherd Croatia, holder of a Guinness under-ice world free dive record and the highest altitude freedive record from the Himalayas, world and European freediving champion, Lidija Lijić is now also the face of the new Animal Friends Croatia billboards. This amazing 42-year-old who calls her commitment to seas and oceans a lifestyle will feature on the stunning billboards in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Zadar, inviting the public to go vegan to save the oceans and to visit the 15th Veggie Festival of sustainable living at the Zagreb Europe Square on the 1st and 2nd of September 2023.
As Country Director of Sea Shepherd Croatia, a global organization for ocean protection and preservation that has been actively fighting for the survival of endangered species and the preservation of fish life, on September 2, at 12:30, Lidija Lijić will explain to the visitors of the Veggie Festival how, by going vegan, every individual can play an important part in preventing the extinction of many species and saving our oceans and thus our planet. She will also describe how a vegan diet helps her sports success. In addition, she will invite everyone to visit www.ban bottom-trawling.net, learn about the impact of bottom-trawling on the Adriatic Sea, and sign a petition for its ban.
“Over the past two decades during which I have been a professional freediver, I have been a witness of the progressive impoverishment of marine life. Saying that ocean life is in critical condition is an understatement. Not enough is said about the probable causes, even less about the main ones: farming animals for food and overfishing. If we continue like this, by 2050, there will be no more fish in seas and oceans. It is time to wake up, educate ourselves, raise awareness and start changing things. It is time to go vegan to save our seas, forests, and the entire planet,” stated Lidija. She invited all to dive into the sea of vegan food at the 15th Veggie Festival where visitors will have an opportunity to taste vegan seafood, such as vegan sushi.
According to WWF, over the past 40 years, Earth has lost a staggering half of its wildlife due to pollution, habitat destruction and relentless hunting. Farming animals for meat, eggs and milk have a particularly detrimental impact on planetary health, leading to climate change, global warming, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, etc. Even global traffic has a less devastating effect on the environment than animal farming. However, our seas and oceans with their marine life are under the biggest threat. Over the last 50 years, fishing has led to the extinction of 90 percent of large fish stock. Fishing is devastating world seas and oceans and jeopardizing the survival of various marine organisms and vegetation without which marine life will be destroyed and brought to extinction. Rich river and ocean biodiversity are extremely important for the healthy functioning of natural processes that take place in seas and freshwater sources, directly impacting human life.
Bottom-trawling plays a major role in the destruction of marine life and environment as it impoverishes underwater fish structures, removes seaweed, devastates coral reefs and habitats, has the same carbon footprint as the entire aviation industry, causes ocean acidification, contributes to global warming, pollutes the planet, and kills hundreds of thousands of marine animals every day, many of which are already endangered or facing extinction. According to the European Commission Joint Research Centre, over the last 50 years, 41 percent of sea mammals and 34 percent of the total fish stock have been lost. Among those, the largest losses have been recorded in the Adriatic Sea at 50 percent.
![lidija lijić_zegevege [ 103.65 Kb ]](/data/image_3_16277.jpg "lidija lijić_zegevege [ 103.65 Kb ]")
