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Talk of the week: Food festival highlights benefits of vegan diet
A taste for greens: A customer picks out vegetables at Pasar Modern BSD City in South Tangerang
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A taste for greens: A customer picks out vegetables at Pasar Modern BSD City in South Tangerang. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
Taman Anggrek shopping mall, West Jakarta
A vegan diet — which rules out all animal food products — does not have to be bland.
The ongoing Vegan Festival Indonesia, which kicks off today and will continue until July 21 at Taman Anggrek shopping mall in West Jakarta, is offering tips on how to cook delicious vegan dishes.
The event features 40 booths offering culinary products and services from various vegan outlets. Enlivening the event is a vegan cooking demonstration by members of the Indonesia Chefs Association (ICA).
Organized by the Indonesia Vegetarian Society, Vegan Society of Indonesia, the International Nature Loving Association and World Vegan Association, the festival seeks to educate the public on the various benefits of a vegan diet through discussions featuring experts and celebrities such as psychologist Seto Mulyadi and musician Kaka from rock band Slank.
Various research studies have shown that a vegan diet may reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure, while delaying the onset of various degenerative diseases.
A vegan lifestyle also allows people to protect the environment. For instance, a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science Journal in the United States reveals that by following a vegetarian diet, an individual could reduce their individual food-related carbon emissions by 63 percent, while adopting a vegan diet could reduce them by 70 percent.
To connect vegan lifestyle with environmental protection awareness, the festival is also featuring a fashion show where models pose on catwalks wearing clothes made of recyclable items.
