Opinion – Terra Vegana: Fair in São Paulo shows that we are closer to veganism than it seems

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One of the most challenging feelings in the life of a vegan (or a vegan) is loneliness. Being the only vegan in the family. The only vegan at the bar table, at the barbecue, at the birthday party, at Sunday lunch.

The survival instinct makes the thermal bag our best friend, always loaded with lunchboxes and snacks. At mealtime, it is not uncommon for us to feel socially displaced from the celebration context, which involves animals that we do not recognize as food.

I remember that feeling well —diminishing as time went by—especially during the period of my transition to veganism. I felt alone in the rehearsal room, in the restaurant kitchen, and in my own home.

In 2018, I went to my first VegFest, one of the largest vegan fairs in the world, which this year takes place simultaneously with the 9th edition of the Brazilian Vegetarian Congress, between the 8th and 11th of December, at the Anhembi Convention Center.

It was at Vegfest that I felt, for the first time, part of the vegan movement. I looked around me and recognized my equals. I realized that the path I had been groping my way through almost blindly was actually a solid, consistent road on which I could drive with confidence and knowledge.

The offer of all kinds of vegan food at the event made me realize that, yes, it is possible to recreate any delicacy or meal that we love in a 100% vegetable version and without animal suffering.

Listening to Brenda Davis, a leading Canadian nutritionist, talk about the benefits of plant-based eating motivated me to organize a new eating routine at home, and watching dozens of people prepare the largest vegan pizza in the world was, at the very least, funny.

This year, I return to VegFest as a speaker, for a conversation on “Veganism Outside the Bubble”, alongside other vegan communicators such as Fabio Chaves, Marco Clivati, Gabriela Veiga, Grant Lingel and Christian do Valle.

Expanding the communication of inherent themes or of interest to the vegan movement beyond our “bubble” has been precisely my objective as a columnist for Folha.

My favorite way of talking about veganism for non-vegans is through food, recipes and affection: I believe that this triad brings together and awakens the curiosity of those who read to experiment with possibilities of eating while leaving animals off the plate.

Those who are not vegan can approach, from the fork, a fairer and more empathetic society with animals, and a more sustainable planet. These are horizons towards which we can collectively walk, each at our own pace, even if not everyone wants to be vegan.

Every meal matters, and that difference can be made with healthy, delicious food on your plate. As Ricardo Laurino, president of the Brazilian Vegetarian Society (SVB), organizer of VegFest, would say: the three days of activities at the fair show society that it is closer to veganism than it believes.

In addition to lectures, cooking demonstrations, pocket shows and more than one hundred exhibitors, this edition of VegFest will feature an escape room with laying hens, destined for egg production.

The expectation of SVB’s director of communication, Larissa Maluf, is that visitors rethink their consumption habits based on their awareness of the cruel practices to which laying hens are subjected. Unlike chickens, players will be able to escape the room with victory if they manage to solve all riddles within ten minutes.

If in 2018 I felt lonely, today I realize how much veganism is also a plural community full of possibilities. We even have a football team to call our own, Laguna, and some players will travel from Rio Grande do Norte to participate in the event, with a football challenge open to the public.

I’ve already donated the team’s shirt, now I just need the Laguna shirt to wear on December 8th.

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