Veggie Fest Inspires Reducetarians Both New And Old

Just outside of the greater Chicago area, the 11th annual Veggie Fest took over Lisle, Illinois this past weekend to celebrate one thing: vegetables! With cooking demonstrations, presentations on a variety of topics, live music, and, of course, plenty of food, Veggie Fest is a blast for the whole family. "And it's really not for vegetarians. It's for everybody," says Jonathan Kruger, a Veggie Fest coordinator.

The aim of the festival is to educate the public about the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, all while having some fun. With more than 35,000 attendees, the hope is for Veggie Fest to inspire each visitor to implement "some aspect of the vegetarian diet that can make a difference in their quality of life." To encourage these positive changes, attendees are asked to take on the Vegetarian Challenge, in which they attempt to eat vegetarian for a period of two weeks. Sound familiar? (If you haven't yet, take the reducetarian pledge, and promise to eat less meat for 30 days!) We certainly wish these noble pledge-takers the best of luck as their forge their own reducetarian paths!

It's truly heartwarming to hear that so many are so enthusiastic to learn more about how eating less meat can help the planet, animals, and themselves. Wouldn't you love to attend a Veggie Fest in your area? Maybe you can! Look online to see if there's a similar event near you, and if there isn't, think about what you can do to plan one and make it happen!

Written by Danika Lam