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Rehoboth Beach VegFest tells a story

June 19, 2017

VegRehoboth celebrated its fifth year of hosting Rehoboth Beach VegFest the June 9-11 weekend.  The three-day event showcased the many benefits of a plant-based diet on health, the environment, and the animals who are under people’s care. 

The weekend began with Happy Hour at The Crooked Hammock and continued with the  film, “Seed: The Untold Story.”   “I left the film devastated,” says film attendee Jeff Socorso. “It’s horrifying to realize what agribusiness has done to our planet,"  he said, shaking his head in disbelief.  For example, in 1903, there were 500 varieties of cabbage, 400 peas and tomatoes, and 285 cucumbers.  Just 80 years later, in 1983, the varieties dwindled to just 28 cabbage, 25 peas, 79 tomatoes and 16 cucumbers.

The first speaker at the festival, Jon Camp of The Humane League, outlined 10 tips to being a better animal advocate.  Camp encouraged people to reach beyond their own circle, to connect with others who might not be too familiar yet with plant-based eating, and to build on others' interests in conversations.  He also reminded people that plant-based eating should be easy...to not be too worried about obscure ingredients but instead just happily share good food.  

Following Camp, was TED talk speaker and neurologist Dr. Aysha Akhtar, who spoke of the reality that sickness in farmed animals transfers to sickness in humans, resulting in such terrifying plagues as HIV and Ebola, which can be directly traced back to animal exploitation. The third speaker, Karen Ranzi, a raw food vegan chef and nutritional coach, talked about healing her toddler’s life-threatening asthma simply by changing his diet.  Her extensive research and study became a best-selling book on plant-based raw diets.  

Among the many vendors were nonprofits focusing on both environmental and animal welfare causes, such as Rehoboth Beach’s own MERR. “We must recognize the connection between animal agriculture and the devastating impact it imposes on our environment,” Tara Sheldon said.

“I went to VegFest with a goal in mind, and that was to try different meat substitutes because I really want to stop eating meat due to the cruelty to animals, and VegFest afforded a lot of great culinary opportunities. I loved just about everything I had, especially when I stopped thinking of it as a meat substitute and delicious in and of itself. It certainly seemed as hearty as meat! It was an excellent experience,” said Susan Graves attending VegFest for the first time.

Gallery 50 once again hosted a vegan artist Saturday night.  Dino and Dart are world travelers and artists whose vibrant artwork inspires viewers.  The Cultured Pearl, a longtime supporter of VegRehoboth, donated vegan appetizers. And Sunday’s brunch at Fork & Flask at Nage did not disappoint, with an extensive array of savory and sweet dishes.

“We were incredibly pleased by this turnout. It has really led us to consider incorporating more vegan options in our daily menus,” said Chef Sean Corea, who along with Matt Reardon created the spectacular all-vegan menu. 

VegRehoboth, which can be found on Facebook and MeetUp, has seen an increase in membership of 20 percent just within the past few months, as has VegOceanCity. 

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