Worcester VegFest 2012

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Speakers • Directions • Volunteer • Sponsor or Exhibit

The Worcester VegFest is a FREE festival that brings together Worcesterites to celebrate vegetarianism–an animal-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and healthy lifestyle. Our event features socially responsible businesses, inspiring speakers, performers, and lots of free samples of tasty vegan food.

What can I expect from the 2012 VegFest?

There are free food samples or you can buy an entire meal. This is our 3rd year organizing this VegFest, so this is the year that we will really impress you. We have a new location that we will announce soon. The festival features 40-50 exhibitors, some food vendors, animal protection & environmental advocacy groups, and awesome businesses. The VegFest has kid-friendly activities, inspiring speakers, vegetarian-themed clothing and merch, cookbook authors, and live cooking demos (with samples!). The free raffle will have gift certificates, signed books, a free tattoo and other rad swag.

Speakers

The 2012 Worcester VegFest brings together top national speakers to give cooking demonstrations, discuss the latest in animal rights campaigns, cover the newest science in clinical nutrition, talk about getting involved in the vegetarian movement, and connect veganism to other social movements.

T. Colin Campell, Ph.D.

From Forks Over Knives and author of The China Study

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. is a giant in the field of nutrition research, with a brilliant career spanning over 40 years. His legacy, the China Study, is the most comprehensive study ever conducted of the connection between diet and disease. The China Study was the focus of the recent film, Forks Over Knives. Dr. Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and Project Director of the renowned China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project, the largest population study in world history of the effects of diet on health. The study was the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. The results were clear: People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease, and the closer you get to eating an all-plant diet, the greater the health benefits.

Dr. Campbell was trained at Cornell (M.S., Ph.D.) and MIT (Research Associate) in nutrition, biochemistry and toxicology. His principal scientific interest has been the effects of nutrition on long term health, particularly on the cause of cancer. He has authored more than 300 research papers.

Dr. Campbell has been a member of the National Academy of Science’s expert panels on issues of carcinogenicity, food safety policy, and research recommendations on diet, nutrition and cancer. He was the Senior Science Advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund.

His book, The China Study; Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health (2005), is an engrossing, illuminating, and lively read which details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and the effects of aging, and how nutrition can reduce or reverse their risk or effects. The China Study also examines the source of conflicting nutritional messages produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and irresponsible scientists. It has been translated into 10 languages.

Dr. Campbell will do a book signing following his presentation.

Nathan Runkle

Founder & Executive Director of Mercy For Animals

Nathan Runkle is the Founder and Executive Director of Mercy For Animals. Raised on a farm in rural Ohio, Nathan has long had a deep connection with farmed animals and agriculture. After a local farmed animal abuse case, involving a piglet slammed head first into a concrete floor during an agriculture project at a nearby high school, Nathan founded Mercy For Animals to give “food” animals a much needed advocate in his local community.

Since founding Mercy For Animals a decade ago, Nathan has overseen the organization’s growth into a leading national force for the respectful and compassionate treatment of farmed animals. A grassroots organizer and coordinator for many years, Nathan has spearheaded hundreds of demonstrations and outreach events across the country – ranging from protests outside pork and egg producer conventions to parade marches, educational exhibits, and more.

A nationally recognized speaker on animal advocacy, grassroots activism, and factory farming, Nathan has spoken at colleges, forums, and conferences from coast-to-coast.

Through his work with MFA, Nathan has been an outspoken advocate for animal rights, appearing in hundreds of newspaper, television, and radio interviews, including National Public Radio, The Los Angeles Times, and The Chicago Tribune.

During the formative years of MFA, Nathan conducted numerous investigations and rescue operations at factory farms, livestock auctions, and rodeo events. Nathan led teams of MFA investigators into Ohio’s four largest egg factory farms, exposing egregious animal cruelty and neglect, as well as directly rescuing dozens of animals in dire need of veterinary care. Nathan spearheaded the organization’s efforts to rescue, rehabilitate, and find homes for over 500 hens rescued from a battery-cage facility dilapidated by a tornado.

Two more speakers will be posted as we get closer to April 15. Keep checking the blog, our facbeook page, and this page to get the news about speakers.

Directions

We have a new location this year. The 2012 Worcester VegFest is at Worcester Technical High School, located at 1 Skyline Drive, Worcester, MA (map).

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Previous Worcester VegFests

2011 – We had 3000 attendees, 46 exhibitors, 4 speakers and 2 other performers, including a kid’s musician. You can also watch full video of the presentations from: Will Potter, Bruce Friedrich, Terry Hope Romero, and Tracye McQuirter.

2010 - We had 2000 attendees, 35 exhibitors, 4 speakers and 2 musical performers. Our speakers were: Erica Meier from Compassion Over Killing, Michael Greger from NutritionFacts.org, Jon Camp from Vegan Outreach, and John Sanbonmatsu from WPI.