Cool! The World’s Largest Vegan Festival Took Place in Israel Yesterday

We have written about Israel going vegan-crazy before. Earlier this year, the Israeli Domino’s Pizza chain became the first in the world to offer a soy-cheese option. Then, hundreds of people attended at the country’s first-ever Vegan Congress in Tel Aviv. Now, Israel has another vegan trophy to add to their wall –  they held the world’s largest vegan festival.

The festival, Vegan Fest 2014, took place at the Ramat Gan National Park and attracted thousands of people. There were 15,000 advanced ticket purchasers and about a hundred booths for vegan businesses and organizations. Among the swag and samples were vegan Domino’s pizza, vegan condoms, vegan Middle Eastern desserts, vegan cosmetics, vegan supplements and vegan food. Now, that’s our kind of festival. Vegan goodies all around? Sounds awesome!

Among the vegan speakers were New Yorker Prof. Richard Schwartz, who told The Jerusalem Post, “Having the world’s largest vegan festival in Israel is a tribute to Israel. It demonstrates that many Jews take seriously Jewish teachings on compassion, environmental stewardship, preservation of human life, and concern for the poor.”

Did you know that Israel actually has the highest number of vegans in the world per capita, at about four percent of the population? The lifestyle has gotten more popular there recently. The Times of Israel attributes this in part because of the efforts of activist Tal Gilboa, who recently won Israel’s version of the reality show “Big Brother.” During her time on the show, she was able to convince other contestants to change their diet.

Hopefully, Israel can convince the rest of the world to eat more plant-based, as well!

Image source: The Times of Israel