seattlepi.nwsource.com

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, March 8, 2006: This weekend brings to Seattle the fifth Vegfest, billed as the largest vegetarian festival in the United States. Last year, more than 9,900 people attended this celebration of meat-free eating, an increase from the 2,000 who came in 2002, its first year. The festival venue at Seattle Center is doubling in size this year. Food makers and restaurants plan to give out more than 400,000 samples of 650 different foods. Part of Vegfest’s success lies in its open-arms attitude, focusing on the pleasure of food rather than than anti-meat controversies. Vegetarians of Washington has more than 1,500 members. They come to the group for diverse reasons. There are Jains, Buddhists, Seventh-day Adventists and others whose religions encourage a vegetarian diet. Others are attracted largely by health or medical reasons, environmental or animal-welfare concerns. The number of local vegetarian and vegan restaurants also is growing and grocery stores and restaurants have become a lot more vegetarian-friendly in recent years. Many fast-food outlets, including McDonald’s and Burger King, now offer veggie burgers or other meatless options. And there’s a bounty of meat-replacement products, including Fakin’ Bacon, Foney Baloney and Tofurky. Meat alternatives are made from wheat gluten, soy, compressed mushrooms, lotus root, sesame and more. There are no precise estimates of how many Americans are vegetarian, but in a 2003 national survey by Harris Interactive, 2.8 percent of adults said they never eat meat, poultry, fish or seafood. A larger group–6 percent–said they never eat beef or pork.

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