2011 Festival Schedule & HighlightsThe 27th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival features presentations and panel discussions with expert speakers, cooking demonstrations by chefs and cookbook authors, and musical performances. 2011 Festival HighlightsFor the full schedule, please scroll down or click here. Pre-festival - On Wednesday, September 7, join us for Toronto Veggie Drinks at Disgraceland (RSVP on Facebook). On Thursday, September 8, Doug McNish presents An Evening to Your Health at Didier Restaurant. Friday, September 9
We've got Friendly Chocalate Fudge with jae steele (6pm), music from folk legend Ken Whitely (6pm), a talk on vegan blogging with superchef Terry Hope Romero (7pm) and our Secrets of Nutrition Revealed! (8pm) panel with certified nutrition experts, health-conscious chefs and vegan body-builder Robert Cheeke. Saturday, September 10On Saturday in the Studio Theatre, we'll feature health experts including registered dietitians Jack Norris (Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet) and Julianna Hever (Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition) and Dr. Michael Greger, Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States. We've got more great cooking demonstrations from Terry Hope Romero (Veganomicon, Viva Vegan!), Alan Roettinger (Speed Vegan) and others. Join Melanie Joy, PhD for her talk Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows (5:30pm) and our Animal Advocacy 101 panel discussion (8:15pm) where she'll be joined by Vegan Outreach founder Jack Norris and others. Join us at 8pm for our first ever Compassion Award presentation as we recognize local champions of compassion Sunday, September 11At the Lakeside Terrace, learn to make mouth-watering starters from local ingredients (12pm), sublime vegan cheesecake (2pm), and the raw ice cream of your sweet dreams (4pm). Don't miss the opportunity to Play with Your Food (6pm) as vegan chef Doug McNish hosts a fun competition of veg trivia, team cooking and audience participation! In the Studio Theatre, learn about Animal Freedom Day (12pm), the latest in nutrition (1:30pm) and vegan body-building (6pm). Full 2011 ScheduleStudio Theatre - Speakers (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)Lakeside Terrace - Cooking Demonstrations & Special Presentations (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)Redpath Stage - Entertainment (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Studio TheatreThe Studio Theatre is where you can find exciting speakers over the Food Festival weekend. Friday September 9th7:00pm Terry Hope Romero - VeganbloggitTerry worked her way backwards into the vegan bloggosphere, from cookbook author to blogger. Fresh from Vida Vegan con, the first ever vegan blogger conference of its kind, Terry will share ideas on how to put more of your own story into your vegan blogging. We'll get psyched about ways to focus on how best to tell your story, be it your graduation from vegetarian to vegan or your own adventures in vegan cuisine.
Saturday September 10th1:00pm Sarah Taylor - Vegan in 30 DaysDo you want to ... *Lose weight? *Prevent or reverse disease? *Have tons of energy? *Save thousands of animals from suffering? *Drastically reduce your carbon footprint?
2:30pm Jack Norris - Vegan Nutrition: What Does the Science SayJack Norrris, RD will discuss the published research on vegetarian and vegan diets. He will also cover the nutrients of concern in plant-based diets such as protein, vitamin B12, calcium, iodine, vitamin D, and omega-3 fats. 4:00pm Julieanna Hever - Plant–Based Losers: Winning the Weight Loss War with a Whole Food, Plant–Based Nutrition PlanLearn why following a whole food, plant-based diet is optimal for easy and permanent weight loss. Science has confirmed that herbivores are leaner than their omnivorous counterparts. Learn how to maximize eating strategies to your advantage so you never have to worry about your weight again. 5:30pm Melanie Joy - Understanding the Psychology of Meat for Effective Vegan AdvocacyIn this presentation, social psychologist Melanie Joy explains carnism, the invisible belief system that shapes our perception of animals and meat, so that we learn to love some species and eat others without knowing why. Joy explains how carnism is sustained by complex, hidden social and psychological mechanisms and it conditions people to act against their core values, their own interest, and the interest of others. Joy then discusses how vegans can apply their understanding of carnism to communicate more effectively with meat eaters, advocate more strategically, navigate “mixed” (veg/meat eater) relationships, feel more grounded in and better able to articulate their own ethical choices, and feel more empowered living in a dominant meat-eating culture. 7:00pm Michael Greger - The Latest in Nutrition 2010Every year Dr. Greger scours the world's scholarly literature on clinical nutrition and develops an new annual presentation to present the latest in cutting-edge research. Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic disease In an engaging interactive quiz show format. His Latest in Nutrition 2010 talk focuses on studies published between summer 2009 and summer 2010. There is no overlap between his three talks at the Festival. To watch hundreds of Dr. Greger's videos for free visit his new website NutritionFacts.org A founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, MD, is a physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. He has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, testified before Congress, and was invited as an expert witness in the defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous "meat defamation" trial. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. Currently Dr. Greger serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States.
Sunday September 11th12:00pm Nadia Masoudi - Founder of Animal Freedom Day and Filmmaker of the upcoming documentary 'Don't Eat Me'Nadia Masoudi discusses the ethical concerns behind the consumption of meat in our modern society. She speaks about her journey behind making a film at the early age of 15. Gathering footage and interviews from around the world, Nadia's experience has enticed her to write a novel, which will soon be released. During the presentation, visuals and a teaser of Don't Eat Me that has not yet been screened will be shown. Nadia will also speak about founding Animal Freedom Day (an annual, global event that aims to raise awareness towards the environmental crisis, human health and animal welfare) at 17 years old. 1:30pm Michael Greger - The Latest in Nutrition 2011Every year Dr. Greger scours the world's scholarly literature on clinical nutrition and develops an new annual presentation to present the latest in cutting-edge research. Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic disease In an engaging interactive quiz show format. His Latest in Nutrition 2011 talk focuses on studies published between summer 2010 and summer 2011. There is no overlap between his three talks at the Festival. To watch hundreds of Dr. Greger's videos for free visit his new website NutritionFacts.org A founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, MD, is a physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. He has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, testified before Congress, and was invited as an expert witness in the defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous "meat defamation" trial. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. Currently Dr. Greger serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States.
3:00pm Erika Ritter -The Dog Ate My Moral Compass: How We Make Animals Seem Complicit in Their Use by Humans Author of The Dog by the Cradle, the Serpent Beneath: Some Paradoxes of Human-Animal Relationships, Erika Ritter touches everything from ancient religious rites, to the messages about animals in children's literature, to "colourful-critter" features on the TV news, human beings cultivate the notion that non-humans actually consent to human control over their lives and deaths. Starting with an ancient and true story about a dog whoh suffered a wrongful death, Erika Ritter looks at how art, science and psychology have long served the meat industry, pharmaceutical companies, advertising agencies and the public at large by presenting animals as volunteers rather than victims. 4:30pm Ellen Jones - Economy got you down? Think that a plant-based diet is too expensive? Think again.Ellen Jaffe Jones, a veteran vegan, endurance runner, former Emmy-winning TV investigative reporter and high-performing (for clients) Wall Street financial consultant, turned certified personal trainer and running coach will tell you how to give your shopping cart a make-over, as "Skinny Bitch" author Rory Freedman says. Ellen's book, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day, "will help you take a bite out of your food budget while you on track to a more healthful lifestyle," says The China Study author T.Colin Campbell. Physicans Committee for Responsible Medicine president, Dr. Neal Barnard, "Certainly there is no better qualified to write this book than Ellen Jaffe Jones. What you find within thee pages may surprise you, as you discover that can eat well, and keep yourself healthy, on $4 a day."
6:00pm Robert Cheeke - Build a Better Body on a Plant-Based DietUse a plant-based whole food diet to fuel a better body for better health. Learn how to eat to fuel your athletic interests, how lose weight, gain muscle, lower stress and prevent injuries. Champion vegan bodybuilder and best-selling author Robert Cheeke shares the most important lessons to be learned in the process of building a better, healthier body.
Lakeside TerraceLakeside Terrace is the site of all our mouth-watering cooking demonstrations, plus the new addition of a Nutrition Panel and Activist Panel this year. Friday September 9th6:00pm Jae Steele - The Friendliest Chocolate Fudge that you ever did tasteReturning to our cooking demo stage for the 4th year in a row, Toronto-based holistic nutritionist jae steele (of the popular vegan cookbooks Get It Ripe and Ripe from Around Here) offers up a surprising new recipe. Can you imagine a rich chocolate fudge that's rich without butter, sweet without refined sugar, and that takes less than 5 minutes to make? Boasting an impressive nutritional punch, this dessert can be enjoyed by diabetics, candida-sufferers and sensitive kids, as well as any and everyone else with a love for sweet treats. 8:00pm Secrets of Nutrition Revealed!Join moderator Lisa Pitman for a broad discussion of how what we eat can have a powerful impact on what we eat, how we feel and personal fitness. Join panelists Dr. Michael Greger, Julieanna Hever, RD, Ripe From Around Here author jae steele, chef Doug McNish and vegan body-builder Robert Cheeke. Saturday September 10th12:00pm Marni Wasserman - Greens for all SeasonsLearn the amazing benefits of eating greens all year long! These nutrient-dense superfoods are nothing to shy away from at the farmers market. You can have them at every meal (yes, even breakfast), and you'll never feel bad about going back for seconds. Increased energy, loads of minerals and vitamins, and variety are just a few of the perks. 2:00pm Terry Hope Romero - Fall into hearty vegan fare: shepherd's pie with Latin Sabór!Pastel de choclo (corn pie) is a hearty Chilean specialty reminiscent of shepherd’s pie. Come see Terry Hope Romero (Veganomicon, Viva Vegan!, Vegan Pie in the Sky (forthcoming)) demonstrate a veganized spin on this classic cold weather dish filled with toothsome tempeh and topped with a savory creamed corn pudding. 4:00pm Meghan Telpner - Sweet and Creamy: Doing it Veggie StyleIn Meghan's signature style that blends her humour, passion, creativity and sense of fun, she'll show you her top tips and tricks for making dips, dressings, sauces, soups, smoothies and desserts a little creamier, more nutrient packed and extra super delicious without the need for dairy, processed fillers, soy or other questionable ingredients. Discover Meghan's favourite must have kitchen ingredients to achieve the creamiest most satisfying goodness, taste test the samples, get inspired and have a good laugh. 6:00pm Alan Roettinger - Quick, Easy Recipes with a Gourmet TwistPrivate Chef Alan Roettinger will demonstrate fast, simple, yet unusually flavorful recipes that anyone can make at home in thirty minutes or less. his speciality is bringing health and pleasure together, in order to maximize the joy of life. 8:00pm 2011 Compassion Award presentation (NEW!)COMPASSION AWARD PRESENTATION - Don't miss the presentation of our first Compassion Award as we celebrate local champions of compassion. The four finalists for the award are
8:15pm Animal Advocacy 101 discussion panel |
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For media inquiries regarding The 27th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival, please contact media@veg.ca.
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 Discount rates are available at the Radisson Admiral Hotel and only applicable during the official booking dates: September 9-11, 2011. Please call 416-203-3333 and ask to book with ONTORONT-Toronto Vegetarian Association or go to radisson.com/torontovegetarianassociation .
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Join us for the opening of the 27th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival at 4pm and enjoy amazing food, great music and informative presentations through until 9pm. 
