Toronto area vegetarians showed their compassion this year at the 26th annual Vegetarian Food Fair at Harbourfront Centre put on by the Toronto Vegetarian Association (TVA).

“This year our theme is compassion for animals,” said David Alexander, the executive director of the TVA. “We really try to showcase the latest vegetarian and vegan products and show people how choosing a vegetarian diet is healthy, easy and delicious.”

The food fair attracted about 20,000 people, a dramatic increase from the few hundred people who attended the first fair 26 years ago. The crowd consisted of a mix of vegetarians and omnivores of all ages and backgrounds last weekend. “We have speakers who are researchers, authors and thinkers.” Some speakers included, Erika Ritter, author of The Dog by the Cradle, The Serpent Beneath: the Paradoxes of Human-Animal Relationships and Carol Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, a connection between animal rights and feminism.

“Compassion is about our ability to feel for another,” said speaker Harold Brown, once a farmer in the animal agriculture industry, now an animal activist. “A vegetarian diet does make a difference.”

Brown spoke about how vegetarianism is a journey through consciousness and stressed the demand for a “different context for thinking about animals.”

“Consumption is the largest challenge we face with animal suffering,” said biologist Jonathon Balcombe author of Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals. “I want the world to change in our relationship towards animals.” “The lectures made the day for me,” said TVA volunteer and attendee Ashkon Hobooti, who helped out at the Veggie Challenge tent. This tent challenged curious omnivores to eat meat-free for a week.

“A lot of people signed up.” said Hobooti. “I spoke to people about the TVA, our mission statement, the programs we offer and answered questions about adopting a vegetarian lifestyle.”

In total, there were about 90 exhibits and vendors.

“There is a lot of really great food,” said Alexander. “And, of course, we had a great line up of cooking demonstrations and even local businesses.”

He explained that they showcase a lot of small local businesses because “it is part of our mission to support these businesses and give them exposure and traction.” “People here have the mindset and knowledge for this type of company,” said William Pointon, public relations manager at Bull Frog Power, a green electricity provider who had a display this year. “People are willing to understand.” There were Toronto bakeries, such as Sweets from the Earth to globally known companies such as Vega. There were animal rights groups from Liberty Over Violence, a local Toronto group to the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals. Cooking demonstrations featured Jae Steele, author of two vegan cookbooks who made peach ice cream from a cashew base and well-known cookbook author Terry Hope Romero who made a Latin fall soup and a coconut vanilla flan.

The Toronto Vegetarian Association started as a small social club in 1945 for the few vegetarians in the area. The support from the community allows the TVA to keep running. “Our goal is to be Toronto’s go-to resource for all things vegetarian,” explained Alexander. Their greatest resource is the Vegetarian Directory of restaurants and businesses in Toronto. They print 15,000 copies a year.

“The food fair is just one part of what we do, but it is our biggest event of the year. “We want people to take away that each of us can make a different for animal and the environment through vegetarianism and to show people that vegetarianism is something that can be really exciting and fun.”

For more information on the Toronto Vegetarian Association visit here

- Tara Pelette