Vegans joined forces to educate people on the benefits of plant-based diet at ‘Veg Fest’

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Hundreds of people came out to Depot park for the annual “Veg fest”. The event is meant to educate the public on the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle.

For a lot of health reasons people are going into the vegan lifestyle,” said Jasmine Thomas, owner of Impact Island Cafe. “For me, I really prefer to do only vegan food because I really enjoy doing it. You know there’s a lot of artwork into it especially when you do it with that Caribbean flavor and spices.”

Besides the endless options of vegan cuisines, keynote speakers are sharing their personal journeys and the benefits of becoming a vegan.

“I became an adult and also I was able to realize that my food choices weren’t the healthiest for me and I started to make the switch,” said professional wrestler Austin Aires. “Now going on 23 years I went plant based and it’s just been a journey of continuing to learn and peel back layers to understand.”

Plant-based speaker Chuck Carroll said he weighed more than 400 pounds before becoming vegan.

“You can eat so much and it’s so low in calories and high in nutrients,” said Carroll. “It’s incredible how many people are rallying around this community and doing all kinds of things lower their blood pressure, reversing heart disease even, and lose just an enormous amount of weight, it’s just fantastic.”

There here will be another “Veg fest” at the Ocala downtown market on March 12th.

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