Veggie - Visit Gent

Ghent: Veggie Capitalof EuropeTobias Leenaert is the founder anddirector of EVA (Ethical VegetarianAlternative), an organisation that disseminatesinformation on everythingvegetarian in a positive and enticingmanner.What makes Ghent the Veggie Capitalof Europe?Ghent has the largest number of vegetarianrestaurants per capita of all knowncities and more vegetarian meals areserved in Ghent than anywhere else inBelgium. We owe that to several pioneerswho pushed this trend in the past andto the fact that Ghent is per definitionthe most progressive city of the country.Moreover, Ghent is a student city, andwe know that students are more open tothe idea of eating vegetarian meals thanthe older generation. Last but not least,Thursday Veggie Day has encouragedpeople to eat more vegetarian dishes.The City of Ghent launched ThursdayVeggie Day in 2009. What werepeople’s reactions and how was theinitiative spread?When the City officially announced in2009 that Thursdays would become VeggieDays (without obligations of course)our international press release waspicked up by the BBC and as such, thenews spread worldwide and in no timethe world press was on our doorstep. Thiswas the first time a government (albeit alocal one) encouraged a structural reductionin meat consumption among its citizens,and clearly the press was intrigued.Thursday Veggie Day was featured inTime Magazine, on CNN, the Japanesenational news broadcast etc. And thanksto this international press coverage, thecampaign was also launched in other cities,including São Paulo and Los Angeles.What is your favourite place inGhent?My favourite restaurant: Lekker Gec,which has a delicious vegetarian buffetand an atmosphere of shameless humanitarianism.My favourite place: St Michael’s Bridge,for the stunning view of Korenmarkt andthe towers.Meaty facts• Eating more vegetarian food and less meat decreases your chances of obesity, diabetes,heart disease, osteoporosis, some cancers and other diseases.• If all Europeans had one meatless day a week, the amount of greenhouse gases savedwould equal that of taking 35 million cars off European roads for an entire year.• Global meat consumption requires about 30,000 square kilometres of deforestedlanda year! That’s an area the size of Belgium!• About one third of all fish caught in the wild (about 35 billion kilograms) is used as food forfarmed fish.• One kilogram of beef requires about seven kilograms of grain.WHY JOIN THE VEGGIEDAY CAMPAIGN?Skipping meat and fish one day a week is a good thing for… just about everything andeveryone! You have nothing to lose, only lots to win!✔ FOR YOUR TASTE BUDSDiscover new ingredients, recipes, restaurants and cook books. Make new friends. Openthe door to a whole new world!✔ FOR YOUR HEALTHLots of vitamins, minerals and fibres and less animal fats and cholesterol means that youare less likely to suffer from heart disease, cancer, obesity or diabetes. Cutting down onmeat is a brilliant move for your body!✔ FOR YOUR PLANETEating more vegetarian food and less meat means less deforestation for cattle and animalfeed, and less greenhouse gas emissions. Animal agriculture is responsible for onefifth of global emissions!✔ FOR OTHER PEOPLEOne kilogram of beef requires seven to ten kilograms of grain and a staggering 15,000litres of water. So why not free more food and water for people by eating less animals?✔ FOR THE ANIMALSIn Belgium we eat an average of about 1,800 animals during our lifetime: 891 chickens,42 pigs, 5 cows, 789 fish, 7 sheep, 43 turkeys and 24 rabbits and other game. With oneveggie day a week you can save 250 animals in the course of your lifetime!Which advice or life lesson wouldyou give to tourists visiting Ghent?Enjoy Ghent to the full. Any other cityyou’ll visit afterwards will either seem toolarge or too small.What is your favourite vegetable?Stewed Belgian Endive!We welcome all feedbacki Visit GentSint-Veerleplein 59000 GentT + 32 9 266 56 6015/03 > 14/10: 9.30 > 18.30 uur15/10 > 14/03: 9.30 > 16.30 uurwww.visitgent.bevisit@gent.beLike us on Facebook@visitgent / #visitgent