Celebrating veganism in Hunstanton
- By Elaine Bird
- 30 May 2019
- Hunstanton
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Acknowledging the soaring popularity of a vegan diet and lifestyle, Hunstanton Town Hall opened its doors for Hunstanton’s first ever Vegan Festival on Sunday 26th of May.
Sponsored by vegan cheese company Sheese - Bute Island Foods, the festival welcomed the public inside to savour the culinary delights on offer, including cakes from The Iced Vegan and Vegan Cakery, seaside staples from There’s No Catch VFishnChips and Indian dishes from Home Kitchen.
Proving health and beauty need not necessitate animal testing were stalls from Tropics Skincare, Eden Perfume and It’s Cruelty Free. Health and fitness were also featured predominantly with athletics club Vegan Runners on hand for advice.
The event also helped raise money for Sea Shepherd, a marine conservation charity dedicated to ending the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife on both the UK’s coastline and the world’s oceans. You may recognise them for their work for local beach cleans.
Organiser Shena Louise’s charity Pudz Animal Sanctuary also benefited from the event, she said: “We have 136 animals at the moment- disabled, special needs and terminally ill animals. This is where we fundraise to make sure that they’re looked after well.”
Hunstanton Town Council obtained a grant to fund the event. Fellow organiser Amanda Knight adds: “That it was a great success, very well attended and plans are being put together for a Vegan Christmas Fair.”
Veganism is a lifestyle and diet is defined by The Vegan Society as “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”
Veganism has seen an unprecedented rise in popularity in the last couple of years: and according to The Vegan Society, the number of vegans has quadrupled from 2014 to 2018, with there now being around 600,000 vegans in the UK; equivalent to 1.16% of the British population. And in 2018, the UK launched more vegan products than any other nation.