Vietnam Food Fair Encourages Vegetarian Lifestyle

This year, Ho Chi Minh City’s bi-yearly Green Food Fair is taking a strong environmental stance, delivering a key message to youth: decreased meat consumption contributes to environmental protection. Nguyen Van Nha, chairman of the company organizing the event, expressed concern over livestock breeding as a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, disease development, and depletion of natural resources. The four-day, youth-oriented event is being held in the city’s Youth Cultural House, where it will showcase 50 booths, feature a concert and vegetarian cooking classes, and host an open forum to discuss trends in modern vegetarian food. The city’s 2008 and 2010 exhibitions each attracted more than 20,000 visitors.