Celebrating World Vegan Day in Turkey

This Monday, Nov. 1, is World Vegan Day, an annual event held for over 20 years now where vegans and sympathizers come together to learn, share and celebrate the benefits of compassionate living. While adopting this lifestyle is fast becoming a trend in Turkey, it's benefits to the planet, the animals we inhabit it with and to our very own persons is known to everyone, whether a new convert or not should know about it. Therefore, this year Turkey's Vegan and Vegetarian Association will be holding their first ever World Vegan Day event, which will consist of a panel of distinguished speakers, a cocktail party and a documentary film screening that will be held on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Wyndham Grand Istanbul Kalamış Marina Hotel.

Sponsoring the event, organized by Turkey's Vegan and Vegetarian Association (TVD), the chic hotel, located on the Asian side of the city, will be opening its doors to anyone interested in learning more about this compassionate lifestyle in this free full-day event. Celebrated with this scope for the first-time ever in Turkey, The TVD World Vegan Day will consist of a panel of distinguished speakers that will discuss the three main tenets behind adopting the vegan lifestyle, namely; ethics, ecology and health. In other words, the aim is to share the knowledge behind why the vegan lifestyle philosophy is the ultimate approach to living when considering animal rights and freedoms. The fact that the livestock industry is the greatest contributor to global climate change and environmental pollution and the negative effects of consuming animal products from a health perspective are all aspects that will be tackled in detail during Sunday's panel.

Discussing these pressing topics and other vegan-related issues is a comprehensive panel of distinguished speakers and experts in the field. To name just some of the speakers that will be present, there will be cardiovascular and internal medicine specialist Dr. Murat Kınıkoğlu, a well-known vegan medical practitioner who healed his own high blood pressure by adopting this compassionate and healthy lifestyle. Also speaking will be Dr. Tuğrul İlter, Assistant Professor at East Mediterranean University and the Director of the Communication and Research for Peace Center. Dr. Nilgün Eröztürk, the founder of the Energy Clinic, a leading ozone therapy center in Istanbul.

Zülal Kalkandelen is another journalist and writer that is known for being a vegan and animal rights activist that is also the voice behind the informative website www.veganlogic.net and is also coauthor of the first book on veganism published in Turkey and titled "Veganism: Morals, Politics and the Struggle." Also joining the panel is Vegan and Vegetarian Association Executive Board Chair Ebru Arıman, as well as the Turkey director for V-Label, the international standardization system for labeling vegetarian and vegan products started up by the European Vegetarians Union (EVU). Also sharing his passion and pursuits will be well-known animal rights defender Gökçer Korkmaz.Following the panel will be a cocktail and a film screening of the documentary "Cowspiracy," which tackles how the animal industry has destroyed the rainforests, endangered species and caused loss of habitat, soil erosion, the disappearing of agricultural and forest land and has led to the depletion of clean water sources and environmental pollution.

Hopefully the first of many to come, this will be a unique opportunity for anyone interested in the vegan lifestyle to meet, network and collaborate with other like-minded souls in an unprecedented organization in a spectacular setting next to the Kalamış Marina. Although free, attendance is by invitation only, therefore those interested are advised to obtain an online invitation.

Other World Vegan Day events

Mahatma Cafe in Kadıköy's Yeldeğirmeni neighborhood, famed for being the first vegan restaurant in Istanbul, will also be hosting a World Vegan Day event on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in which there will be two speakers: dietitian Kevser Başkara, discussing vegan nutrition and health benefits, and Sait Biliz, who will be tackling the ecologic and ethical aspects of vegan living.

One of the pioneers in vegan cuisine in Istanbul, Community Kitchen, located on Beyoğlu's Kumbaracı Yokuşu, will be holding a special on Friday, Oct. 28 from 6 p.m. to 9 pm dishing up five vegan mezes, vegan lahmacun and even vegan ayran all for 25 TL.

Komşu Kafe Collective was the first vegetarian-vegan cafe to open in the up-and-coming and every so funky graffiti-laden Yeldeğirmeni neighborhood as well and is a collective cafe, which boasts no boss, no waiters and even no customers, here it is all about imece, the Turkish concept of giving a helping hand. On Saturday, Oct. 28 they will be hosting a scrumptious vegetarian French Food night starting at 7:30 pm.

Vegan Mutfak aka Vegan Kitchen, a recently opened quaint café on Beyoğlu's Mis Sokak, which serves affordable simple local vegan food and is open daily, will be hosting its own Vegan Day celebration on Nov. 6 from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., in which attendants will enjoy a vegan dinner and then head up to the terrace floor of the same building to the Kolektif music venue.