Vegan Fest Panels Educate the Public on Health, Planet Matters

Berkeley Heights, NJ - On Saturday, September 15, community members gathered bright and early at the Berkeley Heights Town Hall to attend health-focused and planet-focused panels during the second day of Berkeley Heights Vegan Fest, an event sponsored by the Berkeley Heights Environmental Commission (BHEC).

The morning sessions began with a health-focused panel. Sue Fieseler, the Director of Community Wellness at the Summit YMCA, shared advice regarding how to develop healthy lifestyles. Lisa McQuilkin, the Wellness Director at the Berkeley Heights YMCA, discussed the positive impact that exercise can have on a person's quality of life. Mildred "Mitch" Bentler, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with Summit Medical Group, provided some interesting facts about foods that were not widely known among audience members and dispelled myths about a vegan diet, including common misperceptions about vegan foods lacking sufficient amounts of protein. The matters raised during the speakers' presentations prompted a robust question and answer session, which BHEC member Kevin Hall moderated.

During the planet-focused panel that BHEC member Kinan Tadmori moderated, Gal Hochman, an Associate Professor in Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Rutgers University, explained the environmental impacts associated with meat consumption and the benefits of using meat substitutes. BHEC member and Vegan Fest Chair Kim Diamond, an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School, then discussed the importance of audience members thinking out of the box, so that they could objectively balance information they have been hearing in the media throughout their lives regarding animal consumption against scientific data regarding livestock's impacts on the environment. Steve Fenster, President of NJveg, rounded out the panel by educating the public about the benefits of a plant-based diet, and the positive impacts such a diet has on the planet. Issues the speakers raised, such as drinking water contamination, topsoil erosion, and greenhouse gas emissions, sparked a lively discussion with audience members that lasted almost as long as the panel presentation itself.

The BHEC hopes that these panels raised to the level of public consciousness issues about exercise, a plant-based diet, and the environmental impacts a person's food choices may have that audience members may not have known previously. The BHEC further hopes that these issues will provide audience members with fertile grounds for discussion with others.

For additional information regarding Berkeley Heights Vegan Fest, please visit the BHEC's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BerkeleyHeightsEnvironmentalCommission/.