Middle East prepares for first vegetarian week

Daniel Bardsley

• Last Updated: May 31. 2008 10:33PM UAE / May 31. 2008 6:33PM GMT

People are being urged to give up meat for seven days as the Middle East celebrates its first vegetarian week, beginning today.

Organisers of the Meveg Festival intend to show that a vegetarian lifestyle is better for the body, the environment and the budget.

“It’s about creating awareness on why it’s good to be vegetarian. At least people can be vegetarian for a week,” said Maya Asarpota, one of the founders of the Meveg Festival and a lifelong vegetarian.

Authorities throughout the country have been asked by the General Secretariat of Municipalities to support the event. Its creation follows the success of similar weeks in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mrs Asarpota said being vegetarian was about “non-violence and respect for life”.

“I don’t believe in killing animals and consuming them. It’s the way I grew up,” she said.

She said there were already “lots of vegetarians” in the UAE, particularly among the Indian community. She acknowledged that vegetarianism “was not part of the culture” of the Middle East, but she hoped the festival would help to spark interest in vegetarianism among Emiratis and expatriate Arabs.

“Up to now, there’s not been an organisation that’s taken up this as a cause to spread awareness of the benefits of being a vegetarian.”

According to the Meveg group, which Mrs Asarpota founded with Sandhya Prakash, the director of this week’s festival, vegetarians have a lower risk of cancer, heart problems, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and other conditions. The festival has the backing of the Ministry of Health, which said it was keen to encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Dr Mahmoud Fikri, executive officer of health policies affairs at the ministry, said he hoped the festival would become “a turning point” in the awareness of the importance of healthy eating.

“Problems related to obesity, diabetes and related conditions are caused by car-to-carpet lifestyles combined with unbalanced diets.”

He said many people were already eating more vegetables and fruit to reduce the amount of fat in their diet. “We encourage residents of the UAE to celebrate the Meveg Festival and to eat green, eat light and eat healthy,” he said.

The festival also has attracted the support of Jassim Mohammed bin Darwish, secretary general of the General Secretariat of Municipalities. He said there was growing concern among the public about the relationship between diet, the environment and food resources.

“More and more people are shifting to a vegetarian lifestyle to optimise on crop production that directly feeds populations,” he said. “We support the Ministry of Health and have sent messages to all municipalities to support the Meveg Festival.”

Some restaurants and supermarkets are offering discounts during the festival, including the Choithram supermarket group, which is giving a 15 per cent discount on 15 fruits and vegetables throughout the week.

There will also be cookery demonstrations and talks at the Organic Foods and Cafe in Satwa, Dubai, and a number of other restaurants and food outlets are offering discounts. Consumers can pick up “health pledge” forms at supermarkets and promise to not eat meat for the duration of the festival.

Visit www.meveg.info for more information.

dbardsley@thenational.ae