UK: Oxford festival is going vegan in 2024 – find out how to get involved

From veganfoodandliving.com

The Oxford Literary Festival will be hosting a number of events discussing veganism this year – and all festival dinners throughout the week will be vegan.

Running from March 16-24th, among the events, Marlene Watson-Tara will share her guide to delicious everyday vegan food.

In addition, discussions will be held on cultivated meat, the environment, and farming.

According to the festival organisers – including director Sally Dunsmore – the event is so crucial because its ‘sense of community is vital to our wellbeing and growth’.

It is aimed at bringing together ‘an incredible line-up of writers and speakers, and in creating an unforgettable event that will inspire and challenge us all’.

Oxford Literary Festival

With this in mind, a host of speakers will attend the event, so that attendees can truly dissect the notion of eating animals.

One of the talks will see television medic Dr Amir Khan Interviewed by Philip Lymbery, the founder of animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming on March 16.

Dr Khan, a full-time GP working in Bradford as well as a frequent expert on television programmes including This Morning will speak for 20 minutes before his interview.

According to the festival: “Khan was among signatories of an open letter to delegates to the COP27 climate conference in 2022 calling on world leaders to end factory farming and transform the global food system.

“They argued that there was an urgent need to transform food production because the livestock sector alone was producing more greenhouse gases than the world’s planes, trains and cars combined.”

Panels and events

A further event – a panel – will be titled Will Cultivated Meat Save the World? Chaired by Francine Stock, it will feature Owen Ensor, Ira van Eelen, Jim Mellon and Philip Lymbery.

The panel will see Van Eelen, described as ‘a huge supporter of the innovation of cultivated meat…who has worked in the field for more than 40 years, [and] supports developments in cultivated meat and is a speaker, lobbyist and researcher’

Mellon will ‘argue that environmental impact, attitudes to animal cruelty and the struggle to feed a growing world population will mean there is no alternative to getting our protein from meat grown in laboratories or from plant-based sources’.

And another panel, title The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Farming, will see Graham Harvey, Tim Bentinck and Rosamund Young all interviewed by Philip Lymbery.

They will talk about ‘good and bad farming practices and what the future holds for sustainable and environmentally friendly food production’.

Discussing big ideas

Discussing the event in the past, Sally Dunsmore said: “We want everyone one to come and enjoy The Oxford Literary Festival, including young people and children…’

She continued: “Holding the festival in Oxford naturally reflects the spirit and tone of the University – where big ideas can be discussed, making the festival high bar whilst at the same time friendly and welcoming.

“We are exceptionally lucky because people want to come and speak at the festival. Along with the well-known, we are committed to showcasing those who have made a difference to our lives yet may not be familiar or recognise.”

Tickets for the Oxford Literary Festival are on sale now through the Oxford Literary Festival website. 

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/oxford-literary-festival-goes-vegan-2024/