The second annual Veganic Summit kicks off today, based in Quebec Canada, and taking place online from November 8th to 10th. A special event fully dedicated to vegan organic farming and gardening, the summit will allow participants to learn valuable, sustainable, animal-friendly techniques in one place.
The Veganic Summit is organized by Meg Kelly and Stephane Groleau from the Veganic Agriculture Network and Learn Veganic of Canada, with UK-based Vegan Organic Network as a key collaborator. Additional collaborators include The Vegan Society (UK), Certified Veganic (Canada), and media partner VeggieVision TV (UK).
“Switching to a plant-based diet is an important step in the shift away from animal agriculture“
Following the success of last year’s inaugural summit, which saw over 1,300 registrants gather for the largest event worldwide focused on veganic farming and gardening, the 2024 event anticipates more than 2,000 registrants. The event will demonstrate viable paths forward for organic farming and gardening without the use of livestock or animal inputs.
“Switching to a plant-based diet is an important step in the shift away from animal agriculture”, says Meg Kelly, coordinator of the Veganic Summit, “though we also need to consider how plant foods are grown.”
“When we buy our organic food, we don’t know how organic it is”
As part of this consideration of how plants are grown, the organisers bring awareness to the fact that conventional, and even organic agriculture, frequently utilizes animal-based fertilizers to grow plants, including blood meal, bone meal, manure, feather meal, and fish emulsion.
A path forward to true sustainability, and as climate change and the biodiversity crisis accelerate, veganic agriculture, also known as “stockfree” or “vegan organic”, goes a step further than organic farming, using entirely plant-based techniques and offering a powerful solution for creating a sustainable and more compassionate food supply.
“…it takes a smaller land footprint to grow veganically than to incorporate farmed animals.”
Dan Graham, director of the Vegan Organic Network explains, “In the United Kingdom for example, there’s a derogation in organic agriculture saying if farmers can’t source organic manure, they’re allowed to source manure from non-organic farms, a place where the animals have been eating food grown with pesticides and chemicals, where the animals have been given worming tablets and antibiotics. So when we buy our organic food, we don’t know how organic it is.”
Experts, initiatives and discussions
The summit features a wide range of veganic farming and gardening experts, including Iain Tolhurst, a British farmer whose 8-hectare farm produces food in a manner shown to be 90% more efficient than the production of conventional supermarket produce, according to an energy audit performed as part of a BBC Climate Change special programme.
Additionally, The Vegan Society will be speaking about policy advocacy for plant-based farming, and the Vegan Organic Network will share initiatives aimed at expanding the reach of veganic farming and gardening.
The event also features the Ferme du Château in Switzerland, which grows veganic legumes and grains, and makes veganic pasta directly on the farm. Canadian farmer Jimmy Videle, author of The Veganic Grower’s Handbook, will discuss how veganic farmers and gardeners can be more resilient in the face of climate change. Furthermore, discussions aimed at gardeners and homesteaders meant that all attendees can begin to put veganic techniques into practice.
Breaking the link between growing plants and animal farming
“Veganic growing has so many benefits,” says Meg Kelly. “It leads to a safer food supply by reducing contaminants like E. coli and salmonella. It breaks the link between plant food production and animal farming, meaning we can grow plant foods without any dependence on factory farms or slaughterhouses. And for farms and gardens that are self-sufficient and create their own fertilizers, it takes a smaller land footprint to grow veganically than to incorporate farmed animals.”
Veganic Summit takes place online from today, Friday, November 8 to Sunday, November 10, 2024. The summit is online and it’s free to attend to watch all the talks, with an optional paid upgrade for Q&As with speakers and additional educational resources.
Details and registrations: https://veganicsummit.com/
