At her 60th high school reunion, Dixie Mahy was reliving her freshman feeling of not fitting in.
“I happen to be 78 years old,” Mahy proudly stated. “I have no diseases. I take no medications because I’ve been a vegetarian for over 50 years — about 54 years. I just went to my 60th high school reunion, and they’re all overweight; I am not. They are all having health problems. And all the talk was how they were getting old, and laughs and jokes on being older, and fatter, and less mobile, but today, I actually danced at my reunion.”
As her classmates looked on in amazement, Mahy performed a tap dance, still showing an abundance of energy. She has no special secret or million-dollar formula; her way to good health is a plant-based diet.
“I know that a person can live healthily into their old age without taking medications through a healthy diet,” she said. “At all ages you can improve.”
Mahy has dedicated much of her time to this purpose, serving as president of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Vegetarian Society and helping coordinate the 13th World Vegetarian Festival — to take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 6-7. Similar to previous years, this year’s festival will include seminars, cooking simulations, over 70 vendors, meet-and-greets, and of course, a delicious vegan meal. Unlike other years, however, 2012’s World Vegetarian Festival in San Francisco will host the 40th International Vegetarian Congress.
Speakers from around the world will discuss the latest research, new recipes, health benefits, ecological benefits and psychological benefits of living a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. Members of vegetarian societies in the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Austria, Germany and other countries are making plans to attend the event in San Francisco.
Last year’s festival attracted 6,500 attendees and with the International Vegetarian Congress, an event held every two years, happening simultaneously, that number is expected to be surpassed.
“When we celebrate our World Vegetarian Festival, it’s called that because vegetarians all over the world are celebrating being vegetarian,” Mahy explained. “But they’re not necessarily speakers from all over the world. That’s what makes this year unique, here in San Francisco.”
The event is open to the public and is for all levels of vegans and vegetarians, even those who are just thinking about becoming one. For those on the fence about the idea, Mahy understands the concern.
“Some people are fearful of making those changes because they believe the only source of protein is meat protein or dairy product,” she empathized. “It turns out that you don’t need that much protein; sometimes in eating the animal protein you’re getting too much saturated fat, cholesterol and other aspects that aren’t good for us.”
What a person eats plays a big role in their overall health. Doctors from Arizona to Australia have found that changing to a plant based diet can eliminate the need for medications, such as insulin, and even help avoid medical procedures. Diet is only a portion of what can be learned at the World Vegetarian Festival, however.
A major area of focus for this year’s festival is the ecological impact of being a vegan/vegetarian. Vendors will be on hand to discuss urban gardening, growing your own food, and knowing what chemicals are in the food you purchase from a store.
“It actually saves more of the earth resources to become [a vegetarian], especially a vegan, which is basically a plant-based diet, than to — I would say — drive a Prius,” Mahy said. “It helps to have a car that isn’t using too much of the earth’s resources, but if you really want to be conscientious, a plant-based diet is much better for your carbon imprint.”
The San Francisco Vegetarian Society is heavily involved with the ecological aspects of veganism and has been since its founding in 1967. In addition to spreading information, the society lends its support to legislative issues including the initiative on the ballot in November to label all food using genetically modified organisms as GMOs. They also help promote local community gardens.
“It takes much less water to be on a plant-based diet as opposed to raising cattle, chickens and other animals and then feeding them; they require a lot of water, and they require a lot of extra food,” explained Mahy. “A lot of our food, corn, soy and such, are fed to our animals. Around 20 pounds of plant protein is eaten by cattle in order to produce one pound of meat protein so, we could be eating the plant protein directly, feeding more people, and being healthier, and better on the environment.”
Other events at the festival include a Green Film Festival, live entertainment and the Ms. Celery 2012 competition. The festival is always a time of excitement for people to learn new things and become focused on their health. After all her years of working with the vegetarian society, and being a vegan herself, Mahy knows the excitement is hard to maintain.
“Keeping on track is the difficult part,” Mahy said of her experience with people after they’ve attended the festival. “You get all inspired and you eat all of this good food. And then you go back to work, back to your situation, and everyone else is eating everything else. You either are tempted or you’re not sure you’re doing the right thing and you fall off the wagon a little bit.”
A benefit of joining the San Francisco Vegetarian Society is having local support. Weekly potlucks are held, as are education events, throughout the year. A monthly newsletter also features new recipes and findings on the benefits of being a vegan/vegetarian.
Come to celebrate and learn on October 6 and 7 at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors before 10:30 a.m. will be admitted for free, as will children under 12, students with valid ID and seniors over 65.
Tickets are $10, but those who sign up to be a part of the San Francisco Vegetarian Society will receive a $5 discount. For more information about the local society and festival, visit www.ivu.org, www.sfvs.org or www.worldvegfestival.com.
