This week alone, Ballarat has seen the opening of its first vegan cafe, Namaste Nourishment, and vegan pizzas have come out of fast food chain Domino’s ovens for the first time. The city’s dedicated vegan festival, now in its third year, kicks off tomorrow.

Internationally, Veganuary is well under way; an event that sees people give up animal products for a month. 

Ballarat Vegan Festival founder Bryn Hills said he went vegan nine years ago, and since then there’s been an explosion of dining options and food replacements. 

“Back then there wasn’t a lot of support with products, but now there’s vegan everything. Doc Martens, ice-cream, burgers – you name it, there’s a vegan version of it,” he said. 

“The catalyst for our festival was the Melbourne Vegan Festival, which ten years ago was 60 people in Princes Park, last year it was 20,000 people at the Melbourne Showgrounds. 

“Australian philanthropist Phillip Wollen says veganism is really the swiss army knife of the 21^st Century, because you address animal rights, health, environment and you address social justice.

“The idea behind veganism is really about having as little impact on the planet and the environment as possible.”

Roy Morgan Research report that between 2012 and 2016, the number of Australian adults whose diet is all or almost all vegetarian has risen from 1.7 million people (9.7 per cent of the population) to almost 2.1 million (11.2 per cent of the population). 

Cr Belinda Coates, who is officially opening the festival at Backspace Gallery tomorrow, has been vegan for 15 years. 

“Previously it’s been reasonably difficult at times when going out to find options,” she said. 

“But during that time, there have been so many new cultural cafes and restaurants coming on board, that have a good range of vegetarian/vegan options. 

“One thing that is becoming more common are dietary requirements, and that’s one thing that can often attract people. 

“It is such a positive thing for Ballarat to be showcasing a really healthy relationship with food.”

Ballarat Vegan Festival will run from January 13-21, with an art exhibition, workshops and a community picnic scheduled during the week. 

“Whatever people can do, that’s fantastic,” Mr Hills said. 

“It’s important to remember that there are people that don’t eat meat on Mondays, or pescatarian … there’s a whole lot of people doing a whole lot of stuff, and it all makes a difference.”

For more information, visit the Ballarat Vegan Festival Facebook Page.