Ofek Ron is the man in charge of the Vegan Festival production in Tel Aviv. We spoke to him about his personal journey into veganism and why the festival is such a popular destination with vegans from all around the world.
Ofek Ron
Please tell us about why and when you decided to go vegan.
Four years ago, I saw the video of Gary Yourofsky and immediately understood that we are hurting animals for no good reason. I immediately became vegan.
You are in charge of the Vegan Fest Production; can you tell us a little bit about what that entails?
Vegan Fest is for the vegan community. I believe that vegans around the world have a lot in common and are willing to meet new people with the same ideologies. Vegan people from all over the world don't have a place to truly celebrate their way of life except for a vegan festival and that is why it is so successful. Since we started our Vegan Fest, vegans began to communicate with each other and make new friends. I feel very honored to be a part of it. Vegan Fest brings the best artists, cooks, yoga teachers, restaurants, shops and lecturers to a wide variety of shows in front of 15,000 attendees. The festival is one of the biggest in the whole world and we are proud to see it growing year after year.
Can you tell us about Buzz Productions and Vegan Friendly, which you represent?
Buzz Productions (www.buzzpro.co.il), founded by Ophir Penso and me, is a festival production company who specializes in initiating events that focus on very important issues. For instance, Buzz is the producer of the yearly Animal Rights Protest with 15,000 people in the heart of Tel Aviv.
The Vegan Future Organization, which is also known for its leading project - 'Vegan Friendly' - was established in September of 2012, by Omri Paz, the organization's director. Omri decided to 'go vegan' just a few months earlier, after being exposed to the horrors of the animal product industry. He then decided to act on saving animals by promoting veganism in Israel. In less than two years, this non-profit organization has led and initiated numerous projects in a wide variety of fields, promoting veganism in Israel and marching it forward with giant steps. All this would not have been possible without the help of many volunteers who wanted to take part and help the cause. 'Vegan Friendly' believes that in order to make veganism into an accessible and common way of life in Israel, it will be necessary to make it 'mainstream'; meaning that it must be accessible, available, popular and known to the public.
What can people who haven't been there before expect from Vegan Fest?
In five words: To have their best experience.
What is your personal highlight of the day?
To get up in the morning and to be so sure that I'm living my life.
Tel Aviv holds the highest percentage of vegan restaurants per capita in the world; so where do you most like to dine?
Tanat - a vegan Ethiopian restaurant with a unique vibe.
Why do you think Tel Aviv has one of the highest vegan populations in the world?
I think that there are two main reasons: First, Israelis are very open and they are not afraid to express their thoughts to each other. An Israeli vegan is very likely to convince his friend to become vegan. Second, Israelis spend a lot of time on the Internet and Facebook. Facebook is the main influencer today for the vegan world.
Why are people willing to travel so far for this particular festival?
As of today, there are no international vegan lifestyle events besides Vegan Fest. I believe that vegans just want to celebrate and Vegan Fest is the biggest vegan gathering that accommodates this celebration.
You are very active on social media, so how important is it to you to communicate veganism through your personal channels?
The main reason that veganism is rising is because of Facebook. Our competitors are the meat and dairy industries and they have billions of dollars for advertising through all media avenues; Facebook still gives us the opportunity to get shares from the community about our content. Those shares are a critical reason for the rising popularity of veganism.
What is next for you?
To copy the Vegan Fest on every single continent, so it'll be possible for every vegan person in the world to have this amazing experience.
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