Decolonizing our Diets: Veganism & Communities of Color

Register here to join us: http://bit.ly/decoldiet

Veganism often turns people off because of perceptions that it’s an “elitist” or “white” movement. Yet veganism and plant-based eating has deep roots in communities of color and cultures around the world.

Join us for an invigorating dialogue on the effort to reconnect with traditional roots, and re-introduce communities to nourishing plant-based foods. Our guest panelists will explore questions about the state of the vegan movement today, especially in communities of color, and where the movement is headed, including: What are the most pressing issues with food accessibility, and what can we do to help address systemic issues with food access in communities? What are some initiatives in the East Bay that are successfully engaging communities of color with these issues? How can we have successful conversations with friends and family in these communities about moving towards eating plant-based?

Our panelists include: Bay Area food-blogger Erika Hazel (aka “The Bizerkley Vegan), food-justice educator and plant-based culinary instructor Jay Jasper Pugao, and FFAC’s Executive Director Monica Chen as the moderator.

Meet our panelists

Erika Hazel aka The Bizerkeley Vegan is a food blogger who is passionate about delicious vegan food, supporting vegan businesses in the Bay Area (and beyond!), and organizing phenomenal events that bring people together. The Bizerkeley Vegan has been featured on Bustle, Berkeleyside’s NOSH, and The Vallejo Times-Herald. You can find Erika eating her way through the Bay Area, practicing muay thai kickboxing, or traveling to food festivals around the country! Erika has been vegan since October 2016 and has branched out into planning food festivals, business consultation, and more!

Food-justice educator, sustainability consultant and also the plant-based culinary director @ Youth Food Project, Jay Jasper Pugao intertwines plant-forward food, health, environmental justice, and storytelling in a program he helped found called, ‘Youth Cooks’. As the coordinator and instructor for ‘Youth Food Project’, he designs curriculum and programming integrating culinary and workforce development skills to youth across communities including urban, at-risk, immigrant, undocumented and systems-impacted young adults in the Juvenile Justice institution in Oakland. He enjoys highlighting local vegan influencers through his blog called, Plant-Based Patnas (Partners) and when he gets the chance, Jasper loves to support his brother, Jay-ar, whom is the executive chef of No Worries Vegan to assist him with his Filipino Vegan catering business.

IG @plantbasedpatnas

IG @ YouthCooks

Moderated by Monica Chen, Executive Director for the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition