Swindon is joining the vegan revolution, with its first vegan festival, Food For Thought, taking place next month.

SARAH SINGLETON finds out more

Long gone are the times when the word ‘vegan’ was associated with pallid hippies munching on dispiriting meals of beansprouts – these days a plant-based diet is moving into the mainstream, as more and more people decide to ditch meat, dairy and fish.

When it’s time for New Year’s Resolutions, thousands are opting for Veganuary – taking a pledge to avoid meat and animal-based products for a month. The UK-based charity said more than 59,000 people registered to take part this year – and in their follow-up survey around 67 per cent said they intended to continue with their animal-free diet.

The vegan diet has enjoyed a rebrand, endorsed by the Millennial generation and embraced by some high profile sports people and celebrities – Veganuary lists Samuel L Jackson, Miley Cyrus and Brad Pitt as joining the vegan fold.

Popular documentaries – like the Netflix film Cowspiracy – have inspired people to consider the environmental impact of their meat-eating, as well as the suffering of animals reared in the system of industrial agriculture.

And in response, chefs, restaurants, food producers and an array of talented and creative young food bloggers have demonstrated that plant-based foods can be used to create an enormous range of delicious, nutritious, tantalisingly appetising meals.

Swindon’s first Vegan Festival, Food for Thought, is taking place at The Vic on Sunday October 15, offering all sorts of advice and information on a plant-food diet and offering lots tasty meals to prove you can eat healthy and appetising meals without meat.

Rodbourne couple Kelly and Leigh Vowles are organising the event, and say you do not have to be a vegan to enjoy it – they hope all sorts of people will come along to learn more about the benefits of vegan eating.

Police officer Leigh, 39, is new to the diet himself. He decided to make the change just six weeks ago after watching a film at a vegan festival about the life of pigs raised in industrial farming. Seeing the reality of meat production changed his life.

“It was like a horror film,” he said. “I watched the film through a virtual reality headset. It was real life footage about the lives of animals and how they are slaughtered in an abattoir. I watched two – the last one being about pigs. I was very disturbed by it. I decided I didn’t want to eat meat anymore.”

He added: “The film is made from the point of view of a worker in the farms and abattoirs – and this is going on every single day to these animals.”

Leigh said that, so far, he was not finding the vegan diet as challenging as he had expected. And despite some outdated cultural associations linking the idea of manliness with meat-eating, he said friends and colleagues in the police force had been very encouraging.

“I expected a lot more ribbing,” he said. “Most have been very supportive and some applauded me for trying it.”

The couple enjoy a wide range of vegan food, including stir fries, Thai food, rice noodles and the new vegan products available from mainstream outlets, such as vegan sausages. They say it has helped their health and fitness – both are keen members of Battlegound gym – and Kelly reckons the diet has helped her manage endometriosis and fibroids.

“The symptoms went away, and I came off the tablets,” she said.

Kelly, 34, had already been a vegan for six months She first gave up meat many years ago and gradually progressed to being a vegan.

“A friend told me how the egg industry grinds up male chicks. At first, I thought that was a made-up story but I checked it out. That made me think I had to give it a go being a vegan.”

Both she and Leigh were so inspired by speakers at the festival – the UK Vegan Camp Out, in Nottinghamshire – that they decided to organise a festival of their own.

The event, Food for Thought, at the pub in Victoria Road, from 1pm to 6pm, will host a variety of vegan organisations with information and products, as well as speakers and music. The pub will be serving a range of special vegan meals suitable for everyone to try.

The organisation Animal Equality – which produced the immersive films Leigh found so disturbing – will be attending, along with Swindon Vegan Outreach and other animal welfare groups.

Animal-free producers including Tropic Skincare and Bohemian Chic Minerals will be promoting their wares.

Swindon vegan cakemaker Kimberley Brewser of V-licious will have a stand, proving you can make fabulous cupcakes and celebration cakes without using eggs or butter.

She started making bespoke vegan cakes last year – at first just for friends and family and now as a business.

“I’ve always liked creating and being artistic and I enjoyed it,” she said. “I’m bringing up a vegan child and I was aware it was difficult to find vegan cakes. I didn’t want him to feel left out of having yummy cake, so I decided to make my own.”

The organisers want all sorts of people to come along to find out more about reducing animal products in your diet – whether you are a vegan or not.

“This will be a family friendly event, and it’s not about ramming a message down anyone’s throat,” Kelly said.

“We just want to show people there is another way. It is not only about animals either – we are concerned about animal welfare but it is also about the environment and for health. If people can cut down on the meat they eat, that is helping them to a better lifestyle.”

According to the Vegan Society research, there are 542,000 vegans in Great Britain now, which is three and a half times as many as ten years ago. Supermarkets have been recognising the growing demand and this year Asda become the first supermarket to carry the Vegan Society trademark on its products.