Let's be honest: if the products weren't labelled veggie or vegan, you often wouldn't notice any difference to the „original“. It is fascinating to see how the food industry has developed and yet we are still at the beginning.

What was it like, what did I expect, what was on offer and was it worth it? I will try to answer all these questions in the following paragraphs.

Trade fair, symposium or street food? 

Veggie Planet at Tabakfabrik Linz was, in my opinion, an event that fits all three terms.

If you like strolling through stalls, shopping and taking part in raffles (a very cool activity, by the way!), you were in for a treat here - because that's exactly what Veggie Planet offered.

But that was not all. There were also some very, very tasty caterers who cooked for the hungry visitors.

(Edit: The caterers' food was great - of course I didn't try the chefs themselves)

On the subject of the symposium: There were various presentations on both days of the event. You can find an extract of the speakers below.

Veggie Planet - who is the organiser?

The event was organised by vegan.at

„The Vegan Society is a very active and successful environmental protection organisation with a focus on nutrition. We inspire people for climate-friendly nutrition and food production that tastes good, is fun and at the same time good for health and animals,“ the organisers describe themselves with one sentence on their website.

In short: the organisation behind vegan.at is the Vegan Society, which is now animated by a team of 20 people. They are dedicated to important topics such as environmental and climate protection and, of course, nutrition. With events such as Veggie Planet in Linz, they create an incredible tool for people to get information or inspiration.

Exhibitors and speakers at Veggie Planet in Linz

Here you can find a list of exhibitors at the event. You can get more information at the Veggie Planet website (as at October 2022).

• BE MORE. CENTRE FOR BODYWORK
• BERGBLUT - ORGANIC JUICES, SHOTS & SUPERFOODS
• EATING BREAD
• COCOECO
• THE VEGAN LIVING ROOM
• DATE BEAR HEALTHY SNACKING
  • No kidding - I don't want to advertise here, but they have understood the business... I am so addicted to the gingerbread dates... definitely try them!
• THE PLANT NURSERY
• HEALTH COUNSELLING DR. MARKUS KOLM
• GREENY GARDEN - GARDENING FOR YOUR OWN 4 WALLS.
• HANSELMANN BURGER
• HIMALAYA MOMOS - ORIGINAL TASTE OF TIBET
• HITZEFREI ORGANIC ICE CREAM ON A STICK
• HOPE FOR THE VOICELESS ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISM
• JABLONSKI'S VEGAN KITCHEN
• KASNUDL CITY KITCHEN
• MAKAM NATURAL FOOD
• MARRY ICETEA
• NIX&KIX
• NU-CYCL - NEW & UPCYCLED STUFF
• RINGANA
• SPIRULIX
• TAMU SANA
• TEAM VEGAN.AT
• TRASH UPS
• VEGAN.AT SHOP
• VEGAN.AT INFO STAND
• ASSOCIATION AGAINST ANIMAL FACTORIES
• WEBSTOFF
• WUNDERKERN
• THERMOMIX

The following speakers were represented with their appearances and presentations:

• Sara Pancot - Nutrition coach
• Marie and Michael - vegan South Tyrolean Schlutzkrapfen from theveganallrounder
• Ann-Kathrin Freude - Animal transport and the suffering of dairy calves VGT
• Physician Lukas Gatterer - our eating behaviour and its consequences (pandemics, climate change, diseases)
• Kristian Hochleitner-Specht - vegan pancakes
• Dayna-Lee Stewart - social inequalities in (plant-based) nutrition
• Doctor Markus Kolm - the do's and don'ts of a vegan diet

Directions and travelling to Tabakfabrik Linz

The journey was relatively straightforward for us - we travelled by train from Schwanenstadt to Linz and then got on the tram in the direction of Hauptplatz. From the main square we walked another 15-20 minutes to the tobacco factory.

You can check out public transport here

Tickets and admission

In contrast to „veganmania“ in Vöcklabruck, the event, which took place in the Tabakfabrik in Linz, was not free of charge. However, for €7 in advance or €8 admission, you got a covered location and didn't have to fight with the annoying wasps over the food. 8 euros per person is reasonable and was fine for me.

Veggie Planet took place in the Lösehalle of the Tabakfabrik. Unfortunately, dogs were not allowed.

That was Veggie Planet for me

The event was very good. You got great food, there were various products to test and buy and you could browse through the stands and exhibitors.

Personally, I would have liked a bit more variety and stands, as we were done exploring in just a few minutes - but we had plenty of choice when it came to food, as we filled our stomachs during the breaks from the presentations. I definitely had the impression that a lot has been done here to organise such an event. Hats off, keep it up!

It was a great and sufficiently large event, which I will definitely attend again.

A little tip: We will also be at the Vegan Planet on 19-20 November 2022 in Vienna be on site. This time with our photographer Michael and a little better prepared (admittedly - the visit to Veggie Planet was rather spontaneous).

You can buy tickets directly at the entrance.

BY THE WAY: A big compliment to the puff-puff dough balls that Tamu Sana served! Mega!

A little feedback for Makam that I really want to get rid of: What bothers me - even though I'm someone who likes to spend a lot of money on good food - is that you have to pay €8 for an average vegan kebab. It was ok, I like it, but the flavour is really nothing exceptional and in my opinion it's far too overpriced. I think it's almost a bit cheeky, to be honest.

I realise that if you are alone with the product, you also determine the price - nevertheless on the menu of the website the vegan kebab is listed at €6.50 and Börek at €5.00 (instead of €8.00 and €6.50 at Veggie Planet). (as of October 2022)

These prices would actually still be acceptable for me.

I'm already looking forward to the next Vegan Planet and am excited about the new exhibitors and caterers!

Picture gallery:

You can find pictures of the event directly on the Facebook page of the organiser. 

Source for information & cover picture: 

veggie-planet.at

Der Beitrag Veggie Planet 2022 in der Tabakfabrik Linz – ein Event für klein und groß! erschien zuerst auf muats drawig.