After the carnivorous barbeque overload of D.C.’s Meat Week, the District’s all-veggie alternative, Meat-Free Week, began its third annual celebration this Monday. The festival challenges meat-eaters to try new diets, and record crowds show up to trade their bacon for Boca Burgers.
“This year we made a schedule much more focused on social events,” organizer Amber McDonald said. “From the BBQ kickoff at Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats to Sunday’s twEAT up at the Boundary Stone, we were really looking to give participants much more of an opportunity to interact.”
This emphasis on community interaction over vegan options lies at the heart of the week’s purpose. “It’s funny,” McDonald said. “If you can reach people’s stomachs, it can be much easier to get them to listen to your message.”
And Meat-Free Week has definitely succeeded in reaching eaters’ stomachs. Mike Farmer, a D.C. native who has attended nearly every Meat-Free Week event, said, “First they laugh at you…but then they try this”—as he pointed down to his nearly empty plate of the Boundary Stone’s famous Seitan wings.
While one audacious blogger went so far in saying, “It’s official, Meat-Free Week is lame,” McDonald laughed, arguing that there is no animosity between the rival foodie events. “[Meat Week organizers] have actually even helped publicize Meat-Free Week as a great way to recuperate and feel better after Meat Week,” McDonald said.
In keeping with the week’s focus on providing options for the District’s eaters, the D.C. Vegan blog keeps the animal-friendly opportunities coming all year round with monthly events like the Vegan Bake Swap on March 3. D.C. Vegan Drinks also offers lacto-ovo-meat-free cocktails at the Science Club on March 15.
And for Georgetown students seeking office, D.C. Vegan recommends VegWeek, which challenges public officials to try vegetarianism. McDonald believes that VegWeek will be a success, as certain politicians with histories that demonstrate lack of self-control have taken up the challenge.
“If Bill Clinton can go vegan, I think anyone can,” she said.
