Seed, Wine, And Food Festival Miami 2017
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The third annual Seed, Wine, and Food Festival Miami was more than just an indulgence into vegan cuisine. It was an in depth look at a lifestyle and community that advocates changing the world for the better. While there were many palatable highlights, one of the highpoints (in my opinion) was the Veggie Burger Cookoff.
The true essence of the festival; however, was the energy of the vendors and the visible passion poured into their product—the people—and the valuable knowledge gained from the speakers during the 45-minute long breakout sessions that made up the heart of the festival.
The Seed, Wine, and Food Festival Miami: Breakout Sessions
Of all the speakers, my personal favorite was Jason Wrobel. The world-renowned leader in vegan cuisine and plant-based nutrition captivated his audience from start to finish. While he gained notoriety from his Cooking Channel Show, How to Live to 100, it was the passion with which he spoke on the power of using video that resonated with me most.
“Before I get on stage or a camera I think to myself, who is it that I want to connect with. Who is the person on the other side of that lens? What I will do is I will visualize that person and just talk to that person directly. We’re all terrified of doing something in life. That’s the anchor point. [but in the end] I know I’m having a shared human experience with someone on the other side of that camera.”
Jason Wrobel dropping gems on the audience
The Seed, Wine, and Food Festival Miami: Attendees
While many of the attendees were indigenous to Miami, there remained quite a few presenters and attendees that traveled from quite some distance to attend. Bharat Bhatia, first-time attendee and fitness enthusiast, eagerly bounced from person to person while gaining new perspectives and insights into the different layers of veganism. On a larger scale, former NBA Champion John Sally, captivated swarms of attendees as he spoke on how altering his diet has not only benefited his health, but has also helped to reduce the joint pain brought on from the stress that years of competing in athletics puts on your body.
John Sally imparting wisdom
On a personal level, having adopted a mostly vegetarian diet this year, the festival was very inspirational for me. Through an Instagram stories poll, I asked my supporters: “Should I go full vegan?” While the question returned a 66% to 33% vote in favor of No, with each passing day; rather, I’m leaning more and more toward embracing Yes with open arms!
With arms wide open!
In the comments below, provide your answer to the question above (Should I go full vegan) and share your opinion of the vegan lifestyle!
48 Comments
I know very little about wine and would love to attend an event like this in the future. As far as whether one should adopt a vegetarian lifestyle, I don’t know. I eat tons of fruits:veggies during the work week, making sure I have at least 5 servings/day. I sometimes have poultry or fish at dinner. But every long once in a while I feel the need to pop my head into an Epic Burger joint. Ha!
Nothing like a good, juicy burger…but veggie burgers have actually come a long way toward being comparable!
I love a good food and wine fest I didnt know Miami had a vegan version. Wow I bet it was very informative. I think going vegan is a cool buzzword but its a true lifestyle. Research if its really the lifestyle for you. Eating healthier is always a good thing but make sure you do your full research on veganism before you convert it is a lot of things you can no longer eat or even do as part of the lifestyle.
You’re absolutely right. While there is a lot of buzz around being vegan, it’s much more of a lifestyle decision than a fad.
Looks a nice event and I would love to experience to go in that kind of event and the food was really looks delicious.
Thanks. It was an awesome event and I really enjoyed it.
This is awesome! I’m so glad they have an event for this because this is a rapid growing trend and lifestyle!
You’re right. They have have several events and it’s growing by the year!
Oh this is certainly interesting for me, since I am a vegetarian by birth and religiously so. It is interesting that an Instagram poll got you into full blown veganism! Thanks for the info on the food festival!
Well you’ve been at it a lot longer than me so maybe you can recommend some good vegetarian recipes for me!
Well, that is a decision that you would have to make for yourself, in the end, no matter the polls.
I would say if you are up for it, try it, see if it works for you and go from there! Good luck none the less!
You’re absolutely right. I’ll let you know how it goes!
That event looks like so much fun. I think I am going to challenge myself to try being a vegetarian for one day per week, and see where that goes. I love fruits and vegetables. I feel like I have been trained for so long to think that a meal requires a meat based protein and it doesn’t.
That’s actually a good idea and a practice I put into use in the beginning. Start with one day, then two, and then go from there.
I didn’t even know that this was a thing. I bet the food was delicious. Thanks for sharing.
It was very delicious, so much so that half the time I forgot it was even a vegan festival.
I’m not vegan but that burger looks delicious. I have never considered going vegan before but I’m sure it would be healthy for me.
It definitely would be healthy, but one thing I’ve learned is that it’s even possible to be an unhealthy vegan so you’d still need to be careful.
This looked like an awesome event! My husband and I decided that next week we are going to try a raw food diet. I think vegan is too hard core for first timers. LOL
That’s awesome. Good luck to you both. I’d love to hear how it goes!
food festivals are my jam :):):) and while I’m not a vegetarian I enjoy plant based foods . Funny story ..few years back I was blogging food and I know how people act when they see a vegetarian/vegan burger because I made the “mistake “of posting not one but two recipes (I’m a slow learner)
I love food festivals too..and when they include wine that’s just an added bonus!
I’ve heard John Sally talk a few times about how going vegan has changed his life. Thanks for sharing the event. I don’t know if I could go full vegan. I’d miss bacon & burgers!
As a former athlete as well, I can agree that changing diet definitely helps with those aches and joint pains related to sports.
This sounds fascinating, I don’t know much about the vegan life. Although I’m a proud meat eater I say give the vegan life a try. Maybe start with 30 days and see how you feel.
I love John Sally.
Well, I’ve been doing the vegetarian thing for a while so I don’t think it would be too much of an adjustment.
This looks like a great event. The food would bring me there but the life stories would touch my heart.
I agree…that can be said for almost any event. It’s the people there that truly make it come alive.
What prompted your decision to become vegan or vegetarian? I love that John Sally was there.. and you are another POC adopting this lifestyle change. As black people, we definitely need to take better care of our temples. Looks like an awesome time and thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Yes I am a POC adopting this change. It’s based on a number of reasons but mostly for my health. My mom died young and, even though I thought we ate healthy as a child, that actually wasn’t the case.
Looks like a great event! And very informative! I think your decision should be based on you, if you feel its right do it but make sure the decision is for you and not for anyone else!
It was definitely a great event. My decision is actually pretty much made…but it’s always fun to get the public opinion as well.
wow what a great event! I love a good burger so this looks like right up my street! And wine…always!
Burger+Wine=A Match made in heaven!
I think only you can answer that question, you know whats best for your body, but you seem to be enjoying the vegan journey thus far. I would say I can’t go vegan because I love meat so much but I was doing a Daniel fast for a couple weeks and we could eat meat and I survived, so in retrospect maybe I could.
I can’t lie, it’s been a good ride. I used to feel the same way about meat but it’s amazing how I’ve adjusted.
Did someone say “wine festival”? lol Looks like you had a great time!
I sure did! Come along next time!
This festival is right up my alley! It sounds like you had a great time!
I did…you should check it out next year!
This sounds like the perfect opportunity to find out more about the vegan lifestyle and try some new foods! Burger cookoff sounds like it must have been a lot of fun too!!!
Definitely…Burger cookoffs are always awesome!
This was a great event. It mixed a ton of things together. Good food, speakers dropping gems and people making connections. Continue to live and take us with you through your blog posts.
Thank you for reading and I’ll definitely keep bringing you along.
This is awesome. I don’t know if I will go vegan or not, but I have tried being a vegetarian mutliple times. It’s cool they have informative conferences like this. Also, do what you feel is best for your lifestyle.
I’ve tried vegetarian a couple of times too and I think going full vegan wouldn’t be too difficult…other than cheese.
A burger cookoff will always be hardcore, no matter if it’s actual meat, or veggie burgers. People take their burgers seriously! It’s good to see that you were able to dive deeper into researching vegan options, and seeing folks give their testimonies. In the end, do what works well for you, and keeps you HEALTHY.
You’re right about burgers…That’s nothing to play with in many circles!