By Akua Oppong, VRG Intern

The AVA Summit was an enriching and inspiring experience. I had an amazing time and enjoyed the chance to be intellectually stimulated. The summit was filled with engaging panels and discussion events that provided insight into various topics including research, advocacy, and alternative proteins. It was enlightening to be around so many passionate vegans and activists interested in promoting veganism. I had the opportunity to meet and connect with many people, engage in meaningful conversations, and learn new things.

Nadely, another VRG intern, and I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy an outstanding high school student who recently won a scholarship through The Vegetarian Resource Group and will be attending Stanford University. At a young age, she has already done remarkable advocacy work promoting plant-based foods at her high school and beyond. She also presented her work at the AVA Summit.

The panel on alternative proteins at AVA was insightful. They taught about how processed foods are classified using NOVA classifications. Ultra-processed foods are at the highest part of the classification and are described as “foods that are derived from foods or parts of foods” (Demaio, 2023). The discussion on how nutrition is measured in studies, particularly through nutritional epidemiology and RCTs, was interesting to me considering both my public health and nutrition background, as it seems to combine both fields. The presenters stated that the process level of food does not necessarily impact its nutritional value. For example, the speaker mentioned that a USDA study found that a healthy diet could include up to 91% processed foods, illustrating that processed items like whole grain bread can be nutritionally dense.

I also got to meet someone who was speaking at several events at the summit who was from Ghana. He told me about the animal welfare work that he does in that country.

The interactive session on research and advocacy was another informative session. The speaker explained how to conduct credible research, and encouraged honesty within vegan advocacy, emphasizing that results shouldn’t be exaggerated as that could actually hurt the movement. After was an interactive section where researchers were indicated in the room and people who weren’t researchers were told to partner up with one. People who weren’t researchers came up with their own research questions and the researcher that we partnered up with was to help us figure out how to conduct research to answer the research question. The research questions that I came up with that align with what I am interested in researching are: How does nutrition among African immigrants in the United States vary from Africans in their home countries? How might their environment and the food that they have available affect their eating patterns? How does traditional plant-based/vegan eating in African cultures look historically and present-day? The person who I was partnered with, a researcher from Britain, suggested that a qualitative study be conducted in which I interview African people to understand their typical eating habits and how they differ in the United States and in their home countries. Her suggestion was similar to what I was thinking about, and qualitative research is something that I learned about in school and am particularly interested in, especially because of how much more immersive and engaging it is in terms of communicating with and learning about a specific community.

The last session that I attended, “Personal Transformation for Personal Liberation,” was very moving and calming. The session included a portion during which the leaders gave advice about how to set boundaries and honor your personal space and time. Towards the end of the session, one of the leaders expressed how we should remember all that we experienced and the people we connected with at the conference–the community and humanity. She said that we should take that with us and think about it whenever we feel isolated. I left with mantras to maintain a positive mindset, such as not letting negative things drain my energy and affirming my identity and purpose each morning.

Overall, the AVA Summit was a profound experience. I am excited to dive deeper into what I learned and stay in touch with the inspiring people I met. I am grateful for the opportunity to have attended and look forward to applying the knowledge and connections gained in meaningful ways.

Source:

Demaio, D. S. (2023, January 30). What are Ultra-Processed Foods? Antidote. https://sandrodemaio.substack.com/p/what-are-ultra-processed-foods

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