This article was originally featured on the blog Accidentally Meatless on September 2, 2013.

When my fiance decided to stop eating animals and animal products (go vegan), we thought vegan pickings would be slim at the “Great Minnesota Get Together” (State Fair). To our delight, blogger Midwest Vaygun had our back. She had several years of “gorging” at the state fair in the name of providing vegans a list of fair food options. Thank goodness for upstanding Minnesotans willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of our communities. Also, thank you to my parents, friends, and fiance who helped compile the list below. With that said, please do confirm for yourselves that these dishes are vegan and note this list is not comprehensive. In other words, we got full!

Minnesota State Fair Food Guide for Vegans

Our Top Five

There’s a lot to do at the fair, but these delectable treats are worth the $12 entrance ticket alone!

1. Corn Roast (located near the Grandstand) Hold the butter, enjoy nature’s food on a stick in its summer glory. This is a perennial favorite of many.

2. Produce Exchange’s Sweet Dreams Peach (located across the street from the International Bazaar) Before you judge this as not adequately deep-fried or on-a-stick to qualify as fair food, I dare you to tell me you’ve had a better peach. I dream of these peaches all year. Thus, they are aptly named.

3. Fresh French Fries (2 locations: between Adventure land and the Mighty Midway and in front of the Senior Center, west of the Agriculture building) Deep-fried, crisp salty goodness in a bucket. Made with fresh potatoes. There are many imitators, but none compare. The owners of these stands are probably millionaires because the crowds who line up for this must include anyone who likes french fries.

4. Harry Singh’s Vegetarian Roti with Trinidad Scorpion Pepper Hot Sauce (southeast corner of the Food Building) Mild mannered when wrapped in its warm roti shell, this bad boy up  is delicious with a splash of the hottest hot sauce you’ve probably ever had. With the already flavorful curried chickpeas, this is a great meal option. We liked it better than the doubles, but they’re cheaper and smaller if you just want a taste.

5. MN Apples’ Frozen Cider Pop and Fresh Apple Sauce (in the west hall of the Agriculture building) The State Fair is one last summer party before kids head back to school and the leaves start to change. Make the transition to Fall a little more comforting with this refreshing Mr. Freeze-popsicle cider that serves as a bridge between the seasons. And the apple sauce is better than anything you’ll find in a jar at the store. Perfectly portioned and priced at less than $2 each.

Honorable Mention:

Farmer’s Union’s Iced Coffee with a Splash of Soy Milk (near the front gate, west side of Dan Patch) If you get to the Fair early or need a caffeine boost, the Farmer’s Union booth serves J&S Bean Factory coffee which tastes great and offers Pacific Natural Foods’ barista blend soy milk (my favorite non-dairy milk for coffee drinks)

The Goods

We liked but just didn’t love these options.

1. Strawberries & Creme (Randall and Underwood near the kidway) We couldn’t believe our eyes, but the staff confirmed that the whipping cream is nondairy. The strawberries were slightly tart and cool with a generous dollop of rich, sweet nondairy cream.

2. French Meadows Brown Sugar Scone (Carnes and Underwood) It was more flat than the other scones, almost cookie-like. The flavor was good and made us hope they carry it in store year-round. I don’t suspect it will ever have the crazed following that leads to long lines waiting for the cronut-doussiant, but you can at least people watch the line while enjoying the scone and a coffee.

3. Hamline Dining Hall Pomegranate Pizzazz Sorbet (near the Visitor Center on Dan Patch) Refreshing and cool with the iconic Izzy’s mini-scoop on top. Service was inconsistent, but the sorbet was great. Izzy’s is a favorite local ice cream shop that offers soy ice cream and sorbet options for vegans.

4. Spring Grove Sodas Rhu-berry Soda (on Nelson near the DNR building) We Minnesotans love our rhubarb, but this soda was a little sweeter than we hoped. Heavy Table, which runs a State Fair food tour (not vegan) raves about the lemon sour and thought the rhu-berry and lemon sodas were good offerings.

Vegan Mecca: International Bazaar

You’re more likely to score vegan options if you check out the International Bazaar, located on the south side of the fairgrounds. Here are a few tantalizing options:

1. Island Noodles (located in the last row near the stage in the bazaar) Wok-fried soba noodles in a garlic ginger sauce with lots of veggies are a solid meal option. Major bonus points for slicing fresh veggies into each batch. Mmmm…wok-fried broccoli.

2. Cinnamon Roasted Almonds (located a few stalls down from Island Noodles) They were handing out samples and claiming nondairy and gluten-free. If you’re nuts for nuts, give them a try but ask about honey first.

3. St. Martin’s Olives’ Olives on a Stick (same row further from the stage) More vegan-friendly food on a stick. They’re olives stuffed with garlic, peppers, onions and sun-dried tomatoes.

4. Holy Land (Southeast corner of the International Bazaar) They offer a ton of options including falafel, tabbouli, hummus, grape leaves, and veggie samosas. Solid food and very generous portions.

5. Los Ocampos Guacamole and Chips (on the eastern edge of the International Bazaar) The guacamole is served in a generous two-thirds cup portion freshly made with lime, tomatoes, onions, and avocados. If you go earlier in the fair, you’ll see Burrito Mercado in this spot. They offer a chili and lime dusted fresh mango on a stick. We’ve heard it’s phenomenal.

The Fried

I am not crazy about fried foods. It seems that this makes me an anomaly at the fair. Not to bias the choices, I offer a separate category for the fried items here.

1. Preferred Pickles’ Fried Pickles (southwest corner of Dan Patch and Liggett near the Mighty Midway) Cajun and perfect offerings are vegan if you hold on the ranch dipping sauce. We didn’t check to see if the chocolate dipping sauce was vegan because that combo didn’t sound good anyway. The hot sauce was a tasty addition.

2. Sonny’s Spiral Spuds’ Potato on a Stick (northwest corner of the Food Building) Vegan on a stick option! Another fun way to eat a fried potato, but if you’re only going to do one potato option make it the french fries. If you come with an army, get the potato tornado which is a massive amount of potatoes on a stick and definitely made to share.

Others we didn’t try

Even with a team of six hungry people, you’re not going to get through all the fair’s options.

1. Dole Whip (located across the street from French Meadow) Nondairy soft serve with fruit or a pineapple juice float.

2. Veggie Pie’s Frozen Grapes on a Stick (south wall of Food Building)

3. Fried Green Tomatoes (on Dan Patch by Crossroads and The Garden)

Warning: The eggplant fries and eggplant tacos at the Sonora Grill have egg in the breading.

236,197 people were at the Minnesota State Fair when we were on an absolutely gorgeous Sunday, setting a new attendance record!

We cannot guarantee that all of these options will be available at this year’s fair, and the locations may have changed. You’ll have to explore the fair for yourself to discover what plant-based options are available this year.

In late June, Compassion Over Killing (COK) released undercover footage showing birds being buried alive at chicken factory farm in North Carolina. Just recently, COK learned that the local authorities have decided not to file charges.

Read the COK update and see the video.

In response this update from authorities, Curt Albright, a resident in North Carolina, started a Change.org petition seeking justice for these birds. It went live on August 6th and has so far received over 140,000 signatures!

Do something today to let the authorities know that this treatment of chickens is unacceptable and that these factory farms should be held accountable for this egregious cruelty.

Sign the petition!

Share the COK Facebook post!

Retweet!

Each of us has the power to be a voice for the animals.

Can you believe that our Twin Cities Veg Fest is happening in just less than two months? It’s true. Our third annual festival celebrating compassion is happening on Sunday, September 28th, and we hope to make this year’s the best and biggest one yet. Of course, we want as many people to attend this event as possible. Here are some ways that you can help get them there:

• Talk to your friends in person! The best way to get new people to the festival, to have them learn about wonderful plant-based foods, is direct person-to-person conversation.
• Use social media! Follow and share our Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest pages. Also, invite your friends to Twin Cities Veg Fest using our Facebook event. Use the the hashtags #TCVegFest2014 and #CelebrateCompassion whenever posting about the festival.
• Put up posters! We have four sessions planned. Let us know if you can come. We will provide food.
  • Saturday, August 16th and Saturday, September 6th from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. We will meet at the CAA office, 2100 1st Ave S, Suite 200, Minneapolis.
  • Monday, September 8th and Thursday, September 11th from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. We will meet on the 2nd floor of Coffman Union, University of Minnesota, 300 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis.
  • If you want to put up posters but are not available on those days, email your mailing address to unny@exploreveg.org, and he will send you a handful of posters and flyers. Alternatively, make an appointment to pick them up at the CAA office.
• Hand out leaflets at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, September 2nd and Thursday, September 25th.
• Subscribe to the our e-newsletter, the Weekly Update, which will include lots of exciting news about the festival in the weeks to come. Forward the emails to your friends, and encourage them to attend.

For University of Minnesota students, in addition to the two on-campus postering sessions listed above, you may also:

• Announce the festival at the beginning of class with your professor’s permission. Many professors will let you make a brief plug, but this announcement would be especially suitable for philosophy, nutrition, or environmental classes. Contact us for flyers to give your classmates or if you are not sure about what information to include with the announcement.
• Flyer in the dorms on the university campus on Tuesday, September 23rd.

Can you think of another way to get the word out? Let us know!

Whole Foods Market recently began a pilot program to sell rabbit flesh in its stores. Rabbit flesh is being sold in 5 out of 12 geographic regions, including our Midwest region. Rabbit protection groups from around the country have been in dialogue with Whole Foods Corporate about this issue, but at this point they have been unsuccessful in their efforts to get Whole Foods to reconsider rabbit flesh sales.

You may be wondering how the sale of rabbit flesh warrants protest when so many other equally-sentient animals are tortured, killed, and sold as food everyday. Here are the key points that the House Rabbit Society would like you to consider:

• Whole Foods is artificially creating the demand for rabbit flesh by awarding large financial grants to rabbit farmers.
• They are sourcing from rabbit farms in Iowa and Missouri, the two states that have passed Ag-gag laws that make it illegal for undercover investigators to document abuse behind factory farm walls.
• Rabbits (like poultry) have almost no protections under the law. Farmed rabbits suffer horribly from birth to slaughter.
• None of us wants to see an entirely new animal flesh successfully marketed and consumed.
• In comparison to some other farmed animals, rabbits are very small in size. As they are so small, many more individuals will die to satisfy a manufactured interest in eating rabbit flesh.
• Rabbits are the third most popular companion mammal in the United States and are regularly rescued and sheltered alongside cats and dogs. By creating a culture of violence against rabbits, Whole Foods will make every aspect of helping rabbits in rescues and shelters harder.
• Whole Foods is trying to normalize the idea of eating a popular companion animal.

The Rabbit Advocacy Network is organizing a Day of Action for Sunday, August 17th at the Whole Foods Market in St. Paul, 30 Fairview Avenue South, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. You are welcome to attend this peaceful demonstration with the goal of 1) informing customers of this pilot program and 2) urging shoppers to speak up to Whole Foods by filling out comment cards, speaking to management, sending emails, or writing letters. You are also welcome to sign the petition.

This cause presents an opportunity to show rabbit-lovers and Whole Foods shoppers that we don’t draw distinctions between how we treat one species and another, whether they be dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, fishes, cows, pigs, turkeys, or any other sentient being. Widening our circle of compassion beyond those animals that we know, we begin to understand how all are deserving of our kindness.

For more information about the upcoming demonstration at Whole Foods Market, contact Amy Ramnaraine, the local contact for the Rabbit Advocacy Network, at oneshanti@visi.com.

Compassionate Action for Animals is hosting Their Lives, Our Voices 2014, our fifth animal advocacy conference on Saturday, September 27th on the University of Minnesota campus at Hanson Memorial Hall.

This inclusive, hands-on conference empowers activists in their efforts to help farm animals. Two tracks of informative lectures and facilitated discussions showcase diverse topics and perspectives within our movement. In addition, the conference offers attendees the opportunity to network with other activists from both the local and national scene. Visiting speakers include Erica Meier from Compassion Over Killing and Paul Shapiro from The Humane Society of the United States.

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Do you want to help get the word out about the importance of going veg but don’t have much free time to volunteer? I know how you feel. I used to leaflet at outreach events for Compassionate Action for Animals but became busy with other activities. I didn’t have as much time to volunteer but still wanted to help in some way.

Then, while walking near downtown one sunny day, I encountered a news stand stocked with Vegetarian Starter Guides and was curious to know who stocked it. I asked around and discovered that CAA volunteers distributed these guides throughout the city. Aha! Here was something I could easily jump into doing.

Dropping off literature at coffee shops, cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, and other locations can be a convenient way to volunteer. Most us pass by these places during our daily commutes. When we take a moment to leave some outreach literature at these locations, we make it possible for others to learn about the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Research has shown that most people care about the well-being of farm animals. Seeing a Vegetarian Starter Guide is a visible reminder of farm animal issues and only reinforces these shared values. Additionally, research has shown that 12 million people in the United States are very interested in moving towards a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian Starter Guides equip people with the basic information needed to go veg confidently and effectively.

I’ve been dropping off this kind of literature at co-ops, news stands, and coffee shops for several years now. Often, the pamphlets disappear in a few weeks before I revisit the location. Someone once even contacted CAA office requesting that more guides be dropped off since they had run out. This person had wanted to share the Vegetarian Starter Guides with friends. Clearly, our community wants this information.

Feeling strongly about this outreach method, I’ve been recruiting others to be a part of it. If you are passionate about creating a more veg-friendly community right here in Minnesota, you can join our Lit Distribution Team. Email me at kevin.chavis@exploreveg.org, and I’ll give you the lowdown on how to get started. Together, we can take compassionate action for animals!

CAA volunteer and vegan powerhouse AmyLeo Barankovich is leading a cooking class at Valley Natural Foods on Tuesday, August 19th at 6:00 pm. AmyLeo will show you why veggies need not be gulped down as a boring side dish. These amazing gifts from nature offer up everything from B vitamins to protein. Yes, protein is plentiful in vegetables! Be prepared to experience something new and delightful. You will even get to eat veggies for dessert. Samples will be served, and you won’t leave hungry!

Very Vital, Versatile Veggies

Tuesday, August 19th

6:00 – 8:00 pm

Valley Natural Foods

13750 County Road 11

Burnsville, MN 55337

952-891-1212

$10 (co-op member-owners) and for $15 (for non-members)

Register in advance!