Veg Expo Press Release

Good People Providing Good Food.

Hippie Foods Presents Veg Expo at Canada Place, June 8

Explore everything vegan + vegetarian during the one-day event, featuring non-GMO educational speakers Rachel Parent, Jeffrey M. Smith, Dr. Thierry Vrain and Ian Walker, panel discussions, fitness talks, cooking demonstrations, food exhibitors and much more.

Burnaby, British Columbia (May 21, 2014): The first annual Veg Expo hits Canada Place on Sunday, June 8 for a daylong family-friendly event of everything vegan and vegetarian. The expo champions the idea of getting back to the basics of healthy eating, whole foods, plant-based diets and non-GMO (genetically modified organism) products.

As this year’s presenting sponsor, Hippie Foods welcomes teenage non-GMO speaker and activist Rachel Parent, renowned scientist Dr. Thierry Vrain, and international best-selling author of Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey M. Smith, to the exciting line-up.

Smith will lead this year's topic discussion, "GMO: How Does It affect Us as Canadians,” while Parent will share her message with other youth at the Expo and with a talk at Sir Charles Tupper High School, where she will speak to more than 400 students on Monday, June 9.

Seasoned industry leader Ian Walker, president of Hippie Foods – a natural food distributor and manufacturer with the first formal non-GMO policy in North America – will host 15-year-old Rachel Parent at this event to discuss the challenges surrounding GMO products.

The 9th-grader has been a leader in the non-GMO movement since the age of 12, when she learned about GMOs for a school project. Since then, this Toronto high school student has become a diligent activist, creating the not-for-profit Kids Right To Know organization to help inform the public – including other children – about GMO foods.

Parent is also the same teen who, at the age of 14, bravely took on Kevin O’Leary from Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank in an intense debate about the topic of GMOs on the CBC's The Lang And O'Leary Exchange.

Through her work, Parent has also fought to make GMO labelling a Canadian law and continues to research, educate and motivate others in schools and public events around the world in the name of transparency and choice.

“We are excited about this year’s line-up of panelists and speakers, and about welcoming Rachel on her first Vancouver visit – giving us the chance to work alongside her at the Veg Expo to talk about the issues surrounding GMOs,” says Ian Walker, president of Hippie Foods. “Rachel has been inspirational in the non-GMO movement, especially to youth. Now, more than ever, it’s important to have a forum for this dialogue, and share information on how our food choices can affect our daily lives.”

To further this dialogue, the expo will host a panel – emceed by Jeremy Szafron, West Coast Entertainment Reporter for CTV News – presenting three varying perspectives on the issue of GMOs featuring the views of an expert, Jeffrey Smith; a consumer, Rachel Parent; and a natural foods manufacturer/distributor, Ian Walker, president of Hippie Foods.

This one-day expo will also feature a highly-anticipated roster of health-minded speakers, including:

+ Renowned scientist Dr. Thierry Vrain, former Head of Biotechnology at Agriculture Canada's Summerland Research Station and an opponent to GMO-modified foods
+ Jana Webb, Creator of Joga with Jana
+ Samantha Shorkey, Vegan Fitness Competitor
+ Adam Hart, Owner of Ra Energy and Author of The Power of Food
+ The ladies of the Vegan Project

The Veg Expo takes place on Sunday, June 8 at Canada Place in Vancouver. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.vegexpo.ca.

About Hippie Foods
Hippie Foods is created by Left Coast Naturals. Founded in 1996, Left Coast Naturals is an organic and natural food manufacturer and distributor based in Burnaby, British Columbia. Distributing nearly 30 brands, 200 bulk foods, and three house brands—Hippie Foods, Skeet & Ike’s, and Left Coast Bulk Foods—to grocery, specialty and natural food stores across Western Canada, Left Coast Naturals is committed to serving the planet, the community, and customers. A certified B Corp, Left Coast Naturals is the first distributor in North America to have implemented a non-GMO policy. Hippie Foods celebrates natural foods and only uses pure, simple, whole food ingredients. What a radical idea! For more information, please visit hippiefoods.com; Twitter: @HippieFoods and Facebook: facebook/HippieFoods.

Media Contact
Johanna Israel-Duprey
Director of Marketing, Left Coast Naturals
T: 604.879.9100 ext.219
E: johanna@leftcoastnaturals.com

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