Harvard Vegan Society Student Group Hosts Vegan-Innovation Conference

CAMBRIDGE, Mass, March 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iV: The Ivy League Vegan Conference (iv-conference.com) will be hosted by the Harvard Vegan Society Student Group (HVSSG) on the weekend of March 24–26, with corporate sponsors including Purple Carrot and Whole Foods. More than 400 attendees from academia, industry, and the general public are expected to participate in the sixth annual conference to explore peer-reviewed literature on the health, environmental, and bioethical implications of plant-based diets. The conference will also feature business-development opportunities with vegan companies in food and fashion.

HVSSG President Nina Gheihman, a PhD candidate and affiliate at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, noted: "The conference explores a truly fascinating question: could a plant-based diet be a single, elegant solution to the pressing global issues caused by an increasing population with diminishing natural resources?"

Andy Levitt, founder and CEO of Purple Carrot, a high-growth vegan meal-delivery service recently featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe, will be headlining the conference. This follows his successful launch of TB12—a Purple Carrot product for athletes offered in partnership with Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots.

Other speakers include:

• Cass Sunstein, former White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator and current founder/director of Harvard Law School's Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy,
• Walter Willett, the world's most-cited nutritionist and a professor at both Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and
• David Katz, founding director of Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, affiliated with the Yale School of Public Health.

Matt Hayek, an HVSSG board member and iV Conference Program Co-Chair, lauded the inclusivity of this year's event, noting: "We take particular pride in having non-vegans in both our speaker line-up and audience—a testament to the growing relevance of veganism and its future role in society."

About the iV Conference

iV: The Ivy League Vegan Conference is an annual academic and professional conference on plant-based diets and bioethics featuring renowned leaders from across the disciplines. The conference is open to the general public. Speakers and panelists represent a variety of fields including medicine, climatology, policy, food production, finance, and consulting. Each session emphasizes innovation, self-critique, and re-examination of the future of veganism and its expanding sphere of influence.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Vasco Bilbao-Bastida | [email protected]

SOURCE iV: The Ivy League Vegan Conference