U.S. Veg Corp to Present Matt Frazier

New York, NY, February 24, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Matt Frazier is known as the No-Meat Athlete, and he blogs under that name. He ran his first marathon in 2002. But seven years later, six months after becoming vegetarian, he qualified for the elite Boston marathon with a time of 3:09:59. In June 2010, Matt ran his first 50-mile ultramarathon, in 10½ hours. When he's not running, cooking, or blogging, Matt is a graduate student working on his Ph.D. in applied math. He also enjoys reading, gambling, music, and brewing beer. He lives in Maryland with his wife and son, and his two dogs adopted from the SPCA.

NYCVFF: "What brought you to the vegan lifestyle?"

Frazier: "For me, it was a very gradual progression. I spent about two years in the "I don't really like how I feel about eating animals, but I can't imagine being vegetarian" phase. Being a marathoner, I had concerns about how it would affect me, and I even wondered if it was possible. After a few starts and stops, I finally committed to it after I attended a Tony Robbins event where he suggested a mostly-vegan diet. I felt so much better and even got much faster as a runner, almost right away. From there, I gradually eliminated dairy and eggs from my diet and one day decided to go completely vegan."

NYCVFF: "If there were one fact that you could tell everyone regarding the choice of going veg, what would that be?"

Frazier: "I’d say that it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing thing. I know that many vegetarians and vegans want people to go all the way, right away, and I can understand this. But for me, it was absolutely key to have the mentality of 'I'm going to try it out and see how it works, and if it's not for me I can always go back or do it halfway.' I always tell people who are curious to try gradually eliminating meat, starting with 4-legged animals, then 2-legged animals, and eventually fish if they get that far. I don't know, to me that just seems to be much more approachable than 'you have to stop eating all meat, forever, right away.'"

NYCVFF: "Nobody’s perfect. Have you had any setbacks in your veg journey?"

Frazier: "I honestly haven't had setbacks! Cravings were never an issue, probably because I just felt so much better being plant-based. There have been times when I do feel like my diet restricts me a little bit, for example if I'm visiting a new place and a lot of their local culture revolves around a food that I choose not to eat, but I've never had any situation where I really felt tempted to go back on my decision."

NYCVFF: "Describe your perfect meal."

Frazier: "Right now, it's a vegan cheesesteak from this place called Blackbird that my wife and I found in Philadelphia. You know how earlier I talked about local cultures and foods that I sometimes miss out on? Well, this was the answer to that in Philly, and it seriously tasted as good as a real cheese steak used to. I'd probably add a nice beer to it to make it really perfect. :)"

NYCVFF: "Do you get the impression that your message is being embraced?"

Frazier: "I get so many emails and comments on my blog from people who have made major changes in their health and their entire lives, just by changing the way they look at what they eat. I've even seen close friends make drastic changes! One of the things people have mentioned, over and over, is that they really enjoy the low-pressure approach of my website. This wasn't a conscious decision on my part; I just always felt deep down that a "friendly" message would be easier to embrace than a militant one, and it's been so fulfilling for me to see that people really do implement the things I suggest and experience positive changes as a result."

Matt Frazier’s talk will follow, 3-3:45 p.m. He will share with everyone how to “Run On Plants.”

For further information on the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival, visit, https://nycvegfoodfest.com. To purchase advance VIP tickets, go to https://nycvegetarianfoodfestival.chirrpy.com. The Festival is presented under the auspices of U.S. Veg Corp.

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