When in Bangkok we should not forget to put on the list some of its authentic and local delicacies such as green curry, spring rolls and fish noodles. In the next few days though, they will be served with a little twist. Last Tuesday, they kicked off the annual vegetarian food festival. Restaurants and Street food vendors all over the country prepared rigorously to find meat substitutes with vegetables. Dishes that are usually made with chicken, pork and fish are being replaced with tofu and vegetables.
The legend of the festival says that a Chinese opera group suffering from malaria decided to pray to their Nine Emperor Gods, and in order to restore their health they avoided eating meat, garlic, herbs and pickles.
However, despite what the legend said, Thailand's Ministry of Public Health warned those who try the dishes at the festival to be careful of what they put in their mouths. Though these are vegetarian dishes, there might be a chance that these may not be healthy, Channel News Asia reported.
Dr Napaphan Viriyautsahakul, director of bureau of nutrition at Department of Health said that non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or cholesterol are at high risk, especially because most of these are deep fried food which is oily and high in salt and sugar. Leading health experts suggested that people who want to join the festival need to find out more about it before trying anything.
Dr Alisa Nana, a dietician at Mahidol University said that there is a chance of increasing weight and gaining unwanted fats since most of the food are most likely deep fried in fat. It's not exactly what you're going to get as a vegetarian. Aside from the health issues, the food standard is also unregulated during the festival. A week before the festival began, the Food and Drug Administration discovered traces of meat in 4.3 percent of packed vegetarian food.
Dr Viriyautsahakul said, "Although it's difficult to monitor the food standard in the festival, the Food and Drug Administration should monitor closely so the rules will be followed. If the food and utensils are contaminated, it will be bad for customers". The FDA warned the vendors against selling fake vegetarian food. Those caught will be fined and up to 10 years in jail.
Despite the concerns, however, festival goers don't seem to think much about the health risk that comes with eating festival food. Instead, they continue to enjoy the food and believe that these vegetarian dishes will improve their health.
