Gangdong-gu (Mayor: Lee Hae-sik) will operate ‘Vegetarian Day’ to form balanced and healthy eating habits by adding more vegetables to the eating habits of students and members of society who overemphasize the consumption of meat. 

 According to the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the average daily intake of vegetables and fruit by Seoul citizens is 471.2g, severely insufficient when compared to the recommended intake of 790g (490g of vegetables and 300g of fruit according to Seoul’s healthy foods provision criteria). Lack of vegetable and fruit intake can result in higher risks of ischemic heart disease, gastric cancer and apoplexy as well as be a cause of chronic diseases.

 As the chair city of the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership, Gangdong-gu has operated ‘Vegetarian Day’ since 2013 targeted at elementary, middle and high schools as well as business entities within the jurisdiction of the district to promote citizen health through a balanced intake of nutrients and the formation of healthy eating habits.

 Meal places partaking in ‘Vegetarian Day’ put together a vegetarian menu once a month and offer meals based on the menu, and these meal places submit the applicable menu chart to the Gangdong-gu Public Health Center.

A vegetarian menu does not demand a menu of vegetables only. Because there are five types of vegetarian diets (vegan, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, pescatarian and lacto-ovo vegetarian), meal places have the choice to select one of these diets to put together a menu.

 The vegan menu indicates a strict vegetarian diet. The acceptance of dairy into the vegan diet is the lacto-vegetarian diet, the acceptance of eggs is the ovo-vegetarian diet and the acceptance of fish and seafood is the pescatarian diet. The lacto-ovo diet accepts dairy, eggs, fish and seafood and thus allows the use of a wider variety of food groups.

 There are currently twenty-five meal places taking part in ‘Vegetarian Day,’ and meal places wanting to partake in this program may apply by calling the Gangdong-gu Health Sanitation Division (☎02-3425-6616) before May 31. Participating meal places will receive a banner, vegetarian recipe book and other articles.

Collective meal places targeted at feeding children such as daycare centers and preschools are excluded from participation in this program due to the risk of nutritional imbalance in the children’s growth phase.

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