Not so long ago, a day at a Dutch festival meant you could easily grab a hamburger, chicken satay, or a portion of frikandellen (Dutch sausages). These days, at more and more festivals, you’ll have to settle for a falafel wrap or a lentil burger. Vegetarian food is on the rise, and an increasing number of festivals are now making the conscious decision to go meat-free. For some visitors, that’s great news; for others, it feels like something is being taken away.

Which Festivals Have Ditched Meat?

According to a recent list from Wakker Dier, at least eighteen festivals in the Netherlands are going for a fully vegetarian menu this year. Major names among them include DGTL, Into The Great Wide Open, Wildeburg, and Lowlands (which already made a partial switch in 2023).

At these festivals, meat is completely off the menu. Instead, you’ll find vegetable curries, wraps with tempeh, vegan hotdogs, and countless hummus variations.

Why the switch? Organizers cite sustainability, climate awareness, and animal welfare; many want to reduce their ecological footprint, and eliminating meat—one of the most environmentally damaging food choices—fits perfectly into that mission.

Why Are Festivals Switching to Vegetarian Food?

The reason is simple: meat production is polluting. Think deforestation for animal feed, high CO₂ emissions, and the enormous water consumption required to make even a simple hamburger.

By scrapping meat from their menus, festival organizers can significantly reduce their impact. Plus, it matches what their audience wants: younger people, in particular, are more aware about food and climate than previous generations.

Amsterdam’s DGTL festival was an early trailblazer, banning all meat from its grounds back in 2019. It turned out to be a success—not just in terms of sustainability but also taste: many visitors barely noticed the lack of meat, and those who did were often pleasantly surprised.

What If You’re Craving Classic Festival Food?

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the change. For many festival-goers, “unhealthy” comfort food is part of the experience. For them, a ham sandwich or fries with stew are as much a part of the weekend as the music and drinks.

Discussions pop up regularly on social media, with people complaining their freedom of choice is being limited. For many, it’s not about disliking veggie food, but about being forced to eat it. As one person put it: “I have nothing against vegetarian food, but I want to choose for myself. A festival shouldn’t tell me what to eat.”

Not Every Festival Is Joining the Veggie Hype

Meat lovers, take heart! There are still plenty of festivals where you can enjoy a juicy burger. Think Zwarte Cross, Paaspop, Down The Rabbit Hole, and Decibel.

These festivals do offer vegetarian options, but let visitors choose for themselves—so you don’t have to worry about living on seaweed chips all day.

Some festivals have adopted a more moderate approach, serving meat but only in limited quantities or only from local, animal-friendly suppliers. This way, they try to strike a balance between sustainable goals and keeping visitors happy.

What Does the Future Hold?

The expectation is that more and more festivals will go (fully) vegetarian or even vegan. Not just because of pressure from environmentalists, but also because of social trends and costs: vegetables are cheaper, less perishable, and easier to handle on a large scale than meat.

At the same time, the variety of vegetarian and vegan festival food is getting better every year. Creative food trucks now serve up pulled jackfruit tacos, vegan ‘kapsalon,’ or mushroom satay, making vegetarian street food that can hold its own against classic festival fare.

It remains to be seen how far festivals can go without losing visitors. For many, food is an essential part of their experience—and if the menu shifts too far from their preferences, people may stay home or look for different events.

Choice Versus Ideals

This debate taps into a bigger societal issue: should organizations impose their ideals on visitors, or should people always have a choice—even if that comes at the expense of sustainability? The answer depends on the festival, the audience, and the vision driving it. Some see it as a logical step forward, others see it as overreach. One person may want less CO₂, another just a hotdog.

So Where to Eat Veggie or Meat?

In short, here’s what you need to know for 2024:

Vegetarian-only Festivals (2024):

  • DGTL
  • Into The Great Wide Open
  • Wildeburg
  • Best Kept Secret
  • Lowlands (partially)
  • Welcome to the Village
  • Grasnapolsky
  • Mandala Festival
  • Mysteryland (fully vegetarian from 2025)
  • …and at least ten more

Festivals With a Mixed Menu:

  • Zwarte Cross
  • Paaspop
  • Down The Rabbit Hole
  • Pinkpop
  • Defqon.1
  • Solar Weekend

Conclusion: When Food Becomes Ideology

Choosing your festival meal used to mean picking between a kebab or fries with a snack. Now, it can feel like taking part in an ideological debate. Is vegetarian food the future of festivals? For many organizations, yes—but it remains to be seen whether visitors will go along with it, or turn away when meat is off the menu.

One thing is clear: festival food is now more than ever a conversation starter. Whether you’re on Team Hummus or Team Hamburger, the menu is likely to keep changing.

Source: Trendy Vandaag - Steeds meer festivals met enkel vegetarisch eten: hier kun je het vergeten