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From the Fryer to the Freeway
Imagine if the world smelled like French fries. No more smog, soot, fumes, or gritty exhaust, just the aroma of one of America's favorite foods coming from the millions of vehicles on our roads and highways.

Josh Tickell and Kaia Roman did more than imagine. After stumbling on vegetable oil-based fuel technology that has been around since the early 1900s, the two college students decided to create an earth-friendly vehicle fueled by bio-diesel. They bought a Winnebago at a roadside used car lot in Louisiana and set to work.

Scrounging materials from junkyards, back yards, and friends' garages, they created a crude processor that would turn used vegetable oil from fast food restaurants into the needed bio-diesel. They hooked it up to the Winnebago, filled the Winnebago's diesel gas tank with their new vegetable oil-based fuel and—voila!—the “Veggie Van” was born.

They grabbed some cans of paint and painted sunflowers on the side of the Veggie Van, hit the road, and racked up over 10,000 miles driving across the country. Petroleum resources are rapidly declining. Meanwhile, the United States discards three billion gallons of vegetable oil annually. But by using “found” technology and recycling used vegetable oil, the Veggie Van rolls along—showing the country that daring to think differently, live differently, and buy differently does make a difference.

The Veggie Van Organization is now preparing to bring the Veggie Van, Veggie Car, and a new multimedia presentation to schools across America. For more information, see www.VeggieVan.org.

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