You probably know a lot more vegetarians today than you did 10 years ago. Vegetarian lifestyles have slowly shifted from fringe to mainstream in the U.S. and U.K. No longer the exclusive domain of PETA members and yogis, vegetarian products are stocked in all major supermarkets; airlines offer veg meal options, and even the fast food giants offer meat-free sandwiches worldwide.
Whether for health reasons, or religious or ethical ones, people are taking up the lifestyle in droves and it has become widely accepted—with some vegetarians even feeding their pets meatless diets. Lines of strictly vegetarian food for dogs and cats are produced by brands such as Benevo and Vegepet. Former Beatle Paul McCartney and actor Alicia Silverstone champion a vegetarian diet for pets despite some critics’ complaints that it’s unhealthful. While my dogs remain carnivores, as I do, I find myself feeling most healthy when I spend a couple of weeks meat-free, ordering from RAWvolution—a service that delivers fresh, raw, vegan meals, using a variety of nuts, seeds and vegetables to mimic junkier dishes like tacos and pizza.
Regardless of our own eating habits, we’re being fed a steady diet of media coverage about the apparent inefficiency of raising animals for food consumption—how much water is used, how much energy, how much animal feed. Of course most people don’t think twice about these factors—until they translate into price and convenience. And now they have. Fertilizer, feed and transportation costs have risen substantially, driving up the prices of all food, including meat.
Despite his own initial refusal to serve vegetarian dishes in his New York restaurant Momofuku, It chef David Chang (famed for his inventive uses of pork) highlighted in a recent issue of Esquire that price issues will make for a more vegetarian-friendly future: “Our plates will be heavier on grains and greens, and meat will shift from the center of the dish to a supporting role—the role it’s played throughout history in most of the world’s cuisines.”
It’ll be quite a shift if it happens, and not just for meat-loving Americans. The meat-free concept barely exists in some countries—try ordering strictly vegetarian or vegan dishes in France or Spain or even the Netherlands, let alone Argentina. But if you’ve ever had a truly authentic South Indian meal, you’ll know there’s hope for food lovers in a veggie world.
