According to a 2021 survey, 24% of Indians identified as vegetarian and 9% identified as vegan. Considering how many people live in India, that means “574 million Indians who follow a meat-free diet, which is more than the total population of the United States and the United Kingdom put together.”
So, while the majority of the country considers themselves non-veg or selective meat-eaters, there are still millions of people who subscribe to the veg and vegan diet!
Here, we are focused on being vegan in India. Even though there may not be nearly as many vegan establishments as there are veg restaurants, you can easily find tonnes of vegan food in many places in India.
And, since many traditional recipes are already veg, or indeed vegan, you’ll find that it’s easy to be vegan in India!
The Rise of Vegans in India
Veganism as a widespread idea started in 1944, when a small group of people, vegetarians to be more precise, broke away from the Leicester Vegetarian Society In England and formed a Vegan Society. The term ‘vegan’ was coined by Donald Watson, the co-founder of this society.
There is no specific time that can define when the vegan lifestyle entered Indian borders. This is because India is already ranked among the top vegetarian countries. Since vegetarianism has been popular in India for centuries already, it was only natural that people began to easily shift to veganism instead.
Veganism is expected to increase in India, perhaps at a slower rate than in other parts of the world due to the nation’s love of dairy, but increase nonetheless. It’s expected to influence the food industry, restaurant industry, and cosmetics industry, as well as others. You can learn how to cook without dairy with a cooking instructor.
Reasons People Become Vegan in India
Veganism can be described as the elimination of using animal products wherever humanly possible, including diet, clothing, and products.
There can be various reasons why people choose to be vegan. The most common are:
Ethical and Moral
Vegans believe that it is wrong to breed and farm animals for human purposes like meat, milk, and eggs. Many farming practices are cruel and painful, and even if the animals live a good life, at the end of it all they are slaughtered no matter what. Vegans avoid using anything that contributes to unnecessary harm, but most vegans accept that it’s impossible to be perfect. Instead, they aim to cause the least amount of harm possible as a person living in modern society.
Environmental
It has surfaced that animal agriculture contributes 65% of the total nitrous oxide, about 35% of methane and 9% of carbon dioxide that pollutes the earth. These three gases can be considered the main greenhouse gases which cause climate change. Animal agriculture also requires more resources such as land and water, since it requires both agricultural crops and animal agriculture. Plus, farms often contaminate the air, land, and water nearby and the pollution can spread far and wide.
Health
People who are concerned about the environment and health might consider themselves to be plant-based rather than vegan. This is because they might not have the ethical considerations that are part of the vegan philosophy. Some are herbivores because plants are generally healthier than animal products. There is absolutely no cholesterol in a plant-based diet; cholesterol comes only from animals. Plant-based diets are also typically full of fibre, vitamins, minerals, protein, and everything else you need to be healthy without many of the things that make animal-product-diets less healthy, like excess fats and salts. Make sure you know enough about nutrition to include all the nutrients you need in your diet!
Veganism is Growing in Popularity
Be it the compelling reasons or simply the delicious food, vegan society has come a long way in inspiring people across the world. The initiative to reduce harm to both the environment and put an end to animal exploitation has been adopted well by the world.
Veganism has also been adopted by some notable celebrities, giving the diet and lifestyle even more exposure and demystifying it for millions of people!
Here are some vegan celebrities From Bollywood you may have heard of!
Jacqueline Fernandez
This ‘Housefull 2’ star has been vocal about animal cruelty and has followed a plant-based diet for several years. She also started a restaurant in Mumbai to serve people healthy vegan food.
Alia Bhatt
Vegan since 2020, this highly-acclaimed actress is dedicated to the vegan life, even having a completely vegan pregnancy resulting in a healthy baby girl. She created the Coexist platform to help spread awareness of ways to be more mindful of animal welfare in India.
“I wholeheartedly endorse changing to a vegan diet. Do good, be good, and look good. Here’s hoping that we can all coexist peacefully on our planet, which we share not just with one another but also with all the other beautiful species. ” - Richa Chadha
Richa Chadha
The Amritsar girl decided to go vegan in 2018. She says she phased dairy out of her diet “By being aware…looking around, watching documentaries, doing my own research. It’s one of the leading causes of pollution in the world, vast areas of forest land are being cleared to make room for more grazing land for cattle.”
Kangana Ranaut
Padma Shri award winner ‘Queen Kangana’ was a hardcore non-veg for her whole life, eventually became veg and has done her best to be vegan. She says that it’s hard because of her career right now, but plans on being totally vegan in the future.
Sonam Kapoor
Although she was a vegetarian for a long time, her diet habit eventually turned vegan due to lactose intolerance. She has been an avid supporter of animal rights for years!
Vidyut Jammwal
While he appears to be a young gun in his twenties, the martial artist is actually 39 years old and has been vegan for years.
Some of the popular vegan celebrities known worldwide are Billie Eilish, Benedict Cumberbatch, Moby, Woody Harrelson, Evanna Lynch, Lizzo, Pamela Anderson, Peter Dinklage, Mayim Bialik, Sadie Sink, Tobey Maguire, Alicia Silverstone, Natalie Portman, Daisy Ridley, Danielle Brooks, Romesh Ranganathan, Will.i.am, and many more.
India is Making Veganism More Accessible
Since the demand for vegan food is rising among natives and tourists, and vegetarianism is baked into the Indian culture, you can now find many more vegan options at shops and restaurants than you could even just a few years ago.
In fact, there are nearly 1000 vegetarian restaurants in India, which doesn’t even include food stalls or marketplaces. And, many chain restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Starbucks have expanded their menus to include more vegetarian and vegan options.
Projections show that the vegan food market in India is expected to grow about 11% every year until at least 2027.
Traditional Indian Food That’s Vegan By Default
Did you know that there are already many typical Indian foods that are vegan? While the recipe may not have been crafted with veganism in mind, they are nevertheless free of any animal products! You can learn to cook these foods and more with a cooking instructor here on Superprof.
Some of these foods include:
- Gol Gappe/Pani Puri/Puchka
- Bhel Puri
- Sev Puri
- Samosa, Samosa-pav, Samosa chaat
- Aloo Tikki/Aloo Chaat
- Bhutta
- Parantha
- Chhole Bhature
- Vada Pav
- Dabeli
- Pav Bhaji
- Kachori
- Veg Momos
- Dal Pakore/Ram Laddoo
- Poha
- Onion Pakora/Kanda Bhaji/Bajji
- Sabudana Vada
- Poori Bhaji
- Dosa
- Idli
- Medu Vada
- Khaman Dhokla
- Unniyappam
- Jalebi
The only thing you’ll need to look out for is added ghee!
Vegan Restaurants to Try in India
There are currently 171 restaurants on The Big Restaurant Guide by veganfirst.com.
Here are some of the most exciting places to check out and sample!
Carrots, Bangalore
Carrots is India’s first-known vegan restaurant. They serve 100% vegan food that is also gluten-free! Many people recommend the homemade tiramisu. The menu features pizzas, pastas, and desserts galore! You can find Indian sweets, cupcakes, and ice cream!
Earthlings Cafe, Mumbai
This 100% vegan restaurant offers omelettes, tofu scramble, fresh juice, finger foods, pizza, pasta, and sandwiches! They have so many different foods on their menu, you’ll have to return again and again to try everything!
The Viridian Plate, Chennai
A completely vegan restaurant, you can find dozens of waffle flavours for their Waffles Mela, lovely soups, tasty fingerfood like cheese balls, peanut-tofu burji, jackfruit biryani, spinach paratha, and pumpkin kheer!
Ubuntu Eat, Kolkata
Another fully-vegan establishment, you can find globally-inspired foods like bbq pulled ‘pork’, falafel and hummus, smoked tofu salad, grilled shrymp, mac n cheeze, pepperony pizza, and smoothie bowls. They also have local flavours like fysh fry and kosha manggsho (mock meat curry).
There are hundreds of other restaurants you can find using The Big Restaurant Guide, HappyCow.net, and other resources by simply searching “Vegan restaurants near me.” You’ll never run out of vegan food to try at restaurants!
You can find many, many vegan alternatives to traditionally non-vegan foods at many shops in India. It will of course be harder to find things like mock meat in smaller locations, but you can always find vegetables, beans, grains, and fruits.
When you learn to cook vegan food, you unlock the ability to create any flavour and texture dish you can dream of! India is one of the best places in the world to be vegan.
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