Israelis growing hungry for vegan diet A survey conducted in January found that 8 percent of Israelis are vegetarian and nearly 5 percent are vegan. Four years ago, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that just 2.6 percent of Israelis were vegetarian or vegan. Some 7,000 Israelis have accepted the “Challenge 22” to go vegan for 22 days since the initiative was launched in May by the animal rights group Anonymous (no connection to the hacker collective). About 250 Israeli restaurants are now certified “vegan friendly” by the group of the same name, meaning that at least one-quarter of their dishes contain no animal products. Israel is also frequently included on lists of the world’s most vegan-friendly nations, thanks in part to the fact that national staples like falafel and hummus contain no animal products. And on Monday, Tel Aviv’s second annual Vegan-Fest drew more than 10,000 attendees to a festival of food, crafts and music that organizers claim is the world’s largest. “The makeup of the community is the biggest change,” said Omri Paz, founder of Vegan-Friendly, which organized the festival. “In the past, maybe they were more spiritual, or people society viewed as a little different, a little strange. A lot of the new vegans are mainstream — vegan lawyers, vegan teachers. Everyone can be vegan.” The alternative and the mainstream mingled freely at the festival, where people wearing baggy tie-dyed pants and shirts reading “Proud To Be Vegan” mixed with families enjoying picnics. The food stands lining the park offered everything from vegan cakes and ice cream to vegan shwarma, Israel’s trademark spiced lamb dish. Read more: jta.org/2014/10/15/life-religion/israelis-growing-hungry-for-vegan-diet#ixzz3GHB3w7d1
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:00:00 +0000