The city of Chennai has always been a gastronomical delight for foodies. From south Indian breakfast items to street side snacks to thulping dinners at the kaiyendhi bhavans and not-so-kaiyendhi bhavans of the night, the city has never let down an eager glutton.
In due recognition of its diversity, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) has awarded Chennai India’s ‘Most Vegan Friendly City’ The commemoration by the international body comes as part of its World Vegan Month celebrations in November.
According to PETA India CEO Dr Manilal Valliyate, “Global interest in the vegan lifestyle has never been higher, and Chennai is leading the country in responding to it. PETA India is honouring this special city for its wealth of cruelty-free clothing and food options and encouraging all residents and visitors to take full advantage of them.”
Providing a list of vegan-friendly eateries and stores in the city, PETA also appreciated the emergence of vegan social scenes such as Tamil Vegan Movement as well as Vegans of Chennai as well.
“In addition to its many vegan-friendly eateries – which run the gamut from Chinese, Thai, Italian, and even fusion options to a gourmet vegan-meat “butcher”, Vegetagold, and the juice and nut-milk company Habit Juice Co – Chennai boasts several vegan clothing stores, including The Alternate, Monkstory, and Arture, as well as Earth Story, a vegan lifestyle store. The city’s SPI Cinemas offers date-sweetened almond milk for film-goers, and students at the German International School enjoy 100 per cent vegan meals. Those looking to get into the vegan social scene can join the collectives Tamil VeganMovement and Vegans of Chennai, which have hundreds of members, and the vegan adventure tour company VegVoyages even held a potluck dinner event in the city,” said PETA India.
Chennai Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan has been presented with a letter and a certificate to this effect by PETA India.
Speaking to TNM, he says, “Chennai is a culturally rich and traditional town. It already has a lot of options in terms of food and cuisines. So this recognition is an additional feather in its cap. With regards to enforcement, the Corporation and the Food Safety Department have been doing the best to ensure that the consumers get the best quality from eateries in Chennai and this will continue.”
PETA, the global animal rights organization, has said that vegans are less prone to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters are – and they have a smaller carbon footprint, as raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of the greenhouse-gas emissions that have been linked to climate change.
Source: The News Minute