Vegan sushi is a thing in Italy!
A recent survey report I have found in a newspaper showed that in the last five years there has been an increase in vegans and vegetarians in our country. This number seems to be steadily increasing, so much so, that schools are now receiving requests from parents for alternative vegan and vegetarian menu options.
According to the statistics, when questioned on their eating habits, about 6% of all Italians interviewed declared to be vegetarian, while another 3% declared to be vegan.
With the new century many things have changed in the field of nutrition, with ever greater adhesion to food philosophies such as vegetarianism and veganism. Both movements propose the adoption of a lifestyle largely or solely based on resources not coming from the animal world.
It seems that 1,800,000 people in Italy have opted for a diet without meat and animal products, facilitated also by the wide range of industrial products without animal products (such as soy steaks, tofu burgers, seitan and lupin bean cold cuts), but also by the interest of the media on the topic, as well as the opening of many vegan or veggie-friendly restaurants.
There are now in Italy chains of vegan ‘fast-foods,’ where to grab a quick vegan ‘hot dog’ or a vegan ‘burger,’ but also fancy vegan restaurants where to receive table service and where to eat a variety of refined vegan delicacies.
Many pizzerias in this country are now preparing vegan crusts and offering vegan toppings such as soy ‘cheese’ or soy ‘pepperoni’ and some eateries have also added to their menus vegan ethnic specialties such as vegan ‘Spanish chorizo,’ a vegan version of the Mexican ‘chili and beans’ and even vegan ‘sushi’!!
Vegan food stall
The reasons behind this choice for most of those who claim to be vegetarian or vegan have to do with the welfare and positive effects of these food practices on health, with a strong sensitivity towards environmental protection and animals. Others claim to have changed eating habits to embrace a philosophy of life or to eat better while others perhaps chose to experience vegetarianism and veganism just out of curiosity or because it’s trendy.
Whatever the reason may be, nowadays it is good and interesting to have different eating options and it’s fair that people can have an opportunity to make healthy choices which can benefit our health and that of our planet.
Vegan food can also be creative and varied
Recently, it has been implemented a ban to use the term ‘milk’ when referring to vegetable ‘milk-like drinks’ such as soy, rice or almond beverages and it will no longer be possible to use this denomination on the packaging so the producers will need to opt for a more neutral ‘drink.’ The same will probably soon happen to meat substitutes, such as ‘burgers,’ ‘meat sauce,’ ‘sausages,’ ‘hot dogs’ and so on. In fact, based on a ruling by the European Court of Justice, the European parliament voted to ban the use of these names because they attract consumers with their familiarity, but in fact they are misleading although they wish to identify a product with similar characteristics made with alternative ingredients.
Vegan ‘burger’ made of soy and veggies
