Which is the World’s Most Vegan-friendly City? The Answer Will Shock You!

Why has London been declared as the most vegan-friendly city in the world; it’s due to the number of vegan-friendly restaurants on the planet, as per the annual rankings of Happy Cow, the biggest vegan-friendly restaurant guide in the world, with pick-up options from 180 countries worldwide. The website assesses the vegan-friendly rating of every nation, listing top results. For the 2nd year, London has secured top rank, with over 100 fully vegan restaurants on Happy Cow.

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London has 152 vegan-friendly establishments, as veganism is getting more attention, becoming a dominant lifestyle of Londoners. The Vegan Society charity confirms that Vegans in U.K. have increased between 2014 and 2019 and over 1% of the population remain on a plant-based diet. With 111 vegan-friendly restaurants, New York is 2nd on the list. Bangkok is the only new city added to Happy Cow’s ranking at the 8th spot, with 74 vegan-friendly restaurants. Bangkok offers reliable vegan options due to their strong Buddhist roots.

The Top 10 Vegan-Friendliest Cities

HappyCow used Google Trends to reveal growing interest in veganism has become 7-fold in the last 5 years between 2014 and 2019. That revealed the Top 10 began cities list published on the website: starting with London, New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, Toronto, Warsaw, Portland, Bangkok, Tel Aviv, Prague.

Motivated By Environmental Matters

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Although the vegan diet was defined by The Vegan Society’s in 1944, Leslie Cross noted in 1949 that the organization lacked a universally accepted definition for veganism. He suggested the freedom of all animals from the endless exploitation by man. This was later expanded to end the use of animals by humans for commodities, hunting, food, work, vivisection, and all other uses that involve exploiting animal life for human gain. The Society was registered under charity in August 1964 but assets were transferred under a new charitable entity upon becoming a limited company in December of 1979. The definition of veganism and the charitable objects decided upon by the society were later amended and have been refined over the years.

A rationale behind growing veganism is related to environmental concerns. Solicitude towards animal welfare propels consumers to jump into a sustainable lifestyle. As per Mintel, the U.K. beat Germany emerging as global leader for vegan food launches in 2018. Veganism as a philosophy and way of life, seeks to exclude (if possible and practicable), all exploitation and cruelty to animals for clothing, food, or other purposes thereby promoting the development and use of animal-free alternatives to benefit animals, humans and our environment. In dietary terms, all products derived from animals, are avoided. All vegans have a plant-based diet avoiding animal foods like meat (includes fish, shellfish and insects), eggs, dairy and honey and avoid animal-derived clothes and other materials, products that were tested on animals and places using animals for entertainment.

Veganism is A New Way of Eating

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Experts say that 51% of U.K. consumers are meat-free or ate less meat in 2019, rising from 41% in 1918; the health factor drives people to avoid meat or become flexitarians (reducing meat intake by opting for part-time vegan or vegetarian diet). With vegan-friendly options on shop-shelves, making the switch is easier. Boredom is also why people are trying out different foods.