A meaty issue

Manika Ahuja

No offence to all the proud Punjabis, who relish their bowl of butter chicken more than anything else in the world, but a Registrar General of India survey conducted not so long ago has revealed that your ‘species’ is fast depleting! To quote the survey’s findings “Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan”, figure in the list of states with “highest vegetarian population.”  

This time, however, it is Italy-the homeland of Congress President, Sonia Gandhi that has sparked an apolitical debate in Tricity, with Chiara Appendino - Turin’s new mayor deciding to turn it into Italy’s first ‘vegetarian city’. Turin is a city located in Northern Italy, which until now, prided itself on its traditional meat dishes such as bollito misto- a lavish stew made from beef, veal, sausage and poultry, and vitello tonnato (slices of veal).

In a 62-page-long manifesto, the mayor expressed her intention to initiate the big switch by making the promotion of vegan and vegetarian diets a “priority” so as to “protect the environment, health and animals.” While majority of Tricity youth backed Italy’s call for vegetarianism, some were not quite amused with the agenda.

Not for Chandigarh

I was really dismayed to learn about the development. Italian cuisine, Turin to be precise, is known for its traditional meat dishes, taking that away would be a little too much. If, God forbid, someone decides to turn Chandigarh into a vegetarian city, I am sure it would invite opposition galore. 

— Chitra Batra, author

Setting an example

Blissfully ignorant of the devastation you cause to the environment because of your love for meat? I would like to quote some findings mentioned on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ official page (PETA)— ‘animal husbandry leads to a staggering 51 per cent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions.’ I would thus urge fellow Tricity folks to follow the mayor, for the best way to reduce your carbon footprints is to lessen the intake of red meat!

— Nandini Mahajan, master’s in food technology pass-out

Feeling the pulse

Mayor Chiara’s dream of giving Italy its first veg city is not an imposition in the least. The mushrooming of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Turin in the recent past, suggests that people’s food palates are changing.

— Nikhil Jassal, software engineer, Tech Mahindra

Guide, don’t dictate

Though the mayor’s decision to prioritise vegetarian and vegan diets in Turin is backed by valid concerns of environmental conservation, I believe no outside authority should get to dictate one’s dietary preferences. It is an individual choice.

— Jaskaran Chauhan, author 

Tourism boost, coming up

All the sceptics who are wondering if Turin’s tourism would take a dip, I beg to differ. On the other hand, I believe the accomplishment of the vegetarian city status would add to the number of curious tourists. 

—  Parul Sharma, employee, Pearson Education