If you’re wondering why London has been dubbed as the most vegan-friendly city in the world, it’s because they have the most vegan-friendly restaurants on the planet.
The statistics are based on the annual rankings of Happy Cow. It is the biggest vegan-friendly restaurant guide around the globe, and it contains pickup options from around 180 countries worldwide.
The website looks upon the vegan-friendliness of every nation and lists the top results. So far, it’s already the 2nd year that London has secured the top ranking.
How Many Of These Restos Are Found In London, Exactly?
London is the first-ever city that has over 100 fully vegan restaurants on Happy Cow. In fact, the city currently has 152 vegan-friendly establishments!
According to Ken Spector, Happy Cow’s spokesperson, veganism is getting more and more attention and is fast becoming a dominant lifestyle of Londoners.
To back this up, The Vegan Society charity has affirmed that the number of vegans in the U.K. has increased within 2014 and 2019. Now, more than 1% of the population is on a plant-based diet.
With having 111 vegan-friendly restaurants, New York comes as 2nd on the list. Meanwhile, the only new city that has been added to Happy Cow’s ranking is Bangkok in Thailand, which is at the 8th spot with 74 vegan-friendly restos.
Spector states that Bangkok offers reliable vegan options on their menus because of their predominantly Buddhist roots.
Introducing The World’s Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Cities!
HappyCow used the data gathered by Google Trends, which revealed that interest in veganism has grown sevenfold in the last five years from 2014 to 2019. Here’s the Top 10 list published in order by the website:
- London, United Kingdom
- New York, United States
- Berlin, Germany
- Los Angeles, United States
- Toronto, Canada
- Warsaw, Poland
- Portland, United States
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- Prague, Czech Republic
Veganism: A New Way of Eating
Edward Bergen, international food and beverage analyst from the market study firm of Mintel, has expressed his thoughts on the deviation to veganism on the CNBC show Street Signs. He has shared that around 51% of U.K. consumers are going meat-free or are purposely eating less meat in 2019—rising from the previous year’s 41%.
Furthermore, he added that health is the main factor that has driven people to get rid of meat or become flexitarians, those lessening their meat consumption for the sake of a part-time vegan or vegetarian diet.
As Bergen explained, consumers are now seeing the availability of vegan-friendly options on shelves, so it’s easier to make the switch. Plus, boredom is also a part of the reason why people are now trying different foods.
Motivated By Environmental Matters
Another significant rationale behind the growing trend of veganism has to do with environmental concerns. Solicitudes towards animal welfare are also propelling consumers to make the jump into a more sustainable lifestyle.
According to Mintel, the U.K. beat Germany as the global leader for vegan food launches in 2018.