By Lior Ben-Ami ~
On a breezy afternoon in Tel Aviv, it’s not unusual to stumble upon a sidewalk café serving shawarma made from seitan, artisanal cashew cheeses, or a creamy tahini-based cheesecake that could fool even the most die-hard dairy devotee. What might come as a surprise, though, is that you’re not just sampling a passing culinary trend—you’re experiencing the epicenter of one of the most robust vegan movements in the world.
Israel, and Tel Aviv specifically, richly deserves the title of world vegan capital. With an estimated 5% of the nation’s population living the vegan life, the world’s highest per capita, Israel has fostered plant-based culture beautifully integrating old food heritage and cutting-edge technology, ethics, and shameless taste.
A Land Rooted in Plants
Natural Israel’s hundreds have maintained a vegetarian diet. Centuries ago, hummus, falafel, lentils, eggplant, and raw vegetables were the staples of traditional Middle Eastern cuisine for the inhabitants of the region. And then kosher food laws—laws which naturally sort into meat and dairy categories—and it is no surprise that Israeli plate just so happens to be vegan-friendly.
Also, the region’s Mediterranean climate and rich agriculture soils provide a base ground of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits throughout the year, which is one of the reasons easy-to-make and well worth vegan food.
Tel Aviv: The Vegan Vanguard
Tel Aviv embraced veganism as a trend and a cuisine revolution. Tel Aviv has more than 400 vegan- or vegan-friendly restaurants, ranging from upscale hip grub such as OPA, where the fashionably laid-out plant-based tasting menu is akin to a Michelin guide, to homestyle establishments such as Anastasia, Israel’s oldest all-vegan cafe.
Tel Aviv even welcomed the world’s biggest vegan festival in 2017, where organizations such as Vegan Friendly are still militant in their efforts to make themselves heard, place restaurants on the map, and advocate for national vegan borders.
Israel’s veggie revolution rolls on in dizzying style—and around the world, reports The Times of Israel. Israeli chefs are pushing vegetables to new extremes, from wild herbs to in-vitro meat substitutes, setting a new culinary and green benchmark.
Innovation on the Menu
The contribution Israel makes to propagating plant madness to the world is by no means confined to restaurants. Israel has food-tech companies that are changing the way we define protein and sustainability.
Take Redefine Meat, for example, who produce 3D-printed meat alternatives that taste and feel so real, or Aleph Farms, who are pioneering cultured meat raised from animal cells. No longer fiction; they’re expanding around the world and revolutionizing the way the world is consuming food.
As Forbes also reports, Israel is “homing as alternative protein leader,” so much so because of the technological capabilities of the country as because of deeply ingrained cultural care about animal welfare and ecologic preservation.
Ethics, Environment, and Empathy
Veganism is followed by other Israelis but not for health reasons. Ethical reasons not to want to contribute to animal cruelty drive these, fed by activism and awareness. In 2014, Israeli animal rights activist Tal Gilboa began the “Vegan Future” party, bringing controversy to national politics.
Meanwhile, green awareness has gone through the roof. Studies have demonstrated that plant-based food diets cut carbon by some measure or another, and not lost on Israelis in a water-scarcity-conscious, climatically hardened, ecologically active nation. Veganism, National Geographic reports, isn’t so much a cuisine option in Israel—it’s a statement of values.
More Than a Meal
From Haifa street stalls to Eilat beachside restaurants, Israeli vegan food is as ubiquitous as Israelis. From a za’atar-studded Druze flatbread smothered in olive oil, to a lab-burger that is the child of science, the Israeli approach to veganism is radical, compassionate, and social.
In a very literal way, Israeli veganism is a culture trend, rather than a food trend—because Israel has identified with the world, centuries of hanging in there, and look-to-the-future ideology of world sustainability.
