GOA WINS PETA INDIA’S 2020 ‘MOST VEGAN-FRIENDLY STATE’ AWARD
PANAJI: November marks World Vegan Month and in honour of the occasion, Goa has won the title of 2020 Most Vegan-Friendly State from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India. A certificate was delivered to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant in thanks for providing an environment in which vegan-friendly establishments can thrive, making the world a better place for humans and other animals.
The State’s top vegan eateries include Bean Me Up, which offers a wide variety of Western-style dishes, such as burritos, lasagne, and even pizza from a traditional wood-fired oven; Shantaram Raw, which boasts a rooftop deck where diners can enjoy smoothies, juices, and more; and Cafe La Boheme, which dishes up vegan burgers, tapas, crepes, and salads, among other treats. Other beloved vegan eateries include Gratitude Cafe, SoulBooster, Svasti, Bibhitaki Vegan Cafe and Restaurant, Vegan Casa, Bodhi Greens, Maya Organic, and Okapi Vegan Kitchen. For vegan fashion, there’s No Nasties, a 100% cruelty-free, vegan clothing store – and for community potlucks and other vegan events, there’s The Vegoan.
“Goa is quickly becoming a top dining destination for the increasing number of people interested in healthy and cruelty-free fare,” says PETA India Vegan Outreach Coordinator Dr Kiran Ahuja. “PETA India is recognising Goa for leading by example and showing other states how to meet the growing demand for vegan food and fashion in style.”
Every person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals a year daily suffering and a terrifying death. In today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, fish suffocate on the decks of fishing boats, pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream in pain, and calves are torn away from their mothers shortly after birth. At the slaughterhouse, animals are often killed in full view of others and dismembered while they’re still conscious.
Vegans are less prone to suffering from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters are. They also dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, as animal agriculture is a leading producer of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change – and they help prevent future pandemics, as live-animal markets, crowded factory farms, and slaughterhouses have been linked to the spread in humans of numerous zoonotic diseases in humans (illnesses that can spread to humans from other animals).
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.