Across the world, more and more people have been opting for vegetarian and vegan lifestyles for health purposes, ethical or environmental ones. But in India, vegetarian living has been a core component of life for centuries and a recent report by World Atlas shows that India has the highest number of vegetarians in the world. India ranked number one with 38% population opting for vegetarian lifestyles, followed by Israel at 13% and Taiwan at 12%.
The concept of vegetarianism can vary as per personal preference with some people abstaining from eggs but consuming dairy products or some people who avoid any sort of animal by-products including dairy and honey, which is more often categorised as veganism. Often rates of vegetarianism are closely linked to the predominant religions in the country.
In the case of India, Buddhism and Jainism were the religions which had the most historical bearing after being introduced around the 6th century BC both of which propound the concept of Ahimsa or non-violence towards all forms of life. The report also notes that India has one of the lowest rates of meat consumption in the world and while there are many communities, especially in West Bengal, the North East and Kerala whose cuisine primarily features meat, the vast majority of states have a more vegetarian-skewed cuisine.
Similarly for Israel, the report notes that the influence of Judaism which restricts the consumption of certain meats has led to a larger population of vegetarians although for many it’s become a lifestyle choice over a religious one with the country boasting many vegan restaurants to choose from. In Taiwan, which was named at the third spot, Hokkien, Hakka, and Buddhist cultures are the reason behind the larger vegetarian population and they even have an initiative called the ‘one day vegetarian every week’ which has gained the support of the local government.
To many who live in India, vegetarian eating isn’t an unusual way of life, and in fact, even those who do eat meat tend to include a lot more vegetarian dishes simply because that’s the nature of most Indian cuisines. For example, most households would have a dal and rice dish, possibly with some vegetable ‘sabzi’ as a simple home meal whether they are vegetarian or not. It’s this fundamental difference in the approach towards vegetarian food that sets India apart in the global climate of vegetarian eating.