Africa towards vegetarianism, people could never even think of eating here without meat

In many countries now the trend of adopting vegetarian food is increasing. Especially, the trend of veg food has also increased in those countries, where the diet of the people mainly consists of non-veg food. Plant-based diet is also becoming popular in European countries and veg restaurants are opening in large numbers there. They are also selling well. The Guardian has published a comprehensive report on the changing food trends in Africa. At a small roadside food joint in N-Burkina Faso's capital, people eat more bean balls, grilled tofu skewers and peanut butter rice, while the trend towards chicken has waned. No knives will be found on the tables at Ouagadougou's first plant-based restaurant. In front of the vegetarian restaurant 'NASA', it is written - 'Food for the love of health'. That is, the food here is prepared keeping in mind the good health of the people.

This place is full of customers who come daily. Customers visiting here wish the restaurant's owner, Christine Tepsoba, the best. But it wasn't always like this. "It was not easy in the beginning. People found it strange. They had no idea how we could cook food without using meat," says Christine. She says we sat open for a few days and couldn't sell anything." The veg restaurant named NASA opened in 2004. Since then, customers have grown rapidly. Initially, they were served with the popular barbecued tofu skewers. This is a very popular food item.

A growing number of plant-based restaurants are following in Tapasoba's footsteps to address the health and environmental challenges across Africa. An app called Happy Cow lists over 900 restaurants serving vegetarian food in Africa. More than half of these have been added to the list in the last two years. As of early 2018, 30 completely vegetarian restaurants have been listed. Eric Brent, creator of the Happy Cow app, says that demand for veg food has increased in most major cities. It is great for those who like to eat plant based food. He says that documentary films promoting vegetarianism are also being made, which YouTubers run on their channels. This is helping to popularize vegetarianism.

Veg restaurants are becoming quite popular in the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. There are more than a dozen meat-free restaurants today in cities such as Nairobi in Kenya and Accra in Ghana. Only veg food is available here. Salad and veg sandwiches are being added to the menu at an up-market seaside restaurant in Senegal's capital, Dakar, which previously only offered meat and fish dishes. Africa is currently grappling with some of the most challenges that can only be successfully tackled by adopting vegetarianism. According to the World Health Organization, diseases such as heart disease and cancer have now overtaken infectious diseases such as cholera and measles in Africa. This is increasing the burden on the African economy. Africa is already facing the effects of the climate crisis. There, problems like drought and flood wreak havoc for the farmers. By reducing the consumption of meat, its far-reaching effect will also be positive in these problems.

However, proponents of vegetarianism say that vegetarianism is not a new trend in Africa, but rather a return to the traditional African diet. “I especially find it important to promote vegetarianism across Africa, as it originated in Africa,” says chef Nicola Kagoro, who has worked in South Africa and Zimbabwe. They say that our ancestors did not eat much meat. After the colonization of Western countries, the practice of non-vegetarian food increased in African countries. Kagoro founded African Vegan as a budget movement to show that vegetarian diets could be cheap and nutritious for Africans. She cooks for the Akashinga, a group of female vegetarian armed rangers that fights elephant poachers in Zimbabwe.

West African countries such as Mali, Chad, Senegal and Sierra Leone topped the list of eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains in 2015 research on the world's healthiest diets published in the Lancet. Ethiopian cuisine is based on plant-based foods, such as sourdough flatbreads, lentils and beans. Also, the country's Orthodox Christians participate in regular fasting and prayers, during which they are served vegetarian food. Still, the trend towards vegetarianism is slow. Kagoro, known as Chef Kola, says, "It is a bit difficult to spread the practice of vegetarian food in Africa, because Africans prefer non-vegetarian food." He says that Africans also associate meat-eating with prosperity. However, he says that every effort is being made to promote vegetarianism and people are being made aware by talking about the benefits of vegetarianism.