Australia is considered the third largest vegan market in the world. Vegans, vegetarians, and all those in between should feel at home in Australia since it seems to be catering to them.
The vegan rise could be attributed to several factors, from the local foods craze to the organic food culture explosion. Either way, it seems that Australia is winning big on that front, and it is showing no signs of slowing down.
One of the communities making a big impact on this movement is the Jewish community in a number of ways.
Rise of Veganism in Australia
The truth is that the rise of veganism has happening for quite some time. Not too long ago this movement gained enough traction for the Australian government to recognize the diet as one of the viable options health conscious citizens can choose.
Australians want to support local farmers and local farmers markets, which has helped bring vegan and vegetarian diets into the mainstream. This is yet another aspect that made it easier to help the country become such a major player in the vegan market.
Some Australians are also loving the idea of eating foods raw, which normally leads people to remove meat from their shopping carts.
There is no doubt that this new focus on fresh, vegan-friendly foods has changed Australia and several communities within the country.
The Link Between Veganism in Australian & Judaism
One of the communities that had an easier time adopting this diet was the Jewish community, and this is linked to the kosher diet that many Jewish people already practice. The dietary restrictions for kosher food involve some of the ideas related to veganism.
This is one reason it is easy to make a Jewish restaurant into a vegan one. Restaurants attempting to stay kosher usually have an easier time meeting this requirement by staying vegan.
Many Jewish restaurants started to see that more people were interested in eating healthy. Some of these savvy individuals started to highlight the vegan and vegetarian-friendly aspects their menus boasted. This is part of the reason many health-conscious people decided to eat kosher food, even if they were not practicing members of the Jewish religion.
Australians want to support local farmers and local farmers markets, which has helped bring vegan and vegetarian diets to the mainstream. This is yet another aspect that helped the country become a major player in the vegan market.
Some Australians are also loving the idea of eating foods raw, which normally leads people to remove meat from their shopping carts. The variety of vegan diets has also changed products dramatically. For example, ovo-vegetarians only want to purchase things like whole egg mayonnaise to avoid questionable additives normally found in mayonnaise.
More people are wanting to eat food that is in season rather than eat items that are not growing in their county. This presents a challenge for food manufacturers who want to continue to supply fresh items. Some would say this is the reason buying local foods makes everything a lot easier for those seeking this kind of diet.
It should be noted that many people within the Jewish community are also hoping to push the idea of practicing vegan or vegetarian diets completely. Some religious leaders feel that killing animals inhumanely is at odds with what the Holy Book teaches the Jewish community. This is the reason they believe eating a kosher diet is simply not enough.
The religious leaders who spoke on the subject are respected members of the community, which means what they are attempting to promote might garner attention. This could mean that Australia’s love affair with all things vegan or vegetarian might be expanding with the help of the Jewish community.
There is no telling how far the people of this country are willing to take this, but Australia is poised on becoming number one because the country can do better.
