In a surprising yet significant announcement, PETA India has declared Kolkata as India's Most Vegan-Friendly City for 2025. The animal rights organization presented the award to the city's Mayor, Firhad Hakim, recognizing Kolkata's burgeoning plant-based scene.
Why Kolkata? A Vegan Food Revolution
This choice might astonish many, given Kolkata's legendary status as a haven for non-vegetarian cuisine, especially during festivals like Durga Puja when the city feasts on meat and fish. However, PETA India highlights that traditional Bengali cuisine is already rich with accidentally vegan delicacies that are often overlooked.
Classic dishes like aloo posto (potatoes in poppy seed paste), aloo chop, cholar dal, tomato khejur chutney, and the ever-popular phuchka are naturally vegan when prepared without ghee. Beyond street food, the city's restaurant scene is thriving with plant-based options.
Establishments like Burma Burma and The Flaming Bowl lead the charge, while cafes such as Aldo Cafe, Out and Beyond, Glenburn Cafe, and Sienna Store and Cafe proudly serve plant milk. For desserts, The Daily offers vegan cakes and ice cream, and Cloud bakery Oven to Plate operates as a fully vegan entity. The innovation extends to online seller Vegan Daily, which even offers vegan seafood alternatives.
Beyond Food: Compassionate Fashion and Events
Kolkata's vegan movement isn't confined to its kitchens. It has sparked a growing animal-friendly fashion culture. Local brands are gaining recognition for their sustainable creations.
PETA specifically praised brands like Eori, which produces high-quality, sustainable, plant-based leather. Another standout is The House of Ganges, which offers a range of stylish vegan accessories including bags, wallets, totes, and slings that provide a luxurious look without using animal skins.
The city's commitment to compassion was also showcased earlier this year with a special Durga Puja theme organized by PETA India. The event promoted kindness to animals, offered vegan snacks, and advocated for replacing horse-drawn carriages with heritage-style motor vehicles. An active online community, the Kolkata Vegans Facebook group, further cements the city's status as a hub for the plant-based lifestyle.
A Surprising and Delightful Destination
According to Dr. Kiran Ahuja of PETA, Kolkata's unique combination of food, fashion, and events makes it a remarkable destination for those embracing a vegan life. "From flavourful Bengali plant-powered dishes to sustainable vegan fashion and festive animal-friendly events, Kolkata is an unexpectedly delightful destination for vegans and the vegan-curious," Dr. Ahuja stated.
The award underscores a critical message from PETA India about the severe suffering of animals raised for food. The organization details the grim realities of factory farms, where chickens live in crowded, ammonia-filled sheds, and the horrors of slaughterhouses where animals often meet a brutal end. By choosing a vegan lifestyle, one person can save nearly 200 animals each year, while also significantly reducing their environmental footprint in terms of pollution, land use, water waste, and climate damage.
