After considering cost-cutting measures, Air India announced it had stopped serving non-vegetarian meals in the economy section on all domestic flights. This is not the first time state-owned Air India has decided to serve only meatless meals. Last year the airline began serving only vegetarian food on all domestic flights lasting less than 90 minutes.
By cutting meat from domestic flights, the airline could save more than $1.2 million yearly. But cost isn’t the only factor. The airline has seen an increase in demand for vegetarian options, so eliminating meat would also reduce the amount of wasted food.
In an interview with The Hindu, an Air India executive stated:
The number of vegetarian passengers is increasing. Generally, we uplift 70% vegetarian meals and 30% non-vegetarian meals. However, because of the increasing preference for vegetarian meals, wastage of non-vegetarian meals became high. Also, we run short of vegetarian meals, leading to complaints.
Airline officials also mentioned that many people are health conscious and prefer vegetarian options.
Eating a plant-based diet is much healthier than eating meat. A vegetarian diet can cut one’s risk of heart disease by as much as 32 percent. Additionally, meat consumption increases one’s risk of diabetes, cancer, stroke, acne, and high cholesterol.
While Air India’s new policy is a great move to cut costs and provide healthy options to its passengers, serving only vegetarian meals will also save countless animals from immense suffering.
Ready to travel? Check out this list of the top six airports for vegan food.