Traditionally Meat-Heavy Oktoberfest Recognizes Popularity of Veganism

o01_17056322.jpg
With the tremendous rise of vegetarianism and the steady decline of meat consumption, even the 200-year-old Oktoberfest, a meat-laden annual German beer festival, has taken notice. According to NPR, this year “Oktoberfest is catering to vegans.”

This year’s change is mainly thanks to one person: a Munich restaurant owner’s son, who is training to be a vegan chef. It’s amazing the difference one person can make!

“More and more Germans and people from Bavaria are following the diet,” said Munich City councilperson Claudia Bauer. An estimated 8 to 9 percent of the German population, or seven million people, are vegetarian.

According to Sebastian Zösch, head of the German Vegetarian Association, “In the last five years, there has been a huge boost to the vegetarian lifestyle in Germany, and we see evidence of this in our steadily growing membership.”

So what will they be serving at Oktoberfest? Try ginger-carrot soup, soy medallions with mushrooms, and a local favorite dish, Käsespätzle–a plant-based take on a cheesy egg noodle bake. “We replace the eggs and cheese with a vegan substitute and because it tastes so good people don’t believe it’s missing the two key ingredients,” Chef Martin Jonas said. They’ve been selling better than we thought. One day our cook spent 10 hours just filling orders for Käsespätzle.”

If you can eat vegan at Oktoberfest, you can eat vegan anywhere! For tips, recipes and resources on transitioning to a vegan diet, visit ChooseVeg.com.