Where's the meat? UK's first vegan butchers launches
Send a link to a friend
[October 31, 2020]
LONDON (Reuters) - In a corner of
north London, a new gleaming butchers is preparing to open.
The only thing it lacks is meat.
To coincide with Sunday's World Vegan Day, Britain's first permanent
vegan butcher, Rudy's, is opening, set to sell meat-free versions of
traditional products such as baycon, soysage and turk'y.
Demand for vegan products has surged in recent years in Britain, with
increasing numbers of people cutting out animal-derived ingredients
completely, while others reduce the amount of meat and dairy they
consume each week.
"People understand what it is that we're selling," co-founder Matthew
Foster told Reuters.
"It's all designed to emulate meat. It tastes like meat, it's got
meat-like texture."
Law firm EMW reported a 128% jump in new trademarks registered for vegan
food in the UK last year, with both large corporates and small companies
registering such trademarks as vegan ice cream and pastries.
The team behind the new butchers started out in 2017 with a vegan diner
and are now looking to offer goods, including whole dinner kits to be
made in the home.
The substitutes, set out in the brightly lit shop with white walls and
sketches of animals on the walls, are made from soya and seitan.
[to top of second column]
|
A member of staff works inside 'Rudy's Vegan Butcher' shop, amid the
coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, October 30,
2020. Picture taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
The surge in demand for alternative food products has recently
sparked a debate over whether restaurants and shops should be
allowed to label products as "veggie burgers" or "vegan sausages" or
whether it can confuse the consumer.
Lawmakers in the European Union ruled earlier in October that
banning such terms, as advocated by farmers, would discourage
consumers from shifting to more plant-based diets.
(Reporting by Natalie Thomas, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|