How Warsaw became the unlikely vegan capital of Europe | Karol Adamiak

A city associated with sausage and herring is now a haven for plant-based foods – and Poland’s rightwing politicians aren’t happy

I want to tell you about a relatively typical neighbourhood in my city. There are two vegan sushi restaurants, three vegan ramen spots. There are a few vegan delis. All the convenience stores have a vegan section. There’s an abundance of vegan bakeries. There’s a place that does vegan peking duck – it’s good, I promise. Many of these vegan places proudly have a rainbow flag on display. I’m not talking about Los Angeles or New York. I’m not even talking about Copenhagen. My neighbourhood is called Śródmieście. The vegan paradise I’m talking about – it’s Warsaw.

If you don’t believe me, well, Warsaw has been ranked among the top vegan cities in the world by HappyCow (a vegan ranking website) for the past six years. In 2022, it was National Geographic’s number one vegan city in the world. Maybe your perception of Poland is all kielbasa (sausage) and conservative politics. Herring and hate. It’s more complicated than that. In the past two decades there has been a quiet vegan revolution in the country.

Karol Adamiak is a chef from Warsaw. Barclay Bram contributed research and writing to this article. They cook together as Bracia

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How Warsaw became the unlikely vegan capital of Europe | Karol Adamiak

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