By Anna Wood from Istanbul for SES Türkiye -- 14/05/12
While the number of vegans and vegetarians in Turkey is increasing, albeit slowly, an increase is observed in the number of businesses serving those who adopt this diet.
The flavors of Turkish cuisine are also consumed extensively abroad. Restaurants and bakeries around the world offer their customers spicy kebabs, assorted pastries and baklavas. However, traditional Turkish dishes, which are generally appreciated, cannot be said to be very attractive even for vegetarians, let alone vegans.
In Beyoğlu, which is considered the center of vegetarian culture in Istanbul, there are many restaurants that offer menus specific to this diet and bring together the flavors of both Turkish and international cuisines.
In Beyoğlu, which is considered the center of vegetarian culture in Istanbul, there are many restaurants that offer menus specific to this diet and bring together the flavors of both Turkish and international cuisines.
However, there is a small but committed vegetarian and vegan community in Turkey that is growing in numbers.
As a matter of fact, Tarkan Apari, the founder of the Ecolife store, which sells completely vegetarian and organic products in Istanbul, states that the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle culture is spreading.
"The number of vegetarians/vegans in such a big city has not reached large numbers yet. However, many people are now well aware of what kind of lifestyle you adopt when you say vegetarian or vegan."
The point reached today may be considered a modest success, but this was not always the case. The terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' can be confused even by knowledgeable people. While vegetarians do not eat animal meat, vegans do not consume or use any animal products, from eggs to leather jackets to honey.
When the founder of the blog Vegankedi and activist Yasemin Avdar decided to become a vegetarian at the age of 14, her mother was very worried.
“Because my mother thought it was a disease (I guess because I was young) she thought I was going to die when I decided to become a vegetarian,” Avdar recalls.
When Avdar did not get sick due to a vegetarian diet and completed his normal development, his family and friends also respected the situation and gave up trying to sneak meat into his meals.
Stating that he did not know anyone who was vegetarian or vegan when he decided to become a vegetarian 15 years ago, Tarkan Apari mentions that when he switched to veganism five years ago, the situation in the country has reached a slightly different point than it used to be.
In addition to organic and vegetarian products available in Ecolife and similar health food stores, restaurants that offer only vegetarian menus or that add vegetarian recipes to their menus are also opening.
In Beyoğlu, which is considered the center of vegetarian culture in Istanbul, there are many restaurants such as Parsifal and Zencefil, which offer menus specific to this diet and bring together the flavors of both Turkish and international cuisines.
According to Apari, the reason for the opening of such restaurants is the increase in demand in this emerging market.
"There has been an increase in the number of cafes and restaurants that host people who adopt a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and even those who consume animal products," Apari sums up the general picture.
The gradual increase in the number of vegetarians and vegans in Turkey, as well as the demand from tourists and foreigners living here, are also factors affecting the increase in demand. Many popular restaurants are now opting to increase their meatless meal options on their menus. At this point, naturally, appetizers and olive oil dishes of classical Turkish cuisine come to the fore. It is possible to come across recipes using tofu and quinoa rice in the menus of some small businesses.
Adam Roberts, who recently moved to Istanbul and teaches music and composition at Istanbul Technical University, says that as a strict lacto-vegetarian (vegetarians who consume only milk and dairy products from animal-derived foods), he can easily make a living here.
Speaking to SES Türkiye, Roberts says, "There are many delicious vegetarian options in Turkish cuisine. Especially appetizers and meatless raw meatballs are my favourites."
“It's okay if they make a tofu version of kokoreç, too,” he jokes.
As elsewhere in the world, the reasons for vegetarians and vegans in Turkey to consume meat and avoid animal products are personal. For example, it was his love for animals and his interest in an alternative, healthy lifestyle that shaped Tarkan Apari's choice.
Yasemin Avdar, who was horrified by the Eid-al-Adha scenes she witnessed as a child, has been a determined animal rights advocate ever since. Therefore, it cannot remain indifferent to the speed of the change process in Turkey and the determination of the people regarding the vegetarian/vegan movement.
"I think that if veganism is perceived as a temporary fad, a trend and adopted and internalized as a lifestyle without being emptied, progress can be achieved in this area."
