(MENAFN- Live Mint) PETA India has chosen Kolkata as India's Most Vegan-Friendly City of 2025. It presented the award to Mayor Firhad Hakim.

The choice may surprise many as Kolkata is widely celebrated for its non-vegetarian offerings. While the entire North India fasts and eats satvik food during Durga Puja, Kolkata goes all out with its extensive non-veg dishes.

According to PETA, Bengali cuisine already offers many vegan dishes that people often overlook, such as aloo posto, aloo chop, cholar dal, tomato khejur chutney and phuchka. These are vegan dishes when made without ghee.

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Kolkata's food scene also supports plant-based living through restaurants like Burma Burma and The Flaming Bowl. It also has cafes such as Aldo Cafe, Out and Beyond, Glenburn Cafe and Sienna Store and Cafe. They serve plant milk.

Vegan cake and ice cream are available at The Daily. Cloud bakery Oven to Plate is fully vegan. Online seller Vegan Daily even offers vegan seafood. So, classic dishes can be made cruelty-free. Vegan World is also Eastern India's first vegan food distribution company.

Kolkata's vegan movement is also reflected in its growing animal-friendly fashion culture. Local brands like Eori make high-quality, sustainable, plant-based leather, according to PETA.

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PETA also recognises The House of Ganges. It offers stylish vegan accessories such as bags, wallets, totes and slings that look luxurious without using animal skins.

Earlier this year, Kolkata hosted a special Durga Puja theme by PETA India. It promoted compassion for animals, offered vegan snacks and suggested replacing horse-drawn carriages with heritage-style motor vehicles. Kolkata is also home to an active Facebook group called Kolkata Vegans.

'Unexpectedly delightful'

According to PETA's Dr Kiran Ahuja, Kolkata's food, fashion and events make it a delightful destination for vegans.

“From flavourful Bengali plant-powered dishes to sustainable vegan fashion and festive animal-friendly events, Kolkata is an unexpectedly delightful destination for vegans and the vegan-curious,' Dr Ahuja said.

PETA India says animals raised for food suffer greatly. On factory farms, thousands of chickens are confined in crowded sheds filled with ammonia fumes. They don't have fresh air, space or anything natural to them.

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These chickens and other animals are then pushed into trucks for slaughter. There, many are hurt, suffocated or die on the way.

In slaughterhouses, goats, sheep and others often have their throats cut with blunt knives. PETA also says fish suffocate or are cut open alive on boats.

According to PETA, going vegan can save nearly 200 animals each year for one person. It also helps reduce pollution, land use, water waste and climate damage.

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