Page 32 - AT

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 5 sepTember 2019
Vegetarians gaining ground in carnivorous Argentina

By DEBORA REY hoods people still eat the
Associated Press asado on weekends but in
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina the future it could get a bit
(AP) — A fight is on over complicated,” said Diego
the Argentine identity, pit- Salvo, who runs The Best
ting a growing number of Butcher Shop, acknowl-
vegetarians and vegans edging the new trends
against meat-eaters in a against meat.
country known for its abun- Beef is so deeply ingrained
dant beef, gaucho cow- in Argentina’s culture that
boys and sacred “asado” vegan chefs need great
barbecues. ingenuity to adapt typical
The weekend “asados” dishes to their menus.
bring together families and At La Reverde, the first
friends and are a source vegan grill in Buenos Aires,,
of national pride in this the house specialty resem-
South American country, bles the country’s “bife de
which traditionally battles chorizo,” a popular cut of
neighboring Uruguay for boneless beef cooked on a
world leader in per-capita grill. But it is really a “seitan
beef consumption. But this steak,” that is made from
carnivorousness is being wheat gluten and ingredi-
threatened by rising sup- ents including beet puree
port for vegetarianism and People eat at “La Reverde” vegan restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. and spices that help create
veganism among Argen- Associated Press a similar tone to beef.
tines, particularly the young grams (110 pounds) of beef ized at “Wild Sanctuary,” what hurts when they get “I don’t love eating ani-
and millennials, and grow- a year, what it called the two hectares (nearly five hurt,” Lobo said. “But peo- mals,” said Melissa Aruj, a
ing militancy by activists. lowest level in the history acres) of land an hour from ple not so close to them 25-year-old after she fin-
A recent private online of this country, where cat- Buenos Aires. don’t know or don’t want ished a seitan cut accom-
questionnaire found that tle brought by the Spanish “In the sanctuary, animals to know that they are sen- panied by fries. “Without a
six of every 10 Argentines centuries ago thrived on live out their entire lives,” tient beings.” doubt, I estimate that in 10
are disposed to stop eating vast prairies knows as pam- said Lobo, a 28-year-old Veganism, a current that to 15 years a large part (of
beef, a figure that alarmed pas. vegan, who calls each of emerged in London during the population) will be veg-
ranchers who are already “This concern about cruelty the 300 animals in the sanc- World War II, is based on a etarian.”
struggling through an eco- and the slaughter is here tuary by name, except for diet free of animal prod- “I don’t know if they will be
nomic crisis. The cultural and is going to be felt,” the chickens “because ucts, unlike vegetarians vegan,” she added. The
divide came to a head Bifaretti said, adding that they are all very similar.” who accept the intake of change will be “little by
several weeks ago when trends seen in other parts of While a plump sheep milk or eggs. Vegans also little.”
anti-animal cruelty activists the world are arriving in Ar- named Bruno suspiciously reject all forms of animal To some activists, just eat-
interrupted an exhibition gentina. “It is starting to be approached the visitors exploitation, whether as la- ing vegan is not enough.
of the Buenos Aires Rural a challenge.” interviewing Lobo, a goat bor, or for clothing, cosmet- They have stepped up their
Society and were met by Much of the anti-beef ac- tried to get the attention of ics, transportation, sports or actions into militancy.
ranchers, some dressed in tivism comes from vegans. the humans by displaying scientific experimentation. A group of young people
traditional gaucho outfits, Lying on the grass, Melisa its horns. “You receive meat on your from the animal liberation
who charged at them on Lobo stroked the snout of “A person who is in contact plate and you don’t think group Voicot gathered on
horses with whips. Apollo, a weeks-old black with a dog or a cat knows about how it got there,” a recent Saturday to pro-
The younger generations calf about the size of a that the animal feels, knows Lobo said. “I always liked test at the entrance to a
“have grown up amid the Labrador dog. Nearby, that they like to be pam- my meat rare and I never slaughterhouse in Buenos
debate over abortion in goats, sheep, chickens and pered, knows when they imagined that the blood Aires.
Congress; inclusion, gender ducks roamed and social- are hungry, thirsty, cold or was fluid from the animal’s “It makes me very sad.
equality ... These collec- muscle.” Words are not enough for
tive questions have started There is no official figure in me to apologize to the ani-
to gain weight in decisions Argentina, but Bifaretti’s mals because they have
about the purchase of institute estimates vegans miserable lives. They are
foods,” said Adrián Bifaret- and vegetarians represent born with a date to die,”
ti, head of marketing at 7% to 8% of the population. said one protester, Jazmín
the Institute for the Promo- When it is not yet dawn in Romero, tears in her eyes.
tion of Beef and author of Buenos Aires’s Mataderos She wore a black shirt pro-
the online survey and focus neighborhood, the white claiming: “We are the spe-
group that found a wide- uniforms of workers in the cies threatening to destroy
spread readiness to give up refrigerated meat lock- everything.”
beef. Bifaretti said the find- ers are already stained On the other side of the di-
ings are based on doing red from the beef arriving vide, many Argentines see
a survey of 1,100 people from the nearby slaughter- eating beef as part of their
every two months in a poll houses. The district supplies history and culture.
with a margin of error of much of the meat for the “We aren’t talking about
three percentage points. traditional “asados” that killing the animal for sport.
A July report by Argentina’s are consumed in restau- The animal is being trans-
Chamber of Commerce rants and homes in Argen- formed into food,” said Bi-
for Beef and its Derivatives tina’s capital. faretti. “It has been like this
said Argentines are con- A dish at “La Reverde” vegan restaurant in Buenos Aires, “Thank God, in Argentina throughout the history of
suming on average 50 kilo- Argentina, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. Associated Press and in these neighbor- humanity.”q