Turin’s Mayor pledges to turn it into the First ‘Vegetarian City’ in Italy

• Chiara Appendino, the mayor of Turin, is on a quest to turn Turin as the first vegetarian city of Italy
• After a long span of 23 years of only left wing politicians turning mayors, Chiara Appendino won the mayor elections with 55% of total votes in June 2016
• Established in 2009, the Five Star Movement was started by comedian-activist Beppe Grillot which promotes vegetarianism

Italy is a country which is rich in culture and offers the best of fashion- the Milan Fashion Week, heritage- the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and of course cuisine. Not only has Italy given the world its favourite pizza and olives, but also various dishes like lasagna, pasta and riso. With a country that offers some of the best cuisines in the world, it is next to impossible to imagine Italy turning vegetarian.

Turin is one such city of Italy that serves great traditional meat like bollito misto, stew made of beef, sausages and other sorts of poultry. It is a popular destination among Italians during winters due to its vicinity to the Alps.

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Mayor Chiara Appendino. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

But Chiara Appendino, the mayor of Turin, is on a quest to turn Turin as the first vegetarian city of Italy. Turin now has more than thirty restaurants that serve vegan food. As an initiative to "protect the environment, health, and animals", Appendino encourages vegetarianism and vegan diets in her manifesto, reported independent.co.uk.

After a long span of 23 years of only left wing politicians turning mayors, Chiara Appendino won the mayor elections with 55% of total votes in June 2016.

Not only has Ms. Appendino working towards vegetarianism, but various movements have been carried out to promote the same. Established in 2009, the Five Star Movement was started by comedian-activist Beppe Grillot which promotes vegetarianism. This movement was started as an initiative against corruption and for the planet's environmental issues, but it also has an ambiguous take on immigrants. It is reported that the Five Star Movement would include educating schools students on animal welfare.

Apart from Italy, there are many countries and faiths that work on extreme vegetarianism. All religions have stringent commitments to their values about dealing with violence and non-violence. Same goes for vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism.

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• Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma, for example, is a faith that constitutes the maximum number of vegetarians in the world. Brahmins, who are usually temple priests in and out of India, are strict vegetarians. Not only does Hinduism promote vegetarianism and have vegan food as 'prasaad' but is also strictly against beef eating.

• While Buddhism is another faith that preaches the concept of ahimsa, Gautam Buddha asked his disciples to accept any food that gets offered to them. It is conflicting to know that Dalai Lama is himself a non-vegetarian. Buddhist schools of thought indeed teach vegetarianism, but Buddha's act of consuming meat is debatable even today. Traditions interpret that Buddha died of eating pork, while some believe he ate a poisonous mushroom.

• Another faith that practices vegetarianism is Jainism. With its inception 6,000 years ago, Jains believe that every creature in this world is here to help another. They believe in non-harmed peaceful coexistence and consider all living beings sacred. It must also be noted that Jains also wear masks to avoid killing the smallest of insects and walk carefully as to never kill an insect lying on their way.

– prepared by Chetna Karnani of NewsGram. Twitter: @karnani_chetna

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