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Emirates has announced a multi-million dollar investment into its vegan food options.
The Dubai-based airline, which is the fourth largest in the world, will offer its First and Business class passengers a curated menu of gourmet vegan dishes. Economy passengers will also be able to choose from a revamped selection of plant-based meals.
Emirates has long been considered an excellent option for vegan travelers. The airline began offering plant-based dishes on selected flights in the 1990s. Since then, it has embraced the ever-growing meat-free market. It currently offers around 180 plant-based recipes on board.
According to reports, the new First and Business class menus have been years in the making. The food was developed by chefs at Emirates Flight Catering, a facility situated in Dubai International airport.
The Economy class menu is refreshed every month, and features dishes like multi-colored quinoa with succulent caramelized pear and celeriac purée, roasted cauliflower, glazed carrots, sautéed kale and lovage pesto, and barley risotto with mushrooms, served with sundried tomatoes, buttered chestnuts, blanched broccolini and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Emirates’ announcement of its new plant-based menu was made in conjunction with World Vegan Day, which takes place on November 1.
The rise of veganism
As recently as a couple of decades ago, veganism was an extremely niche lifestyle in most countries in the world. In recent years, however, it has seen a staggering rise in popularity.
In January 2022, 639,00 people worldwide signed up for Veganuary. This was up from 400,000 the year before.
According to statistics, around six percent of the US population identifies as vegan. It is thought that there are around 9.7 million American vegans.
What’s more, a rapidly growing number of people identify as “flexitarian,” which means that they mostly – but not exclusively – avoid animal products. It is understood that more than half of young Americans are flexitarian.
