Living Vegetarian In The UAE
Mark Swislocki, assistant professor of history at NYU Abu Dhabi, has examined food culture through both his work and in the core course he teaches, ...
Nov 16, 2013
Mark Swislocki, assistant professor of history at NYU Abu Dhabi, has examined food culture through both his work and in the core course he teaches, "Animals, Culture and Society."
"The question of where vegetarianism comes from is hard to answer because I feel like it is sort of everywhere," he said.
Swislocki explained that much more information is available about societies’ different codes of conducts and rules regarding meat eating than about vegetarianism by itself. Issues about what types of animals can be eaten, what preparations are required and specific times of eating meat can be just as significant as the abstinence of animal products.
“It suggests to me, and other people have made similar observations, that there may be some kind of fundamental human discomfort with meat-eating,” said Swislocki.
“One of the things that we look at in my class is the various systems that different cultures, religions, secular societies, come up with for reconciling themselves to eating meat or embracing meat in their lives,” Swislocki added.
Various ways to resolve issues with meat-eating appear in societies across the world. Islamic teachings require that observers eat Halal food; there are regulations regarding the slaughter of animals and pork products are forbidden. In Judaism, kosher meat must be handled in specific ways — it cannot be mixed with dairy products, for example — and only certain animals can be consumed. Some Christian groups abstain from eating meat on Fridays or during fasting days, such as Lent. Hinduism encourages vegetarian diets, and India has the highest number of vegetarians in the world. Other reasons for opting out of meat-eating may not be so much religious as based on humanitarian, social or environmental considerations.
Although there are countless reasons one may choose a vegetarian lifestyle, it remains a food culture that is more established in some countries than others.
“It’s hard to speak generally about the whole world but it could be ecological resources that make certain sorts of vegetarian diets possible as an alternative to meat diets. So the forms of reconciling oneself to meat differ,” Swislocki said. “It’s very easy to grow healthy vegetarian diets in the climate of South Asia. It’s very hard to do it in the Arabian Peninsula.”
However, the UAE offers many staple foods that are in fact not meat-based. Immigrants, particularly those from Southeast Asia, have brought their eating patterns to the country and, by opening up restaurants across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, made vegetarianism that much more accessible.
“It’s actually quite easy to live as a vegetarian here because of the prevalence of high protein foods that don’t require meat substitutes,” Swislocki said.
Sophomore Veronica Houk has been vegan for the past five years and is now the leader of the vegetarian Student Interest Group Veggie Might. She agrees that being vegetarian in Abu Dhabi is relatively easy.
“[Middle Eastern] food is good, given that there is hummus and falafel and other [vegetarian foods],” Houk said. “There’s also a good amount of vegetarian restaurants around the city — mostly Indian.”
One such restaurant is Saravana Bhavan, a vegetarian Indian restaurant located on the top floor of Madinat Zayed.
“[The restaurant] is only vegetarian,” said the manager Jaykumar. “We make South Indian dishes, with lots of vegetables … We only make traditional food.”
Jaykumar has been living in Abu Dhabi for the past two years and said that he has seen an increasing diversity in the nationalities of his customers.
“[Our customers are] mostly South Asian, but some [are] from other countries, Jaykumar said. ”They come for the traditional food.”
Vegetarians in the UAE might not have to struggle to find meatless options but it is still a fledgling community. The restaurants are generally run by foreigners and catered towards foreigners. Ultimately, vegetarianism remains a personal choice, but one that can be accommodated to in the UAE.
Clare Hennig is features editor. Email her at editorial@thegazelle.org.
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