Will Turin become Italy’s first vegan city?

The new mayor of Turin has outlined a plan to promote a plant-based diet in the city - but not everybody is happy about it.

Turin's new mayor, Chiara Appendino. Source: Getty Images

Chiara Appendino was only elected as Turin mayor last month, but already, she’s ruffling feathers with her plan to promote veganism and vegetarianism as a priority in her new administration.

In the five-year plan, handed down this week, the new mayor announced plans to set up educational programs in schools to ensure children learned about both animal welfare and nutrition, and to make Turin a zero-waste city. The strategy outlined that “the promotion of vegan and vegetarian diets is a fundamental act in safeguarding our environment, the health of our citizens and the welfare of our animals”. There aren’t too many more specifics, but the idea of promoting plants over meat has still stirred controversy in the city, which is the capital of the Piedmont region, known for its popular tramezzino (prosciutto sandwiches) and vitello tonato (veal with tuna sauce). The Telegraph (UK) reports that already, locals are livid. “Don’t they have anything more urgent to worry about?” one resident commented, on a newspaper website. Another wrote that, “Quinoa is revolting” while a third simply asked, “Is there no limit to the madness?”

Though this is the first time that a local Italian government has advocated for a plant-based diet as part of their political agenda, it’s not the first time the populist M5S party - of which Appendino is a part - has espoused the virtues of vegetarianism and veganism. Luigi di Maio, the deputy speaker of the Italian parliament and a member of the party, had a vegan cake for his 30th birthday, and Beppe Grillo, founder of the party, blogs about vegetarianism occasionally (though he’s a meat-eater himself).

The plan might not be totally opposed by locals, though - according to local newspaper Corriere della Serra, there are already about 30 vegan or vegetarian restaurants in the city. And the local government has no plans to shut down any meat-heavy stores or restaurants, either. “I would not want to create a contrast with the meat industry. We do not want to close the small shops or ruin the people who have worked for years to develop the Piedmontese food and wine heritage,” Stefania Giannuzzi, environmental councillor under Appendino, told Corriere della Sera.