Opposition party corporators have criticised PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) move to award Mumbai as the ‘Most Vegan-Friendly City’. PETA India handed over the award to Mayor Kishori Pednekar at the BMC headquarters in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Friday evening.
A section of corporators alleged that by accepting such awards, the mayor was promoting vegetarian foods. “Mumbai is home to people from different food cultures. Accepting awards that glorify vegetarian food will hurt the sentiments of people who eat non-vegetarian food. If the mayor is supporting such awards, then all fishermen should be banned from selling fish. She should return the award considering the rich cultural and food diversity of the city,” Samajwadi Party Corporator Rais Shaikh said.
The mayor’s decision to accept the award also invited criticism from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Notably, a few years ago, MNS corporators had demanded action against builders found selling flats to only vegetarians.
Defending her move, Pednekar said: “No single food culture was promoted by accepting this award. I thank PETA India and Mumbaikars for this award.”
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-mayor-vegan-city-award-7621010/
