Berlin Goes Vegan With 'butcher' Shops, Singles' Night

BERLIN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Augst,2016) - Long the European capital of techno-driven nightlife, fastidious hipsterdom and low-cost party weekends, Berlin is adding another string to its bow as a vegan haven. Animal product-free versions of almost any business can be found in Germany's largest city, from butchers' shops to singles' nights. But getting lost in the eyes of a romantic prospect over grilled tofu is far from all that's on offer for the city's 80,000 vegans -- around 10 percent of the nationwide figure, vegetarian association Vebu estimates.

"Germany and especially Berlin are at the forefront" of a vegan "movement" that's advancing all over Europe, Vebu vice-president Sebastian Joy told AFP. That's obvious from the roughly 60 vegan restaurants on offer in the German capital counted by specialist website Happy Cow -- far outstripping the 24 in Paris and 40 in London, both cities more than twice the size of Berlin. That figure has ballooned since 2008, when there were just three completely animal-free restaurants according to Vebu.