Meatless in Munich: Oktoberfest Introduces Vegan Food Options

[marmar]

For some 200 years, Oktoberfest has been all about copious amounts of beer and meat. But, this year, organizers are breaking with tradition and reaching out to visitors with dietary restrictions by offering vegan dishes and even vegan wine.

With its dozens of oxen spit roasts, enough rotisserie chickens to feed an army and pork sausages as long as a forearm, Bavaria's Oktoberfest is a meat lover's nirvana. In fact, last year's festivities saw a total of half a million chickens, 116 whole oxen and 115,000 pork sausages being served up in Munich's beer tents over a period of three weeks.

But even in one of Germany's most rigidly traditional regions, times are changing. In an attempt to cater to the changing food preferences of visitors, beer tent owners have put vegan dishes -- and in one case, vegan wines -- on their menus.

"As the event becomes more international, people with special dietary requirements and different culinary tastes are becoming the norm," says Wolfgang Nickl of Munich's city council, which is responsible for organizing Oktoberfest. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/oktoberfest-organizers-introduce-vegan-food-options-a-924929.html