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The owner of a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles announced that her place is changing its image and introducing meat, dairy products and eggs to the menu.
Mollie Engelhart admitted that when she started Sage Vegan Bistro, she thought the vegan diet was the best, but now she has changed her mind.
Changing its name to Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery, the restaurant will focus on supporting regenerative agriculture.
“This means we will transition from an exclusively plant-based menu to high-quality protein sourced only from the highest quality, most honest, regenerative farms,” Engelhart said on Instagram.
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The restaurant opened in 2011 in Echo Park, then opened branches in Culver City and Pasadena and gained a group of customers who love plant-based dishes.
However, the Los Angeles Times reported that from next month the refreshed menu will include ingredients such as: beef, bison meat, fried eggs and other non-vegan products.
“This may seem shocking or disturbing to some, but I have dedicated the last seven years of my life to regenerative agriculture to provide the highest quality food for my clients, and I have come to learn so much about soil and nature,” Engelhart said in a statement on Instagram.
In an interview with the LA Times, she said: “I think the next step forward is regenerative agriculture, and for that to move forward, it has to hit the zeitgeistmust find its way into our everyday conversations.”
“This is my way of contributing to that, of giving people a choice,” she added.
Regenerative agriculture aims to address the climate crisis by restoring degraded soils and preventing carbon emissionsalthough opinions on its impact on the environment vary.
A 2022 academic analysis by William H. Schlesinger, former president of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, found that regenerative agriculture practices are unlikely to result in “large sequestration of organic carbon in soils.” Schlesinger also noted that some practices even lead to carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
Engelhart told the LA Times that she was “sensitive” when announcing the move and that she prepared for the “anger” that was to come. The reaction came quickly.
PETA, an animal rights charity, accused the restaurant in an Instagram post of “serving organic meat and meat, dairy products and eggs from false humanity” and described the change as a betrayal of animals.
“And on Earth Day!” — added in the post.
Vegan restaurateur Jayde Nicole described the change as “terrifying” in an Instagram comment, while vegan influencer Hannah Weseloh compared the announcement to “mourning a death.”
Englehart defended her choice and said she made the announcement on Earth Day because “we are making this change for humanity and the earth.”
She also told the LA Times that financial considerations influenced her decision, with the newspaper reporting that the restaurants had not been profitable as of 2020.
“My restaurants were really struggling, like a lot of restaurants after the pandemic,” Engelhart said.
According to the LA Times, several previously all-vegan restaurants in Los Angeles have started introducing meat in recent years, citing financial factors, and many others have closed their doors completely.
The article is a translation from the American edition of Business Insider. Translator: Mateusz Albin
