Does vegan-friendly Indonesia need to feel guilty about eating meat because of climate change?

When an Indonesian radio station posted a podcast on Twitter and asked the question "Do you know your delicious meat contributes to climate change?", it raised a ruckus among social media users.

There were hundreds of comments pointing out that Indonesians already do not consume as much meat as their neighbours or those in the West, and should not be made to feel guilty for what little they ate.

In 2018, Indonesia's annual meat consumption per capita was 11.6kg, lower than Thailand's 25.8kg or Malaysia's 52.3kg, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

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On the other hand, Western countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia consume 84.2kg and 111.5kg per capita annually, respectively.

What raised people's ire was the perceived suggestion that Indonesians turn to plant-based meat alternatives, which are pricey in a country that was downgraded to lower-middle income status by the World Bank last year.

The podcast had featured comments from Indonesian food entrepreneur Helga Angelina Tjahjadi, co-founder of Jakarta-based vegan restaurant chain Burgreens. She spoke about the amount of resources it took to rear animals for food and how grains that were used as livestock feed could also be used to feed people.

But as a Twitter user pointed out, in comments echoed by others, "vegan" food in Indonesia is seldom affordable.

"For the price of one bowl of salad we can buy three packets of nasi padang," the user said, referring to a popular dish originating from West Sumatra that typically includes rice, spicy meat and vegetable, covered with broth and sambal, or spicy condiments.

Another person commenting on Twitter said: "In the United States, people can afford to eat McDonald's three times a day, while in Indonesia, demand for beef is only high during [religious] holidays."

Addressing the controversy, Helga of Burgreens said the debate was a good way to start a conversation about the threat of climate change.

"Apparently there are many young people who are aware and at least have interests to talk about the climate change issue. Maybe later we can comprehensively discuss ways we can contribute [on climate change actions]," the 32-year-old entrepreneur told This Week in Asia.

Aside from Burgreens, Helga and her husband Max Mandias also operate Green Rebel, which offers ready-to-eat plant-based meat at supermarkets and grocery stores, such as plant-based beef rendang, satay and steak. The company also has tie-ups with multinational brands such as Starbucks, Ikea, and Domino's Pizza, among others.

Those who champion cutting down on or not eating meat say Indonesia already offers many affordable vegetarian or vegan dishes, with no need for a special campaign to make meat-lovers feel guilty about their consumption.

Indeed, Indonesian cuisine offers a melting pot of vegetable dishes, including multiple variations of boiled vegetables covered in peanut sauce, such as gado-gado, ketoprak, karedok, lotek, or pecel. Stir-fried vegetables are plentiful at warungs, or roadside food stalls, along with tempeh and tofu in various forms.

For snacks, Indonesians typically munch on fried bananas, fried cassavas, or, during warm weather or Ramadan they dine on stewed banana in coconut milk.

Even in meat-eating regions such as West Sumatra, where the famous beef rendang comes from, the iconic dish can be veganised by using sweet potato leaves or jackfruit.

In Bali, many restaurants offer the vegan version of nasi goreng, or fried rice, rendang, or the region's famous nasi campur - a blend of spiced rice with spicy vegetables, corn fritters, tempeh satay, and stir-fry veggies.

Eating this cuisine also has its benefits.

"Tempeh contains the same protein as beef, and is even higher in calcium per gram. It is cheap and accessible and Indonesians have nailed the technology to produce it and cook it. It is a very accessible solution to boost protein intake among Indonesians," Helga said.

In Malaysia, proponents of the lifestyle also point out that it does not cost much either to afford a mostly plant-based diet, as highlighted by Elliz Azhar, the chef behind The Kampung Vegan who shares recipes for vegan versions of Malaysian "kampong" or local dishes on Instagram and YouTube.

"It is cheap to be vegan in Malaysia. It's a huge misconception that people think that eating plant-based food is expensive, of course it's expensive if you buy things like processed vegan meats.

But non-processed plant-based proteins like tempeh or tofu, beans, they're so cheap and they're so easy to get here," the Langkawi-based content creator said.

"Nowadays vegan options are everywhere. Most restaurants have vegan options. Even me, living on a small island at the moment. A few years ago we couldn't even find almond milk, but now we can find it everywhere."

Elliz, who has over 21,000 followers on Instagram and YouTube, said that her most popular videos were the ones where she taught people how to make tempeh and vegan Malaysian "chicken" rice.

"People are actually afraid of the word 'vegan'. I think by introducing our own foods, letting people know that they can still enjoy the same foods that they used to eat before, they will maybe cut meat intake and [eat] more vegan stuff. It's better than just trying to force them to be vegan."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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