She started cooking from home, hoping to make ends meet by taking orders from people she knew. Instead, orders for her exquisite fare soared: With a little Instagram marketing, she had inadvertently tapped into Brazil’s booming demand for plant-based food. The country, which is the world’s largest beef exporter, has seen a dramatic shift toward plant-based diets. The number of self-declared vegetarians in Brazil has nearly doubled over a six-year period, according to a poll by the research firm Ibope; 30 million people, or 14 percent of Brazilians, reported being vegetarian or vegan in 2018. Ms. Tavares, a Hare Krishna who describes cooking as a sacred act that brings her closer to God, says, “There is a shift of consciousness underway.”

Source: New York Times December 26, 2020 09:56 UTC