Let's start with Ghent. Who'd have thought that a world-wide vegetarian movement would take root in a quintessentially meat-loving country like Belgium? But last year the Ghent-based non-profit Ethical Vegetarian Alternative (EVA) launched Donderdag Veggiedag (Thursday Veggie Day), convincing schools, city officials and local restaurants to promote vegetarian meals every Thursday.
It was a vegetarian milestone that made headlines across Europe and put the meat industry on the defensive. Some "5,000 city staff are encouraged to eat vegetarian food on Thursdays, and 95% of children at the 35 city schools opt for the veggie menu," says EVA director Tobias Leenaert.
But not everyone was so crazy about EVA's campaign. The Farmers Union of Belgium "sees the campaign as a threat," says Leenaert. "It distributed meat samples during city council meetings in Hasselt and Leuven, when the campaign was being discussed there."
But there's no stopping what EVA has started. Hasselt is on board with Donderdag Veggiedag and across the border in Germany, the town of Bremen has followed suit. Sao Paulo in Brazil has also adopted the movement.
Leenaert is pleased with the global attention, not in the least bit surprised. "I really believe the world will be vegetarian one day," he says. "We are sensitive and rational beings and are slowly reaching a state of evolution where we will not harm other living beings for food."
Garden of EVA
Leenaert founded EVA 10 years ago in Ghent, which has, in fact, long been an enclave of vegetarianism is a country obsessed with its cooking and its meat. The capital of East Flanders boasts the largest number of exclusively veggie restaurants per capita in Europe (13 restaurants for 240,000 people).
EVA's mission is to encourage eating more vegetarian foods as an imperative to a healthy body and a healthy planet. Some 60 billion animals are killed world wide every year for human consumption, and this demand is expected to double by 2050, when human population numbers are projected to reach nine billion. Leenaert: "At the rate we are consuming meat, we are headed towards a planetary disaster."
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) cites meat production as a major cause of the climate crisis, accounting for 18% of annual greenhouse-gas emissions. "The effect of all of Belgium having one meatless day a week for a year would equal a decrease of a million cars on our roads," notes Leenaert. Meat production is also responsible for deforesting an area the size of Belgium every year.
And then there are the health issues: high meat consumption is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and several forms of cancer.
But it was the ethical issue that gnawed at Leenaert's conscience, convincing him to finally give up meat completely after five years of working towards it. "I just couldn't justify why I was treating a cow any differently than a dog."
You are what you eat
Go to the tourist centre on any given day and you will find a veggie survival guide mapping out the locations of the city's 13 vegetarian restaurants as well as restaurants offering vegetarian options.
You'll find an exclusively vegetarian burger joint (Tasty World) and a veggie club sandwich (at Greenway) that was voted the best sandwich in Belgium in 2008. A die-hard Caesar salad fan, it was extremely comforting to know that in Greenway I don't have to repeatedly ask if the Caesar dressing is truly vegetarian (sans anchovies).
The highlight of my veggie trip to Ghent was my lunch at the family-owned Avalon with Leenaert. We decided to try the dagschotel, or daily platter. Most of Ghent's all-veggie restaurants offer a dagschotel, made up of a number of different foods together on one plate. It's always vegan (no eggs or dairy), and it's the number one choice for locals. In fact, some veggie restaurants don't offer anything but the dagschotel.
On this day, Avalon's dagschotel included a subtly tempered lentil dahl served with brown rice; broccoli with a tasty creamy pesto sauce; raw beets sprinkled with coriander chutney and a very gourmet looking carrot tempura. It was delicious, visually inviting, and I couldn't believe it was vegan.
Impressed, I was keen to try it with friends over dinner but was disappointed to learn that the restaurant - like most of Ghent's veggie restaurants - is only open for lunch. Ghent's association with veggie food is typically gastronomic-cum-microbiotic, such as my dagschotel. Food - and drinks - are typically organic and locally grown or fair traded. Vegetarianism in Ghent isn't just about eating, it's about a way of life.
Leenaert says this level of consciousness can actually be problematic for consumers . "Most people think that this is how veggie food has to be, and, of course, it is difficult to prepare a dish like this at home."
Leenaert's next dream, though, might help take care of that, too: he wants to open a vegetarian cooking academy.
"Vegetarianism is still too often associated with sober living, something you don't do for pleasure. Vegetarians should be able to go to a cosy restaurant and enjoy a nice, long dinner, like everyone else."
EVA is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. As a gift, Leenaert requests "a commitment to a certain number of veggie meals. As a return gift, we'll show you how much CO2 emissions you have saved the planet."
The EVA website and Ghent tourist office has a list of all Ghent's vegetarian options. In the meantime, we suggest these mainstays of veggie Ghent.
Avalon
Avalon is inside an old house along a cobblestoned road right across from Ghent's castle. A daily dagschotel is enhanced with a menu of pasta choices. Only open for lunch except every first Friday and Saturday of the month, when chef Kevin Storms prepares a five-course gastronomic evening meal. Geldmunt 32
www.restaurantavalon.be
De Warempel
It's impossible to find unless you know where you're headed, which is one of the charms of this veggie tradition in a sidestreet not two minutes from the central Belfortstraat. A daily choice of veggie or fish dagschotels and excellent vegan desserts in one airy room. Only open weekdays for lunch, and reservations are recommended. Zandberg 8, 09.224.30.62
De Panda
The oldest vegetarian restaurant in Ghent and possibly the most gastronomic, De Panda (pictured) offers the traditional daily dagschotel for both lunch and dinner, but on Saturday night pulls out a special menu with a number of creative choices. Nobody knows how to work seitan like De Panda. The small restaurant is on the canal behind an attached organic supermarket. Oudburg 38, 09.225.07.86
Lekker Gec
Right across from Gent-Sint-Pieters train station, this democratic veggie restaurant is the epitome of Ghent consciousness-raising. Largely volunteer run and located right next to an Oxfam, the all-organic dagschotel is a do-it-yourself affair in which you take what you want and pay by the weight. It's also a meeting place for groups and wears its political heart on its sleeve, with shelves filled with resources on how to save the world. K Maria Hendrikaplein 4-5
www.lekkergec.be
Next week: Antwerp
The port city's vegetarian eateries are as posh as its high street
Flanders Today is a 
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