The city of Austin has been named one of the top cities for vegans and vegetarians in 2021.
Austin was ranked sixth on the Wallethub list, behind Portland, Oregon; Orlando, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boise, Idaho.
"Austin may be known for its barbecue, but it turns out it's also one of the best U.S. cities to live if you eat vegan or vegetarian," Mayor Steve Adler stated on Twitter.
WalletHub conducted a comparative analysis of the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 16 important factors in order to identify which cities are the most vegan and vegetarian friendly in the country.
"We examined each city based on such metrics as the cost of groceries for vegetarians, the share of restaurants serving meatless options and salad shops per capita," the Wallethub article states.
Although nearly 16 million individuals in the United States are vegan or vegetarian, Wallethub reports that such a lifestyle can be challenging, with cost being one of the primary concerns.
Cost, however, has become less of a concern during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a combination of issues at meatpacking plants and advances in synthetic meat technology.
Additionally, an increasing number of establishments, including some of the country's largest fast-food franchises, have started to serve vegetarian or vegan meals, according to a Fortune article.
"We’re in a protein substitute revolution and it’s fabulous. You know when fast food is committing to veggie options, things are changing for the better,” Brousseau, a Los Angeles-based publicist, told Fortune
According to data gathered by the Plant-Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute in 2020, the retail market for plant-based foods has increased by $5 billion, or 29%, in the last two years.
Additionally, Fortune reports that experts believe quick service restaurants' attempts to expand their plant-based menu options may benefit the environment in the long term.