Malaysia ranks third on the Global Vegetarian Index

PETALING JAYA: Food haven Malaysia has landed another culinary honour as it is ranked third on the Global Vegetarian Index.
With an interesting mix of cultures with influences from China, India and Europe, Malaysia has some of the best vegan food in the world.
After looking at the number of vegetarian restaurants, the ratio to population size, and the annual meat consumption per capita in countries around the world, online villa booking website Oliver's Travels named the Seychelles the most vegetarian-friendly country in the world.
Malaysia is third while Singapore is sixth on the list.
Island nations and countries with long coastlines continue to dominate a new Global Vegetarian Index, created as a guide to help meat-free travelers choose vegetarian-friendly destinations.
It's not hard to see how the archipelago in the Indian Ocean would take the top spot, given its remote island location and modest meat production.
Food staples include fish, seafood, shellfish, rice, coconut, breadfruit, mangoes, plantains and sweet potatoes.
In the Seychelles, the per capita meat consumption is 35.6kg — for perspective, the US consumes 120kg per person annually.
While the US may have the highest annual consumption of meat on the list, it redeems itself by ranking highest for the number of vegetarian-friendly restaurants (18,975).
Here are the top 10 countries on the Global Vegetarian Index:
1. Seychelles
2. Thailand
3. Malaysia
4. Sao Tome & Principe
5. Peru
6. Singapore
7. Cambodia
8. Solomon Islands
9. United Kingdom
10. Botswana
Here are the top ranked countries per continent:
Africa: Seychelles
Asia: Thailand
Europe: United Kingdom
North America: Canada
Central America: Belize
South America: Peru
Oceania: Solomon Islands