Australian karma chameleon serves up carbon-counted food

Jul 15, 2010, 10:07 GMT

Sydney - How do you want to save carbon today?' is how customers are greeted at the counter of Radhika Oswal's restaurant in Greenwich Village.

Saving the planet while eating a meal is the marketing ploy at Otarian, a vegetarian fast-food chain with outlets in New York and London.

'Each and every individual consuming an Otarian meal makes a small but meaningful difference to the planet and all its inhabitants,' New Delhi-born Oswal said. 'And if one Otarian meal saves a kilogram of carbon emissions and grain, or a litre of water or oil, imagine the cumulative benefits of Otarian eating.'

Oswal, 29, has not had to borrow from the bank for Otarian. Her husband is 34-year-old Pankaj Oswal, a billionaire industrialist who owns and operates an ammonium nitrate plant near Dampier on Australia's west coast.

The New York Times food critic has not been kind to the Greenwich Village eatery - and neither have impromptu reviewers on websites. Cassandra F noted on one blog that safe-to-drink New York tap water is not available at Otarian but bottled water is, and asked 'is it really necessary to wrap each already plastic-wrapped entree with a cardboard strip that explains how 'green' the restaurant is?'

Otarian is the world's first diner where each choice is tagged with an estimate of its carbon footprints relative to that of its non-vegetarian counterpart.

The thesis is a simple one: veggie burgers are better for the world than beef burgers.

'Meat-eating is creating bad karma and you're also creating a vicious cycle,' Oswal said. 'It's destroying us environmentally, economically and socially.'

Otarian does not make promises about reduced food miles or whether what it offers is organically grown. There is no determination to reduce packaging or donate to charities.

Last year the Oswals bought the biggest plot in Perth's most expensive suburb and are building what could well be Australia's biggest and most expensive house.

The Swan River mansion, spread over 6,600 square metres, has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. Its gymnasium is the size of a regular Perth house and there is a beauty salon, a ballroom, an observatory and parking for 17 cars. One of the swimming pools will be 10 times bigger than the average Perth backyard.

'I like a very richly decorated house, with lots of colour and textures,' she said. 'I also like eclectic looks and I like a good mix of silver and gold. I will love it on a moonlit night.'

The construction workers on what has been dubbed the Taj-on-the-Swan have complained to their union about not being allowed to bring ham sandwiches or any meat on to the site.

The Oswals say it is their house and that they have a right to set the rules. And, of course, it is their right to set the menu at Otarian, a venture they hope will become a worldwide chain because of its environmentally sound menu.

'Vegetarian food is the most sustainable food in the world,' Oswal said. 'We need to think about our future generations and the sustainability of the earth.'