The Vegetarian Butcher

The Man behind the revolution

Jaap Korteweg. The man. The legend. The Vegetarian Butcher himself. But that’s not who he’s always been. He was destined to follow in his parents’ footsteps and become a farmer, until that provocative voice in his head would start telling him to break from his family lineage and pursue unconventional farming methods: organic arable farming, without livestock. And so, the cornerstone for his plant-based revolution was set, and he’d soon be spearheading the new meat movement.

Through the years

The Vegetarian Butcher’s history is long and storied – there’s plenty to pick out from our journey so far, like our official launch in 2010. Or when PETA created the ‘Most animal-friendly company of the year’ award just for us in 2012. Or when our first vegetarian burger, the mc², launched in Paris in 2013. Or when our What The Cluck chicken chunks were awarded Best Vegan Product at the Vegan Awards 2016. But, there’s one date that matters above all the others.

The daddy of all the dates.

1998

This is the year that Jaap realised things needed to change.

An outbreak of swine fever and mad cow disease surges through the Netherlands, and Jaap is asked if thousands of carcasses can be kept in his cold stores, which he uses for his onions and carrots. Picturing animal carcasses piled high, Jaap declines, and realises the handling of animals must change.

Jaap always pictured tending to animals on his farm in an organic setting, where their quality life came above all else. So, the idea of then slaughtering those animals for meat left a sour taste in his mouth.