Mollie Engelhart, owner of Sage Vegan Bistro, a Los Angeles staple known for its plant-based menu, calls herself a “card-carrying” vegetarian of 46 years. That’s why many were shocked when she announced on April 22 that her three restaurants, with locations in Pasadena, Echo Park, and a to-go window in Culver City, would be adding meat and dairy products to what was once an entirely vegan menu. In an Instagram post, Engelhart said the restaurants would be renamed Sage Regenerative Kitchen and that they would be “shifting from an all plant-based menu” to one that serves dishes like bison burgers, patty melts, and Philly cheesesteaks.

The reaction from Engelhart’s audience was intense. The post racked up more than 4,000 comments, many harshly critical of the decision.

In an interview with Bon Appétit, Engelhart says she anticipated the pushback and that it’s a move she’s been thinking about for years. Her experience with regenerative agriculture at her own farm, she says, has shown her just how effective it can be at combating climate change.

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“In reality, everything dies, and every bite of food is grown with it. Whether you’re eating a piece of pork or you’re eating a cabbage, that cabbage was grown with blood meal or bone meal or chicken poop—all out of the factory farming system. That idea, that I could eat without harm, that my diet could cause less harm—it became really clear that it was a fantasy. My identity was attached to it, and I had to let that identity go to come to where we are,” [said Engelhart].

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