Animal Rights Community Online

[Notty]

 My first experience of being vegan abroad- not good!!

[jubjub]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, Notty. Have you seen the "vegan passport"?

http://www.vegetarianguides.co.uk/products/veganpassport.shtml

Basically, it explains in detail what a vegan is and what you do and don't eat, and translates it into a bunch of different languages. Then you show the waiter the page that's in the language that he speaks, and he shows it to the chef. You can also send a copy to the restaurant in advance if you know where you're going.

I've never needed to use it, myself (fortunately, my travels have only ever taken me to places where there's been no language barrier and/or there's been an abundance of vegan-friendly restaurants), but I know people who have used it and it's worked out well for them.

It sounds like your boss is sympathetic to your situation, though, and can be your ally in things like this. That's good. Maybe you can sit down with her and talk about what went right (beans and hummus) and what went wrong, and what each of you can do to help things go better in the future.

I hear you about airplane food too - I think the people who put together those meals really don't have a clue sometimes.

[Notty]

[Tourterelle]

Notty, I'm sorry to hear that your trip was a bad experience. However, even people in countries like our own don't always have that much of a clue as to what vegetarian or vegan means. Unfortunately, this kind of thing is to be expected, and we must always be on our guard and be prepared for the worst. A response I sometimes get when saying I'd like a vegetarian meal is "Do you eat chicken?"

In fact, I was out last week and decided to stop off at a Burger King for a quick veggieburger and fries. As usual, I told them I wanted no mayonaise on my burger. And as usual they said that they never put mayonaise on their veggieburgers. However, a few minutes later, as I was eating my veggieburger the taste seemed a little different, so I pulled off the top bun only to find that it was loaded with mayonaise. Unfortunately, I was in a big hurry and just didn't have time to go and complain and order a new burger, so I ended up eating it with the mayonaise. But afterwards I did not feel good, I don't know if it was mental or because of what I ate, but I had indigestion and had to take some antacid as soon as I got home. I felt terrible for a couple of hours but told myself I would recover and promised myself to never go back to that Burger King again, and if I ever went to another Burger King, I would make a stronger point when I ordered it and check it out before leaving the counter. Anyway, yesterday I made myself a nice big thick veggieburger at home with a certified veganburger patty and a whole wheat bun. No indigestion this time!

I have accepted that there will be trace amounts of dairy and sometimes eggs in things I buy that are commercially prepared. Although I try to avoid them, I don't make a fuss when I come across such things, because life would be almost impossible, given the widespread use of animal products and by-products. Meat, however, is another matter and I am like you, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole even if it meant going hungry. But I have learned to live with trace amounts of by-products. However, I don't eat out very often at all, and prefer to eat at home where I have control over what comes into my kitchen. When shopping I can read the list of ingredients and only put truly vegan things into my shopping cart.

As they say, the issue is not one of personal "purity", but rather of helping to end animal exploitation.

In her book "Living with Meat Eaters" Carol Adams says that we should generally not expect to be properly served when dining out. When there is any doubt, it is better to eat a little something before going to the event, in case there is nothing much that is suitable. When travelling this can be a problem. Personally, if I am away from home travelling and in doubt, I stick some bags of peanuts in my purse. There are other things too, like roasted soy nuts. When travelling it is always good to bring along some easy compact things like this. Also, if you are on the road and staying in hotels, you could bring along some special packages of dried food that are designed for outdoor camping. Things like vegetarian chili. All you need is to add boiling water and presto! you have a complete and nutricious meal.


By the way, that vegan passport sounds really great!

[panthera]

Sorry your experience was so stressful, Notty. I recall that you were pretty anxious about it beforehand, too. I hope things get better, and you get to go to vegan-friendly places in the future.

[Hater Depot]

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