Backpack vegan

Travel the world and eat the best

Travelling.

Eating.

Although complementary and inextricably bound to one another, these two concepts present the modern day traveller with a colossal minefield across which it is difficult and sometimes dangerous to navigate. A path which when successful, can create unforgettable experiences; yet, when misjudged, can lead to close examination of bathroom walls while your digestive system accustoms itself to the finer merits of foreign food.

Coined in 1944 by Donald Watson and wife Dorothy, the term ‘vegan’ combines the first three and last two letters of ‘vegetarian’ in a kind of symbolic conclusion of strict adherence to vegetarian principles. With a mantra of avoiding all suffering and cruelty to both people and animals, vegans do not use or consume anything that comes from animals, whether alive (such as milk and eggs) or dead (such as meat and leather). Despite omitting crucial components of the food pyramid, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iodine and omega-3 fatty acids, it is most certainly possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a vegan diet. Balance is paramount and the American Dietetic Association considers "appropriately planned" vegan diets "nutritionally adequate".

However, how do you make sure you get your soya fix when backpacking across the Sahara? When preparing to embark on an adventure around the globe, perhaps vegans have to be a little more wary.

Meat the locals

There are many countries where the concept of veganism is wholly unfathomable, and Amanda Baker, media officer for The Vegan Society, speaks of the notoriety of Middle America where carnivorous culture makes searching for a vegan meal nigh impossible. “It is not that places like Texas should be avoided, it is just that there is such a strong meat-eating culture. It is the same with polar and colder regions. It is so much harder to grow fresh fruit and vegetables, so naturally they are harder to find.”

Andrew Gorman, recent graduate and hard-core vegan of three years also spoke of the difficulty of veganism in colder climes, “I have a friend in Russia who has turned carnivorous after 13 years of vegetarianism in order to experience the culture and avoid freezing to....

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