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No you aren't being paranoid. Being a vege myself it's tough going overseas and being able to maintain my diet. In fact one of the reasons why I'm pescetarian now is b/c of an overseas trip! LOL I spent a lot of time in Hong Kong and China and found it impossible to be vegetarian so I ate fish out of neccessity. Most of the time they look at you really funny if you say you're vegetarian, it's ilke being a freak of nature?
The same attitudes can apply to Japan as well. Funny thing is that you'd think they were more vege friendly b/c they're reknown for their healthy diets. Not to say there aren't any options out there for us but Japanese people consume a lot of fish and beef, there aren't really any specifically vege dishes. Thailand would be a safe bet if you cared about maintaining your diet.
As for Europe, the England is a good place as well. Even my vegan friend loves the food there. I haven't been to France or Italy but I can tell you that Germany would not work out for you. :P
yes, if you go to europe you have to be VERY clear. no broth, no fish no animals. lol. i had french people say oh here is fish, it is vegetarian lol. i live in the pacific northwest so i am spoiled. we have raw vegan catering here and most restaurants have a vegetarian menu. if you eat dairy then france is a great place to go and eat, they make lots of delicous food with no meat.
I'm always a bit jealous when people rave about the food they have on vacation. I've always been able to find vegetarian choices in Europe, but I have had to adjust my restaurant choices and eat very plain food at very high prices (cheese pizza, plain noodles, etc.). I generally prefer renting a condo when I go on vacation so that I can cook some of my own meals :)
@jamieawh you should go on a vacation to Portland Oregon. lol best big city in the world for vegetarian eaters, although eugene isn't bad either! :)
When I travel I generally have a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy with broths which helps broaden my options. I've been veggie for years, but definitely try to be flexible when overseas. Just don't be afraid to ask for what you really want, a lot of places are accomodating when you ask nicely. Also, carry snacks with you so you always have something to eat. I'll pack instant oatmeal packets too that I can make in my room so atleast I have something to eat no matter what!
I'm a vegetarian living abroad (Korea), and while it is not difficult, I can't be super strict. For example, almost all broths are made with some kind of fish or bones/meat boiled in, and many things (fish, ham, sausage) aren't always popularly considered 'meat' - partly because of language and just partly because people's aren't used to the concept. If I was as strict as I was in Canada, I would either starve or never eat out which would be big social problem for me here. Therefore, my rule is that if I do my best to avoid meat but if I can't (ie. 'vegetable' noodles which come with a piece of beef or there is fish sauce in something), I eat the meal but give the piece of meat to a person who eats it. I will not however eat something with tuna, ground beef etc. because I can't remove the pieces of meat.
I have been to Japan - once with a guidebook with Japanese translation and once with a Japanese speaker. The first time was...interesting....my veggie friend and ordered soup without chicken and pad thai without shrimp at a fusiony Japanese/Thai restaurant. Well - the pad thai came without shrimp but the soup came with an enormous drumstick stuck in the middle...not sure how that happened! The second time was much better, but I still couldn't avoid the fish flakes and I really had to rely on my friend to find veggie-friendly restaurants. But..it's Asia and if I want to live and travel here, I have to just deal with those differences as best as I can.
My advice is a) be prepared to compromise a little - especially on the broth and/or picking something out despite the best efforts or....if that's not something you are comfortable with, b) research research research before you go as to the food you can order and the restaurants that have something for you to eat at. Also, if you know someone who speaks the language, ask them to make up some cards for you with key phrases on them. I had a student make up a pack of cards for me when I was in China and the cards were really really helpful!
I'm concerned about this too. I don't think we'll be able to go overseas for our honeymoon, but we'd like to at some point. I have a hard enough time traveling to - how do I say this - more Midwestern states, like Iowa, Wisconsin, etc where they think it's okay to only have cheese sticks as a vegetarian option. It's really hard to get the proper nutrients in a place like that.
It's actually one of the reasons I'm scared to move down to central Illinois if that's where we get into graduate school! But overseas, where we don't speak the language? That'd be so hard. I'd definitely recommend doing hardcore research beforehand.
I don't know about you, but I'm not okay with mess-ups. I'll admit that when I was a new vegetarian, I didn't get that soups are usually made with chicken broth, that caesar dressing is not vegetarian, etc, and I did eat those. I try not to beat myself up over honest mistakes, but it's hard to deal with, and at this point my body gets physically sick if I accidentally eat meat just because it's been 9 years since I've regularly eaten meat.
first of all: vegetarians unite, rock on! :)
i'm a vegetarian and have traveled in the last few years to argentina, brazil, china, and hong kong. the south american countries were challenging in that they're HUGE meat-eating countries: brazilian steakhouses everywhere! but i wouldn't say i ever had trouble finding something to eat, and i was certainly never starving.
sure, in china i may have eaten more rice and cooked veggies than i would have liked, but i was never "starving". i found plenty of pizza and sandwich places to eat at. and i took nutrition bars with me to have on hand, just in case.
i think the thing that you have to decide is what is most important to you in your overseas travels. if you are a foodie and cuisine is of utmost importance, you may not be as satisfied overseas.
for me, international travel is way more about the people i'll meet and things i will see, so i never minded the tradeoff of not having my favorite veggie meals close at hand.
have fun on your honeymoon, regardless of the place you choose!
Resident Japan expert here. You have to be careful about food here. Even unassuming tofu may be prepared with fish stock. In general, they are really bad about understanding vegetarianism here. They'll tell you it's vegetarian but will be prepared with or next to things that are definitely non-vegetarian. I'm not one myself but my I've heard horror stories. http://markcity.blogspot.com/veg.htm That link might help you!
I used to be veggie but started eating meat again after moving to Europe. I have several veggie friends that I cook for and go out with on a regular basis. Also, some of FI's family is veggie.
While the NL isn't the most veggie friendly place in the world, there are veggie options (not great options, but veggie none the less) due to the high indian population. If you were to stick in Amsterdam you wouldn't have a problem with the language barrier since a lot of wait staff are international students.
Germany and France would be a problem, however, there are vacation parks where you can rent a cottage. The kitchen has all the stuff necessary for cooking so you can easily go to a store and get veggie friendly stuff to cook meal. The great thing about this is it also saves money!!
We are headed to Argentina and it is going to be a problem, I am sure! But, FI loves steak more than almost anything in the world, so I guess I will have to be creative in what I find to consume. At least I know a little Spanish. I just hate it when I order something in another country and it is a surprise. (Even though we spoke Spanish- I said fish, the waiter said fish, and it seems like pork on my plate....) I have had this happen! It can be very scary. I just try to stick to something I am sure of- but even then it can come as a surprise- esp. if the waiter does not speak English...
Our honeymoon in Fiji had vegetarian and often vegan options at every meal.
I think that people who travel and stay at all-inclusives should be ay-okay, since they're tailored to the (often vegetarian) habits of Americans, Brits, etc. But for those of us who travel abroad and prefer not to stay at all-inclusives, it can be a little more difficult. I usually am just fine though, because those non-resort places tend to come with kitchens, and even the least veg-friendly place has SOMETHING, like rice and beans, potatoes, fruit, and some lettuce (which is what I lived off of for weeks in the Dominican Republic and Haiti--least veg-friendly places ever, but boy did I lose weight). I usually bring copious amounts of Tofurky jerky (my jerky of choice) whenever I travel, abroad or not, and then scrape by on sides at restaurants plus whatever produce I can locate. I don't starve, not even close, though it does sometimes get a little monotonous! I like to take local recipes and sub veg ingredients whenever I'm traveling and have access to a kitchen, too, makes me feel not-so-left-out.
Wow, I'm really surprised by the negative experiences and trepidation everyone is sharing. I'm a foodie, avid traveler, and strict vegetarian and have been for nearly a decade without encountering any significant obstacles. In fact, I'd even say that a huge part of the thrill of travel, for me, is in tasting the delicious and exciting cuisines of new places and cultures. I've had good experiences with learning the phrase in whatever the appropriate language would be for "food without meat;" or, in Sicily/mainland Italy, "pasta without meat" ("pasta senza carne.") In Italy my friends were sometimes jealous of the special dishes the chefs would cook for me when I used that phrase! I had a great time eating my heart out in St. Maarten, a foodie paradise (there's a reason why they call it the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean.) Kenya was great too; even though roasted meat is a staple cuisine there, they certainly don't eat it at every meal since to do so would mean depleting their wealth as measured by their number of cows/goats. Greece was amazing as well! I still drool recalling some of the meals I had there: tzatziki, spanakopita, hummus, fried cheese, stuffed tomatoes and peppers... yeah.
I would say that the only travel experience I've had in which my enjoyment was negatively impacted by my ethical, principled eating was a week-long trip to the Yellowstone area of Wyoming. I ate a lot of grilled cheese and such, which is great the first time....
I'm looking forward to splendid eating in Tahiti and Moorea this summer too. :)
Hello Veggies- Mr. Veg and I eat about 99% vegetarian at home here in NZ and when we travel. There are a lot of reasons behind our food choices, but primarily they are ethical (for earth care, people care, and animal care).
One comment that I would make is that sometimes the most ethical choice when travelling might be meat. For example, local grass fed meat might have a lower ethical footprint that tofu that has been prepared under inhumane factory conditions and then shipped halfway around the world. While we generally do our best to avoid meat, we have found ourselves in situations where eating meat that has been served to us seems like the more ethical decision, especially when travelling in the developing world where offering a guest meat is often a big sacrifice for the host.
I'm not advocating meat-eating necessarily, just advocating keeping your eyes and ears open when travelling as to how you can be the most low-impact and socially respectful guest to a foreign country. But, I'm guessing all of you conscious veggiess are pretty thoughtful people anyway. Also, like LittlestBirds said, we have travelled to a fairly broad range of countries, and have had great experiences eating vegetarian all over.
Thanks MissVeggie! I do understand your point, and it's nice to hear a different perspective. Plus, this is the first post that I've had a bee comment on! go me! :)
LittlestBirds - Thank you! That does make me feel a lot better, expecially since Italy is a very strong contender.
And of course, thank you for all of the other comments!!
@msveggie - I really get what you're saying, and I do think it's important to be conscious of such matters, but I honestly think I'd get sick right there if I ate meat! My stomach just can't handle it after so many years of vegetarianism, and I'm not sure I could emotionally either. I know the few times I accidentally ate meat, it was rather awful on both counts.
I visited a (now ex-)boyfriend in France and Italy several years ago when he was studying abroad and didn't have much of a problem. I think the key to success was that he had access to a kitchen so we could make most of our meals. If you do a honeymoon in Europe, I suggest finding somewhere you'll have access to at least a little kitchen. I actually loved the food there because we were in a city with easy access to a lot of fresh food. And OMG, chocolate croissants...drool....
Anyways, I found that it wasn't that much more difficult to eat at restaurants than it is in the states. The only difference is that it's in another language so it's harder to pick out what everything is. Instead of going into restaurants for lunch every day, we ended up going to the grocery store and getting a loaf of bread and cheese, jam, mustard, or basically anything that goes on awesome French bread :) It was cheaper, we had more control over what we ate, and it was usually just as delicious, if not more so.
First- I wouldn't go to germany! My FI has, for years, been part of the welcoming party for German exchange students at our university and speaks fluent German. From what he/we've heard over and over and over again in the last 6 years- its almost impossible to be a vegetarian in Germany. Every single vegetarian (inclined) German has said this. Apparently you have to learn to be a good home cook if you want to cut meat out of your diet there. I'm sure its not impossible to find meat-less food, just really difficult!
Second- the the person who said they have problems finding vegetarian fare in Wisconsin- You must not be looking hard enough! Heck, even my tiny hometown in Northern WI has vegetarian and vegan options (although, they didn't 10-15 years ago. times have changed) at most resturants! Here in Milwaukee, there are TONS of places you can go- some are exclusively vegetarian or vegan! Most are local and organic too! Same goes for Madison- its hard to not find a place with vegetarian options. Now, there are some places (which tend to have small pops or be very very rural) where its difficult to find good options, but that's the same no matter where you go in the country- I bet every state on the west coast has similar problems in their tiny towns. While I often sigh and wish I lived out on one of the coasts, I am frankly getting sick of people disparaging the Midwest! Our food is just as awesome as your food,
My experience is a bit different from LittlestBirds as far as Yellowstone goes...I have been there twice, four weeks in total, and always ate very well! There are so many cute little health food places all over because so many people are into active/healthy lifestyles, and most of the places people stay outside of Yellowstone in Wyoming and Montana tend to be really tourist-friendly, with lots of vegetarian options. One of my favorite meals ever was at the Rainbow Ranch in Big Sky, MT!
I imagine it's a lot easier to eat in Western Europe if you eat cheese and egg, but I think when I finally get to travel there it's going to be one of the toughest places to eat, since vegetarianism is uncommon, and cheese, eggs, and meat are very popular! As a vegan, my body responds HORRIBLY to the consumption of any animal product (when I was last fed a veggie burger made with eggs--I was told it was vegan--I broke out into hives for days and was severely nauseous for 24 hours after) , not to mention I know all too well what goes into the production of most animal foods and could never at this point eat a dish containing them. Additionally, and I don't know if any bees experience this, but I know I have spoken to many vegans who do: putting ANYTHING in your mouth that has a decent amount of some animal product is completely disgusting. There is no flavor to the food but a distinctly "animal" flavor, and that flavor makes it taste nothing like food.
So being vegan and traveling yields a wide variety of experiences, depending no the location. The Caribbean? So many fresh fruits, I've been okay but a little bored. South America? Same deal, though a little harder to avoid meat. I think I'd do well in a lot of the Middle East too (hummus! olives! tabbouleh! falafel! etc etc), and probably be quite healthy in Asia, if bored because I avoided sauces. Being a vegan and traveling abroad isn't exactly a no-brainer, but it's not forcing yourself to starve either. Especially not if you bring lots of Tofurky jerky. :P
as a veggo I found Japan VERY hard. it was very hard for me to get accross that i didn't get anything that was fish related either.. often teh tofu was served with fish adn fish products. I found i ended up going ot the market and getting some bread and cheese. I was hungry.. lol. I should have been more prepared and wished i new how to communicate better. I was moving to australia at teh time, and i guess i was more tied up in that. arg. :( I saw alot of beautriful country side in japan though :) i ate just to sustain myself though. the "but fish no meat" story has become a family favorite, that poor waiter tried so hard!! i felt so bad.
I lived in Japan for a year, as did 2 good friends of mine who are vegetarian. It's tough to eat veggie as 1) the Japanese are not amenable to menu substitutions and 2) often use meat based stock for food, to cook noodles, etc. You have to be VERY clear about what you want but even then you might not get it. It's a tough sell out there.
@Aria21, I'm just curious where your SN comes from? Only because that's my cat's name. I think it's hilarious that Vegas names their new convention center Aria, because we always joked that when we left during the day, Aria would run her own poker house. :)
Even the bread contains lard in Japan. Why bread would need lard, I have no idea...
@xoxokristin - so does KFC's - another reason to hate them, I guess. ;) I don't get it either.
Veggie here, also in ohio w/o issue. I lived in Florence, Italy for 5 months in college & had no serious problem w/ being a veggie. Yes there was a lot of pasta involved, but I was in Italy.. We had TONS of fresh veggies. Orange, yellow and red peppers are RIDUCULOUSLY cheap there. We had cereal w/ fruit for breakfast. We made veggie sandwiches for lunch every day w/ cheese, mustard and piled high with peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers & sprouts. For dinner we'd have pasta and veggies, or veggie pizzas, veggie lasagna... There were carbs involved, but I don't think it was a huge issue, you need carbs, esp when you are walking everywhere there.
Their fruit was amazing, blood oranges were super cheap - and there were little street markets on every other corner. I didn't have a problem when I was there.
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I am a vegetarian and in Ohio right now. I'm having quite a difficult time finding meals, there isn't much of a selection here beyond salad. We're eating Italian tonight and the restaurant didn't even have pasta without meat sauce (really??).
Anyway, for our honeymoon, R and I would really like to go somewhere overseas, either Japan or somewhere in Europe. I'm a little concerned the same thing might happen whereever we go, where we can't find good vegetarian meals, and then the issue is magnified because of a language barrier.
Have any vegetarians been overseas and had issues or am I just being paranoid?