best cruising grounds for vegans?

[astokel]

Originally Posted by Ecos

Nope, they use ghee and have terrible rules for cruisers.

There is a vegetable oil ghee which is also halal. Not sure the terrible rules are just for vegan cruisers

[ahumbug1]

Originally Posted by Exonerated

Thanks, laika. Yeah-- I'm pretty sure I can be happy almost anywhere with canned food and whatever fresh produce happens to be around. But was looking for tips about which places might be better than others. I appreciate it.

Not my house!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Exonerated

Lots of good suggestions, thanks everybody!

As RickG said, it's a choice, and this isn't the place to defend the choice.

Ignore the trolls.


Cruising as a vegan is simple -- in places where you can get lots of fresh vegetables, you will be fine. In places where you can't, you will struggle.


I struggled last year on a cruise to Greenland. No plants grow in the part where I was (NE part), and the local people don't really eat much not animal based. So I was eating canned and dried stuff mostly.



I love lentils and beans, and I had a large supply of canned everything, but a vegan diet without fresh vegetables is pretty grim. Canned stuff is just not the same at all. If you are new to a vegan diet, you will find that out -- the crucial importance of fresh vegetables. You will not feel like you are being properly nourished without them. You can easily get by without tofu, vegan cheese, etc., but without fresh vegetables you will not feel good.



Everywhere in Europe, even Iceland, is fine -- go to the supermarket, or if you're lucky, open air market, buy your vegetables, be happy.



You can bridge the gap to some extent with frozen stuff. A big freezer is a good thing to have on a vegan boat.

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by Gaia

SE Asia.

Wrong... I spent years all over SE asia... If I said there was one dish I had without fish sauce during that time, i'd call BS on me Also oyster-flavored sauce is made with oyster extract, and is used alongside fish sauce in everything (altho some make the argument that oysters should be vegan....they are basically nothing but a blob of senseless protein grown by filtering plankton). Oh, don't forget the shrimp paste, in the base for pretty much everything between Myanmar and Vietnam. Speaking of, don't forget the pho beef bone soup stock (yes, even in veggie pho). Also the dried shrimp topping sprinkled on lots of things without you even noticing..... hmmmm I just made myself hungry!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

Wrong... I spent years all over SE asia... If I said there was one dish I had without fish sauce during that time, i'd call BS on me Also oyster-flavored sauce is made with oyster extract, and is used alongside fish sauce in everything (altho some make the argument that oysters should be vegan....they are basically nothing but a blob of senseless protein grown by filtering plankton). Oh, don't forget the shrimp paste, in the base for pretty much everything between Myanmar and Vietnam. Speaking of, don't forget the pho beef bone soup stock (yes, even in veggie pho). Also the dried shrimp topping sprinkled on lots of things without you even noticing..... hmmmm I just made myself hungry!

I struggle as a vegan traveling in SE Asia, especially China, at least in restaurants. They don't use dairy products much, but they put meat in literally everything. There are a few vegan-friendly restaurants in the big cities (https://www.theflamingvegan.com/view...ts-in-Shanghai), but in ordinary restaurants you may not be able to find anything you can eat.


The good news is if you are on a boat and cooking for yourself -- they have wonderful vegetable markets everywhere.

[CapnBazza]

Originally Posted by apirate

This is a great thread. A list of places we should avoid!!

In a similar vein, I would like a list of places that are “dog friendly”. I hate beaches, parks etc that are covered in dog ****.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by CapnBazza

In a similar vein, I would like a list of places that are “dog friendly”. I hate beaches, parks etc that are covered in dog ****.

For me, it’s cigarette butts.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

For me, it’s cigarette butts.

I am not a fan of cigarette butts. They can last between 18 months and 10 years! They certainly are not environmentally friendly. At least the dog droppings are biodegradable, although I am not a fan of that either.

[Maka]

I get confused by Vegans who are motivated for moral reasons.
If God didn't want us to eat cows, pigs, chickens, or fish He would not have made them out of food.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Maka

I get confused by Vegans who are motivated for moral reasons.
If God didn't want us to eat cows, pigs, chickens, or fish He would not have made them out of food.

Putting God and Morality aside, my understanding is that our intestinal and digestive physiology was originally that of a plant eater unlike that of a carnivore.
We evolved into becoming both, but we all know that a heavy meal of meat is far more difficult for us to digest.

I find that as I get older, I default more to vegetables for practical reasons.

[sanibel sailor]

Originally Posted by ArmyDaveNY

When you say you can bring your own food and help with the cooking, do you require that even the cooking utensils need to be separate? I ask due to an experience with a co-worker. She insisted that the grill be cleaned and that we use a separate spatula, tongs, etc. She refused to allow anything to be used that had touched meats or animal products. She was a real PITA.


If you don't mind having your food cooked alongside regular food, then it shouldn't be an issue. If you need separate facilities or to have them cleaned between genres of cooking, then the others may not be willing to have you along as crew, as cooking separately may be impractical.

You probably wouldn’t tolerate Kosher crew either...

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by Shrew

As a rule, there is an inverse relationship between abject poverty and veganism.

I would think the opposite is true. People in poverty seem to eat mostly veggies and grains.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I think Vegan is a first world issue, best stay there if you expect anyone to even know what your talking about.

You could say that for any thread on this forum.

[fxykty]

Best cruising grounds for singles? Best cruising grounds for polyamorous? Best cruising grounds for paleo diets? Best cruising grounds for monohulls?

Isn’t the answer to this or any other such lifestyle question self evident with just a minimum of Google, noonsite and common sense applied?

For the OP, availability of fresh vegetables and produce and availability of protein sources such as tofu, tempeh and seitan are the biggest issues and there are very few places in the world now where you cannot find these kinds of foods, thanks in part to the ubiquity of Chinese-run food stores.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Maka

I get confused by Vegans who are motivated for moral reasons.
If God didn't want us to eat cows, pigs, chickens, or fish He would not have made them out of food.

Vegans are motivated by different reasons, sometimes in different combinations. The main ones are:


1. Moral -- it's just not right to torture and kill animals for our food. If you look into what animals go through in the process of factory farming -- it will curl your hair. When I was eating meat I was vaguely aware of this but tried not to think about it.
2. Environmental -- production of meat and dairy does vast ecological damage, not just carbon emissions, but land use and fresh water. Giving up meat and dairy saves more carbon than entirely giving up motorized transportation would.
3. Health -- much better for your heart; you feel much better and have more energy, especially after giving up dairy.



and lastly, the little cited and for me unexpected one:


4. Vegan food bloody tastes better. Meat is monotonous and diets with meat main courses every meal are monotonous. Vegan food has tremendous variety of tastes and textures.




Downside is it can be harder when cruising and on long ocean passages.