Seriously. I’ve been vegan in hip modern Western cities now, and in 2009, and I have travelled as a vegan through Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The difference is insane. The former feels effortless. The latter was absolutely awful (the number of times I had to explain that no, chicken are in fact not plants, alone… in Iran, they put lamb into fucking desserts, I kid you not), and if I had to live there longer, I think I would have changed my diet to facilitate social inclusion, variety and health. By the end of that trip, I could not tolerate eating any dates or any rice for a long time, and felt like taking bites out of my fellow travellers just to get any damn protein. Vegan food in these places is regular food, minus the majority components that were giving nearly all the nutrients and taste, you live off sides and fillers.
Seriously. I’ve been vegan in hip modern Western cities now, and in 2009, and I have travelled as a vegan through Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The difference is insane. The former feels effortless. The latter was absolutely awful (the number of times I had to explain that no, chicken are in fact not plants, alone… in Iran, they put lamb into fucking desserts, I kid you not), and if I had to live there longer, I think I would have changed my diet to facilitate social inclusion, variety and health. By the end of that trip, I could not tolerate eating any dates or any rice for a long time, and felt like taking bites out of my fellow travellers just to get any damn protein. Vegan food in these places is regular food, minus the majority components that were giving nearly all the nutrients and taste, you live off sides and fillers.