Being Vegan in Buenos Aires

“And you’re going to try stick to the veganism when you go to Buenos Aires?” Pretty much everyone asked me this when I told them where I was going on my year abroad. “Yes.” I replied, and I have.

It was never a question for me whether or not I was going to keep being vegan when I moved to this amazing city. I’ve been vegan for nearly 3 years now and veggie for 10.

I can’t imagine biting into a typical Argentine steak, or even one of the fried eggs that come with loads of their vegetarian sandwiches, at this stage that’s just not an option in my head. So, quite honestly, I think I underestimated how difficult being vegan would be here. I knew I wouldn’t be tempted by their asado or dulce de leche; what I didn’t realise was how few processed foods would be completely clear of any animal products.

Now, I’m no health vegan and I eat quite a lot of processed foods back home, and although I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on any Linda McCartney s

ausage rolls, or Strong Roots burgers, I didn’t expect not to be able to find simple things like bread. Bread! I read the ingredients list of so many different types and brands of bread my first week in BA, and it would always go the same. Pick a loaf up, see honey, put it down. Pick another up, get my hopes up a little bit, see milk powder, put it down. Pick up my last hope, see animal fat, be disgusted for a few seconds, put it down.

I’ve moved on to bagels now, so don’t worry; I’m getting my bready goodness from somewhere.

But this means that any time when I can’t cook for myself, and am just looking for something quick, any sandwiches are pretty much out of bounds. And if we’re being honest, there’s not that much else available. Even if I stumbled across a sandwich place and somehow magically knew there was nothing icky in their bread, the sandwiches would probably be pre-made with a little slice of cheese in the middle. The same goes for salads, and even pizzas in restaurants (which I learned from a horrible experience where they told me their bases had no animal products but that they order them in with cheese already on them - aaaaaah).

Despite all this, Buenos Aires is a huge city, with a bustling vegan scene. The vegans of Buenos Aires know they won’t get what they need from the city so they go about and do shit for themselves. Every now and then, walking down one of the many huge streets, I’ll see someone selling vegan sandwiches or burgers out of a basket (always with homemade bread, I always ask in the hopes they’ll tell me where to pick some up). They open dieteticas if they have the money to, and sell stuff via vegan groups on FaceBook if they don’t. It’s inspiring. The man who sells vegan “Snickers” out of a cart in China town on Saturdays is my hero.

So, yeah, being vegan is hard here. But it’s definitely not impossible, and a post about where to shop in BA as a vegan is coming up soon, as well as where to eat out.

It’s hard not having all my favourite, easy, comfort foods; but I’m getting new ones and new perspectives on veganism and cooking from a country that’s just half a step behind what I’m used to.

It’s so exciting to see veganism grow in different ways across the world, and knowing that I’ll be able to combine some of my new knowledge with my old ways to make some really sexy bites when I get home is what keeps me going the (very few) times I’m stuck with just a vegetable as the vegan option.