I was thrilled down to my organic cotton socks when I heard that the Vegan Society of Aotearoa New Zealand had been revived. Perfect timing for my arrival in this beautiful part of the world.
The dedicated folks have wasted not one minute since their relaunch on World Vegan Day (November 1), getting fluorescent tans in some of the country’s big-chain supermarkets in the effort to sort through products that are helpful and harmful—all while making veganism more accessible the public and to those flirting with the idea of living animal-product free.
The result is The Big Book of Vegan Products, which lists, you guessed it, all vegan-friendly products available in supermarkets nationwide. It includes a huge range of crackers, biscuits, cereal, desserts, ready meals and convenience foods. It’s also free to download.
“We want to demonstrate how easy it is to eat ‘normal’ food on a vegan diet. You don’t need to go to a specialist store or spend a lot of money,” said co-ordinator Alice Leonard. “People don’t have control over the environment but they do have control over their diet. Veganism is a solution to the environmental crisis as well as health issues and animal welfare concerns.”
The proactive peeps also have plans to develop a supermarket tour video, a ‘vegan-approved’ tick for food products and branch out in local communities through stalls and market days. Watch this space!
For those living outside the Land of the Long White Cloud, check out The Vegan Society international site to see what initiatives your local branch is undertaking. Better yet, get involved!
So a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up some vegetable stock, turned into a marathon label-reading jaunt. I was shocked to see 99 percent of the vege stock included animal products — namely milk. What gives? Call me daft, but I can’t see any good reason for marrying these two products to make stock: I mean, come on, vegetables and milk?
A little investigating below eye level turned up just the gem I needed. Rapunzel’s vegan vegetable bouillon with sea salt (see below) boasts organic ingredients with no animals involved in the making.
This little trip affirmed to me why it’s so important to read labels with an eagle eye, even on products I wouldn’t have dreamed contained animal ingredients.
