Veganism in rural and semi urban South Africa

by Mphathiseni
(Limpopo, South Africa)

Question:
Do you have a link with vegans in South Africa? It is not easy to be a vegan in South Africa. Food choices are limited. We only rely on Fry's products. I also do not know how safe the Fry's products are. Is it possible for you to export some products like tofu to South Africa. I am a vegan but the products we use are very limited, and it is not easy to encourage children to be vegans because of limited products. I am even willing to produce the different stuff the vegans can use to replace animal products, only if I had access to the raw materials. Please assist. I have been a vegetarian since November 2007 and a vegan since mid 2008.

Answer:
This is a great question, and I wish I had a more direct answer. The good thing is that we have visitors to this site from all over the world, so I am hoping others will see your question and join in to help you come up with a solution.

The first thing that came to mind is that you might have to make more of your products than many of us need to. For instance, to make nut milks, you could look into a Soy milk maker, which they sell on amazon.com and should be able to ship overseas. There are also tofu kits, and then all you would need would be to find non-GMO soybeans, which shouldn't be too difficult with the internet.

You can also check out some of the USA-based vegan internet stores. My favorite is Vegan Essentials. Granted, you will not be able to buy much of the fresh products you might be looking for, but it has an ample supply of everything else.

For fresh produce... do you have access to fruits and vegetables? If not, do you have space and the climate to grow them? If I were in a bind like you, I would definitely look to get my food as much from my own garden as possible.

I hope that helps a bit, and I ask that anyone else who has any ideas for Mphathiseni please do write a comment below. Thanks!

~Cathleen