I am going to vegan as an exchange student in a few months. I am a vegan and I am hoping that a host family there could work with this diet. Is Sweden a country that has vegan good options? Is there modern grocery stores where I could pick up some good food items? Is Sweden a good country to be a vegan in?
Other - Europe - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Yes, they have vegetables in Sweden so why not? Sweden is not a 3rd world country that has no food.
2 :
I'm from Holand.....isn't that weiiiird!!!!!
3 :
Apparently there is growing interest in, and products for, a vegetarian /vegan diet in Sweden: http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/Article____16239.aspx
4 :
Yes Sweden is a good country for vegans and the food is good. You have to talk with your host family about this, I´m quite sure they understand. Vegan food is a little bit more expensive than ordinary food. I´m not from Sweden, but the neighbour country Finland, and in both the countries we like vegan food more and more. Good luck with your host family and I hope you will enjoy your stay in Sweden.
5 :
Absolutely! Do you know what town you are staying in? I might give you directions to a local vegan food place.
6 :
"Good" depends on what you are used to here. Do not expect any soy or other TVP products in grocery stores; you can find straight tofu at Asian markets and occasionally veggie burgers in organic shops, but expect them to cost 2-3 times as much as in the States. About the only vegan food you will be able to find in supermarkets is bread (depending on how strict you are) and fruits and vegetables. In the winter, the variety of fruits and vegetables is pretty awful compared to the US and they often look pretty anemic. It is also next to impossible to find beans, straight-up nuts, and peanut butter. Do not expect that many people know what veganism is, despite a recent interest in eating less meat. I have never seen anything labeled "vegan" in Europe (England doesn't count). One friend who is a strict vegetarian recently inquired at a restaurant if one particular dish was vegetarian; the restaurant said it was, and the dish arrived, filled with bacon. Gelatin is also considered vegetarian by most Europeans as well. Eggs and white sugar are in almost everything, too. If you can gradually work your way up to eating dairy and eggs, that will help out a lot, but even then, it's almost impossible to not somehow have some sort of animal byproduct slipped in from time to time anyway.
7 :
You already asked this EXACT question (word for word), and you already recieved a whole bunch of answers to the same effect as this one ... do think if you ask it again the answers will somehow be different when they all say the exact same thing. You can be a Vegan just as easily in Sweden as you can anywhere else in the Western world ... it won't be a problem for you anymore than anywhere else. As for the respondant right before me ... Swedes know what a vegitarian is. Holy crap ... where do you live? I knew quite a few Scandinavians that were vegitarians. They also know the difference between a vegitarian and a vegan, and there are stores that sell products specifically for vegans in any town with more than 30,000 people. Even the local neighborhood COOP I used to shop at (that was very small even by European standards) had vegitarian and vegan products (not a wide selection, but they had them). I guess what I'm trying to say is I've lived in Sweden for five years, and I find your answer to be completely wrong. In fact, I find it completely wrong for just about every country I've been to in Europe.
8 :
I agree with blursd2! What is Erica talking about? The country she is describing does not even sound like Sweden. 1. Swedish people know what a vegan is. 2. You can find soy products and veggie burgers pretty much everywhere. 3. It is very easy to find beans, straight-up nuts and peanut butter (wtf? I lived on that when I was living in sweden..). Erica, you don't know what you are talking about. And by the way "years of living in Europe" does not = "years of living in Sweden".
