The first place worth checking out in Brisbane is Charlies Raw Squeeze, a 100% vegan superfood bar serving squeeze bowls, smoothies, squeeze juices, taco bowls, wraps, Mediterranean bowls, pad thai, salads, and Buddha bowls.

They also have cupcakes and a lot of other delicious desserts!

It’s located in Ashgrove (486 Waterworks Road, Ashgrove), Clayfield (730 Sandgate Road, Clayfield), Clontarf (70 Hornibrook Esplanade, Clontarf), Everton Park (473 South Pine Road, Everton Park), Greenslopes (51 Old Cleveland Road, Greenslopes), Kenmore (904 Moggil Road, Kenmore), Newstead (33 Longland St, Newstead), North Lakes (53 Endeavour Boulevard, North Lakes) and Thorneside (1/100 Mooroondu Road, Thorneside).

The next place you’ll definitely want to check out is The Green Edge Store and Café (2b/229 Lutwyche Rd, Windsor, Brisbane), Brisbane’s 100% vegan grocery store and café.

The store sells a range of groceries, including bulk and chilled food, confectionery, snacks, household products, cosmetics, baby food, nappies, vegan pet food, and books.

The café serves avocado on toast, breakfast wraps, baked beans on toast, tofu and baked bean scramble, pancakes, pesto salad, satay tofu burgers, spicy seitan, meatball sub sandwiches, pies, spaghetti, chocolate sundaes, smoothies, milkshakes, tea, and coffee.

One restaurant you don’t want to miss out on is Vege Rama, which is located in West End (Shop 2a, 220 Melbourne Street, West End), Queen Street (Level E, Myer Centre, 91 Queen St), Adelaide Street (Shop 30, Post Office Square, 270 – 280 Queen Street) and Westfield Carindale (Shop F21, 1151 Creek Road, Carindale).

Vege Rama is entirely vegetarian and have plenty of vegan options, including burgers, pizzas, samosas, tacos, bolognese, stuffed tofu, grilled tofu steaks, cannelloni, and noodles.

They also have a wide range of healthy salads, as well as plenty of delicious desserts

If you’re craving Asian food, go satisfy it at Loving Hut (Shop 2/ 1420 Logan Rd, Brisbane), a 100% vegan restaurant.

They serve chow mein, stir fry, curry, spring rolls, lasagne, wraps, satay nuggets, BBQ buns, fried rice, spaghetti bolognese, sweet and sour nuggets, and vegetable kormas.

They also sell a wide range of desserts, including vegan ice cream, chocolate cake, sweet potatoes deep fried, pastries,  and smoothies.

They also stock lots of vegan groceries, including vegan roasted chicken, bacon slices, drumsticks, sausages, fish, chicken, duck, prawns, ice cream, cheese, and even vegan pet food.

If you’re craving a hot dog, you can get two different kinds of vegan hot dogs from 5 Dogs in Fortitude Valley (290 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley) and Surfers Paradise (G27A Orchard Ave, Surfers Paradise).

Their two vegan hot dogs are the Vegan Beer Brat (Tofurky’s Original Beer Brat Sausage Served with Sauerkraut, fried onions, and your choice of sauces) and the Vegan Kielbasa (Tofurky’s Kielbasa Sausage Served with Sauerkraut, fried onions, and your choice of sauces).

Just an hour drive South, the Gold Coast also has plenty of vegan hot spots.

The first place you’ll want to visit is Mandala Organic Arts Café (2558 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach), an entirely vegan and organic café.

The menu includes vegan pizza, waffles with coconut bacon, grilled bananas and strawberries, omelettes, vegan benny, acai bowls, rice paper rolls, nachos, burgers, and stir fries.

Another great place in the Gold Coast is the all-vegan Govindas Surfers Paradise (Shop 6, 3120 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise), which serves an all you can eat buffet for only $12.90.

The buffet includes Indian dishes like dhal, curry, rice, samosas and pakoras, as well as pasta bakes, salads, and much more. For dessert, there is vegan cheesecake, mousse cake, sago pudding, halva, and raw cake.

If you’re craving the taste of meat, you can get many different kinds of vegan meat dishes at a little family run Chinese restaurant called Easy House (Shop 8/90 Markeri Street, Mermaid Waters).

They serve vegan chicken and fish fried rice, sweet and sour pork, stir fried hokkien noodles, curry, dumplings, chicken buns, steamed BBQ pork buns, prawns, and drum sticks.

If you’re in the mood for a pizza party, head down to Feed The Earthlings (6/2723 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach), an all vegan pizza and takeaway place. They also serve burgers, burritos, hot dogs, churros, fish and chips, and more.

If you live in the Sunshine Coast, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to vegan restaurants!

One of my favourite places is Café Nurcha (32 Wises Road, Maroochydore), an all vegan café serving smoothie bowls, smashed avo on toast, spring rolls, nachos, mushroom burgers, blueberry pancakes, pizzas, toasted wraps, and great tasting coffee.

Another good spot is the New Earth Café (21-37 Birtwill Street, Coolum Beach), an all vegan, raw, and organic café.They serve superfood smoothies, wraps, burgers, pizzas, curries, muesli, acai bowls,and a large variety of hot drinks.

In Cairns, there are also plenty of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants.

Check out the vegan bakery Earthly Bakes (31 McLeod St, Cairns) for pies, muffins, scrolls, desserts, salads, wraps, and more.

95% of Cheeky Yam’s (1 Pier Point Rd, Inside the Shangrila-la Hotel Centre, Cairns) breakfasts, lunches, and snacks are vegan, and the rest are vegetarian. They serve unique and delicious artisan foods, such as spinach pies, pizza, breakfast style muffins, chocolate cheesecake, and cupcakes.

The best place to eat vegan in Toowoomba is Full of Life Organics (1/476 Ruthven St, Toowoomba). All the food is vegan, except for  dairy in some of the drinks. They serve café food and cold pressed juice, and they specialise in organic, gluten-free, and whole foods.

Check out the HappyCow website for even more vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in Queensland, including in Ipswich and Rockhampton.

The post Eating Out Vegan in Australia – Queensland appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

First of all, no list of vegan options in Melbourne would be complete without Lord of The Fries. Everything is meat-free and can be made vegan on request. They’re basically a vegan Macca’s, the holy grail of vegan junk food! They have burgers, including a parma, faux fish, chick’n and soy beef burger, hot dogs, nuggets, faux fish and chips, onion rings, and soy milk shakes.

They have stores on Brunswick Street (383 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy), Chapel Street (170 Chapel Street, Windsor), Elizabeth Street (Elizabeth Street Exit), Swanston Street (55 Swanston Street), Flinders Street Station (Flinders Street), Melbourne Central (Shop 146 Knox Lane, 211 La Trobe Street), Southern Cross Station (Upstairs, Bourke St. Overpass, Spencer Street) and the Chadstone Shopping Centre (1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, New Food Gallery – Entry near Target).

Smith and Daughters (175 Brunswick St, Fitzroy) plus Smith and Deli (111 Moor St, Fitzroy) are two more places that no list of Melbourne vegan restaurants would be complete without.

Smith and Deli offer pastries, sandwiches, coffee, bagels, groceries, ready-to-go meals, and more, whilst Smith and Daughters offers a Latin American menu and theme.

The food at both places is seriously top notch!

If pizza is more your thing, check out the entirely vegan Red Sparrow Pizza (406 Smith Street, Collingwood). Whether you want a meaty pizza covered in vegan pepperoni and sausages, or a pizza with spinach and kale, Red Sparrow has you covered either way.

A great option if you’re on a budget is Crossways (123 Swanston St), a hare Krishna affiliated, all you can eat buffet. $7.95 (or $5.95 for students and concession card holders) buys you as much food as you can possibly eat! The choice is limited (they usually only sell one meal and one dessert at a time), but the menu changes twice every day. Everything is vegetarian and they always have a vegan option.

Another great place to get cheap vegan food is Lentil As Anything. They operate on a “pay as you feel” system and run as a non-profit. Everything is vegetarian and most of their menu is vegan as well.

They are located in Thornbury (564/562-564 High St), Footscray (233 Barkly St), St Kilda (41 Blessington St) and Abbotsford (1/3 St Heliers St).

Another good option for students and anyone else looking to save some money is the 100% vegan Mantra Lounge (167 Grattan Street, Carlton), near the University of Melbourne. They have Korean BBQ burgers, lasagne, curries, mango slices, cheesecakes and more. All are very reasonably priced.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you should check out Mr Nice Guys Bake Shop (151 Union Rd, Ascot Vale). They have doughnuts, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, brownies, cakes, pretzel dogs, sausages rolls, bagels, milkshakes, and best of all, it’s all 100% vegan!

Another awesome bakery is La Panella (465 High Street, Preston). Everything is vegetarian and most of their food is labelled vegan. They have pies, sausage rolls, muffins, lemon tarts, fresh bread, cream donuts, pasties and more. It’s all cheap and delicious! The food in the photo below only cost me about $20 and I got a few pies, four chocolate muffins, a cream and jam filled donut, some lemon tarts, a pastie, and a couple of sausage rolls.

If you like to have a beer or two with dinner then check out the Cornish Arms (163A Sydney Rd, Brunswick) for some of the best vegan pub food in Melbourne. Although they do serve meat, they have a huge vegan menu. Think vegan double downs, burgers, fish and chips, parmas, popcorn chicken, chicken wings and pizzas with vegan bacon, chicken, sausages, pork belly, ribs and lots of BBQ sauce!

The Reverence Hotel (28 Napier Street, Footscray) also has some awesome vegan options, as well as a pool table, foosball, live bands, and a beer garden.

The Mexican inspired menu contains heaps of vegan options, including tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas and Mexican pizza. They also have burgers, popcorn chicken, and even a cheeseburger pizza.

Their desserts menu is just as good. The menu includes ice cream sandwiches, chocolate empanadas, and, my personal favourite, chocolate nachos.

If you like Irish bars with insanely good vegan pub food, look no further than The Snug Public House (2/12 Fitzroy St, St Kilda). They have bangers and mash, pies, parmas, burgers, cheesy gravy chips, beer battered onion rings, battered sausages, and smashed avo on toast.

And for those of you don’t drink, we haven’t forgotten about you! You can sip on smoothies, cold press juices, white hot chocolates, lattes, tea and even kombucha while you eat at the all vegan Matcha Mylkbar (72 Acland St, St Kilda).

They serve vegan eggs, smoothie bowls, pancakes, burgers, longevity bowls and a green breakfast bowl. Everything is plant-based with a focus on healthy eating.

If you’re craving Mexican food, check out Trippy Taco, located in both Fitzroy (234 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy) and St Kilda (6 Acland Street, St Kilda). Everything is vegetarian and can be made vegan. Their menu includes bean and cheese plus tofu burritos, tacos, quesadillas with vegan cheese, nachos, breakfast burritos and churros.

Go early for dinner to get a table at the very popular walk in restaurant Vegie Bar (378-380 Brunswick St, Fitzroy). The portions are usually large and they have a wide variety of food, including: pizza, stir fry, noodles, roast veggies, pasta, vegan desserts, and more.

Just remember to get there early, otherwise be prepare to wait!

Last, but certainly not least, is Finas Vegetarian Café in Richmond (268 Victoria St, Richmond) and its sister restaurant Finas 2 in Fitzroy (339 Brunswick St, Fitzroy). Finas in Richmond is almost entirely vegan and Finas 2 is 100% vegan. They both have a lot of delicious vegan Vietnamese cuisine, plus cakes and smoothies!

The meals include vegan crab noodle soup, pho soup, stir fry, curry, fried rice, stewed beef, chicken satay, grilled pork skewers, savory pancakes, and mushroom hot pots. They also have some of the best desserts in Melbourne!

In Geelong, the best place to get delicious vegan food is Dolly’s Sister Vegan Café and Bar (221 Moorabool St, Geelong).

Everything is vegan and they have scrambled tofu, avo smash, burgers, tofu satay kebabs, chilli, mac and cheese, nachos and desserts. They also have raw stacks, raw soups, and salads.

All the food is delicious here and they seriously have the best vegan mac and cheese I’ve ever had in my life.

In addition to running the restaurant, they also travel around Victoria in Simply Vegan Cuisine’s “Dolly Bus,” serving vegan food at whatever event or venue they happen to be in at the time. Check out their Facebook page to find out where to find them.

Another great meat-free café in Geelong is Sprout and the Bean (1/163 Malop St, Geelong).

They serve salads, focaccias, burgers, curries, and wraps made from organic and local ingredients.

Everything is vegetarian and almost everything is either vegan or can be made vegan.

Whilst Kings of the Castle Café (24 Pakington St, Geelong West) isn’t entirely meat-free, it does have a lot of amazing vegan options. They do a vegan big brekky with bacon, scrambled tofu, mushroom, and potato quinoa hash.They also have a lots of vegan desserts.

Check out the HappyCow website for even more vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in Victoria, including Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Castlemaine.

The post Eating Out Vegan in Australia – Victoria appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

My personal favourite restaurant in Sydney is Bliss and Chips (215 King St, Newtown), which is an entirely vegan fish and chip shop! They have deep fried and battered faux fish, pizza, chips, and even deep fried chocolate bars!

A close second is my favourite Sydney burger joint, Soul Burger (49 Perouse Rd, Randwick). They have barbeque pulled jackfruit, plant-based battered fish, beef, southern fried chick’n, falafel, and crumbed mushroom burgers.

They also have delicious dairy-free shakes, including banana, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and coconut.

Another great place to get a vegan burger is at Lord of the Fries, located in Central Station (10A Henry Deane Plaza, 18 Lee St, Haymarket), George Streets CBD (537 George St) and Westfield Paramatta (Lower Level Food Court 159-175 Church St, Parramatta).

Everything is meat-free and can be made vegan on request. They’re basically a vegan Macca’s, the holy grail of vegan junk food! They have burgers,including a parma, faux fish, chick’n and soy beef burger, hot dogs, nuggets, faux fish and chips, onion rings, and soy milk shakes

If pizza is more your thing, then be sure to check out Gigi Pizzeria (379 King St, Newtown). They converted to 100% vegan in 2015 and serve delicious vegan wood-fired pizza.

Nothing says summer like heading to Bondi Beach, having a surf, and finishing the day with a vegan pie from Funky Pies (Shop 2, 144-148 Glenayr Ave, Bondi Beach). All their pies are vegan and they have some gluten-free pies, too. They have satay vegetable pies, bacon and mushroom quiche, sausage rolls, butter chick’n pies, cheesy pies and shitake mushroom pies.

If, on the other hand, you’re craving sushi (but you know that fish are friends, not food) check out Superfood Sushi (69-77 King Street, Newtown) for vegan sushi with tofu, mushrooms, papaya, teriyaki chick’n and avocado, or Vietnamese pickled carrot. They also have dumplings, inari, soup, ramen, drinks, desserts, and even a sushi burger with buns made out of rice!

For a “pay what you feel” restaurant run as a non-profit serving delicious vegetarian and vegan food, check out Lentil As Anything (391 King St, Newtown). The menu changes every week, but it’s always good!

If you’re in the mood for Asian food, go to Mother Chu’s Vegetarian Kitchen (367 Pitt Street, CBD). Everything is vegan and they have curry, a lot of tofu and tempeh dishes, fried rice, soy bean rolls, noodle soup, and stir fried noodles.

For vegan yum cha, head on over to Bodhi (2 College St, Cook & Phillip Park CRN), they have vegan dumplings, BBQ buns, curry puffs, spring rolls, fried taro chips, chickpea battered vegetables and tofu, chick’n skewers, stir fries and mini tofu burgers.

Another all vegan Asian restaurant in Sydney is Green Gourmet (115-117 King St, Newtown). They have yum cha and a buffet bar where food is charged by weight. The menu includes vegan duck wraps, rice paper rolls, prawn dumplings, BBQ pork buns, seaweed rolls, faux oyster fritters, and satay skewers.

In Wollongong, you can get delicious Asian food at Au Lac Royal Vegetarian Cuisine (2/166 Keira Street, Wollongong) including vegan duck wraps, spring rolls, dumplings, wontons, nuggets, drumsticks, satay sticks, mushroom fritters, curry, soy fish and chicken, noodle soup and stir fried noodles.

Also, check out The Dew Drop Inn (180 Berkeley Rd, Berkeley, Wollongong) at the Nan Tien Buddist Temple. They serve tofu laska, wanton soup, and spring rolls. The temple also has a Dining Hall upstairs that offers a plate for $8 that includes 3 sides, rice, fried rice or noodles, and fruit.

In Newcastle, the best spot for vegetarian food is The Bhakti Tree (410 Maitland Rd, Mayfield, Newcastle). They also double as a yoga and meditation centre and a community hub that hold workshops, cooking classes, and kirtan music.

Students at the University of Newcastle can also get free vegan lunches from The Veggie Club outside the NUSAW building on Thursday’s from 12:30pm and City Hub on Wednesdays from 12:30pm.

For more vegan options in Newcastle, check out Momo Wholefood Café (227 Hunter St, Newcastle). They serve raw vegan cakes and slices, vegan muffins and cakes, cashew cheese, vegan burgers, veggie bowls, daily salads and specials.

Check out the HappyCow website for even more vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in New South Wales, including in Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay and Lismore.
Do you have any other recommendations for where to eat vegan in New South Wales, Australia? Please feel free to leave a comment below and share your thoughts

The post Eating Out Vegan in Australia – New South Wales appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

My personal favourite restaurant in Adelaide is Two Bit Villains (Shop 150, Level 1, Adelaide Arcade, off Rundle Mall). Everything is vegetarian and all of it can be made vegan. They serve cheeseburgers, sloppy joes, veggie burgers, chick’n burgers, hot dogs, nachos, chilli cheese fries, tacos, pot pie, onion rings, chocolate cake, apple pie, salted peanut and chocolate sundaes, and chocolate peanut pie.

They also make their own sodas and soda floats in a variety of flavours, as well as coffee, juice, and teas.

Another great place to get some vegan junk food is Lord of The Fries (23A Hindley Street). They’re basically a vegan Macca’s, the holy grail of vegan junk food! They have burgers (including a parma, faux fish, chick’n, and soy beef burger), hot dogs, nuggets, faux fish and chips, onion rings, and soy milk shakes

If you’re looking for vegan pies, donuts, cupcakes, slices, sausages rolls, cakes, croissants, cheesecakes, coffee, ice cream sodas, or a light breakfast or lunch, look no further than Cherry Darlings Bakehouse (5 Aroha Terrace, Forestville), Adelaide’s all vegan bakery.

Both Gorilla Pizza (542C Brighton Rd, South Brighton) and Eat’aliano pizzeria (Finchley Plaza Shop 2, 92-94 St Bernards Rd, Magill) are both great places to get a vegan pizza, with all sorts of different vegan cheeses and meats. My favourite pizzas are the hot chip pizza and the vegan meat lovers pizza at Gorilla Pizza, as well as the vegan chicken avocado pizza at Let’s Do Pizza.

Next time you’re in the CBD, be sure to check out the all vegan restaurant Vego and Love’n It (240 Rundle St). They serve tofu and falafel wraps, soup, sandwiches, soy smoothies, burgers, and chocolate mousse.

For Asian and Asian-fusion food, check out Zenhouse Vegetarian Fusion (462 Port Rd, West Hindmarsh) and Zenhouse Vegetarian Yum Cha (17-19 Bent St).

They serve vegan honey chicken, spring rolls, chicken burgers, fried rice, noodles, soup, vegan cheese cake, green curry, roasted tofu, sweet and sour eggplant, dumplings, samosas and curry puffs.

Bliss Organic Garden Café (7 Compton St) is an entirely vegan and organic café, serving bruschetta, burgers, tofu scramble, wedges, wraps, acai bowls and more.

Red Lime Shack (158 St Vincent Street, Port Adelaide) is another café where the food is entirely vegan, although the do serve cow’s milk in some of the drinks. The all vegan menu includes waffles, muesli, smoothies, muffins, pies, toasted sandwiches, slices, and burgers.

Veggo Sizzle (358 King William St) serves up a mix of Western and Asian food. They’re entirely vegetarian and have a lot of vegan options, including toasted sandwiches, curries, sizzling tofu, vegan chicken, noodle, penne pasta, fried rice, spring rolls, and savory pancakes.

Check out the HappyCow website for even more vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in South Australia.

The post Eating Out Vegan in Australia – South Australia appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

The first place worth checking out is Kingland Healthy Vegan Restaurant (Shop 5 Dickson Plaza, 67-69 Woolley St, Dickson), an Asian vegan restaurant serving a range of vegetables, tofu, soy seafood and soy meat dishes, dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, fried rice, and ice cream desserts.

For more Asian cuisine, visit Au Lac Vegetarian Cuisine (4/39 Woolley St, Dickson). All the food is vegan, including soy beef, fish, chicken, pork and duck, stir fry, noodles, soup, Vietnamese crepes, tom yum, hot plates, and desserts.

Also, make sure you check out Canberra’s vegan bakery, the Sweet Bones Bakery Café (Shop 8, 18 Lonsdale St, Braddon).

They make vegan muffins, cakes, coffee, burgers, salads, sandwiches, pasta, buffalo wings, chilli cheese dogs and more.

Another great meat-free café worth visiting is My Rainbow Dreams (Shop G1, Dickson Chambers, Dickson Place). Menu options include scrambled tofu, burgers, wraps, curries, dhal, soup, cakes, brownies, coffee, juices, and smoothies.

If you’re craving a pizza, you can get delicious vegan pizzas from Walter G’s Pizza Obsession (Unit 7, 28 Challis St). Although they’re not entirely meat-free, their vegan options include the Vegan Supreme (with vegan ham, pepperoni, mushrooms, capsicum, olives, Spanish onion and vegan cheese) and the Vegan Veggie Patch (with spinach, mushrooms, capsicum, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and vegan cheese garnished with vegan pesto aioli).

They even have a vegan garlic pizza and a chocolate dessert pizza!

If fish and chips (minus the cruelty to our friends in the sea) is what you’re after, you can get vegan fish and chips from The Fish Shack (87/105 Petrie Plaza, at /off Bunda St). They also serve pulled mushroom burgers, vegan fish burgers, and vegan seafood laksa.

And last, but certainly not least, is the vegetarian café and bulk food store, The Food Co-Op Shop and Café (3 Kingsley St, Acton), located near the Australian National University. The store stocks local, organic, fair trade, bulk foods and products, and the café serves organic fair trade coffee, breakfast, and lunch.

They also serve homemade, baked and raw goods. The restaurant offers vegan lunches every weekday, which only costs $5 for students and Co-Op members, and $7 for the general public.

Check out the HappyCow website for even more vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in Australian Capital Territory.

The post Eating Out Vegan in Australia – Australian Capital Territory appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

Ever since I first learned about the suffering of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses, I’ve wanted to do more to help than just change my diet. Don’t get me wrong, simply eating vegan or vegetarian does make a huge difference—in fact, going vegetarian represents sparing about 35 mammals, birds, and fish every year. But if we can inspire just one other person to change their diet, we’ve already doubled our impact for animals!

Through advocating for others to adopt a more compassionate diet, we can save thousands of more animals than we ever could have through changing our own dietary choices alone.

I’ve been vegan for more than eight years, and since then I’ve been involved in many different forms of activism, including organizing and attending protests, hosting an animal rights radio show, creating YouTube videos, and running websites. But of all the forms of activism I’ve been involved in, I’ve found leafleting at universities with Vegan Outreach to be one of the most fun, easy, and effective ways to inspire people to adopt a compassionate diet.

Almost every day that I leaflet, people tell me they want to go vegan or vegetarian after reading about the horrors of factory farming. A study conducted by Farm Sanctuary in 2013 found that about 1 in 50 students who receive a leaflet go vegetarian or pescatarian. You could spend just one hour leafleting, hand out 100 leaflets or many more and there could be many new vegetarians!

Considering that the average meat-eating person will eat about 2,000 animals in their lifetime, that one hour of leafleting has the potential to spare thousands of animals.

As well as being an effective way to save animals, leafleting is also easy to do! Most people simply take a leaflet and say, “thank you” or don’t take a leaflet and say, “No, thank you.” The people who stop to talk are usually doing so to ask questions about going veg or to tell you that they’re already veg. Overall, I’ve found that the general reaction from the public is very positive.

Virtually everybody is against animal cruelty. Most people simply don’t realize how much cruelty and suffering is inherent in the production of food made from animals or how easy it is to replace animal food products in your diet. When we educate people about this in a friendly, positive, and non-confrontational way, they’re very often receptive to our message.

So, go ahead and give leafleting a shot!

Visit this page for more information.

The post Leafleting with Vegan Outreach—Australia and New Zealand appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

• Overview
• Chickens Raised for Meat
• Egg-Laying Hens
• Pigs
• Dairy Cows
• Transport
• Slaughterhouses
• Fish
• What You Can Do
• References

Overview

Most people know that to get meat an animal must be killed. And most of us assume that these animals live relatively happy lives and are killed quickly and painlessly. We might imagine that they live their lives roaming in lush green pastures, protected from suffering and abuse. However, the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is, most farmed animals in Australia and New Zealand—as well as the rest of the world—are raised in “factory farms,”large warehouses where animals bred for food  are confined in crowded cages and restrictive pens. They live their lives indoors and often times the first time they see sunlight is on their way to a slaughterhouse. Most of the time, they are mutilated without anaesthetics and their living conditions are so bad that hundreds of millions of animals worldwide never even make it to slaughter. Instead, they literally suffer to death due to deformities, disease, starvation, and aggression from other animals trapped in the same stressful, crowded conditions. [1]

Photo: Aussie Farms

The video below shows exactly what life is like for the animals raised for meat, dairy, and eggs in Australia and New Zealand. All footage is from Australian factory farms and slaughterhouses, except for the beak trimming of the baby chicks and the male chicks being macerated.

‘Thousand Eyes’ – Australian animal agriculture from Aussie Farms on Vimeo.

No individual involved in the scenes displayed in this video has been prosecuted for animal cruelty, largely because these are mostly industry-standard, legal practices.

Chickens Raised For Meat

Every year in Australia more than 500 million broiler hens (chickens raised for meat) suffer in factory farms [2]. In New Zealand 90 million chickens are killed per year for meat and the overwhelming majority are raised in factory farms. [3]

Photo: Aussie Farms

In these farms, tens of thousands of birds are crammed into windowless sheds where they are forced to live in their own faeces. Their ability to express natural behaviours—such as perching, foraging, running, and flying—are completely denied. The ammonia is so concentrated that it burns their eyes, skin, and lungs.

Photo: Aussie Farms

Broiler hens have been selectively bred to grow much faster than they would naturally. Their unnaturally large body size  can lead to skeletal, heart, and lung problems, as well as difficulty walking. Some birds are unable to walk at all. Normally, it would take a chicken 96 days to reach 2kgs. When selectively bred,  chickens can reach this weight in just 35 days. [4] Because of this unnatural rapid growth, many birds die because they’re unable to lift their own weight to reach food or water.

Photo: Aussie Farms

Both free range and factory farms use the same birds, meaning free range hens also have the same problems with being bred to grow too fast for their bodies to cope. And of course all chickens, whether factory farmed or free range, are killed at the same slaughterhouses when they are only 6 weeks old.

Egg Laying Hens

Most egg laying hens in Australia and New Zealand spend their lives crammed into tiny battery cages (except in ACT where battery cages have been banned). In battery farms, each hen can have less space than an A4 sheet of paper. [5] These hens are unable to flap their wings or express any of their natural behaviours—such as perching, foraging, running, and flying. Tens of thousands of these caged birds are crammed into noisy, windowless sheds, which smell of faeces and ammonia. The sloping wire floors of the cage cause many hens to experience chronic pain from the development of lesions and other foot problems.

Photo: Aussie Farms

Although battery cages are being phased out in New Zealand, the law won’t come into effect until 2022, when standard battery cages will be replaced by colony cages. In colony cages, each hen has a mere 750 square centimetres of space, which is only slightly more than a battery cage.

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

Colony cages contain a ‘nest box’ (an area defined by hanging plastic flaps with no bedding material), a rubber mat (to shorten claws), and perches for the hens to roost on (which are too low to be perceived as safe by the hens). None of these “enrichments” even come close to allowing a hen to express all her natural behaviours. And with up to 60 birds crammed in a cage, there is not enough space for most hens to use these enrichments anyway. [6]

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

To prevent losses from hens pecking each other, their beaks are partially amputated without any anaesthetics (except in ACT where beak trimming has been banned). Bird’s beaks are filled with nerves, and after being cut they suffer severe pain for weeks. [7]

Because male chickens don’t lay eggs, they are considered a waste product in the egg industry and are either macerated (ground up alive) or gassed within only hours of being alive. This is true across all commercial egg laying systems, including free range.

Photo: Eggs Exposed (Aussie Farms and Animal Liberation NSW)

Whilst chickens can naturally live to be ten years old, most layer hens in Australia and New Zealand are sent to slaughter when their egg production declines at only one or two years old. This means that layer hens live only a fraction of their natural lifespan. This is true in all egg production systems, including free range.

Pigs

In Australia and New Zealand, factory farmed pigs are confined in three different ways: sow stalls, farrowing crates, and fattening pens.

Whilst sow stalls have already been banned in New Zealand and ACT due to the immense amount of suffering they cause, they are still commonplace across most of Australia. A sow stall is a small metal crate—barely bigger than the sow herself— that sows are confined in during the beginning of their pregnancies. The crates are so small that the sow can’t even turn around, yet alone exercise. Australian Pork Limited has stated it will be phasing out sow stalls in 2017, but this isn’t actually a ban. It is just a reduction of the amount of time sows will spend in the stalls. [8]

Photo: Aussie Farms

At the end of their pregnancies, sows are moved to another tiny metal crate called a farrowing crate. This is where they will be confined when they give birth to their babies and for several weeks afterward. This is legal and commonplace in both Australia and New Zealand, with 67 percent of New Zealand pig farmers currently using farrowing crates [9].

Photo: Aussie Farms

Like sow stalls, farrowing crates are so small that the sows can’t turn around. With no bedding provided, sows will scrape their nose on the concrete ground in an attempt to build a nest for her piglets. The confinement and inability to properly mother their young causes a lot of stress for the mother pigs. Some repeatedly bite the bars of their cage until their teeth shatter. Others get depressed and lie on the filthy floor without moving. All of them suffer immensely.

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

After only four weeks, the sow’s piglets will be moved into fattening pens. Here they will spend the rest of their lives crammed into dark, overcrowded pens. The stress of living in such horrible conditions cause pigs to attack each other and bite each other’s tails. Instead of solving this problem by giving them more room, farmers cut their tails off without any anaesthetics. Pigs also have their ears clipped, teeth cut, and testicles cut off without any pain relief. Sick or injured, piglets are killed by blunt trauma to the head. [10]

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

Even on “free range” farms the conditions are often not much better. Animal Liberation Victoria has investigated several free range farms approved by the RSPCA and found filthy living conditions, pigs with severe injuries and illnesses, corpses in various stages of decay, and pigs cannibalising the bodies of other dead pigs.

And of course, whether free range or factory farmed, all pigs are killed in the same slaughterhouses when they are only five months old.

Dairy Cows

Like all mammals, cows must give birth to keep producing the milk that is meant for her baby calf. Because humans want to drink this milk, the calf is separated from their mother within 24 hours of giving birth. This causes severe distress to both the mother and her baby. Calves who are separated from their mothers show “significant increases in walking, butting, urinating, and vocalizing,” all of which are symptoms of severe psychological stress [11]. During calving season on dairy farms, it is common to hear the sad bellows of mothers calling for their missing babies. They often cry for days or weeks after they are taken.

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

While the dairy cow is kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation, her baby’s lives will be determined by their sex. Some female calves are kept as herd replacements whilst the rest (as well as almost all male calves) are considered waste products and are killed before they are even a week old. These calves are known as bobby calves and their short lives are filled with suffering.

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

From as young as four days old, they are loaded onto trucks and sent to slaughterhouses. Because they are transported so young, many arrive at the slaughterhouse extremely weak, unable to walk, lying down or seriously injured. [12]

Photo: Farmwatch (NZ)

The video below shows undercover footage of the abuse suffered by just some of the two million bobby calves that are killed in New Zealand every year. [13] Hundreds of thousands more are killed every year in Australia.

The dark side of the NZ Dairy Industry from Farmwatch on Vimeo.

Cows can naturally live to be up to 25 years old. On dairy farms they are killed when their milk production decreases—usually when they are five to seven years old.

Transport

Before animals are slaughtered they must be transported to the slaughterhouse. Before they are loaded onto the trucks, they may have their food and water cut off for up to one or two days, to reduce the amount of urine and excrement left in the trucks. They are subject to cramped conditions and extreme temperatures on their way to the slaughterhouse.Many suffer and die from dehydration, heat stroke, or heart failure. It is estimated that every year in Australia, between 1.5 and 2 million chickens die during transport to the slaughterhouse. [14]

Photo: Animal Liberation Victoria

Slaughterhouses

The animals that survive the farms and transport are killed in slaughterhouses.

They can often smell, hear, and see the slaughter of the animals in front of them. As the animals struggle to escape, they are often abused by frustrated workers who are under constant pressure to keep the slaughter process moving as quickly as possible.

Animals are killed by having their throats cut open to be bled out. Before this happens, they are meant to be stunned in one of three ways, either with a captive bolt pistol (common for cows), an electric current (common for pigs, sheep, and chickens) or an asphyxiate gas (common for pigs and chickens). [15]

But due to the high demand for meat, slaughterhouses must kill huge numbers of animals every day, resulting in a rushed environment where ineffective stunning can easily occur. Animals that aren’t properly stunned may have their throats slit while fully conscious or end up drowning alive in a tank of boiling water.

Photo: SAFE and Farmwatch (NZ)

Undercover investigations across Australia and New Zealand have repeatedly found animals being severely abused in slaughterhouses. Some examples include calves being punched, kicked, thrown, sworn at, and prodded. Pigs scream and thrash around for air as they are suffocated in gas chambers.  Workers bash chickens as they are removed from cages. Animals who try to escape are often times beaten with sledgehammers.

You can see footage of these investigations on the Aussie Farms website and in the videos in the Overview and Dairy Cows sections.

Fish

It surprises many people to learn that half of all fish eaten by humans do not come from the wild. [16] Instead, they are raised in crowded enclosures where stress, crowding, and filthy water leads to aggression, disease, and death.

The conditions are so bad that up to one in four fish have stunted growth and float lifelessly on the surface of the water. These fish are known as “drop outs” and show behaviours and brain chemistry similar to those of people who are depressed or very stressed. [17]

Photo: Animals Australia

Fish who are pulled out of the water suffocate as their gills collapse. It can take up to ten minutes before they die. When they are dragged up from deep in the ocean, their eyes bulge and their stomachs turn inside out from the change in pressure.

In the world’s marine fisheries, 87 percent of fish stocks are already fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted. [18] A UN Chronicle article on overfishing warns that “oceans are cleared at twice the rate of forests” and “the dramatic increase of destructive fishing techniques destroys marine mammals and entire ecosystems.” [19] It’s estimated that each year hundreds of thousands of dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals die in fishing nets worldwide. [20]

What You Can Do

The good news is that you can help stop this cruelty by replacing animal products with delicious, cruelty-free vegan food. Every time you sit down to eat you can choose compassion over cruelty and help make the world a better place for animals, one meal at a time.

References

1. http://www.countinganimals.com/is-vegan-outreach-right-about-how-many-animals-suffer-to-death/
2. In 2014/15, 611.7 million chickens were slaughtered for their meat. The Australian Chicken Meat Federation Inc estimates up to 16% of those birds were raised in free range or organic systems. This means 513,828,000 million chickens were raised intensively on factory farms during this period. See Australian Chicken Meat Federation Inc, ‘Growing Meat Chickens’ and ‘Industry Facts and Figures’, <http://www.chicken.org.au/>.
3. http://safe.org.nz/meat-chicken
4. http://www.poultryhub.org/production/industry-structure-and-organisations/chicken-meat/
5. The permitted stocking densities differ in each State and Territory, and depending on the weight of the hens and the number of hens crammed into one cage. In NSW, for example, if the average weight of the hen in the cage is less than 2.4 kilograms, she will be permitted a space of around 550 cm2: Regulation 10(5)(a), Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulation 2012 (NSW). An A4 sheet of paper, with sides of 21.0 cm x 29.7 cm, has an area of 623.7 cm2.
6. http://safe.org.nz/colony-battery-cages-quick-facts
7. G. John Benson, DVM, MS, and Bernard E. Rollin, PhD, eds., The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions (Blackwell Publishing, 2004).
8. http://www.makeitpossible.com/facts/frequently-asked-questions.php#faq0
9. http://safe.org.nz/pig-housing
10. http://www.aussiepigs.com/facts/general-practices
11. “A note on behavioral responses to brief cow-calf separation and reunion in cattle” Journal of veterinary behavior, (2007): 10-14
12. Stafford, K.J., “The physical state and plasma biochemical profile of young calves on arrival at a slaughter plant,” New Zealand veterinary journal 49.4 (2001): 142-149
13. http://safe.org.nz/bobby-calves
14. http://www.aussieabattoirs.com/facts/transport
15. http://www.aussieabattoirs.com/facts/stunning-killing
16. FAO Aquaculture Newsletter, No. 45, August 2010.
17. Royal Society Open Science, Brain serotonergic activation in growth-stunted farmed salmon: adaption versus pathology, Marco A. Vindas, Ida B. Johansen, Ole Folkedal, Erik Höglund, Marnix Gorissen, Gert Flik, Tore S. Kristiansen, Øyvind Øverli, 25 May 2016
18. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012 (Rome, 2012).
19. Udy Bell, “Overfishing,” UN Chronicle, 2004; 41(2): 17.
20. Andrew J. Read et al., “Bycatch of Marine Mammals in U.S. and Global Fisheries,” Conserv Biol, 2006 Feb; 20(1): 163–69.

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I have a confession to make. I like the taste of meat.

I didn’t go vegan because I suddenly didn’t like the taste, I went vegan to stop the massive amount of cruelty involved in animal agriculture. So it should come as no surprise that when it comes to meat substitutes, I’m a bit of a self-taught expert.

Whilst many of these products can be found at organic supermarkets and specialty stores, few can be found in your standard supermarket. Luckily, here in Australia, we have our own range of tasty vegan foods at all supermarkets.

To kick things off, let’s talk about some meat substitutes, all of which can be found at your local Coles or Woolworths.

Two brands you want to keep an eye out for (available at both Coles and Woolworths) are Fry’s and Vegie Delights. Both of their entire product ranges are vegan.

Vegie Delights make delicious “chicken” style tenders and burgers which can be found in the frozen section of your supermarket, as well as mince, sausages and a Sunday roast in the chilled section. In addition to being really tasty, these products are also packed with iron, protein, B12 and zinc.

Coles also stocks their own brand of vegan products called Nature’s Kitchen. Products include burgers, chicken style tenders and sausages.

Coles also stocks The Alternative Meat Co., who makes delicious vegan burgers, sausages and mince.

You can also find vegan mince from MorningStar Farms (not all of their products are vegan, but the mince definitely is).

Another great mock meat option available at Coles is the Sunfed “Chicken Free Chicken”.

Woolworths also has a great range of vegan meat alternatives. One great brand to try is Tofurky, who make sausages, deli slices, chicken pieces and more.

They also stock Unreal Co. who make delicious sausages, burgers, schnitzels and fried chicken-style pieces.

Made With Plants makes vegan bacon, mince and meat loaf that can also be found at Woolies.

The Vegan Factor makes tenders, chicken strips, nuggets, burgers, meatballs and more.

V2 also sell vegan burgers and mince at Woolies.

Another great brand of vegan meat at Woolworths is the Linda McCartney Foods range. They make delicious vegan sausage rolls, pies, mince and burgers.

And finally, Woolworths also stocks Naturli plant-based “Minced”.

If you’re willing to venture away from Coles and Woolworths, Asian grocers generally stock an even larger range of vegan meats, including vegan duck, fish, prawns, ribs, chicken and more. If you’re looking for the kind of vegan meats that would fool even a die-hard carnivore, look no further than your local Asian grocer. Lamyong’s “vegetarian prawns” are particularly convincing, resembling not only the taste and texture, but also the appearance of the real thing.

Do you have a favorite Australian vegan meat? Share your opinion in the comments below!

The post Eating Vegan in Australia – Vegan Meat appeared first on Vegan Outreach.

Today, many Australians are saying no to the cruelty of the dairy and egg industries and are choosing a more compassionate way to eat. Fortunately, ditching dairy and eggs doesn’t have to mean missing out, thanks to an ever-growing list of tasty vegan alternatives.

All supermarkets in Australia stock a large range of non-dairy milks, including soy, oat, rice, almond, and coconut milk. Bonsoy is my personal favorite, especially in coffee, and for a non-soy option Sanitarium’s Almond and Coconut Milk are also good choices.

Orgran No Egg is a powdered egg replacement that is perfect for baking and, in addition to sparing chickens from the suffering of a battery cage, it also works out much cheaper than buying eggs–each packet costs around $4 and makes the equivalent of 33 eggs!

Orgran No Egg works well to replace eggs used to bind a recipe, but it doesn’t have the texture of eggs and it can’t be scrambled. For a cruelty-free alternative to scrambled eggs, try Orgran Easy Egg or try scrambled tofu instead.

Coles stocks dairy-free BioCheese which can be eaten on its own or added to pizzas, toasties, or any of your favorite foods. It melts and stretches, which makes it perfect to use in any dish that calls for mozzarella, or you can just cut off a slice and use it like cheddar. In addition to their regular cheese, they also make feta, cheese slices and butter.

Sheese and Made With Plants both make delicious plant-based cream cheeses.

Nuttelex is a dairy-free margarine with a buttery taste that works well both as a spread and for cooking.

For a delicious dairy-free ice cream, try Sanitarium So Good (available in chocolate and vanilla) a fruit flavoured Weis Sorbet, vegan Magnums, or Cornettos.

Kingland Soy Yogurt and Soy Life Yogurt are both great either on muesli or on their own as a snack.

Ditching dairy doesn’t mean giving up chocolate–in fact, most dark chocolate is dairy-free, including Whittakers Dark and Lindt 70%. Sweet Williams also makes white and ‘milk’ chocolate, which can be found in the health food section of the supermarket.

Even more dairy-free options can be found at organic grocers, specialty stores, and independent grocers, including Damona Baked Almond Feta and Botanical Cuisine Cashew Cheese.

I hope these resources prove both delectable and helpful! Do you have a favorite vegan version of a dairy product that you didn’t see here? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know!

The post Eating Vegan in Australia – Dairy and Egg Alternatives appeared first on Vegan Outreach.