What
if I am a vegetarian or have special dietary wants
and/or needs?
Will I go
hungry?
This is
something you had better ask on the discussion boards
about - specifically for the area where you would like
to live. (see the jobs and resources page)
If you are
creative, generally no problem. But some countries,
particularly in Africa and in Central and South America,
are big meat eaters. In the Buddhist countries of Asia
it is much easier to find vegetarian fare.
Veggie
Markets
One common
characteristic of the second or third world is the
presence of a daily market. Vegetarians will find these
very useful as this is where you can find your daily
supplies. It is generally not difficult to find soy or
tofu or other things to provide the daily protein that
you will want/need.
Health
Issues
Know that
many countries still fertilize their crops with "night
soil" - the polite term for human waste (feces).
Cleaning your vegetables well will usually require the
use of a disinfectant. But, such disinfectants are
often easily found and inexpensive, you will only need
to ask. Know also that hepatitis A, B, and C are very
common in many parts of the world. So it is worth
taking care with this issue.
Asia
As a
vegetarian, you may be better off heading to Asia. It
is not difficult or uncommon to ask for meat dishes
to be made with only vegetables, and even some meat
eaters do that
if they are not sure of the quality or source of meat
that might be involved. Most restaurants in Thailand,
for example, have no problems with such requests.
Strict
Vegetarians
Vegans will
certainly have more difficulty than ovo-lacto
vegetarians. Fresh milk and eggs are easily found almost
everywhere in the world.
Special
Dietary Needs
For
religious diets search the Web for your denomination in
the country you are interested in and contact them.
For diets designed for health problems - as on the other
health pages - contact the international hospital in the
area where you hoping to go and ask. It is also
useful to ask on the local discussion boards.
