London vegan news, reviews & events
If you are a vegan traveller, you probably spend a fair chunk of your preparation time wondering what your airline-supplied meal will consist of once you are in the sky.
I have a recurring section on this blog dealing with just that very topic. You can click here to view past stories of airline meals, or keep scrolling down this page to see what I was served on my British Airways flight between JFK New York and London Heathrow last week.
My recent flight between London and Los Angeles featured vegan food that made me feel like I had seen it all before.
The provider of the inflight meals for British Airways must think they have discovered the winning formula for vegan food because I seem to be getting the exact same meal every time I fly.
In what is being hailed as a monumental advancement for vegans struggling to get protein, calcium and clothing, an Australian ‘animal whisperer’ has vowed to get permission from individual creatures before people farm them for by-products.
Animal psychic and compassionate livestock producer Noelene Boomer is making waves in both food manufacturer and animal welfare circles by claiming to be able to ask animals directly if they want to give their milk, honey and eggs to hungry humans.
Noelene has been communicating with animals on her family farm in central Queensland since she was a child where she discovered her mysterious skills the day a Merino sheep sent her a telepathic message that it didn’t want it’s wool anymore.
Noelene says, “I had always questioned if being sheared or milked is what our animals really wanted but now I can relax knowing that only the individuals who tell me they want to offer themselves are used for farming.”
Vegan activists worldwide are reacting to the news with cautious optimism.
Sean O’Callaghan of Fat Gay Vegan announced, “Finally what all plant eaters have been waiting for! An easy way to get protein and calcium without the hassle of a vegan diet. It really puts my mind at ease to know the animals can say they are OK with being farmed. It makes my life a lot easier. Noelene is a hero and a true champion for animal rights.”
In addition to her dairy and clothing consent work, Noelene plans to travel to some of the largest slaughterhouses on the planet as part of a year long campaign to remove animals that express no desire to be killed for food.
Meat for Life spokesperson Bill Flounders says, “Noelene is exactly what our industry needed. She is able to give us the stamp of approval and allow us to sell only the finest humane meat to our customers. All of our animals now give their full consent to being part of the industrialised food chain.”
Meals on flights seem to belong in two camps. Either they are awful or they manage to be just OK. My recent British Airways flight back from Mexico City to London involved food of the fairly awful variety.
My expectations were high after the decent dishes I was served on my way over to Distrito Federal, but the reality was disappointing.
The main meal was an uninspired and unenjoyable mix of rice and vegetables, a cup featured barely ripe fruit pieces while the salad was overfilled with slimy mushrooms.
I didn’t even attempt to eat the dessert as it looked like it was made with dairy milk and was not labelled as vegan. Actually, my entire meal was labelled vegetarian as opposed to the vegetarian/vegan label on Josh’s meal. This is why we pack out own snacks, right plant eaters?
The only thing worse than the meal was the movie I watched during the trip. If you get a kick out of dreadful films, watch Austenland.
Check out the photos below and see all my inflight meal posts here.
A quick little post to continue my thematic entries about food I eat while up in the air.
The meal featured below was served to me during my recent flight with British Airways between London and Mexico City. Vegans are only too aware of how erratic flight food can be, but I give serious dues to this meal. It was a solid effort.
As you can see, I did alright!
I would love to feature your meals in the sky if you are keen to share your experiences. Just let me know.
One of the most popular recurring features on this blog is airline food. You people are mad for it. No other posts get as much instant attention as these airline meal posts. If you have any theories as to why this is, please let me know below.
While I wait for your replies to pour in, let me tell you about a recent eating adventure from above the clouds that was made a whole lot more enjoyable by music.
Recently returning from Philadelphia on British Airways, Josh and I were treated to a decent-verging-on-notable meal that appeared to be completely vegan. But it wasn’t just the inclusion of vegan spread and a salad dressing kit that made my flight enjoyable. I was also blown away by the staggering amount of super cool music featured within the inflight entertainment catalogue.
Let’s get the food over and done with and then we can talk music.
My main meal tray featured a tasty tomato dish with sides of mushroom sauce and steamed broccoli. I wasn’t running up and down the plane celebrating culinary greatness, but it was a solid dish that was consumed promptly. That’s about as good as it gets on a flight for vegans.
The salad was just a salad except for the little dressing kit accompanying the bowl. A small bottle of olive oil sat with a sachet of salt and herb called Mrs Dash. It was life-altering, but I don’t think I’ve seen ingredients to make your own vegan dressing on any other flight.
Toss in a bit of fruit and my meal was of a fairly high standard, but it was the music that made this the best flight of recent times. Check out the food photos mixed with shots of some of the albums I enjoyed.
Any of your favourites in there?
Continuing with what is becoming a bit of a tradition around these parts, my Twitter pal Tumblebee stopped globetrotting long enough to visit and share a vegan airline food story with us.
Follow Tumblebee on Twitter
Visit Tumblebee online
And of course, send in your own food in the air experiences so I can share with the interested masses!
Take it away, Tumblebee!
There is nothing more tragic and upsetting than a vacation coming to an end.
You know that sinking feeling, right? Having to pack and keep busy on your last day of holidays, with a mammoth flight hanging over your head. There isn’t enough time to go sightseeing and it is heartbreaking as you pile everything into a suitcase that has been doing nothing but gather dust for a month or so.
These feelings of depression are still sitting with me even after a fortnight back in London. I miss the weather, culture, people and friends of Mexico CIty… and the gay bars serving cold beer.
The only upside of having to get on that plane for 10 hours and be spirited away from my favourite city was the airline remembering my vegan meal and the meal being rather acceptable.
Following on from the wildly-popular posts about airline food (one by me and one by my friend The Vegan Butcher), I put out an open call for readers to submit their own stories of vegan food served in the air.
A few people have sent in anecdotes relating to the animal-free food they have been served inflight. I have posted some below for your reading pleasure.
Please get in touch if you would like to see your food in the sky experience posted on Fat Gay Vegan. We are going to start up a nifty collection of vegan airline food stories at this rate! I especially encourage you to send photos with your reviews. Seat belt sign has been switched on. I hear the food trolley rattling down the aisle…
Shelly of Las Vegas writes:
Following on from the immense interest shown in my recent post about vegan airline food, I have started to ask people to share their words and pictures about their own experiences.
My friend The Vegan Butcher has kindly supplied me with a written account of her meal on a recent Air Canada flight. Doesn’t sound too shabby!
If you would like to submit a story about a vegan meal you have been served in the air, please email me (with photos) at fatgayvegan at hotmail dot com. I would love to feature some guest contributors. Let’s build a library of vegan airline food stories!
Take it away, The Vegan Butcher.