everything vegan in Australia
This weekend I am holding a vegan outreach stall at the annual Cairns Ecofiesta – a sustainability festival here in Far North Queensland. It’s hard not to talk about our food choices when contemplating the environment, climate change, and protecting our planet, as animal agriculture […]
If you find yourself in Tropical North Queensland you’re in for a treat – from the best bahn mi to delicious donuts and tasty tapas we’ve got you covered with our list of the best vegan-friendly restaurants in and around Cairns. Breakfast/Lunch Snoogies Health Bar […]
We are on the search for the best vegan wine in Australia! You may be surprised to learn that wine isn’t naturally vegan being made from grapes, yet many Australian wines use animal products in their production processes.
In Australia winemakers are allowed to have more than 50 substances added to their product to get the desired result, and it is the ones used as ‘processing aids’ that become problematic for vegan wine lovers. The final stage of wine production is called ‘The Fining’, where substances are added to the wine to remove unsightly molecules left over from the fermentation process. Ironically these nasties are added to make the finished product appear ‘cleaner’. The main ones to look out for are gelatine (a protein obatined by boiling skin, tendons, bones and ligaments from cows or pigs), isinglass (the swim bladders of fish), milk products (casein) or egg whites. Many winemakers will state that vey little traces remain in the finished product, but the fact they are used at all renders the wine undrinkable to vegans. In Australia, wine-producers are required by law to state on their label if milk or egg products have been used during production, but laws vary internationally so it is quite often impossible to tell from the bottle how a French Sauvignon or German Riesling has been produced.
Thankfully vegan wine in Australia has seen huge developments recently, with some outstanding vegan-friendly wines hitting the market in both smaller vineyards and major retailers. We recently explored the vineyards of the Tamar Valley region in Northern Tasmania and had a huge selection of vegan-friendly wines to choose from.
If you can’t make it to Tasmania to taste local wines first-hand, we have found these other national vegan wines from around Australia that you will find in your local bottle shop or through online retailers.
We recently discovered this new-to-the-market vegan brand which comes in four varietals, Pinot Grigio, Rosé, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. I’ve become a big fan of Pinot Noir recently and this one went down very well (and a bit too easily!) Described as ‘elegant and essential Pinot Noir characters on the nose with fragrant and silky upfront fruit. Medium bodied with red and dark berry concentration ensuring a flavoursome and moreish wine with soft tannins filling out the edges.’ I love how the wines are paired with vegan food favourites too, the Shiraz recommended with Cauliflower steaks with middle eastern spices or the Rosé with fresh olives.
We have been enjoying some delighful Spring weather here in Tasmania and the Rosé went down a treat in the sun. Another bonus of the Hello! range is the price point, retailing at $13.99 per bottle you don’t need to save this one for a special occasion! You can find stockists here.
A recent development from South Australian wine pioneers Yalumba based in the Barossa Valley, The Vegan Wine Project produces a Pinot Grigio, a Shiraz, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Rosé. What’s more, anything from the entire Yalumba range since the 2012 vintage is vegan-friendly, as they were ahead of the game and removed all animal products from their wine production several years ago. We also really enjoy their ‘Y Series’. You can find their full range here.
I’m a big fan of this local Tassie Chardonnay, and all the wine from this vineyard have been vegan since 2014. They have a purist’s approach to winemaking and a strong philosophy of environmental sustainability which makes them a great choice.
Another great development for vegan wine in Australia is that 2 of the country’s major retailers have made it even easier to identify vegan-friendly wine online. Both Dan Murphy’s and BWS have dedicated search options for vegan wines. At the time of writing both stores have over 80 different choices, with a good mix of white, red, rose and sparkling varietals to choose from for all budgets.
These are some of our favourite vegan wines in Australia and we will be adding to this list as we find more, so please comment or message us if you have any recommendations.
Australian brand Modibodi have long been a favourite of mine, so I was delighted to hear that they have launched a full range of vegan period underwear, swimwear and activewear. If you haven’t heard of it before, period underwear is a revolutionary concept to keep […]
One of my friends is an amazing baker and knows how much help I need in the kitchen so she always sends me her simplest recipes! Here is a super quick and simple recipe for absolutely delicious vegan scones. It’s also a great one to […]
Going vegan is one of the best things to do for the planet. Mother Earth is in crisis, and we all need to do as much as possible to reverse the damage.
I recently read a report from the United Nations that stated the meat and dairy industry uses 83% of farmland, accounts for 58% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions but only 18% of food calories. The report also noted that around one million species are at risk of extinction, with much of the blame put on animal agriculture, saying that the meat industry has a “particularly heavy impact”.
Our society’s demand for meat and animal products has resulted in animal agriculture decimating rainforests and arable land, massive pollution, ocean dead zones, species extinction due to habitat destruction and much more.
The average Australian uses 500 litres of water a day. To make one kilo of beef, a farmer needs to use 14,000 litres of water. That’s a lot of our most precious resource for just one meal. To put it into perspective, protein rich vegetables need about 300 litres per kilo.
The single best thing you can do for the environment is to go vegan, but there are also other small changes we can make to reduce our impact.
I especially love discovering new ways to reduce our plastic waste. According to Ocean Conservancy, “every year, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons that currently circulate our marine environments. ” Here is a list of 50 simple ways to go green at home, and number 20 on the list is to ditch your plastic toothbrush.
Did you know that each year over 30 million toothbrushes go into landfill? We’re told to replace our toothbrush every 3 months, and with over 20 million people in Australia that’s a LOT of plastic waste.
One simple way to reduce your impact is to switch to a bamboo brush. We recently tried Bare Brush, an Australian company passionate about the planet, sustainability and sparkly clean teeth!
Their Bare Bio Toothbrush is created from 100% biodegradable, sustainably sourced bamboo in Asia. We ordered ours online and they arrived in recycled and compostable packaging.
One of the things I loved, after the excitement of unwrapping the cute little parcels, was that each brush is colour coded. Often bamboo toothbrushes are one colour so easily get mixed up. Bare Brush come in a range of vibrant colours so we can always tell between them.
I recently went to a talk about low-tox living, and was horrified to hear of the amount of chemicals in regular toothpastes, and also the plastics and BPAs used in bristles and tooth floss. (Quick tip – avoid those micro-bead toothpastes like the plague!)
Bare Brush have BPA-free nylon and bamboo infused bristles, which are naturally anti-bacterial and anti-microbial. They are also soon releasing their own natural toothpaste.
You can order Bare Brush products online in their shop, with free shipping for orders over $50. You can buy single brushes, or bulk and family packs.
What’s your favourite way to reduce waste at home? Let me know in the comments if you have any great tips and tricks.
Have you ever heard the saying ‘Always trust a junk-food vegan? They’re in it for the animals.’ True story – and luckily there’s a LOT of vegan fast food out there, and all the big players have upped their game when it comes to providing […]
The Cube of Truth is a form of street activism, born right here in Australia in 2016 with thousands of events now taking place globally each year. It consists of a group of activists holding TV screens or tablets, showing standard practices in the meat, […]
This vegan prawn crackers recipe has shown me once again that there is literally nothing that cannot be eaten on a plant-based diet. I was always a fan of the crispy snack brought out at the start of Chinese meals, but have since discovered it’s more the texture of the snack rather than the flavour I loved the most. Do the originals even taste of prawn anyway? Who knows, but the beauty of these vegan prawn crackers is that you can add any flavour you like, making them perfect for any style of meal.
If you were wondering why cutting prawns out of your diet was a great idea, you can read this article from Animals Australia on what really goes on in the prawn industry. Prawns themselves are treated horrendously, while the fishing practices used are decimating our oceans and killing millions of ‘collateral creatures’ such as turtles, octopus, sea horses and more each year. You may have heard the statistic already, but it’s frightening to know that if we continue on our current trajectory, scientists predict a collapse of our oceans by 2050.
The simplest way to reverse this future is to stop eating seafood. You can also sign this petition to stop prawn cruelty. But seeing as you’re here on my website I’ll assume you’ve already converted to a plant-based lifestyle and move quickly along to the super simple recipe…..
We had some rice paper sheets left over from making Vietnamese rolls one night, so hubby threw some in a frying pan and voila – giant prawn crackers ready to go! It really is that simple – here it is step by step
Ingredients
Rice paper
Oil
Salt/pepper/herbs to season
Method
1. Pour about half a centimetre of oil into a frying pan and heat until very hot.
2. When the oil is at temperature, carefully drop the rice paper in and leave for 5-10 seconds. You will see it crisp up straight away. When ready, carefully take the cracker out of the oil and place on kitchen towel.
3. Season with herbs/spices of choice. We used sea salt and pepper for a quick snack, other spices you could use would be paprika, garlic flakes, dukkha spice, Japanse sesame seeds – the options are endless.
Tips
For best results season straight out of the pan while hot, this way the spices will stick evenly and not fall off.
We used the large rice paper circles and made giant crackers, but you could cut the paper up beforehand to make smaller bite-size pieces.
If you love Chinese food and are in Sydney, don’t miss Mother Chu’s Vegetarian Restaurant in Pitt Street, one of our favourite vegan restaurants in Sydney.
We just came back from a 3 month trip to Tasmania, where we had the chance to taste some incredible vegan wine. Australia has some of the best wines in the world, but unfortunately many vineyards choose to use animal products in the manufacturing process, […]