The easiest ways to eat sustainably abroad

October is the month of escaping. Before the Christmas madness sets in but after the warmer days have most definitely left us behind. Our favourite time of year to pack up our bags and head off on an adventure to warmer climates. Travelling abroad is a great time to explore new cultures and food traditions, but it can also throw up some compromising situations in our mission to eat sustainable and high welfare food. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favourite ways to be mindful when travelling abroad – doing our bit as we go.

1. Pack your own

Let’s start from the beginning. You’ve rushed to the airport, battled train delays, begrudgingly handed over a small fortune for the long-stay car park, and army marched your kids all the way. Food is the last thing on your mind, until suddenly, the stress that’s flooded your mind begins to fade and you’re hit with a pang of hunger. Faced with an array of airport restaurants, most with an anxiety-inducing number of people milling around, it’s all too easy to grab the first respectable looking edible item and go. Some of the bigger corporations and restaurant chains are, to their credit, starting to think about sustainability – but it’s a massive mountain to climb. Plastic-heavy and with questionable welfare credentials, convenience food is expensive and usually mass-produced. The easiest way around this? Pack your own. It might seem like an additional job that you could do without, but in the long run you’ll be eating something that tastes better, is more environmentally-friendly, saves you a penny or two and can be pulled straight out of your bag (none of this standing in a queue malarkey while someone wheels their suitcase over your foot).

2. Planning is key

Next, is planning ahead. So you don’t have time to prepare snacks and we get it, life is tricky sometimes. Taking a moment or two to search for the best convenience food options can be a great half-way-house, which also saves you shopping in a hangry state (a risky strategy for anyone). What with sustainability being such a buzz-word, you might even find a little mention about sustainable food practices on various food and restaurant websites.

3. Embrace veggie food

You’ve arrived abroad. It’s hot, it’s sweaty, someone is complaining, you can’t make head or tails of the directions you’ve been given, and you don’t speak the local language. Exploring new cultures is wonderful but it does also present its difficulties. The language barrier with food can be a hard one to cross – point and smile at the menu might be a fail-safe technique for getting your order in but it doesn’t tell us much about the welfare of the meat or fish you’re about to eat.

Our technique, though it might surprise you, is to go for something veggie. It’s tricky to know if the chicken on the menu has been caged its whole life or the pig has never seen the light of day, so veggie tends to be a safer bet. Exploring vegetarian food abroad can also be a great way to discover new foods and flavours – some that might even become a new favourite.

If you’re heading to a hotter climate and thinking of self-catering, vegetarian food is an under-rated hero. A lot of fruit and veg will be so full of flavour that very little else needs to be done to it. Take Sardinian tomatoes for example, bursting with flavour and just the right blend of sweetness and tang. Pile on top of local bread with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a smattering of freshly cracked black pepper and a delicate pinch of flaked sea salt. It couldn’t be easier and yet it absolutely delivers on the flavour front.

Prefer a staycation?

If you’re not going abroad this October, or you’re just more of a staycation vacationer, remember to update your address and take us with you!