How difficult is it to follow the vegan or vegetarian diets in Mexico? (restaurant, shop)

[bigben1234]

How difficult is it to be a vegan or vegetarian in Mexico? From my interactions with Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals, it seems that the vegan or vegetarian diets are something that they would never even consider. Obviously it would be easier to follow the vegan or vegetarian diet in the larger cities compared to the small towns. But even in the large cities, are there sizeable numbers of the vegans and vegetarians?
How about vegan or vegetarian restaurants?
Is it even culturally acceptable to be a vegan or vegetarian in the more rural areas of Mexico?

[malcorub16]

Poblanos chiles, nopal (cactus), beans, rice and tortillas OR sweet corn tamales OR tortilla soup AND people here eat salads. Can't get more vegan than that.

Seriously though, vegan is a PTA in the US much less Mexico. Many times, you wind up having to shop at expensive specialty stores and are limited on where you can eat out. It's so hard to not consume dairy or egg being that it is an ingredient in many products. Here in Tijuana there are a few veggie/vegan restaurant options.

Originally Posted by bigben1234

Is it even culturally acceptable to be a vegan or vegetarian in the more rural areas of Mexico?

If you are offered meat and you say you don't eat meat, no one will make a fuss about it. Now, if you start nit picking every ingredient like vegans tend to do, then perhaps you might come across as pompous and you might find yourself eating alone alot.

Being a vegetarian would be much easier in Mex as it is in the US and here in Baja, pescaterian would be VERY easy considering all the seafood options.

[dothetwist]

It is not difficult at all if you are talking about cooking at home. Most cities have daily open air fresh produce markets; towns and villages have weekly produce markets (tianguis).

Eating out is more of a challenge for a purist; while restaurants either offer vegetarian meals or are willing to omit meats from menu items, there is a good chance that lard or butter was used in their preparation.

Here in Ajijic, we have plenty of restaurants offering vegetarian foods and even a few vegan ones, but our culinary scene is more advanced than in other parts of Mexico.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by dothetwist

It is not difficult at all if you are talking about cooking at home. Most cities have daily open air fresh produce markets; towns and villages have weekly produce markets (tianguis).

In this sense, Mexicans have been doing the "farmers market" much longer than Americans have.