(Source: pixabay.com)
By: Jane Harkness
When you go vegan, going out to eat with a group of friends or relatives can be tricky. You will probably have to research menus beforehand, answer some questions about your diet, and you might even get stuck ordering a few sides instead of a meal. Having the right tools to help you plan ahead can save your evening—this is where new apps for vegans like abillionVeg come in.
ABV’s founder, Vikas Garg, wants to make veganism more accessible and convenient for everyone, no matter where you live. He noticed that while more and more people were giving up animal products and learning about the environmental impact of animal agriculture, many people either remained unaware or felt that making the switch to veganism would be too difficult. He also realized that most restaurants did not offer tasty vegan entrees—in fact, his early research for the app’s development revealed that most menus only listed one plant-based meal for every 25 dishes.
Garg knew that many people who were considering going vegan were being discouraged by the lack of options at restaurants. After all, dining out can be a fun social experience, and no one likes missing out because of dietary restrictions. Garg decided to create abillionVeg to tackle this problem.
(Source: pxhere.com)
Garg designed ABV to help vegans find dining options all over the world. Here is how it works: you can download the app for iPhone or Android, or you can use it on your desktop. When you go to a restaurant and order a vegan meal, you can take a photo of your food, upload in to the app, and label it with the name of the dish. Make sure to note whether the dish is vegan or vegetarian! Next, tag the location with the restaurant’s name, add a short review, and rate your meal out of 5 stars.
With ABV, you can follow other vegans and like and comment on their photos—kind of like Instagram for vegan food! If you are trying to figure out the best place to grab a vegan meal on the go, you can turn on location services and use the search function. You can search for vegetarian or vegan restaurants, or you can search for places that simply serve some vegan dishes. You can also choose to sort the results by popularity so you can find the most delicious vegan eats!
There are plenty of other resources for vegans on the ABV website. For example, you can find articles about the best local vegan dishes in cities around the world as well as restaurant guides for different regions. This app is a must for any vegan who loves to travel, and hopefully, it will help restaurants see that offering vegan options can improve business. With ABV, you will never get stuck settling for sweet potato fries and a side salad again.
