661-Pete wrote:I didn't know any of this, but a timely reminder. We're due on a trip to South America later this year, and in some of the countries we visit (esp. Argentina - anyone had experience?) non-meat meals may be hard to come by. I haven't sent any 'special dietary' message to the tour company, because only two or three meals plus breakfasts are inclusive. For the rest we'll have to seek out restaurants.
If we do have to re-introduce meat (been off it these past 20 years - but we eat fish), we'll do so only with great reluctance, and only for the duration of the trip, not after.
So do we need to 'prepare' ourselves? I'd rather not. During these 20 years I may have consumed the odd bit of meat, but only by accident...
[edit] Thinking a bit more about it, this advice is more pertinent perhaps to former vegans who are re-introducing dairy to their diet. As we all know, many dairy products are essentially somewhat indigestible...
I've never been to Argentina, though based upon my experience with other Latin American countries, you will find it somewhat harder to obtain vegetarian food than in most European countries, but not impossible. Whether you resort to eating some meat will depend upon your tolerance for going out of your way, accomodating other solutions, and/or settling for salad + dessert.
Poultry will be easier to digest than red meats, and it is likely, even if there are no vegetarian options, that you can order something with bits of meat in and pick them out. Everywhere I have travelled, I have generally found ethnic restaurants (Italian, Chinese, Indian, etc.) to be both available, and willing to provide some vegetarian alternatives, even if they don't normally have them on the menu.
As for preparing yourselves, I shouldn't think it necessary, as long as you don't consume a large steak the first time you try meat.
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― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom