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Food is central to Latinx culture. We pass down these recipes and eating habits, from generation to generation. While this food has traditionally been whole and healthy, things like additives, preservatives, a dependence on animal fats, and the Westernization of our diet has led to unhealthy outcomes. Latinx vegans have always been around, but over the past years BIPOC communities centered around the environment, the Amazon and accelerated climate change have grown in response.
Our generations are creating healthier versions of our favorite Latinx food. But we aren’t doing this by following any Western diet or jumping on the latest “trend.” It’s by going back to our Indigenous roots and eating the way we initially did. Because, as Folklife said, “Whole Foods didn’t invent chia seeds.”
We want to particularly shine a light on veganism, which not only is beneficial for humans and animals, but also does wonders for our planet. So, we are shouting out 5 inspiring Latinx vegans to follow on Instagram. You’ll learn a lot from them. Soak up the knowledge, and pass it on!
veggiemijas
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Amy Quichiz’s Veggie Mijas community is all about “centering women, GNC, femmes, queer and trans, BIPOC in our food and environmental justice work.” On its Instagram account and corresponding website, you’ll find recipes; learn about People of Color Negocios; learn how to plant things like coffee, potatoes, and avocado; read on environmental issues; and can join their Veggie Mijx Book Club, where you read books that will educate you on the healthy life.
woke foods
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Woke Foods, founded by Afro-Dominican chef Ysanet Batista, is a Bronx and Harlem-based “worked-owned cooperative,” that offers “Afro-Dominican plant-based food.” They achieve food sovereignty through catering, dinners, and workshops. Dishes include smoked winter squash filled with asopao and lion’s mane pernil, mushroom “pernil” with a berenjena ahumada chip, bread flan cake with vegan sweet plantain ice cream, and cannabis-infused herbal vegan cheesecake. Workshops include Earth Lab, and Food and Gentrification.
cerowastecindy
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The next Latinx vegan lifestyle IG to follow is Cero Waste Cindy. Run by Mexican-American garden educator and consultant Cindy Villaseñor, the Instagram account will share gardening tips; show you where to take your extra, unused glass jars; offers an alternative to plastic bags; shows a vegan carne asada being barbecued; teaches you how to use a compost tumbler; and more. On her website, Cindy offers zero-waste workshops, gardening consultations, and “information and resources on sustainable living.”
howtobeveganinthehood
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Healthy and delicious vegan options should be available everywhere. How to Be Vegan in the Hood, founded by Nuyorican vegan restaurateur Erick Castro, lets us know that “it isn’t hard or expensive eating vegan, just watch!” On his Instagram account, Castro shares local, indulgent-looking vegan dishes; vegan establishments to eat at; tips on how to start the vegan lifestyle, and more.
dorastable
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Want to learn how to make delicious Mexican food, vegan-style? Then head over to Dora Stone’s IG account, Dora’s Table. There (in addition to her website, YouTube channel and TikTok), she will show you how-tos for sweet enchiladas Colima style, whole wheat flour tortillas, conchas, esquites, and more. It’s all of the flavor and familiarity, with none of the animal products.
plant_based_inca
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Peruvian food is known for being full of flavor. This makes it perfect for the vegan treatment. Over at Plant Based Inca, based in Brooklyn but straight from Arequipa, Nicolás makes (and shares recipes for) vegan arroz chaufa, vegan pisco sour, vegan tallarines verdes with seitan steak, vegan huancaína sauce, and more.
