About me

My name is Roswitha Gobbo. I am a freelance artist and writer from Appenzell. After my master’s degree at the Zurich School of Art, I travelled through South America for two years. On this trip I became vegan. Already on the 2nd day I found out that a whole plant based diet can cure my hyperthyroidism, which I had since I was 18 years old. Since then, I have not only been vegan for ethical and environmental reasons, but have delved into the health aspects. I would like to share my knowledge, which has received a solid foundation through my training as a vegan nutritionist, with other people. Through my two years of travel, I can also competently advise in the field of vegan travel.

How the trip made me vegan

I spent a full 21 months travelling through 12 of the 13 South American countries, and even before I began my journey, I had the idea in the back of my mind to write a travel guide for vegetarians and vegans, because South American cuisines are known for being meat-heavy. I set out as a vegetarian and came home as a vegan. Even as a vegetarian, I ate very little dairy and eggs. However, I was put off by the image of the perfect vegan that so many people have. On the trip, I challenged that stereotype. The impetus came from the statement of a vegan musician who had often said in interviews that he eats cheese from time to time.

Already after a few weeks in Argentina, the first country of the trip, I realized that it is very easy to travel vegetarian, because in an emergency you can find a pizza somewhere. In Argentina, however, I encountered many people who were very proud of their meat-heavy diets, and this pride always had a nationalistic flavour. “Argentine meat is the best!” being constantly exposed to this national carnism1 made me question it repeatedly. In Patagonia, behind me on the bus, I heard someone say to his companion, “Acá está la ternera” pointing to the grazing animals. Which I understood as “Here’s the veal.” Together with the fact that in South America I was constantly served eggs and milk in all possible forms and in masses, have led to the fact that I decided to become vegan on my return. However, things turned out differently.

In Coyhaique, I stayed with an ethical vegetarian who actually would have liked to go vegan but didn’t make it. In our previous correspondence, I had indicated that I was in the same phase. Now I was in Coyhaique at the end of January wondering, “What am I waiting for? It will be 1.5 years before I am back home. Who knows if I will still feel the same drive then. What you never tackle takes the longest.” Thereupon I spontaneously decided to try out the February vegan, if it would not work out, I would have to go through only 28 days. Accordingly unprepared I threw myself into the new adventure and arrived with little provisions in Puyuhuapi. But I was much too proud to have dared this step, as it would have bothered me in the few minimarkets to find hardly anything vegan. The diet of the first three days consisted of oatmeal, apples, peanuts, avocados, fruit juice and crackers. And with that, I went for a hike. I felt more energized than ever. After three days, I reached Chaitén. There is a fruteria there. I had arrived in paradise. Nobody can take this intensity of the first week away from me and it is hard for me to understand that there are people who claim that it is difficult to be vegan in Europe.


1 Melanie Joy defines carnism as, “Carnism is the invisible belief system or ideology that leads people to eat certain animals. Carnism is essentially the opposite of veganism, as “carn” means “meat” or “of the flesh” and “ismus” refers to a belief system.” Source: www.carnism.org/carnism 5.6.2020

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