By Catalina Florez
EVER wondered if vegans eat nothing but grass? Maribyrnong resident Emily Clark says think again.
At 27, the vegan entrepreneur’s mission is to, “make people realise that being vegan … you can eat really interesting food, and that you’re not actually giving up anything”.
Ms Clark has recently moved from Surrey Hills in the hope that her business, which promotes vegan and vegetarian lifestyles and food, will become more popular in the area.
She said she looked forward to tasting the “good food out there in the West” but admits there aren’t many restaurants for vegetarians or vegans in the area.
Despite this, she said there were vegan-friendly alternatives.
“A lot of the African restaurants do cater really well for vegans and vegetarians, so obviously that’s a good thing for me,” she said.
Two years ago, Ms Clark launched a free magazine offering information about food, restaurants, fashion, cosmetics and other products that promoted animal-free food and living.
It was called Aduki, after the Japanese bean.
Ms Clark said the idea for the magazine came from recognising a lack of similar locally produced material.
“Most of the recipe books and information comes from America or the UK,” she said. “No-one was creating books for vegetarians or vegans here that were low-cost, really accessible publications, and that’s where I thought that we could definitely fill a gap.”
Since then, Aduki Magazine has had six issues and has expanded into a boutique publishing company.
Aduki Independent Press released three books last year and expected to release three more in 2008, on vegan soups and desserts and an essay collection on altruism.
Aduki was named Best Micro Business in Australia by Business Enterprise Centres in August.
Ms Clark said the business’s popularity had stemmed from her growing niche market.
“I think as people become more aware of the environmental impact of eating meat, as well as how much water is required to grow cattle … they are choosing a meat-free diet,” she said.
Aduki Magazine will become an online-only publication in 2008 in order to cut costs and “reach vegans all over the country”.
Ms Clark sent a hopeful message to vegans and vegetarians wanting to increase their restaurant presence in the area.
“If anyone’s interested in setting up vegan cafes or restaurants in the West, I would be more than happy to review and help promote them,” she said.
