There have been more and more good apps for vegans out there (Happy Cow & Vanilla Bean for vegan places to eat, Food Monster & Forks Over Knives are apps for vegan recipes, Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen & the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart for vegan diet trackers) but we feel like we've just found the best vegan app of them all - or a wonder addition to this list anyway. I guess the challenge is familiar to all vegans: ever been to a restaurant that had no vegan options? Just a salad? Or not even that - just a Caesar salad that you could order without the grilled chicken (but still had to pay full price)? Ever had fights or arguments with non-vegan members of your family or with friends over where to go out for dinner? Ever wondered whether there are vegan snacks at Target, vegan products at Lidl (like vegan shampoo) or vegan ice cream at Walmart? Ever travelled to a foreign country and wondered 'hmm... any 100% vegan restaurants near me or will I be stuck with a vegetarian place again without the cheese plz'? (Okay, depends on the country, sure.) Abillion ("A billion vegans") is an app that seems to have the solutions to these problems. It aims to "build a global community that catalyses millions of people and businesses do what’s right for their body, the animals and the planet", that is: "go vegan!" [Note: this post was last updated on the 18th of December, 2023.]
Apps for Vegans... an Abundance
Among the above listed existing apps for vegans, Abillion (previously 'Abillionveg', short for 'a billion vegans'), at first glance, may look just like any other: it is an app for your smartphone (download link here, there's also an online, desktop version that you can access via your browser, either way please feel free to use referral code 'travellingweasels' to support us). The app collects reviews from all around the world about vegan products ("a discovery and consumer advocacy platform", as they call it in the video below). So why do we think that Abillion is the best vegan app out there?
First and foremost, it helps vegans connect and share information with each other about vegan restaurants (in a similar way to Happy Cow and Vanilla Bean) but it's more than that: you can review meals not only made in restaurants, bars, cafés and street food franchises (or individual food booths) but other vegan products as well: vegan food products at a supermarket chain, vegan cosmetics, vegan (leather-free) clothing and apparel - anything that is produced in a plant-based way and is animal-cruelty free. So it is not only a vegan restaurant finder app, it is much more, it covers all vegan products out there. We have already written and posted some reviews of vegan products that we tried in the past (like this gorgeous pair or FAIR slippers) but now we've started reviewing on Abillionveg, as well! Why? "Review and drive change" is their motto and it does fit. So how does it work exactly?
Why is Abillionveg the Best Vegan App IMHO?
On their website, Abillionveg write that they are "a team of tech geeks and sustainability warriors building an ecosystem to inspire & connect people and businesses around the world." Abillionveg is not only for end-users and/or consumers, it is also an invaluable source of information for companies around the world, vegan and non-vegan alike. Several representatives of companies have explained this in their promo video:
"Our chefs in the kitchen aren't vegan so for them it's interesting to hear what vegan diners think and what vegan diners are looking for", says Nick Freeman, general manager of Pizza Express Singapore. We think that the Abillionveg app is especially important for non-vegan companies and restaurants to realise that there is a big (and growing: "The global vegan food market size was valued at USD 12.69 billion in 2018 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2019 to 2025', according to this analysis) market niche out there for animal-cruelty free food products: feedback is considered, the palette of vegan products broadened and/or improved, with restaurants chains and even big, corporate companies increasing their availability of plant-based options year by year.
The takeaway is: with our conscious consumer attitude we are able to influence the marketplace and push non-vegan companies into more vegan-friendly territory - or, who know, maybe even convert some of them using the 'Poke' option? (we usually poke them with 'have you thought of becoming a worker co-op?' lol) So this would be our second reason for being confident in writing that Abillionveg is the best vegan app out there: it can actually influence the market and the companies themselves because they will actually get your feedback - this is something that other apps for vegans cannot do!
Best Vegan App for Rescuing Animals: Abillion
Our third reason for calling Abillion the best vegan app of all the apps made for vegans out there (sorry, maybe I over-SEOd that) is that it donates one dollar to an animal sanctuary somewhere in the world after every review posted and uploaded. You have to take your own photo though... but if you're gonna take a picture of your food anyway for FB or Instagram, why not upload it here, too? I mean, Happy Cow is great but this is absolutely awesome, isn't it?
With your reviews, not only are you spreading information about vegan friendly products and services, providing feedback for companies to improve their vegan services, your are also supporting the animal liberation movement - that is, the animals themselves! One of their collaborators, for example, Kindred Spirits (Los Angeles, USA) is bringing the experience of caring for rescued farm animals to public schools and potentially, "sharing in their realization that an animal is what’s been on their plate"... which can be a life changer, especially at such a young age! Hungarian bf Tamás says he wishes he had that experience at the age of ten (instead, he was taken to Hungarian pig slaughters every winter ugh) To see the list of all the animal sanctuaries that Abillionveg is working with, check here.
Our Abillion Review: The Best Vegan App Out There
"A world with at least a billion people committed to plant-based living by 2030" is another one their mottos - sounds great, if you ask me! Vegan comrades, we beg you to start writing your reviews for other fellow vegans, vegan companies and for the sake of animals! Thank you, on behalf of the non-human animal population of this planet. If you want to support the app, the movement and us, VeganVsTravel as well, use this link plz to download the app and when registering, please use our referral code: TRAVELLINGWEASELS
Travellingweasels.com is our sister site devoted to travelling around the world in a way that is affordable, cheap, eco-friendly (well, we're trying to get better at that... it's a learning curve) and also trying to help travellers see through the illusions of the travel industry (travel bloggers included), to emphasize the environmental impact of global travel and tourism, as well as the local environmental and social problems that your average tour guide might not shove in your face (but we think is important). If you're a like-minded traveller and vegan, you can follow Vegan vs travel on Facebook, Instagram and even Youtube - that being said, here is my reaction to Earthlings, one of the many influences that made me and my ex go vegan:
P.S. If you want to support the app, the movement and us, VeganVsTravel as well, feel free to use this link to download the app and when registering, please use our referral code: TRAVELLINGWEASELS
