Send this page to someone via email

When Hazel Foerstner was travelling through Europe, she had no idea which foods would comply with her vegan diet so she ended up just eating one dish per country to be safe.

“I figured: there’s got to be a better way to do it than this.”

That’s when the idea for Edibly was born.

She’s developing an app that will provide a list of vegan, vegetarian, even gluten-free menu items at Edmonton restaurants — and not just vegan restaurants — all restaurants.

READ MORE: Food for thought: the growing vegan and vegetarian industries

“If you live in Edmonton, you know where all the vegan and vegetarian restaurants are,” Foerstner said. “Sometimes there are restaurants where you don’t know what options there are and then you either have to sort of eat whatever is available or you have to go through that whole: ‘What do you have that’s vegan? Does this have butter on it? Does this have diary in it?’

Story continues below advertisement

“And it really does kind of turn a lot of people away from being vegan or vegetarian. Tweet This

“It winds up being either you have to call ahead every single time you go out or you have to stay home. Either that or you’re the annoying vegan, which a lot of people don’t want to be. That is definitely a barrier a lot of people have,” she explained.

Watch: Over the last decade, the vegan and vegetarian industries have grown substantially. More people are choosing plant-based options and more business are popping up to meet that demand. Caley Bedore has more on the expanding market and how people are putting their money where their mouths are. (Oct. 19, 2018)

2:04 More people are turning to plant-based diets More people are turning to plant-based diets

READ MORE: Vegetarian and vegan ‘meats’ are more popular than ever, but are they good for you?

Foerstner is planning on testing the prototype in January with the hopes of launching the app in March. She’s also looking for people to help test the alpha version of the app.

Story continues below advertisement

So far, her database includes 100 restaurants along with their veggie/vegan-friendly menu options.

“They tend to be very, very helpful with that, actually surprisingly so,” she said of her phone conversations with local restaurants. Tweet This

“They really are kind of excited about the opportunity to not have the same conversation over and over again — here’s what’s vegan and here’s what’s vegetarian — just giving you the ease of being able to look it up.”

READ MORE: The hottest trends in vegetarian food

Some restaurants have even surprised her with how many vegan offerings they have.

“I want to be vegan,” Foerstner said. “I’m trying very hard to be vegan but I’m bad at it, especially when I go to restaurants and I don’t know what I can eat there so I just kind of order what I think I can eat and wind up breaking vegan.

“I’m making it because I want it to be something that exists. I want to use it.” Tweet This

The Edibly app will also include a map search function to find food options near you, reviews from other users and a comments section.

READ MORE: Here’s what a world of net-zero carbon emissions looks like

Foerstner hopes it encourages people to try reducing the amount of meat and other animal products they consume — even by a small amount.

Story continues below advertisement

“One of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases actually is animal agriculture,” she said.

“If you’re a student, you probably can’t buy a Prius, you can’t install solar panels, but what you can do is just cut down on your meat consumption, even a little bit, even doing meatless Mondays, that helps a lot.”

Watch: VegFest Edmonton is a family friendly event that is open to the public. There will be plenty of vendors, food trucks, entertainment, and informative speakers. The focus is to showcase green, sustainable living with minimal wast in a fun festival atmosphere. It takes place at the Richie Community League on September 30. (Sept. 19, 2018)

4:17 Calling out all Vegans and non Vegans at VegFest Edmonton next weekend Calling out all Vegans and non Vegans at VegFest Edmonton next weekend