How to survive as a vegan on Greenland

Greenland is not the typical destination for a vegan, considering the fact that the country is cold, icy and barren so almost no edible plants grow there, but despite that, I decided to go vegan on the day that I moved temporarily to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. I was expecting to have a hard time keeping to my new diet, as I honestly didn’t think the shops would have many vegan foods, but I soon learned how very wrong I had been. Being vegan in Nuuk was much easier than I’d feared, although it was a different story once I travelled outside the capital.

This vegan travel guide is based on my experiences while living in Nuuk for 5 months from September 2018 to February 2019, with travels to North and South Greenland in between. I hope this travel guide will be useful to you, if you’re travelling to or living in Greenland as a vegan! Because yes, it is possible to be vegan in the Arctic!

Food culture in Greenland

Greenlandic cuisine is traditionally based on the available resources, which means meat, meat and more meat. Of course, there are some edible wildflowers and berries as well, but the cuisine is mainly based on meat from marine mammals, fish, game and birds. Since the colonization of Greenland in 1721 and the increasing trade with other countries, the food scene has been influenced by especially Danish and American cuisine, which means even more meat, but also a lot of imported goods such as vegetables and grains, so it’s now possible for a vegan to survive there.

Useful words and phrases

I studied West Greenlandic for 3,5 months, but trust me, it’s not an easy language and the pronunciation is really hard, so I’ll give you the words in Danish instead. Most locals speak Danish as well as Greenlandic, and most of them also speak English, so you should be fine! Also, almost all items that aren’t local meat or fish has to be imported to Greenland (unfortunately), so the ingredient lists are almost always written in Danish.

Phrases

• I’m vegan = Jeg er veganer
• Is it vegan? = Er det vegansk?
• I don’t eat meat, dairy or egg = Jeg spiser ikke kød, mælkeprodukter eller æg
• I’m lactose-intolerant = Jeg er laktoseintolerant
• Can I order this without meat, milk, cheese or egg? = Kan jeg bestille dette uden kød, mælk, ost eller æg?
• Can I order this with soy milk? = Kan jeg bestille dette med sojamælk?
• Does this contain…? = Indeholder dette…?

Words on ingredient lists

Non-vegan

• Meat = Kød
• Pork = Svinekød/svin
• Ham = Skinke
• Lard = Svinefedt/spæk
• Beef = Oksekød
• Chicken = Kylling/høns
• Veal = Kalvekød/kalv
• Lamb = Lammekød/lam
• Turkey = Kalkun
• Fish = Fisk
• Shellfish = Skaldyr
• Whale = Hval
• Seal = Sæl
• Milk = Mælk
• Powdered milk = Mælkepulver
• Whey powder = Vallepulver
• Butter = Smør
• Cheese = Ost
• Rennet = Osteløbe
• Egg = Æg
• Gelatin = Gelatine
• Isinglass = Husblas
• Honey = Honning
• Beeswax = Bivoks
• Shellac = Shellak
• May contain traces of = Kan indeholde spor af
• Contains = Indeholder

Vegan

• Vegan = Vegansk
• Vegetables = Grøntsager
• Fruit = Frugt
• Mushrooms = Champignoner/svampe
• Soy = Soja
• Oat = Havre
• Coconut = Kokos
• Rice = Ris
• Almond = Mandel
• Lentils = Linser
• Beans = Bønner
• Dried fruit = Tørret frugt
• Nuts = Nødder
• Without/free from = Uden/fri for
• Dairy free = Mælkefri

NOTE: When the ingredient lists contain animal products such as dairy or egg, it’s often written in bold letters, although this is usually not the case with meat, fish, honey and gelatin.

What to eat as a vegan in Greenland

In Nuuk, you will be able to eat really well as a vegan. Most of the restaurants and cafés have great vegan/vegetarian menus, and it’s also easy to cook exciting vegan dishes for yourself. The supermarkets have a vast variety of vegan foods and you can even find vegan cheese, yoghurt, chocolate and ice cream!

But all other villages in the country will be a challenge. In the larger villages such as Ilulissat, Sisimiut and Qaqortoq, it’s possible to find some vegan foods in the supermarkets, but the restaurants and cafés rarely have anything vegan or even vegetarian on the menu apart from fries, so in those places you’ll have to cook for yourself (or live off of fries!).

In the small villages such as Narsarsuaq, Kangerlussuaq, Kulusuk and Tasiilaq, it’s a different story. You’ll be lucky to find a few vegan milk substitutes, but even fresh vegetables and fruits are hard to come by because of limited import supplies, especially in the winter and spring. But where restaurants exist, fries usually exist!

Go-to vegan brands found in Greenland

• Naturli’ (all sorts of vegan foods, yoghurts, ice creams and plant milks plus some frozen vegan foods)
• Hälsan Kök (frozen vegan and vegetarian foods)
• Violife (vegan cheese)
• Tjois (vegan burger mixes)
• Vegin (vegan burger mixes and vegan sausages)
• Upton’s Naturals (jackfruit products)
• Nutana (vegan spreads)
• Alpro (vegan milks and yoghurts)
• Yofu (vegan yoghurts)
• Choice/Swedish Glace (vegan ice creams)
• MooFree (vegan chocolates)
• King Monty (vegan chocolates)
• Candy Tree (vegan toffees)
• The Humble Co (vegan toothpastes and bamboo toothbrushes)

Other brands that sell vegan foods

• Daloon (frozen vegan products)
• Grand Gout (vegan ready meals)
• Katjes (vegan sweets – Salte Fisk, Eventyrland and Jordbærsmag)
• Panda (vegan liquorice)
• Kingfisher (vegan liquorice)
• Änglamark (vegan sweets)
• Ben&Jerry’s (vegan ice creams)
• Gio (vegan ice creams)
• Breyers (vegan ice creams)

Supermarket supplies

Nuuk

• Basic foods = Pasta, pastasauce, spaghetti, lasagne sheets, granola, rice, bulgur, couscous, lentils, beans, coconut oil, tinned coconut milk, vegetable oil, plant margarine, ketchup, frozen vegetables, fresh vegetables, tinned tomatoes, frozen fruits, fresh fruits, mushrooms, rye bread, tortillas, tacos and nachos. In addition, some white breads are vegan.

• Vegan foods = Hummus, falafel, tofu, vegan paté, veggie ready meals, vegan sausages, vegan mince, vegan burgers, seitan, vegan yoghurts, vegan whipped cream, vegan cheeses, vegan cheese spreads, vegan spreads, vegan chocolate spreads, vegan mayonnaise, vegan remoulade, honey alternatives, egg alternatives, frozen vegetable samosas, frozen vegetable burgers, frozen vegan nuggets frozen vegan mince, frozen vegan schnitzel, frozen sausage rolls, frozen falafel, frozen vegan pizza and frozen vegan meatballs.

• Vegan drinks = Soy milk, soy vanilla milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, soy chocolate milk and almond chocolate milk.

• Basic snacks = Dried fruits, nuts, digestive biscuits, rice cakes, oreos (the ones without chocolate coating), crispbread, dark chocolate (some – check the ingredient lists), crisps (salt or paprika and sometimes barbecue), some hard candy, some liquorice sweets, some jelly sweets, some sour jelly sweets, popcorn and breadsticks.

• Vegan snacks = Vegan ice creams, vegan chocolates and vegan toffees.

• Other = Vegan natural toothpaste and bamboo toothbrushes from The Humble Co. For vegan vitamin tablets, you can get the OmniVegan multivitamin tablets for 189 DKK for 90 tablets in Matas, located in the Nuuk Center.

Larger villages

• Basic foods = Pasta, pastasauce, spaghetti, lasagne sheets, granola, rice, bulgur, lentils, beans, coconut oil, vegetable oil, plant margarine, frozen vegetables, fresh vegetables, tinned tomatoes, frozen fruits, fresh fruits, mushrooms, rye bread, tortillas, tacos and nachos. In addition, some white breads are vegan.

• Vegan foods = Hummus, tofu, vegan ready meals, vegan mince, frozen vegetable samosas and frozen vegan burgers.

• Vegan drinks = Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, soy chocolate milk and almond chocolate milk.

• Basic snacks = Dried fruits, nuts, digestive biscuits, oreos (the ones without chocolate coating), crispbread, dark chocolate, crisps (salt or paprika and sometimes barbecue), some hard candy, some liquorice sweets, some sour jelly sweets, popcorn and breadsticks.

Small villages

• Basic foods = Pasta, pastasauce, spaghetti, lasagne sheets, granola, rice, beans, vegetable oil, frozen vegetables, frozen fruits and rye bread. In addition, some white breads are vegan.

• Vegan drinks = Some smaller villages have vegan milk substitutes such as soy or coconut milk, but don’t count on it.

• Snacks = Digestive biscuits, oreos (the ones without chocolate coating), dried fruit, nuts, crisps (salt or paprika and sometimes barbecue) and popcorn.

Restaurants and cafés

As mentioned above, Nuuk is the only place where you can get vegan dishes at restaurants and cafés. Many of them have a great vegan/veggie menu, and you can often get your coffee, tea or hot chocolate with soy milk instead of dairy milk – you just have to ask for it!

Here’s a list of the restaurants and cafés in Nuuk that have vegan foods on their menu:

• Katti’s Shop Café = Mostly vegan/veggie foods! Here you can get vegan smoothies, vegan superbowls and vegan tomato soup.

• Café Pascucci = Chia and carrot nuggets, quinoa and chili bites, veggie bagel (vegan if ordered without bread), quesadilla (vegan if ordered without cheese), veggie burger with beetroot, falafel or quinoa (vegan if ordered without bread) and fries. You can also get a delicious chai latte with soy milk!

• Café Esmeralda = Chia and carrot nuggets, quinoa and chili bites, sandwich with beetroot hummus, vegan burger with falafel, mexi or quinoa and fries.

• Cafétuaq (Katuaq) = Chili non carne (vegan if ordered without sour cream), pasta salad (vegan if ordered without pesto and garlic bread) and fries. The salad of the day is sometimes vegan. They also have a really nice hot chocolate with soy milk.

• Red Dragon Café = Noodles with vegetables and soy sauce and pinto bean salad.

• Charoen Porn = Kaeng Phed Pak (red curry with vegetables)

• Sawadee = Vegetalia (vegan if ordered without oyster sauce)

• Restaurant Qulaani = Vegan side dishes such as root vegetable crisps, fries and roasted vegetables. If you call in advance (in the morning of the day at the latest), you can order a vegan dish.

• Sarfalik = If you call in advance, you can order a vegan three-course meal.

• Godthåbshallens Pizza & Kebab House = They will make a vegan pizza if you bring your own cheese.

• Café Toqqorfik = They sometimes serve vegan soups.

• Bone’s = Salad bar

• A Hereford Beefstouw = Salad bar

Prices for vegan foods

In general, food is expensive in Greenland, but so is everything else. If you’ve chosen to travel there, you’re probably already aware of this. In general, everything is slighty more expensive than in Scandinavia, in particular some vegetables, but if you’re on a budget, you can always buy the frozen ones. The vegan substitute products cost approximately the same as in Scandinavia.

In the cafés and restaurants in Nuuk, vegan foods are usually priced the same as other dishes, although Café Esmeralda and Café Pascucci charge 35 DKK extra for vegan cheese on their nachos.

Can I travel to Greenland as a vegan?

Yes, you certainly can! And you don’t have to compromise on your diet.

Base yourself in Nuuk and travel out from there, and maybe bring some stuff with you if you spend a lot of time in the smaller villages. If you decide to go on multiple-day treks in the wilderness, you can stock up on vegan field rations before going (buy them online, I haven’t seen any in Nuuk). If you’re based in a smaller villages, you can still absolutely survive, and I’m sure you’ll be able to make exciting dishes, but it will be harder as there’s no quick vegan fix – oh, and you’ll have to live off of fries when eating out!

One thing to keep in mind is that being vegan in the Arctic is not sustainable at all, since everything but local meat and fish has to be imported. Try to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables if possible, and preferably stuff that has “only” been imported from Denmark or other European countries, so it’s not double import.

Veganism in Greenland isn’t very common, especially outside of Nuuk, so you might get a few funny remarks in return when telling people that you’re vegan. Remember to respect the local customs and traditions, which involve A LOT of animal products, even if you don’t agree with them – you’re a guest in their country, after all!

I hope that this guide will be useful to you, if you’re vegan or vegetarian and planning to head to Greenland! Please let me know in the comments if there’s anything I’ve missed or a restaurant/café that has been overlooked!

And remember never to be discouraged to travel because of your diet – veganism is possible anywhere, even in the Arctic!

Updated 10/01/2021