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Democracy sausage: Vegan calls for equality this Election Day

Vegan options should be sold alongside democracy sausages at all polling booths this election, a senate candidate argues.

The selling of democracy sausages to raise funds for community groups has become a staple of elections across Australia.

Politicians from Scott Morrison to opposition leader Anthony Albanese have been photographed chowing down into piece of meat wrapped in white bread.

Everyone from Scott Morrison to the man on the street loves a democracy sausage, but vegans are missing out. Source: AAP
Everyone from Scott Morrison to the man on the street loves a democracy sausage, but vegans are missing out. Source: AAP

They're seen as the great leveller, a traditional Aussie barbecue that voters can flock around no matter what their political persuasion. That is unless you're a vegan.

Darren Brollo, Lead Senate Candidate for the Animal Justice Party, said he’s not specifically arguing against community groups serving meat, he simply wants everyone catered for.

Australia is after-all a democracy which should work to serve everyone, he argues.

“I think we really need to provide plant based options in 2022,” he told Yahoo News Australia.

“I think they're healthier, they're environmentally friendly, and obviously they're animal friendly.”

Mr Brollo said with vegan sausages easily available at Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and even sometimes Bunnings, he’d like to see election booths become just as “inclusive”.

Vegan options hard to find at election booths

DemocracySausage.org creates a hub for state and federal elections, allowing voters can search out booths with their favourite dietary requirements.

This includes gourmet options, including souvlaki and halloumi, along with Halal and vegetarian.

Despite growing interest in plant-based options only 387 of 2200 food stalls on the last federal election day in 2019, had vegetarian options, with 13 specifically mentioning vegans were catered for.

That number is actually an increase, because looking back to 2016, there were only 74 stalls serving people who don’t wish to eat animals.

Anthony Albanese's electorate of Grayndler had the most vegan stalls last Federal Election. Source: AAP
Anthony Albanese's electorate of Grayndler had the most vegan stalls last Federal Election. Source: AAP

Unsurprisingly the electorate with the largest number of booths with vegetarian options in 2019 was Anthony Albanese’s Grayndler.

It’s borders encompass the famously vegan-friendly Newtown, which has numerous plant-based restaurants which serve everything from pizza to sushi.

Next on the list was Sydney, followed by Cooper, which takes in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Goldstein in the southeast, and taking out the fifth spot is Newcastle.

Eating vegan on Election Day – a way to help the planet

Mr Brollo urges anyone environmentally minded to consider reaching for a plant-based option.

"Animal agriculture is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

"It creates much of the environmental devastation that we're seeing across the planet, whether it's deforestation, or animal effluent getting into the waterways."

Animal Justice Party candidate Darren Brollo wants to see vegan options available during elections. Source: Supplied
Animal Justice Party candidate Darren Brollo wants to see vegan options available during elections. Source: Supplied

He believes many people would buy a vegan or vegetarian option if given the chance.

"A lot of these smaller community groups that are doing amazing work out there," he said.

"They have the opportunity to profit from vegans and vegetarians who want to get out there and have a sausage on on election day."

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