A Vegan Chat with Jacqui Sansonetti from Animals Australia

Jacqui Sansonetti is one busy vegan advocate!

Not only is Jacqui the Veg Outreach Coordinator for Australia’s largest animal advocacy group, Animals Australia, but she is also the person in charge of the Veganuary campaign here in Australia. When not doing this she can also be found working with the team from Freshly Picked, the plant-based cooking show on Network Ten!

it’s fair to say she is incredibly busy helping to make veganism a part of all Australians’ lives and so we were thrilled when she agreed to answer ten quick questions with us here at LGV.

We hope you enjoy the chat with Jacqui!

Tell us how you started on your vegan journey?

Ooh boy! This journey was a long one. When I was 8, one of my older sisters was given a chick to look after in primary school. I remember watching her run across the school oval with the chick running after her. Something just kind of clicked, and I asked mum if the chicken we eat is like that chicken. It sounds silly, but food just kind of has its own names and you don’t think about it as a kid. When mum confirmed I’d been eating chickens, I stopped eating all animals immediately. That same older sister went vegan pretty much straight away and would throw bits of information about what’s in my food. Cochineal and gelatine in my much-loved lollies…rennet in my cheese…I stopped eating foods containing animals, as well as using any leather, suede, wool, silk etc, but didn’t learn more about dairy and eggs until I was in my 20s. I’d always thought that was ok because by-products didn’t require killing the animals. How wrong I was…! So at 25 I made the change and have never looked back.

What has been the best part of going vegan?

Honestly, the way I feel. Not in terms of health and fitness, though I’m sure that’s a positive too, but when I made that decision, I felt like a huge weight had lifted off me. I’ve always felt a strong sense of protection for animals, and it hurt knowing what was happening every day in the food systems to them. When I was finally living a life that aligned with my values and was no longer contributing to suffering…that’s the best feeling.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge in the beginning was dealing with the response from others around a dinner table. Suddenly, your decisions become the conversation. I’ve been vegan for 15 years this year, and while attitudes are a lot different now, there was a lot of mocking. It’s a fine line between keeping nice and laughing it off and staying true to your values. I was never much good at laughing it off, but I learned to show people that my lifestyle was based on very real issues and deserved to be treated with respect.

What is your role professionally in the vegan space?

I’m the ‘Veg Outreach Coordinator’ with Animals Australia. I work predominantly in the area of veg food advocacy on the site, VegKit.com, which is home to hundreds of vegan recipes. I write content for the site, do some video content from time to time for socials, corporate outreach, work on partnerships…it’s really varied. We’re the official partner in Australia for the Veganuary campaign so I work a bit on that, as well as on the show Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey.

What do you hope to achieve through your work?

While my job is largely food-based, it’s always about the animals. I want to normalise vegan eating, provide encouragement and support to those making the switch, plant seeds in those who had never considered it, and make it fun, easy, and accessible as possible. In short, I want everyone to eat good food and save all the animals!

You are based in Melbourne, where is the best vegan food found?

Lucky you said I could name more than one! Smith & Deli is always going to be at the top of my list – I never thought I’d be so excited by sandwiches! Smith & Daughters and Lona Misa for a nice dinner…Red Sparrow for any time…and the very understated Sampoorna Vegetarian Surprise in Mount Waverley for the best Indian. They seem to get overlooked a bit but I travel from the other side of town for their food and can’t recommend it enough. (my hot tip is the aloo bharta – tell ’em I sent you! 😉)

What are some of your favourite vegan brands?

Oof! Where do I start?! I love all things spicy, so definitely Lil’ Becky’s Hotsauce. All their sauces are incredible, but I love that they donate a portion of profits to Pets of the Homeless. I’m a sucker for a brand that gives back.

Juanita’s Kitchen range of Mexican and West African style products are my secret ingredient kitchen staples. And to level out the spice with some sweetness, UK brand Jeavons Toffee. They do small batch toffee treats that are my ultimate weakness. They might be expensive to ship, but they are worth every penny!

If you could travel anywhere to eat a vegan meal, where would it be and why?

Since you said anywhere, I’m also gonna time travel this one and say Brooklyn, NYC, for the breakfast burrito with hollandaise from Champs Diner. Unfortunately they closed down earlier this year, but they were amazing. I love a diner, and being all vegan and in NYC, it was open until at least midnight with so many options!

If I’m not allowed to time travel, I’m heading to Germany for an ice cream sundae from Max Pett and to Veganz for their tomatenschtangen, which is essentially a deep-fried pizza stick filled with the best gooey, melty cheese…! Plus, while I’m already in Germany, I may as well go knock on the door of the Vego factory…I mean, it’d be rude not to, right?!

A vegan world is….

…A world living its values. It’s a world full of care and compassion for animals, the natural world, and each other.

Who should we interview next?

I’d love to see you interview Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, founder of (the now sadly defunct) vegan fashion house, Vaute Couture. She has just opened up her second fashion business, Humans We Love.  She has always been a huge inspiration to me when it comes to vegan advocacy in business – she’s a legend!

Final Thoughts

Thank you so much for chatting with us Jacqui! What a fantastic vegan story and amazing work you are now doing! To see some of Jacqui’s work in action be sure to visit Animals Australia, Freshly Picked, and look out for the international Veganuary campaign here in Australia. To read more vegan chats like this one, be sure to visit our interview area here.

LGV!