Being vegan..what does it mean to you?

peachyprice

onwards&upwards said:

HRH_MUngo wrote: »

TBH, I used to have no problems with veganism. My mum was almost a vegan, she did eat vegetarian cheese and used milk though.

Lol, like those ‘vegetarians’ who only eat chicken! :rotfl:

Yes, I had a mother-in-law like that, she was a vegetarian when she came to us, she didn't eat red meat but would eat chicken at home and would eat anything put in front of her including bacon and venison if she was staying with her favorite child.

Rambosmum

A whole foods plant based diet is focused on what you eat and eating no meat or dairy for health reasons and keeping to whole foods. People confuse plant based and whole food plant based diets with veganism but they are separate.

Veganism is a lifestyle which, where practicable, removes the use of animals and animal products and by-products. This includes eating a plant based diet. Veganism is entirely about animal rights and not about not liking meat, the environment, health etc. Some people start with a plant based and then become vegan. Some vegans have a plant based diet which is full of processed crap, others choose a healthier plant based diet. Just like omnivores sometimes eat crap diets and sometimes healthy. No that veganism has become 'trendy' marketers have jumped on the bad wagon and people presume that vegan=healthy, when they isn't, and never has been, the case. 

amandacat

I read somewhere that it’s better for 100 people to try to be vegan most of the time than for 1 person to be a perfect Vegan. Better relates to the environment and animal welfare. 
I did Veganuary for my health, I did eat a lot of nutritious food, lost some weight, felt more energetic and my skin condition cleared. However when researching recipes for Vegans, I couldn’t help falling on animal welfare stories and some things were a real eye opener for me, particularly around the horrors for cows in the milking industry and for egg laying hens including free range ones who all have their beaks burnt at the end to stop them pecking one another. 

Veganism to me is about recognising the exploitation of animals for human benefit and not supporting these practices. It is also about caring about our impact on the environment. A lot of people are vegetarian but actually quite often the animals involved in egg laying or milk production have a much more horrific life than those who are kept for meat. I’ve been on farms where the lambs and cows are free to roam and are well looked after. They are ultimately executed but their life until that point is good. 

I do think one day in the future they will look back at our farming practices today with horror. 

need_an_answer

amandacat said:

I read somewhere that it’s better for 100 people to try to be vegan most of the time than for 1 person to be a perfect Vegan. Better relates to the environment and animal welfare. 
I did Veganuary for my health, I did eat a lot of nutritious food, lost some weight, felt more energetic and my skin condition cleared. However when researching recipes for Vegans, I couldn’t help falling on animal welfare stories and some things were a real eye opener for me, particularly around the horrors for cows in the milking industry and for egg laying hens including free range ones who all have their beaks burnt at the end to stop them pecking one another. 

Veganism to me is about recognising the exploitation of animals for human benefit and not supporting these practices. It is also about caring about our impact on the environment. A lot of people are vegetarian but actually quite often the animals involved in egg laying or milk production have a much more horrific life than those who are kept for meat. I’ve been on farms where the lambs and cows are free to roam and are well looked after. They are ultimately executed but their life until that point is good. 

I do think one day in the future they will look back at our farming practices today with horror. 

Not trying in any way to be contentious,but I  am genuinely curious....you did the vegan thing in January...but what about feb,march and beyond?

Really whatever issues there are extend beyond one month animals will still be exploited even when vegan January is on etc.

I'm not knocking you for what you have achieved...a month without meat is a step in the right direction for those that support the cause...I'm just curious as to why it needs to stop at a month...why not continue and let it become your way of life if you saw and recognised a benefit to your health and wellbeing whilst doing it during January?

EmmyLou30

I have 3 vegan relatives and all are pleased that so many things are now being made vegan. A lot of the time many products have always been vegan but just never labelled as such. The sudden fashion for veganism means they spend a lot less time label reading so they don't care if it's a fad or that others aren't full time vegans - every little helps. It makes it easier to get by in a society where omnivores are the norm. Imagine what it's like to not be able to grab a snack at a motorway services, get something in the works canteen when you forgot your lunch, get a sandwich meal deal if you're on the road a lot or grab your lunch on the fly or you're a teenager who is with mates off to McDonalds or KFC. All these things have been made easier. It's not about eating vegan junk all the time any more than an omnivore eats all that convenience junk all the time (hopefully!), it's just great that they can get by without it being a massive pain in the rear!! My relatives aren't the preachy sort, they accept that anyone reducing meat intake is helping the planet and saving animals and that they will never change the world - they can just personally live their life with a clear conscience.

My vegan relatives mainly eat plant based dishes but also include meat substitutes. They all went veggie first and then full vegan because of the ethics of harming animals. They all loved meat. I actually don't think I've ever met a veggie or vegan that did it because they didn't like the taste of meat, it was always about the animals. One ate rare steaks and every fish and meat he could but gave it all up to stop harming animals. Doesn't mean he doesn't want something with a bit of meaty texture to go with his veg. Burgers and sausages are neatly packaged ways of eating meat - doesn't come off the animal like that so I really never got why meat eaters are so offended by fake burgers/sausages. 

Equally the argument that cows and pigs etc would die out if we stopped eating them never made much sense to me. I think most vegans would say a non existent animal is better than a tortured and then killed one. 

need_an_answer

Interesting post Emmylou...I guess your 3 vegan relatives haven't converted you yet?!

GaleSF63

I don't like being told I'm eating "vegetarian" food. As far as I'm concerned it's food, which happens to be suitable for vegetarians - or maybe vegans as well.  There's a suggestion by some people that if you don't eat meat all the time you must be a on the way to being a vegetarian and I've even seen newspaper articles which talk about "part-time vegetarians"

As it happens, I don't think I've had any meat-based food for the last several days (till today, quiche Lorraine). I've just eaten what I wanted.  

There are some things where I prefer the meat-free version  but it doesn't mean I am going vegetarian. 

I agree with prominent labels on products; shopping must be a nightmare sometimes for vegans and vegetarians, as long as the labels don't imply that the rest of us should leave it alone by calling it vegan food. Sometimes looking online can help even if you shop in a store because, for example on the Waitrose site you can use vegan as a keyword and everything that mentions it will come up.

bazdog

I have been vegetarian for almost 40 years.  I never liked the taste of any meat much and when I ate it I always felt bloated and lethargic.  DH was vegetarian so when we married it was not difficult for me to give up meat totally.  I now no longer have dairy as it upsets my stomach so now use oats milk, and non dairy yoghurt, cream etc.  I don't like cheese very much so not eating it doesn't bother me and I don't mind the vegan cheeses in cooking.  I just cannot give up eggs though.  I love them too much and we probably eat around 10 or more week.

We only buy true free range eggs though.  Luckily there are quite a lot of people close to us that keep chickens and you see them running around their gardens.

I don't really like meat substitutes - I never liked meat so why do I want to eat something that tastes like it.  I do quite like the quorn veggie bacon and occasionally eat Linda McCartney sausages.  We eat lots of veg, lentils, chickpeas, different types of beans.  I would rather have vegetable chilli or sweet potato and black bean chilli than one made with quorn mince.

Although I initially gave up eating meat just because I didn't like it, I have, over the year, become more aware and concerned about animal welfare.  I don't buy anything made of leather.  Wool I can't wear as I am allergic to it (even if something contains a tiny amount it makes me itch like crazy)

Ben84

Referring to the original post question - I think new vegan products are great. They provide alternatives to eating/wearing animals.

I don't spend much time thinking about how ethically vs. economically interested the creators were in veganism. I just want products I enjoy that don't use animals and are within my budget. Overall I'm quite positive about capitalism - but do think consumers need to be more aware of the wider effects of consuming resources. We collectively have massive power, so we should be more critical of where things come from and their wider effects on the world.