Vegan for January

Vegan or vegetarian will make little or no difference to our health until chemicals are no longer used to increase the production of food to feed our overpopulated world.
Our seas also are contaminated with goodness knows what.As a child I did not like meat so it has never been a hardship for me to eat meat free and there are plenty of alternatives to choose from.
How ever I shudder, on reading the packaging on our foods, as to the amount of additives used in what are seen as 'healthy' alternatives.

Does anybody doing this diet even realise how restrictive a vegan lifestyle is? It doesn't just mean giving up meat, eggs & dairy. It reminds me of friends who've turned vegetarian, and now only consume fish & chicken- ok they've given up beef, pork, lamb but they are NOT vegetarian.

0.07 % of the population is vegan and many of these are inexperienced youngsters who are taking an extremist line. It is an extreme position and should not be encouraged on health or moral grounds.

I read recently that its sudden poularity is causing problems as it is linked to depression. The only three vegans I knew were not normally adjusted people though whether the mental imbalance caused the veganism or the deprived diet triggered the mental instability I couldn't say.

The best vegan joke around explains a lot about the mindset.

Q. How do you know someone's a vegan?
A. They'll tell you.

Life's too short, why make it miserable by eating only rabbit food.
The vegans I have known have been anorexics eating the minimum they could get away with. I do not believe it is normal to exclude whole groups of food unless it is a medical requirement.

Why? Is it for health reasons or just joining the current fad?

Meriel - people are going vegan for various reasons (I've been one for a few years now, & prior to that a veggie for quite a few). Health, compassion for animals, & probably some people who just want to try something different.

I find that I am asked questions (sometimes interrogated even) far more than I ever offer up the information that I am vegan unprompted - people seem to love to quiz you once they find out! And I should add that I don't mind that at all, I'm always happy to satisfy any curiosity.

However, sometimes I find that simply being vegan means you get a lot of scorn or even anger aimed at your lifestyle (as per the last two posts!) by people who possibly don't know much about it. I wonder how many people stop to think about how insulting it is to be called an 'extremist' simply because you choose not to consume certain things for the good of other living creatures?

I'm also speaking as a perfectly healthy older woman, without any health complaints or deficiencies, who ran a half marathon last year!

Oh, and I'm not miserable, nor do I eat rabbit food! That's simply an outdated view.

lesley I think it's rather people waking up to the environmental impact of the meat and dairy industries than anything else. This is a quick overview if you're interested: www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/9-reasons-why-veganism-can-save-the-world/

Yes...giving up giving up.

Cheese has zero health benefits. Its actually the last of the last that they can get out of milk and yet it costs the earth for a block...

I have a milk allergy so have had to give up all dairy products (except eggs of course). Over the years I have tried to find cheese substitute as that was the hardest thing to give up, and at last I have found Tesco "free from" product, which tastes like cheese - I would recommend it to those of you who have gone Vegan but miss cheese. Its made mainly of coconut, strangely enough.

I've been a vegetarian for 40+ years and the only fish/seafood I eat are cod and smoked haddock, nothing else. I have full-fat everything; milk, yogurts, cream, butter and love cheese but all in moderation. Bread is usually home made baguettes or rye with 6 seeds, occasionally rolls or croissants. Fruit and veg obviously...lots. I don't take any supplements or vitamins and, being a blood donor for the past 41 years (97 donations so far) it hasn't affected my blood count. I think that eating meat/ game/fowl is unneccesary but that's just my preference. It has absolutely no taste except if it's marinaded, rubbed with spices or jazzed up with sauces. My children are all meat eaters and sometimes get annoyed with me as I don't drink any alcohol either as I don't like the taste. I guess that makes me pretty boring as I also hate smoking/being around smokers. Actually, I'm pretty easy to please as I REALLY like veggie Indian food. veeraswamy in Regent St (London) used to be almost my second home when I worked in the City. Now there are thousands of totally vegetarian outlets in towns around the UK.

I'd be concerned about not getting enough calcium.. We need to think about our bone health.

Hell no!!!!!! Haven’t met a vegan who isn’t a weirdo yet?

I think I would struggle, but I am making a start with meat free Monday

Umm, Vegetarians out there. If you have made that choice for animal welfare reasons. My logical mind can't tie in the consumption of dairy foods with a stance on animal welfare.
You have to put a cow in calf to get milk, so what do you do with the calf?

I'm just trying to eat healthily and am looking forward to getting back into a normal routine. Yesterday was the first day for around three weeks that I actually bothered to prepare a proper meal because of this wretched virus.
And I'm still b....y well coughing.

Okay, but honestly how do you stay hunger free?? Without protein an hour after eating would be searching round and getting very bad tempered. Nuts may fill the gap. It is a bit like friends who tell me their water made porridge keeps them going until lunchtime, no such luck.

I am vegan, and certainly don't consider myself a 'weirdo'! I'm vegan because of the unspeakable cruelty inherent in the meat and dairy industry, despite the so-called 'high welfare' principles in the UK . These are, in fact, not 'high welfare' at all, and anyone wanting to educate themselves about what actually goes on in the animal food industries should watch the you-tube documentary. 'Land of Hope and Glory', and also the documentary, 'Earthlings'. I am extremely strong and healthy, and eat a wide variety of foods, including 'convenience foods' such as veggie burgers etc when I'm in a hurry. Being vegan is not about diet though, it's about not participating in animal abuse. Nor can it legitimately be considered a 'personal choice' because it involves a third-party victim, who has no choice. Anyone doing 'Veganuary' will have a great month, and will not regret it! Hopefully, they'll carry on!

No edit facility! Frustrating! To clarify the last bit, eating animal products cannot be legitimately be considered a matter of 'personal choice' because it involves a third-party victim, who has no choice.

No edit facility! Frustrating! To clarify the last bit, eating animal products cannot be legitimately be considered a matter of 'personal choice' because it involves a third-party victim, who has no choice.

No edit facility! Frustrating! To clarify the last bit, eating animal products cannot be legitimately be considered a matter of 'personal choice' because it involves a third-party victim, who has no choice.

No edit facility! Frustrating! To clarify the last bit, eating animal products cannot be legitimately be considered a matter of 'personal choice' because it involves a third-party victim, who has no choice.

I will happily eat vegetarian and vegan meals on occasion but will not be giving up animal based food.
In evolutionary terms all the major advances of mankind have coincided with expanded diet. We are at our present stage of evolutionary development precisely because we are omnivorous.
It is extremely difficult, and very expensive, to put together a palatable diet without using animal products. Veganism is just another fad.
My concern is that adults may inflict this diet on children. There have already been deaths and failure to thrive reported through children being fed a diet inadequate to the needs of their growing bodies and brains.

I eat meat, however, I have no problem with those who choose not to. I do sometimes get annoyed at the extremists who demonstrate outside of restaurants calling the customers "murderers" We recently had a demonstration outside a restaurant where many young children were eating and were reduced to tears by the aggressive comments made by the protesters. By all means maintain a meat free diet if you wish, but don't try to dictate to me what I should or should not be eating (I am not suggesting anyone on GN is doing that!)