What would it take for you to become vegan?

[Strivetobe]

A genuine question after a conversation some friends and I were having. They said that they'd become vegan if the ready meals and prepackaged vegan meals were cheaper. It got me thinking, are there any conditions under which you would consider veganism and if so, what are they?

For me it was health and environmental awareness. I suffer from psorasis and had read that cutting out dairy in particular might help.

I did Veganuary this year having never been vegan or vegetarian before. I didn't expect to last a week but 5 months later I am still going. I have lost 13kgs, sleep like a baby and have more energy than I ever have. Skin is improved but not the magic cure I might have hoped for.

I actually don't have an ethical problem with the principle of using animal products but the rate and the way in which we consume them is unsustainable IMHO.

One of the things which frustrates me is that people feel it is a private club which full of judgy people. Most vegans are lovely friendly people who are happy to help if you want more information but don't judge you for your choices.

I am in a vegan/ veggie support group as we aren't in the UK and options are more limited here. We also have meat eaters in the group who just want to explore it and try some new ideas. I joined months before I became vegan and was really welcomed.

I have noticed that often when I tell people I am vegan (only if it comes up) people are often quite agressive or defensive about it. I am sure because they assume I am judging them and I am absolutely not!

Ultimately, the environment is going to be better served if everyone cuts down on animal products, rather than a small number being really restrictive, so every little bit helps.

@DontCallMeShitley
Palm oil is actually the most high yielding plant oil so if responsibly grown, is not a bad product. Obviously there are deforestation issues with a lot of palm oil but that is a symptom of our global farming culture. Plus, it is used in foods which are not designed to be vegan but because it is a cheaper alternative to butter. The Food programme on radio 4 did a really good episode on it which is on iPlayer.

@Purpletigers I totally agree about the issues with almond milk. Plus because the nectar on almonds is low, they struggle with pollination so bees are shipped in and forced to pollinate whilst being supplemented with sugar syrup so people who won't eat honey have issues with the exploitation of bees in these circumstances.

However, just as it is not as simple as 'all meat is bad' it is a fact that vegan food production is going to be perfect. It is always going to be about choosing individual products according to your own ethical standpoint.

I don't think I could, mainly as I have allergies to certain fruit and veg.

I also have an issue when you look at 'meat' substitutes have a long list of ingredients, I would rather eat a wide variety of food that are more natural and less ingredients.

It is also not just food though is it, you need to look at what buy clothes, shoes, furniture well just about everything.

It so much more then just what you eat it's the whole lifestyle.

The comment upthread by purpletigers about there being too many people is bang on the money. One of the best things we could do for the planet is to gradually reduce the human population. That would allow us to rewild large areas with attendant benefits for all types of wildlife.

As for palm oil, the clearance of rainforest is horrendous and a lot of it is driven by palm oil production. However, there are loads of palm oil estates on land that was originally cleared for rubber a century or so ago.

They spout so much shit about the affect animals have on the environment and have absolutely no regard for the rainforests that are being destroyed to grow soya AND then their carbon footprint in transporting said soya to the UK.
Sorry, rant over!

Just wanted to point out that soya is grown in lots of places, we even grow it in the UK. Alpro only use soya grown in Europe. The majority of soya is grown for animal feed regardless.
Oh and Quinoa, if anyone mentions it also grows in places other than S.America. We even grow it on the small island that I live on.
Urgh, why can't I quote??

Oat milk is nicer than almond milk and is made in Europe. We are trialling a vegetarian diet after months of swapping from 2 veggie meals a week to 2 meat meals a week. I don't want to go vegan. My DS1 does but he can do it if he wants when he is able to cook meals for himself.

I eat very little meat, so could manage going vegetarian I think. But not vegan. I’d miss eggs, cheese, yoghurt and milk so much.

I find soy products and things like quorn and tofu absolutely vile.

Urgh, why can't I quote?

I think you need to put an asterisk at the end of each paragraph. If the poster hits the shift button to make a new paragraph or even single line, then you treat the next line/paragraph as a separate section and asterisk it.

Anyone struggling with milk substitutes, try Oatly. I couldn't get on with soya milk, or almond milk or any of the other plant based substitutes, especially in tea, but now I drink Oatly in preference to dairy milk.There's a fresh and long life version, both delicious. I wish they could sort me out with a decent cheese...

A personal chef who cooks all my meals and makes sure all my nutritional needs are catered for. Then I'd be happy to do it.

I’m vegan so already done it

Even as a 5 year old I didn’t like the taste and texture of meat, I was ridiculed and bullied to eat it. Became vegetarian at 12 then through that found out about the horrors of the dairy industry.

I feel much better as a vegan, lighter and healthier. As a veggie I relied too much on cheese. Never liked milk so that’s not been a problem. In the past 2 years the range of vegan food has shot through the roof and eating out is soo easy now. Yesterday was DSs birthday he wanted Greggs for lunch (sausage rolls) and Pizza Hut for dinner (BBQ jackfruit pizza) both lovely.

Nothing, probably. I do admire people who are vegan as I think it's probably better for the planet, but I'd struggle to give up dairy. I don't eat meat in any case.

I think the best compromise for me might be to eat vegan food several days per week, while still allowing myself non-vegan treats on the other days. I'm working towards that.

It took having gallstone problems and being in agonising pain, right up there with childbirth, every time I ate something with a bit of fat for me to become a reluctant vegan.

It took four months to get my gallbladder out. In that time I lost over three and a half stone and my hair started dropping out. It wasn't the worst four months of my life but it was right fucking up there.

Never, ever. I value my mental and physical health too much to consider eating nutrient-poor diet long term.

Check out regenerative farming, where ruminants and other animals are helping to heal the land (without destructive chemicals) replenish topsoil, enrich the environment and encourage birds, small mammals, insects, essential bacteria to flourish again. Hedgerows, copses, regenerating again.

How can a hen's egg from my mum's backyard hens be wrong to eat. It is an incredible form of nutrient-dense food. Obviously battery hen farms need outlawed and ppl encouraged to keep hens for their egg consumption, like we used to.

Too much franken-food, highly processed cr@p being pushed on population. A lot of it touted as being 'vegan' I notice.

As I said, I think oat milk is the best milk substitute. To me it tastes fine in tea and coffee.

I have made drinks for a few friends who have never tried it and they all but 1 liked it. The one that didn't has really really milky tea so maybe that's why

As I said, I think oat milk is the best milk substitute. To me it tastes fine in tea

Oatly is really nice. We prefer it to cows milk.

Nothing

DS is vegan. It’s fine at home, but eating out is a pain.

Being certain that there weren’t worse environmental consequences as a result of importing the food we’d need to ensure a balanced diet. I think we could manage to meet our own food requirements in the UK with limited good quality meat and lacto-ovo-veg the rest of the time - not at all sure this would be possible for veganism, or much fun, tbh.

I never thought I could do it, but the choice was taken from me. I Loved a KFC and Nando’s then my bastard friend showed me Earthlings while we were sat in college and I never ate meat or dairy afterwards. It was like flicking a switch, I just wanted to hurl when I saw meat packed up in supermarkets.
Credit where it’s due though my health improved massively and I’m more adventurous with my meals now and deep down I am thankful for his efforts even though he took Nando’s from me.

Gluten free and vegan - may as well take my own food everywhere

Only a complete lack of all meat, fish, dairy, etc.
Having said that, we eat very little meat now, and quite a few meals are veggie or (less often) vegan.
I'd hate to have to do without cheese, though.

Out of curiosity I've just been having a look at things that contain animal products that you wouldn't expect too.
It must be impossible to live without using animal products.

Id need it to be more convenient and less expensive. I'm already vegetarian, but I get really stuck on milk and cheese.

I'm not a great cook and don't have much inclination to think about what I'm going to eat before I actually want to eat it, and cheese is just SO convenient. I need to get round to trying this Oatly that I keep hearing about for coffee, but even if I always used that at home, I couldn't expect there to be a good milk substitute everywhere I go that I might want a coffee.

Then there's things like sheepskin boots. In the winter i love my Costco fuggs, and I can't see a good alternative at a similar price that wouldn't be full of plastic, which I don't want to use either.

I'm not vegan but I am slightly dairy intolerant. I've never had problems getting a dairy free coffee and I mostly go into independent coffee shops. I only have soya if there's no other choice and I almost always have a choice. All chains have a choice