Are you doing veganuary, and if so, why?

[HowToSurvive2021]

There is the usual plethora of 'vegan' food in the supermarkets and just wondering what are the perceived benefits of eating fake animal products for a month.

You may as well ask me to grow wings and fly to the moon, there's no chance I'll do veganuary. What I do is order my free range, organic meat from a butchers where the meat comes from named farms. The meat is very expensive, tastes fabulous and I'm willing to pay extra so the animals have a good life.

I know that's not enough for veggies and vegans but I feel I do the best I can. I don't eat rice, pasta, pulses, beans and quite a few vegetables so the chance of me giving up meat is zero.

@TheBodyPiercer

You can be Vegan without eating fake animal products. You know, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, bread etc

This is so true - my oldest daughter has been a successful (i.e. healthy) vegan for a couple of years - it’s important you have a diet that mainly consists of fresh wholefoods - fruit, veg, nuts, pulses, beans - plentiful and a good variety - you have to be prepared to cook from scratch as well as buying the (mostly crap) processed vegan fayre that supermarkets spew out - my daughter said a lot of youngsters are vegan more for environmental than health reasons and therefore go for all the (vile) vegan cheese, meat substitutes and other bollocks - I’m old (50) and I just don’t get it - surely vegans should be stuffing themselves with copious amounts of greens etc - I tried it for a couple of months but work long, hard and physically demanding hours in the Care sector - I was running on empty inspite of eating super healthily - I felt so much better when I returned to eggs and animal fats (with vegeta bles) - I would love to be a vegan but it didn’t suit me and I don’t do supplements - my daughter seems to thrive on it though.

To answer your question, NO. NO and NO again.
I love meat too much, the look, taste, texture etc.

Nope
I have no desire to deprive myself of things I like to eat and drink

what's so special about January? If you want to eat fewer or no animal products, just do it. Stay off the processed shit and do some meal planning with SEASONAL veg (which is why UK January isn't the best time).

and a B12 supplement because you are a member of a species that cannot survive without it.

Hmm, never done veganuary and not tried many fake meats.

Linda McCartney burgers are better (in taste and texture) than most meat ones and vegan chicken nuggets are lush.

We (me, DH and 2 DS's) eat meat once a week and vegan probably 80% of the time. We don't do meat substitutes other than the above and they are a treat. I'm lactose intolerant so can't have much dairy anyway.

We all like meat but none of us like the environmental impact or the way most farming is conducted. Our solution is to buy high quality, local meat from farmers we know (easier as we live rurally).

I can see why people "fail" veganuary if they eat meat and dairy most of the time. We switched slowly, starting with a couple of meat free days a week 5 years ago.

I really dislike the judgemental negativity and ignorance many people have around vegan food (looking at you OP).

For most of evolutionary history meat and dairy would have been consumed rarely; it's why dairy allergies are so common. It's what our bodies have evolved to eat.

I'm a happy healthy vegan but also think January seems to be the worst time. Lots of people still have cupboards full of remaining Christmas food and it's the worst time for UK local grown veg. Also January is pretty bleak so anyone changing and giving up familiar things will struggle

Just a word on B12 since someone mentioned it. You are absolutely correct that B12 doesn't naturally occur on plants and all vegans must take care to get enough B12 or the consequences can be very severe, however you don't need to actually take a B12 tablet to do this. I take a daily multivitamin which includes B12, but even if I didn't I would still easily meet my daily requirements through the fortified margerine and plant milk I buy, the marmite I have for breakfast each day, and the nutritional yeast I put in almost everything. No these are not naturally occurring dietary sources, but if you don't like taking tablets because you find it hard to remember or can't swallow them or whatever, there are plenty of other ways to get your B12. But you absolutely must get it one way or another though or you can get permanent nerve damage.

I also eat mostly British grown veg and haven't personally found this a barrier to a varied vegan diet even in winter. In fact that's when the vegan junk food comes into it's own for me. I'm happy to eat salads all summer long, but when I'm suffering through my millionth cabbage of the winter it goes down much better with a vegan sausage and some mash than it would in a worthy lentil stew or whatever. From the POV of the supermarkets it makes a lot more sense to market that stuff to people in winter when they want oven ready comfort food, than in summer when it's too hot for the kind of meals that need specialist vegan alternatives.

@User0ne

I really dislike the judgemental negativity and ignorance many people have around vegan food (looking at you OP).

Where have I been judgemental? And why are you so cross, as you are not vegan?