To want to go vegan?

[PlantsArePeopleToo]

But tbh I'm a bit torn on the issue .

I feel that in my heart that It's the right thing to do for myself but at the same time I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about the whole thing.

I understand the basics, I mean you don't eat meat, eggs and dairy and instead base meals around vegetables, nuts, beans, etc but how do you ensure you are getting the right balance of nutrients? What about B12? Is it really necessary to supplement or can I just drink fortified plant milk? I'm a bit torn on how I feel about a diet that requires supplementation tbh.

Gah, please can some vegans help guide me through this moral dilemma?

It’s so much easier than ever! If you drink a fair amount of hot drinks or cereal with Alpro or similar you’ll get plenty of B12.

You’ll spend the first week or so obsessively checking labels but after that it becomes second nature and as cursory glance to check for hidden eggs or milk becomes a habit.

There are thousands of amazing recipes online and ingredients are cheap and easy to get.

Do it do it!

Why not try it for a few weeks and see how you get on? Or don't classify yourself as 'a vegan' straight away and just try to eat and plan new meals without the animal products to see how you get on without any pressure.

It doesn't always have to be black and white - if you feel aligned with the principles of veganism then surely a reduced intake is better than nothing. Be kind to yourself!

Look up Veganuary website / Facebook page , lot us of info, ideas, recipes and support. I went Vegan for January and haven’t stopped. It’s much easier and more rewarding than I imagined.

I think the fact that it's so easy now is partly what's motivating me to do this now. I know pizza hut and pizza express, along with a lot of chain restraunts and pubs, now do vegan options so I feel like if It's something I want to then there is no better time to do it.

I've been making my morning porridge with either oat milk or cashew milk recently and I think I prefer it to cows milk tbh. I have also been doing some reading and watching vegan YouTubers and just been completely overwhelmed with the amount of food which is vegan that you wouldn't think was. I know Oreos are vegan

Vegan! Vegan! Vegan!

Buy a b12 supplement, job done! My advice would be to start meal planning, that was so helpful for me when I started. Start with one aspect of your life too, nevermind all the cosmetics and stuff, do it in segments, being vegan takes time and on-going process, do what you can as you can. Re: torn about supplements, dairy cows are given b12 supplements, so by vegan you just cut out the middle man.

Honestly being vegan makes me so happy, and it's the best time to do it, soooo much vegan friendly stuff out there :)

Every day I take a (Tesco own brand version of) Berocca which gives me all the B vitamins.

Yeah not going to worry about too much about cosmetics for now. I have quite a fair bit of MAC makeup, including a large collection of lipsticks which I know will take me a while to get through but I'm not going to just toss them because that will be wasteful. So I guess technically for now I will be plant based rather than vegan

I'm Vegetarian and am looking into going Vegan. As long as you're clued up on the vitamins your body needs, and where you can get them you'll be fine.

This might sound silly but I never really thought about where cows get their B12 from . I just assumed it was already there in the meat, milk, etc. I take it that's not the case then?

Do it OP, there’s nothing to regret and there are so many benefits to reap for you, the planet and obviously for animals. Good luck.

I'm vegan. No supplements. If u eat the right amounts you get the nutrients. My blood pressure is low not high and my iron levels are perfect

Nope, they don't just have B12, no animal does, it's something we all have to get from other sources. From what I can remember it seems that because we live in a more and more sanitised world it's harder to get B12 because it's from bacteria or something?!

When I first went vegan I bought a load of cookery books, the one I would definitely recommend is Aine Carlin 'keep it vegan', really helped me understand vegan cooking a bit better, and definitely improved my skills. Plan plan plan, that's my best advice, so I'll reiterate it again :)

You'll turn into a boring and sanctimonious arse

Eat a balanced, nutritious, omnivorous diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg and dairy.

It's pure arrogance to think we're so morally advanced we can ignore our bodies and their needs. It's stupidity to ignore how middle class vegans are destroying the planet and leaving others hungry with their need for soy and quinoa and other fancy grains.

Many people eat too much meat and dairy. Address this but not by faddy veganism.

your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride

Oh it didn’t take long for someone to swoop in and tell you not to bother, did it? And to denigrate a diet as middle class and faddy, though it’s been practised for centuries by people who don’t have a pot to piss in.

It surprised me how easy it was to turn vegan, we are well catered for these days. Food labels are clearly marked. Buy some vitamin supplements if you want. Use/wear your ‘pregan’ makeup/clothes and just buy vegan when the time comes. Don’t listen too hard to preachy vegans or else you’ll disappear down a rabbit hole of sanctimonious fuckwittery, and don’t listen too hard to the haters either. Give it a go if you fancy and if it doesn’t work out for you, you’ve lost nothing. You could join a meet up group if you’d like to meet others, I’ve made loads of new friends that way.

90% of soy is fed to beef cattle.... being vegan helps with freeing up soy!

You can take supplements or have plant milk and yoghurt and engevita (the blue tub) and marmite x

Also since when was being vegan a middle class thing?!! I'm working class and poor and it's easy (and cheap)!

I want to know how that sentence ends @blueyacht

And to denigrate a diet as middle class and faddy, though it’s been practised for centuries by people who don’t have a pot to piss in...

Yes, meat used to be the preserve of the rich who lived for longer but that has no bearing on modern dietary choices.

Why are you worried that someone "swooped in" (I assume you meant 'replied') when the OP explicitly said that they were worried about a diet that required supplements? The answer is to eat a balanced diet i.e. don't bother being vegan. It is arrogant and foolish to think your questionable morality trumps millennia of evolution. A diet that required supplements is, by definition, lacking.

Besides which, honey is too delicious to give up.

Op I've been vegan for 15 years and have carried a healthy baby, no supplements but a sensible, informed vegan diet.

I’ve been vegan for decades. I don’t supplement and have five heathy children, including two adults that have grown very well and function perfectly normally! It’s very easy nowadays. I’d suggest buying a cookbook- I recommend Vegan with a Vengeance- it’s full of easy, cheap recipes and how tos. Now there are lots of great websites and you’re there. As for cosmetics etc, use what you have, never waste stuff. Very quickly buying vegan becomes second nature. Good luck!

@gunnybear I meant the swathes of people across the Indian sub continent and Africa who follow a vegan diet for religious reasons and who aren’t famed for their wealth.

OP’s question about supplementing a vegan diet was entirely sensible, she wasn’t asking about an omnivorous diet at all but you’ve swooped in (yes, swooped, a big eagle eyeing up a tasty argument) to tell her to do the opposite of what she’s planning and bandying about words like ‘stupid, arrogant, middle class, faddy, boring and sanctimonious’. It’s hardly helpful but if it makes you feel better, go for it.

You feel the need to use emotive language like swooped and bandying because you think it helps your argument.

You seem to have selective reading so, one more time

I'm a bit torn on how I feel about a diet that requires supplementation tbh.

I gave my thoughts. You listed those quite accurate adjectives.

Religion is as stupid a reason as any for a restrictive diet and is nearly synonymous with my "misguided morality" comment. The swathes of people you mention are known for their poor health and low life expectancy. Anyway, you've proven the boring and sanctimonious part of my assertion and I can't be bothered with continuing.

Surely you should be conserving your strength, too.

Is there a name for the "rule" that within a few posts there will be an angry meat eater explaining how stupid vegans are on any thread mentioning veganism?

@gunnybear I’ve nearly filled my bingo card. I think you’re using emotive language yourself. I’m going to bow out too as I don’t think it’s helpful to the OP. Have a great week!

@AssassinatedBeauty

Philanthropy?

goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially : active effort to promote human welfare.

Arrogance, perhaps?