To ask what the point of Veganuary is?

[MadToBeMe]

Because it appears to be a load of people rushing out to buy fake processed junk rather than rethinking their eating habits.

It just strikes me that veganism is a life choice to avoid certain foods and products. Are all these faux vegans still wearing their leather shoes, eating avocados and almonds?

I’ve seen threads asking about buying ‘vegan food’. Err, fruit, veg, pulses, nuts, grains...when in reality I think they want the answer to be pulled pork made from soya and 20 different chemicals.

I have to agree with you.
Especially on the processed food! I never understood how can someone who eats so highly processed foods claim their diet is healthier than everyone else's.
I am sure my local steak with fresh salad is healthier than soya/3preservatives/2 oils/binders "steak".

Couldn’t agree more. The vast majority live on processed food which has been flown thousands of miles. Many don’t even bother to eat seasonally which o thought you would if you are vegan for environmental reasons.

I'm not a vegan (nor am I doing veganuary) but what's wrong with avocados and almonds as a vegan?!

But no, yanbu. I think it's possibly more of a detox these people are doing, but calling it veganism.

I think the point is that if people try it, they often realise how easy it is and continue eating less animal products after (maybe because they find a recipe they like that replaces a meat meal, etc) even if they don't stay vegan 100%.

I'm not vegan myself but eat a fair amount of vegan meals as my old flatmate was vegan and a lot of the meals are just my go-tos now as they were tasty and easy. Said flatmate actually did Veganuary thinking about it! And she just never stopped!

This was a few years ago and I know more people are doing it and just buying a tonne of Quorn nuggets, but they're probably eating chicken nuggets normally, so I don't see the harm.

I think PETA started veganuary, didn't they? As to way to get more people vegan? So I guess they don't really care about the health side, just saving some animals

"Are all these faux vegans still wearing their leather shoes, eating avocados and almonds?"

What? Is that a typo?

BTW if you fancy doing something new in January but are not into Veganuary, try this
www.tryanuary.com

Beer has lots of vitamins

*by 'detox', I mean cutting out meat and dairy, but little else. Not like an actual (healthy) detox.

I guess lots of people missed the news that avocados aren’t vegan! Bees are used in an unnatural way to grow avocados. I can’t remember the exact details but you can google it.

Re avocado and almonds. I always wondered how can someone justify eating many fruits and veggies when they can have them only because of hard work of bees. But well, couldn't really eat anything then.

The point mostly seems to be to post smug self-righteous slogans on social media. Ugh.

Oftenhangry that's true, though there is a difference between letting bees do their thing and eating the results and farming with bees controlled in unnatural ways, which I think is the problem with avocados and almonds (and probably a ton of other stuff).

I’ve heard people say they don’t like vegan food. Have you never eaten an apple ffs, that’s vegan.

And not eating animal for one month does not make you ‘a’ vegan.

It’s just a good thing for the world for meat consumption to be reduced. I don’t know that it’s necessarily about being healthier. I know a couple of vegans who eat loads of shite, but I don’t see it as pointless or hypocritical because for them the purpose of veganism is to not use animal products.

www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/should-vegans-avoid-avocados-and-almonds-104800

@bridgetreilly apparently when it's wild bees, it's fine. Hive bees it isn't.

Is Kopi Luwak non vegan too? It's not like the animal was forced to eat the beans or do some hard work 🤔

Every little helps.

When I went Vegan everyone was amazed that I could still eat out in restaurants etc.

It isn't difficult to have meat free days.

Thays what the aim is. We all need to reduce our consumption.

It helps if you don't judge or view life, just through Social Media.

That should be animal product days, rather than meat free.

Also the entire concept of a ‘detox’ is unscientific nonsense, btw. There is absolutely no evidence of any kind to support the theory that dietary detoxes have any effect on the body.

@Pachyderm1 it may be now when number of vegans is relatively low compare to meat eaters, but can you imagine how "good" would it be for environment should vegans be in majority and so having to fly/ferry all that amount of soy etc all around the world? Unless it's going by boat powered by human power only, it will not be environmentally friendly.

@OftenHangry that’s a fallacy. The vast amount of soy is produced for animal feed - it’s something like 94%. Therefore a massive reduction in meat consumption would lead to a massive reduction in soy production and transport.

@Birdsgottafly I’m confused, are you vegan or not?

Its everyones's own choice to eat what they choose as long as they do not break the law.
However, pure vegans need to take vitamin supplements, to stay healthy as the diet is defficient in some of the B vitamins. We have evolved a gut, teeth and metabolism to have a omnivore diet. If we weren't we would react exactly the same as a horse of donkey given a ham sandwich. Very, very ill.

@Pachyderm1 it wouldn't lead to reduction, because people would be eating it instead though. That's my point.
What about Quorn? It's factory produced, hence, not good for environment.

And www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/news/healthy-foods-that-are-ruining-the-environment/amp/

Everyone with even tiny bit of intelligence understands excessive meat farming and ferrying the meat 2000 miles to consumer is not good, however, lots of people seem to miss that giant factories to make alternatives are not good either.

IMHO the best option is to eat locally and seasonally.

A lot of people aren't vegan for a lot of those reasons people have said but because they don't want to contribute to the suffering of animals. So what if people want to eat a meat substitute that tastes similar to meat to them? Why don't people ever get this about meat substitutes?

Yes, we need a growyourownanuary. But that might be too long a commintment.

If we weren't we would react exactly the same as a horse of donkey given a ham sandwich. Very, very ill.

This isn’t true. Horses can’t have ham sandwiches because they have very specific gut bacteria and have very limited digestive capabilities. That’s why they can become ill even from something as small as suddenly changing the brand of food they are fed.

This is not the case for vegans, who would not fall acutely ill simply because they stopped eating animal products. Rather, over a long period of time, a vegan might become ill if their diet is deficient in necessary vitamins. This is also true of non-vegans - vitamin deficiency affects anyone who doesn’t eat well!

It can be harder to get vitamin sources as a vegan, but it isn’t impossible to have a nutritionally complete vegan diet. And if it is hard, vitamin supplements are cheap and easy to access!

@MadToBeMe amen!
Best would be March.
I grow plenty of my own and I know people can do it in pots on a windowsill or a balcony. That would be a thing I would happily support!