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.

Yet non-vegans aren't warned to take supplements, and vegans are routinely advised to do so

I’m not really sure what your point is

See above. While non-vegans might have a nutrionally deficient diet, (and most don't) vegans actually do.

Bees used in an unnatural way ????😱

And a lot of meat eaters aren't the healthiest if the sample I seen coming out of mcdonalds today is anything to go by lol

It forces you out of your comfort zone. I did veganuary last year and still use the non-dairy milk and cheese than I discovered then. Would never have realised how like-for-like they are without doing veganuary.

@IWentAwayIStayedAway funnily enough cheesburger from maccies can be healthier than many restaurant salads and meals

No one is denying that meat eaters are not all hethy, but I think the main point was that veganism is most commonly marketed, even by many vegans, as a healthy lifestyle. In reality it's really not that healthy.

Soooo. No one is joining us for grow your own March?

Ah there's a lot of misinformation here.

The point of Veganuary is to promote veganism and illustrate that it doesn't have to be all leaves and twigs and shouty activists, that it can actually be an enjoyable (and pretty easy, mainstream) lifestyle and raise awareness of issues beyond nutrition, includind the exploitation of animals for things like greyhound racing or fur for example. It's kind of fun actually to be part of something so big, to see inspirational recipes and interviews with a whole range of Veganuary ambassadors.

It's not about trying to be perfect straight away, its about doing what is reasonable and practical for you to try and eat more ethically, sustainably or healthily. Sometimes those things go hand in hand, sometimes they don't, everyone has their own motivation, but it really shouldn't matter to you if somebody else is eating less animal products, should it?

I like eating a Coop jam donut every now and again. Is it locally produced? Don't really know. Whats the nutritional value? Don't really care. Is it vegan? Yep. Sold!

Meh, I've never eaten meat as an adult, and happily eat veggie patties/sausages/balls cos - well what other shape would you make them? They're the logical shape for frying something. If you like food with a lot of umami flavours and fattiness occasionally, well knock yourself out.

Might as well say meatballs are an inferior copy of falafels for countries w/o the right climate for chickpeas

If people didn't eat meat then possibly cows, sheep, pigs etc would die out. Maybe that's preferable to being treated like a factory commodity that is intensively farmed to the detriment of local fauna.

I agree about the fake meats etc. I've been veggie all my life and have never liked meat substitutes. Beanburgers are fine. Just a round flat vegetable patty. Quorn to look like chicken? No thanks.

One thing I don't understand about vegan philosophy - that by not eating meat we are saving the lives/suffering of beef, pigs, sheep etc. But, if no one ate meat there would be no need for these animals, so they would be allowed to die out, (or slaughtered and burnt en masse because they were no longer financially viable) and probably just become rare curiosities in theme type parks.

I think a lot of vegans would argue that being bred for meat is no life anyway, and as such it would be better to have billions less chickens and cows in the world than we do.

There’s nothing natural about these animals, remember. We have hundreds of varieties of cows and sheep etc because we have selectively bred them this way. And some breeds previously bred by humans have died out as a result of their not being actively bred anymore.

Choosing not to breed millions of animals because we don’t need them anymore isn’t cruelty.

I also have a problem with 'fake' meat, such as quorn (a real problem in my case because my body thinks it has been poisoned if I eat it). If you are, on principal against eating meat, why do you want to eat food that tries to look and taste like meat?

I find this argument utterly incomprehensible and I often think those who make it are just trying to be contrary.

Vegans don’t eat animals products for a variety of reasons, but it’s rarely because they find the appearance or taste of meat unpleasant. It’s usually because they don’t want animals to suffer or be exploited. If no animal suffers in the production of a vegan burger that looks and tastes exactly like a meat one, it doesn’t contradict vegan principles.

You can be against eating meat because it is harmful to animals and still enjoy fake meat for the flavour and texture. You must be able to understand that.

See above. While non-vegans might have a nutrionally deficient diet, (and most don't) vegans actually do.

This is simply not true. It is entirely possible to have a nutritionally complete vegan diet. I agree that it can be more difficult to do so (in which case supplements are available) but there is nothing inherently deficient about a vegan diet.

No diet is automatically healthy. It’s totally possible to be a junk food vegan and have a deficient diet. But it’s also possible to have a deficient omnivorous diet. It’s not the diets themselves that are healthy or unhealthy - it’s what you choose to do with them.

I see the point you’re trying to make, but you don’t need to be so black and white about it. I agree that it’s harder to have a nutritionally complete vegan diet than a nutritionally complete onivorous one. I agree that vegans are more likely to take supplements than omnivores (although I don’t see that as a problem). But you go too far by saying a vegan diet is inherently deficient. That simply isn’t true, and you don’t need to pretend it is to make your point.

mad

I dont tend to eat meat replacements..im not going to say never as that would be a lie

But i do love a good veggie burger and that courgette beetroot one sounds intriguing

Could you pm the recipe if thats not too cheeky a request

Yabu
The point of veganuary imo is to reduce reliance on animal products and to eat a more plant based diet

@Pachyderm1

great posts - I can't add anything to what you've written because I couldn't have put it any better.

The Hugh F-W beetroot burgers are lovely and you could replace the egg with aquafaba (chickpea juice) for vegan. The recipe is in the Light & Easy book but available online.

My son describes himself (if asked, he’s completely live and let live about other people’s choices) as eating a plant based diet. So not vegan, still eats avocados, but no meat products, dairy etc. The rest of the family are vegetarians but veering more and more plant based. Don’t make any fuss about it though and never bring it up unless asked.

Also, he eats as little processed food as possible so no “fake meat” sugar etc

Isn't it because making a conscious decision to reduce animal products or meat, alcohol or making other small changes to your diet doesn't get the same oohs and aaahs?

I know lots of people who don't drink alcohol much and then also know people who do sober for October and dry January as if it's a heroic achievement. Why not drink responsibly all year round and cut it out/down if you want to?

I feel the same way with lots of special months for things. Really I'm a bit of a grump.

There's a BBC show on soon about this - I was going to watch not because I'm going to become a vegan but because another meat free recipe/choice never goes a miss.

I get what you mean, but that might be because our household ha been vegan for a number of years. Fully vegan, as in no leather, wool etc.

We also don't buy processed or junk food. I make everything we eat from scratch, so our health has improved, while we explored our beliefs a little more.

I think it's a good idea for people genuinely considering the switch permanently, but other ha. That it's a gimmick. People do it to lose weight (ridiculous as vegan food can be just as fattening), etc etc but that doesn't get to the core of the lifestyle.

I remember reading that an insect protein diet is by far and away more sustainable than veganism - who's in?!

...not actually wanting to try anything vaguely different to what they already eat.

What’s wrong with experimenting with pulses, nuts, mushrooms to find other ways of creating texture and flavour in food...

As someone who does cook a wide range of stuff, including a lot of vegan food (I'm not vegan but I try to reduce my meat consumption and only eat that which is high-welfare and sustainable), and who does experiment with different flavours/textures/combinations/ingredients, I can see why others wouldn't want to. A lot of people don't have a lot of cooking experience, so they're put off by the techniques they need to know, or it takes ages because you've got to learn as you go, and that's before you've shelled out for the ingredients. You could find that you've spent a good chunk of money and spent half your evening cooking to find you don't like the outcome.

Of course, there's plenty of simple, easy recipes but I can totally see why you might be put off from 'experimenting'.

Regarding the comments up-thread about avocados and almonds; these are incredibly resource intensive. If veganism is about living more ethically, it makes sense not to swap meat production for something just as harmful to the Earth.

And as for meat alternatives, I never understand the argument of "Well, if you're a vegan why do you eat meat alternatives?" Erm, because the person in question LIKES THE TASTE OF MEAT but doesn't want to eat actual meat?

I'm with the 'eat local produce' brigade - vegan diet isn't healthy for humans, our digestion isn't designed for it, we're omnivores.
Eat locally, support local produce and businesses and help reduce the world's carbon footprint to boot 😉

And as for meat alternatives, I never understand the argument of "Well, if you're a vegan why do you eat meat alternatives?" Erm, because the person in question LIKES THE TASTE OF MEAT but doesn't want to eat actual meat?

Exactly this. Some people really don’t think very hard about things. .

I guess lots of people missed the news that avocados aren't vegan! Bees are used in an unnatural way to grow avocados.

But how is that any different from eating crops or fruit from fields and trees where pesticides have been used in order to kill the living creatures who also want to eat those crops or fruit?

Or are there vegan-certified farms/producers which guarantee not to use any kind of pesticides to gain unfair competition in keeping the crops from other would-be consumers and for human use only?

Presumably with the acceptance that there would be far fewer remaining, most of the best ones would have been taken and many of the remaining ones might show unpleasant signs of having already been picked over - and that prices would be far higher in accordance with the standard rules of supply and demand?

I don't know what measures are commonly put in place to preserve the non-killing integrity of crop production for vegan humans, but if there aren't any (or if there are, but if many vegans maybe don't insist on them when choosing a supplier), how would that be any different from a meat-eater eating the results of a killed pig or cow, as long as somebody else has done the 'dirty work' in perpetrating a killing(s) with which to produce the food?

Of course, this is ignoring the fact that those crops and fruits, if actively harvested or picked whilst still connected to their life source, were also living organisms whose lives were cut short to provide humans, who believe themselves to have inherently more of a right to life than them, with food.

I don't care a jot what people choose to eat it's completely up to them.

What I really hate though is people claiming that veganism is better for the environment. It isn't.

It's very naive to think that your fruit and vegetables are being grown in a way that doesn't harm wildlife even in the UK. You can bet every effort is made to make sure the bunny rabbits and the wood pigeons can't take a nibble out of a carrot or a lettuce, and that's before you even start thinking about the slugs, insects and bees.

Then there's the usual arguments about almonds and avocados.

As for veganuary - the supermarkets have jumped on a bandwagon to fill a marketing hole at a quiet time of year.

Personally I'm doing lambuary and eating my way through half a 'free range, grass fed, carbon neutral lamb' (I.e the way nearly all lamb in this country is produced). Yum!

I’m a firm believer in growing your own when possible and eating as much in season food as we can. It’s hard work to grow your own to be self sufficient, last summer was particularly hard with the lack of rain.
That said, the sprouts, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, shallots in our Christmas dinner were all home grown and with the exception of the shallots all were pulled from the ground on Christmas morning. Oh and I forgot, the apples in our red cabbage were also grown at home, the red cabbage alas was from the supermarket!