How to become vegan if you enjoy dairy and a bit of meat but want to give them up on principle?

[malificent7]

I used to be vegan 25 years ago before it became trendy. Unfortunately it was tough back then , i gad no support from family/ friends/ society and I was tunnel vision resulting in an eating disorder.
I would like to ve vegan again due to climate change and I genuinely like my veg but i don't want to become they typical vegan bore again and i like meat and dairy. Sounds a bit stupid but id like to give it another go...any tips?

There's load of processed foods you can eat instead that are like meat.

Or you can look for recipes online, there are quite a few out there now, where people make black bean burgers etc

Have you watched any programs? Forks over knives/cowsipracy/what the health made me vegan over night.

If the world went vegan it would do more for climate change than any of the things you mention

The whole world is not going vegan. Billions of people in Asia are trying to eat more meat and dairy to improve the quality of their diets. Even if 60-odd million people in the UK went vegan it would be literally a drop in the ocean and make no difference (and we would be quite foolish and irresponsible in relation to our children's health for doing so)

@malificent7 I tend to just take an omega 3 supplement. You can get enough from flax/ chia seeds etc but I find it easier just to take an algae omega 3 supplement (no different from a non vegan taking fish oil as the fish get their omega 3 from the algae).

B12 you can het from vegan plant milks, plant butters, nutritional yeast etc which are fortified but if you’re not sure it’s enough then just supplement as well.

Rather than 'going vegan', if you really like meat and dairy, I would aim to eat meat and dairy rarely, but when you do, buy good quality local produce which has been produced ethically by responsible farmers.

What do people think are the best vegan cookbooks? I need some inspiration!

@mustlovegin our children’s health would be fine as the British Dietic Association, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietics and the NHS all confirm that a well planned vegan diet can be suitable for all ages and stages of life.

It’s not just in the U.K. that more people are going vegan, but of course every individual has their own climate impact and if we all make efforts to reduce that it makes a difference.

mustlovegin

The whole world is not going vegan. Billions of people in Asia are trying to eat more meat and dairy to improve the quality of their diets. Even if 60-odd million people in the UK went vegan it would be literally a drop in the ocean and make no difference (and we would be quite foolish and irresponsible in relation to our children's health for doing so

Given the studies on meat consumption and cancer I don’t think giving your child meat is something to be encouraged
What exactly do you think would happen to them if we stopped feeding our children meat.

I found stopping milk was easy- household of vegans and lactose intolerants. Especially if you have coffee black anyway. I find it liberating to have one less thing to keep in. We’ll use eggs from friends hens (ex battery and living a wonderful life)
Rather than look around for a milk substitute look out for tea you can drink without- red bush or green redbush, camomile mint etc.

Why don't you just switch to buying good quality organic meat and dairy from local farms

a well planned vegan diet can be suitable for all ages and stages of life

Not for everyone. 'Guidance' comes and goes. Genetics plays a big role in this. Some cannot properly absorb nutrients from plants or 'supplements'. Why should we be relying on pills anyway?

Why do you think it is that, as countries become richer (e.g. China), the first thing they decide to do is consume more meat and animal products? They have experienced first hand what being vegan means for their health. And we are gullible enough in the West to go down this route out of choice believing a small country will make a difference. It's sheer madness and disinformation.

Veganisme is more about animal welfare than environmental impact. The environmental impact on some popular vegan foods are appalling.

You want to be plant based, not vegan.
I'm reframing that angle in your mind, you'll likely find it easier to make plant based food choices naturally.

@mustlovegin I don’t think the reason that developing nations consume more animal products is anything to do with health, actually some communities who eat less animal products tend to be more healthy (as long as they have access to a wide variety and quantity of plant products)- see for example the studies that looked at 7th day Adventists. I think the shift towards more animal products in the East is more to do with wealth, status and culture.

Many animals used in food are fed supplements so they are often consumed indirectly through food. In the U.K. most dairy milk is fortified with vitamin D and most bread with iron. Fortification/ supplementation is nothing new and not exclusive to those who eat a plant based diet.

Perhaps there are some people who have a health condition meaning they cannot properly absorb nutrients from plants but the vast majority of people can.

They have experienced first hand what being vegan means for their health

You mean like lower cancer rates, better heart health, protection against type 2 diabetes.

Given the explosion in diabetes that China has had since people have started to eat meat I really don’t think it can be considered a health benefit.

As always on threads about veganism there are a lot of weird attitudes and false facts that get thrown out as a gotcha. A vegan who eats avocados or nut milk is still having less of an environmental impact to those who eat meat and consume dairy products, there are plenty of studies out there that conform this, other than well I saw it on fb taken out of context so it must be true. And yes, everyone should shop more consciously, why on earth for example do we export and import loads of veg, even sometimes the same bloody thing.

Anyway, OP just take steps you can, anything is better than nothing, and if you enjoy meat and dairy then perhaps just cut down a bit and source it differently than cut it out completely?

As always on threads about veganism there are a lot of weird attitudes and false facts that get thrown out as a gotcha

Yes, all of which is exactly why someone with a history of eating disorders needs to be very very careful and should not attempt an ‘all or nothing’, strict vegan diet.

I think the bigger impact would be reducing the air miles of your food. I bought two sticky toffee pudding pots from my local Tesco Express last week. I was stunned when I got home and saw the words "Made in New Zealand" on the back of the packaging. It's really made me realise I need to start looking at packaging. I wish the government would adopt the French system, when I lived there the supermarkets had to put the country of origin in big letters next to the price on the shelf label.

Given the explosion in diabetes that China has had since people have started to eat meat

Diabetes is not caused by eating meat, quite the opposite, if you are prone to diabetes, you are more likely to get it through a high carb vegan diet

I disagree with the people saying if you have had an eating disorder you can’t adopt a specific diet. I am a recovered anorexic. Going vegetarian (which I was for 4 years before going vegan 4 years ago) actually helped me recover because I was able to redirect my need for control in a way that wasn’t harmful to me and now I don’t have those feelings any more. I became comfortable with food again and became a healthy weight.

Re omega 3 and B12 OP - most dairy alternatives are fortified with B12 and you’ve also got marmite and nutritional yeast but I also just take a B12 supplement. Omega 3 is in walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, cruciferous vegetables and you can also get supplements made of algae oil (like fish oil).

@mustlovegin studies show that meat eating is linked to diabetes:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942738/

“Meat consumption is consistently associated with diabetes risk. Dietary habits are readily modifiable, but individuals and clinicians will consider dietary changes only if they are aware of the potential benefits of doing so. The foregoing review indicates that the identification of meat consumption as a risk factor for diabetes provides helpful guidance for clinicians and at-risk individuals, and sets the stage for beneficial behavioral changes.”

@MilduraS the science shows (per the peer reviewed articles linked upthread) that food miles are not the biggest issue and a local diet that includes animal products is worse for the environment than a plant based one which includes imports.

mustlovegin

Given the explosion in diabetes that China has had since people have started to eat meat

Diabetes is not caused by eating meat, quite the opposite, if you are prone to diabetes, you are more likely to get it through a high carb vegan diet

You are wrong. A lot of what you say is the type of rhetoric that was around in the 70s

Since then studies have linked meat with cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Smoking once was thought of as healthy. The world has moved on from those days.

if you are prone to diabetes, you are more likely to get it through a high carb vegan diet

Nope, studies have shown that vegans and vegetarians are much less likely to get diabetes than meat eaters. One contributing factor might be that vegans are less likely to be overweight or obese with is obviously a strong risk factor for diabetes. Vegans also tend to have better cholesterol.

Jesus, the amount of commenters who haven’t RTFT on here 🤦

I wouldn't have anything left to eat if I went vegan. I'm pre diabetic, can't eat anything with grains and can't eat soya. Can't eat fruit, apart from a few berries. Can't eat processed food, due to the carbs. I can't live on nuts and vegetables.