Tell me interesting facts about vegan food?

[hollyhola]

I'm watching the you are what you eat twin study which seems to be pushing veganism.

I won't be going vegan tomorrow but it has piqued my curiosity.

What plant based things could I try that are not more expensive, are more healthy and at least equally as tasty as meat versions?

Sorry for disturbing any vegans, though I am sure you know all this already.

And I do eat eggs, so yes, I am responsible for boy chicks being gassed : (

Same here. The cows and sheep live within a few miles of me and the deer are wild.

Would you like any egg alternative suggestions? What the female chickens go through is pretty awful too sadly 😢 I found out all this stuff before I went vegan but it played on my mind over time and I felt so much better once I made the switch.

Environmentally, imported plants are better than local meat because most emissions are generated at the production rather than transport stage. That being said, I do go seasonal when I can, and lots of veg (and in summer, fruit) can be bought grown in the UK. Unfortunately we aren’t great at growing plant based proteins yet, although we grow peas and could definitely could grow some more- there are lentils farmed on a small scale in UK for example. And hazel trees are native to the UK so we could grow those for hazelnuts too, this is also done but only on a small scale.

The local hens where i often buy eggs seem happy enough. They are usually outside (in an enclosure) scratching and pecking as hens do.

I wouldn’t be changing my eating habits based on a very biased Netflix documentary. The director - a vegan, the fake meat guy was heavily involved.. The vegan twin was fed less calories. Most people would lose weight with less calories - even if you were feeding them crap. (Which a lot of the ultra processed vegan food is) Oat milk is heavily processed and full of sugar…

The body composition in terms of muscle mass was worse in the vegan twin..

If you want to be a vegan then fill your boots. But high welfare standard meat is very good for us. As is full
fat dairy and milk (versus the processed plant version). Unless allergies.

I think most people should focus on eating as little ultra processed food as possible and then whatever suits them. Personally I felt awful cutting meat out of my diet.

Yes sorry I wasnt referring to people who have health issues meaning they need injections.
I was replying to a poster that said vegans could deficient and may need b12 injections. Generally, most people get what they need from their diet. Vegan or otherwise if they take care. But some people require a little extra help woth certain things irregardless of their diets.

Here's a concern then- see those happy black and white cows frolicking in the fields - where are all the boys?

Because for the most part (although some advances have been made via generic engineering procedures in recent years) just as many boy are born as girls. Yet every cow in those fields are female.

Maybe there will be one bull somewhere but that's it.

The boys are either: killed the day they are born (often a shovel to the head). Or sent off abroad for veal...which is such a cruel process that its banned to sell that meat in the UK. Or they go to market for cheap meat products... when they are still babies.

So even when things look happy and kind and like good practice. There's unfortunately a very dark side that is hidden from us.

So in future when you see the dairy cows in the fields remember they are all females.

The boys are raised for beef or for rose veal where I buy meat from. The rose veal is from a calf at foot dairy.

The male calves to be raised for beef are sold to neighbouring farms.

No, dairy cows are not the same as beef cows.

As pp mentioned, Rose veal is sometimes an option but generally baby boys in the Dairy industry...don't last long either way. They're slaughtered usually in the first year. When cows could live 20+ years if allowed to.

Umm...I'm not a troll.

I might be saying some things people don't want to hear tbf.

They may not be the same, but yes, at the small dairy farm near me, the male dairy calves are either raised for rose veal or they are sold locally to be raised for beef.

I suppose its a good thing they aren't...wasted, tbf. But I mean it's still not great is it. And most people do not get their dairy from small local farms unfortunately.

Not everyone can access local dairy but if they consume dairy they should consider buying UK rose veal, there are many online suppliers.

I think they should consider just not buying dairy or any kind of veal at all tbh xD but to each their own lol. I still eat cheese on occasion but I'm probably not going to use that as my excuse to also eat meat. Even if it means less waste. More waste is better technically so that there will be less need for supply and demand.

Rose veal is the by product of the dairy industry. It's the dairy (including cheese) that is driving the supply and demand.

Yes, that's fair.
But I still wouldn't advocate for the meat industry either. It'll still be them killing the poor little buggers afterall so I don't want my money going there either.

@hollyhola something interesting about plants, they all contain all essential amino acids. So if you eat a good variety you will naturally meet your protein needs.
You don't need to think about replacing a hunk of meat with a hunk of fake meat for example. If you centre your meals around a wide variety of fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, seeds and wholegrains it will all even out.
There's an obsession with getting enough protein but I've never heard of anyone being deficient in it, whatever there diet.

I'm wfpb for my health firstly, then the environment, then animal welfare. I feel so much better and I enjoy food more than ever.
I'm not vegan (although I tell people I am because they get it a bit more and saying you're wfpb in RL still sounds wanky!!) because I haven't signed up to a strict diet and don't believe it's wrong to eat other animals in theory. But eating almost exclusively plants just makes sense, for people and planet.
The brilliant thing about going plant based is that eventually your taste buds and attitude will change and you won't be bothered about animal products. I look at a piece of cheese now for instance and think 'its just a lump of fat, that's no use to me'
Now I want the food I eat to work hard and serve me well.

Have a look at and try out some recipes, give yourselves time to change your mindset about what a meal looks like and you'll find huge variety I promise.
The foods I've eaten today are banana, beetroot, cherries, flaxseed, goji berries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, mango, peanut butter, cocoa powder, soya milk, corn, amaranth, potato, spinach, onion, tomato, garam masala, turmeric, garlic, chilli, naan bread, veggie samosa, coffee, green tea and a glass of fresh orange. (The naan and samosa were bought, the other things were used as ingredients for my meals) I'd say that's quite a lot of variety and today was a rush so I was having to eat simply and quickly. Don't be disheartened, there's a shit load of plants out there!

CurlewKate which curry did you mean please? Ive looked her up - looks fab- but she has a few so id like to know which one . Thanks !

I may sound thick but what is wfpb? I'm assuming the 'pb' is 'plant based' but I'm useless with modern initialisms.

@CrapGoat wfpb stands for wholefoods plant based. So a diet centred around fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and spices. So eating plants in their original form, or very close to. Whilst also limiting highly processed foods.

@hollyhola I've just watched the first episode of the show and noticed Dr Gregor speaking. If you want to know the latest science on nutrition he runs a website called nutritionfacts.com which is not for profit and non sponsored and reports on every nutritional study published. I have found it invaluable to educate myself on nutrition as the only agenda he has is improving health.

Thank you.
Well I'm definitely not one of those! A lot of it is to do with trying to keep carbs low, processed vegan stuff is good for that. I do eat a lot of healthy foods as well though.

OP, the 'veganuk' subreddit is worth a look or 'veganfoodporn' for some ideas.