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resfebervegan-blog · 7 years

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A Slice of Veganism

Being told that eating a whole foods vegan diet is unhealthy is like telling someone that a bacon cheeseburger is going to make you live forever. As a vegan, I often find myself answering the following questions: “Where do you get your protein? What do you eat? But do you eat bacon? How do you live without cheese?!” These questions are usually followed by: “I could never be vegan! You are going to die of protein deficiency! If we don’t eat animals, they will overpopulate and crowd the earth!” … No. No they won’t.

Answering these questions has become somewhat of a task for me because most of the time, the inquirers simply want to pick a fight or nonchalantly tell me their own opinions of my lifestyle. Personally, I have no interest in wasting my time trying to talk people out of their plentiful yet daft excuses as to why being vegan is bad, when in actuality, the reason most individuals argue against veganism is because they are more terrified of not being able to taste certain foods than they are of dying at 50 years old from heart disease. This being said, I am more than happy to satisfy anyone’s craving for genuine knowledge of the vegan lifestyle. As a quick disclaimer before I go on; I would like to mention that I am not attacking people that choose not to have a vegan lifestyle, rather I am simply addressing some honest questions that I have been asked by some incredibly intelligent and insightful people. I am writing today to these individuals who are sincerely interested in learning about veganism. I am also writing to address some of the questions that I have been asked by concerned family and friends with regards to this wonderful lifestyle that I have adapted.

Veganism is defined as a way of living that does not exploit animals in any way. This ranges from not eating animals and animal byproducts to not using them for clothing, beauty products, accessories, or in any other form. Testing products on animals (such as makeup) and supporting organizations that use animals for entertainment is also a big no for vegans as this process involves caging and harming the animals for personal gain. I am going to start with listing some items that people don’t typically realize contain animal products. Silk, leather, fur, suede, wool, and any other animal derived fabrics are not used in a vegan lifestyle for the same reason vegans do not consume animal products. Fortunately, synthetic versions of all of these fabrics are available and can be made to look just as fashionable as the originals (they’re usually cheaper too!).

Secondly, and probably the most known aspect of veganism, food. I find it interesting that most people know that vegans don’t eat animals, yet still are unsure about what constitutes this diet. To clear this up, I like to use the phrase “I don’t eat anything that has or comes from anything that has an anus”. This may sound crude, but it’s the only way that I have been able to fully explain my diet without going on for hours listing the things that I do and do not eat. However, for the sake of this entry I will go through some of the items that I do not eat as a vegan.

Let’s start with meat. This includes pig, cow, chicken, turkey, fish, clams, rabbit, frog, cricket, dog, cat, alligator etc. If there are further questions regarding specific animals, please refer to my previous quote. Eggs and dairy are also excluded from the vegan diet. We often don’t realize how many foods have these products in them. Cookies, cakes, and other pastries made with eggs, butter, milk, cream, cheese or even lard (which is essentially pure animal fat) are excluded because of their animal derived ingredients. Some less known animal ingredients are gelatin (typically made from horse or fish bone), whey (milk protein isolate), and casein (milk isolate commonly used in prepackaged pastries and to lubricate condoms). Gelatin is found in gummies, marshmallows, Jello, pudding, and other semiliquid products. For this reason, it is important for vegans to read ingredient labels to avoid hidden animal products in common foods. Not all foods that seem vegan are vegan, and not all foods that appear to have animal products actually have them.

A good way to avoid hidden animal products is by eating whole plant based foods such as fruits and vegetables, rice, potatoes, mushrooms, beans, and basically anything that you could grow or pick from nature yourself. This is also by far the healthiest way to eat. Whole foods contain all the essential vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function. Despite contrary belief, this includes protein as well! Every living thing needs protein to survive, including plants. Therefore, plants have protein. It is important to remember that the largest animals in the world are all herbivores and seem to be doing pretty well. I have done vast amounts of research regarding the vegan diet and am convinced that eating an abundance of fresh whole foods will keep me strong and healthy for a very long time.

Finally, what do I eat? Food. I eat the food that your food eats. Almost anything can be made vegan these days. From egg substitutes to non-dairy milk to tofu meats to almond milk ice-cream, there is almost nothing that you couldn’t make vegan if you tried. Assuming you used vegan cheese and butter, some of the most common side dishes are all vegan along with many snack foods. We don’t go hungry, we eat plenty of food and are fully content with eating French fries and wine when it comes down to it. Though it is nice to sit at a vegan restaurant every once in a while, in my opinion, letting your local vegan help with making dinner will provide them with the opportunity to make something they can eat without causing a hassle to the cook. For the most part, we are pleasant people who don’t want to be too much of a bother.

Although I could never dream of covering everything there is to know about this fantastic lifestyle, I hope that this blog has created a better understanding of veganism. I am not going to go into the many studies done on the health, environmental, and ethical benefits of veganism as I do not pretend to be an expert. However, I will leave some wonderful resources that I have found throughout my journey at the end of this blog. I hope that those reading this will take the time to watch some of these documentaries and read these books and studies to further understand the lifestyle that I choose to partake in.

Literary Resources:

Diet for a New America – John Robbins

The China Study – T. Colin Campbell

How Not to Die – Michael Greger

Vegan for Life – Jack Norris & Virginia Messina

The Starch Solution – John McDougall

Documentaries:

Cowspiracy

Forks Over Knives

Vegucated

Food Matters

Earthlings

What the Health

#vegan #veganism #healthy #loveforeveryone

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