More people are choosing to live cruelty-free and adopt a vegan lifestyle. Since 2014, veganism has seen a 500% increase. Choosing a vegan lifestyle has many benefits. You’re not only saving the lives of animals but are also changing many environmental impacts that come with eating meat.
If you’re interested in adopting the vegan diet, you understand that understanding veganism is more complex than you think. It’s common to have questions about what falls under the vegan diet and what doesn’t.
Don’t worry, we got you covered. Here’s more information about veganism, including why people go vegan, what to eat, and more.
What Is Veganism?
A vegan diet doesn’t include any products that come from living beings. This includes meat, dairy products, honey, and more. In other words, vegans eat plant-based food (which is why it’s also called a plant-based diet).
In addition, those who follow the vegan diet follow the vegan lifestyle. This lifestyle removes all aspects of animal cruelty and exploitation from their use and consumption.
For example, vegan individuals don’t use products that test on animals, don’t wear leather or wool, and don’t indulge in entertainment and sports that exploit animals (such as attending horse races).
If you follow the vegan diet, do you also have to follow the vegan lifestyle? This is a choice. But veganism embodies both the diet and the lifestyle. If you prefer eating vegan food, most people refer to this as a plant-based diet.
The Reasons Why People Go Vegan
While preventing the harm and killing of animals is one of the main reasons why people go vegan, there are different benefits to living a cruelty-free lifestyle. Here are some of the most prominent ones.
Cruelty
Globally, we breed 70 million animals for consumption. Because of statistics like this, it’s no surprise that the number one reason why people choose the vegan diet is not to support animal cruelty. To meet the demands of the population, we overbreed animals and cram them in farms for profit.
Many vegans believe that animal deaths are unnecessary and that humans don’t need to eat meat to survive. Others don’t like the cruelty that comes with factory farms.
Environmental Impacts
Going vegan also offers many benefits for the environment. We use 30% of the Earth’s land for raising animals (the equivalent of the whole continent of Asia).
Caring for mass amounts of animals results in wasted and depleting resources. Livestock grazing is causing plant species to become threatened with extinction. Nearly half of the water used in the United States goes toward raising livestock.
Factory farms also use gases that are harmful to our environment. These gases include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. Factory farms use these gases to raise animals, grow the food needed to survive, maintain the building, produce animal waste, and use fertilizers.
Health Benefits
Many animal products are high in cholesterol, calories, and other health issues. These dietary concerns may cause obesity and more.
However, switching to a vegan diet is not the only health benefit. Most vegan diets contain magnesium, fiber, vitamins C and E, folic acid, phytochemicals, iron, and healthy fats.
In addition, the typical vegan meal is usually lower in calories than the average meat eater’s meal, which is why vegans tend to be thinner than meat eaters.
As long as you stick to the recommended dietary intake of fruit, vegetables, and healthy fats, you’ll have a very healthy diet. Eating these foods is easier since you’re taking animal products from your diet and replacing them with healthier alternatives (we will discuss this later in the article).
Keep in mind that switching to a vegan diet doesn’t guarantee you eat a healthy diet. You’ll have to get plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and other nutritious plant-based foods.
Plenty of unhealthy and high-calorie plant-based foods, such as French fries. So be careful when choosing your foods and opt for healthier meat alternatives.
What Do Vegans Eat?
In short, vegans only eat food that comes from the ground. This doesn’t only include fruits and vegetables but also nuts, legumes (such as beans), grains (such as rice), and oils (such as olive oil).
Meat and dairy alternatives are also popular. Imitation meat is usually made of soy, mushrooms, and other ingredients that mimic the taste of meat.
There are more dairy alternatives now than ever. For example, soy and almond milk are popular. Even other dairy-imitation products, such as butter, are made of a combination of oils.
What’s Not Included in the Vegan Diet?
Meat and dairy products are the most prominent contributors to a non-vegan diet. But many new vegans will be surprised at how many animal products we eat.
For example, honey is a product made from bees. Gelatin is a product found in found in Jell-O, marshmallows, candy, ice cream, and even some cakes. Gelatin is made of collagen from different animal body parts, which means this ingredient isn’t vegan.
It’s integral that vegans only buy products that have the “vegan” label on them. If not, that doesn’t mean the product isn’t vegan. You’ll have to read the ingredients to ensure the product contains no animal products.
How to Swap Animal Products for Vegan Alternatives
Being a vegan is easier now than ever. There are many vegan-friendly alternatives to animal products to ensure you still eat the food you enjoy. However, following these steps will ensure you make the switch in the healthiest way possible.
Know What to Eat
As stated previously, there are several alternatives to animal products. But it does help to know what to eat ahead of time.
Common examples include:
- Vegan meat (brands like Boca, Gardenia, Beyond Meat, and more. You can also substitute meat for tofu, tempeh, and seitan)
- Vegan milk (coconut, almond, rice, soy, hemp, and oat milk)
- Vegan cheese (Daiya, Chao by Field Roast, and more)
- Honey alternatives (agave, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, and more)
- Vegan ice cream (brands include Coconut Bliss, So Delicious, and even big-box brands have vegan ice cream alternatives)
- Vegan eggs (substitute eggs for plant-based ingredients such as mashed bananas, applesauce, soaked flax seeds, and soaked chia seeds. Vegan egg replacers are also available).
You should visit your local grocery or health food store and see their vegan alternatives. Don’t hesitate to ask your vegan friends for advice!
Add to Your Diet, Don’t Subtract
“If you don’t eat animal products, what do you eat?”
This is a question that most meat eaters ask vegans. We consume so many animal products that many think of vegans as “not having anything to eat.”
When switching to the vegan diet, it may be easy to only focus on what you’re subtracting from your diet. Instead, focus on what you’re adding.
First, find delicious vegan recipes you can cook. Many recipes span a variety of categories. These include:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Desserts
- Bread
- Smoothies
- Kid’s recipes
You can even make homemade vegan cheese and more.
You’ll notice that most of these recipes use similar ingredients when you cook vegan meals. These may include beans, whole grains, nuts, legumes, tofu (or other meat alternatives), milk alternatives, and seeds. Make sure you stock up your fridge and pantry with these ingredients.
Keep Learning
No one becomes a vegan expert. The key to a successful vegan diet and lifestyle is always to keep learning. New books, documentaries, websites, magazines, forums, and blogs always focus on vegan topics and offer new insights.
Research different ways to nourish your body with plant-based foods. Set goals regularly; for example, you can strive to grow vegetables in your garden rather than buy vegetables at the store.
Always know the latest in animal treatments and how you can combat them. While it may make you sad, learning how to decrease animal suffering will make the most significant difference.
Don’t stop supporting brands that support veganism. For example, don’t hesitate to try that new vegan restaurant or grab a vegan snack brand you’ve never seen before.
Stay Positive About Food
It’s normal to worry if you’ll crave animal products again or wonder what your family and friends will think of your diet.
Try to always stay positive about food and the dietary choices you’re making. Focus on the delicious food you’ll be eating and how you’re not giving up your favorite food, only replacing animal products with plant-based alternatives.
Take veganism as a journey. Try new foods you have never tried before. Experiment with different dishes. Indulge in international foods (you’ll be surprised at how many cultures eat few animal products).
If you’re still nervous, be slow with veganism. Devote certain days a week to vegan days. You can also start small; for example, stop eating meat before you cut out animal products. This way, you’re warming yourself up to veganism rather than quitting cold turkey (see what we did there?).
Switch to Veganism Today
Veganism is not only cutting animal products out of your diet but living a life that’s free of cruelty. If you want to switch to the vegan lifestyle, start with your diet.
We offer delicious plant-based meals that are healthy and easy to make. Take a look at our vegan recipes!
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