The choice to live vegan can seem, to some, like choosing a life of restriction and regulation. ‘I can’t eat this’, ‘I shouldn’t wear that’, ‘I mustn’t use these any more’. We inevitably resist change, especially when we are forced to rethink whole aspects of our lives and learn them all over again. But I don’t think that deciding to go vegan should mean struggling through this overwhelming challenge to remake oneself. I want to talk about changing this presumption, and seeing this process not as one of pruning and cutting, but instead, a journey which opens an endless number of new, exciting doors.
Those who know me well, or who have followed my blog from the beginning, know that I decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle in March 2017. That makes 2018 my first full year of trying to exclude animal products from my life as far as possible – I’ve now been a vegan through every season, every month, almost every day (and I’m sure February 29th can’t hold that many surprises).
There are many people who’ve already spoken extensively on the Internet about challenges that vegans might face, so I’m not going to go into detail about how to tackle these. Wherever you are on your own journey, you may have already thought about veganism as imposing limitations in the context of restaurants and menu-choices, accepting invitations to events, and relationships with friends or family members. These are real challenges, and I’m happy to talk about them too – maybe in a future blog post. But right now, I want to look back at this year, and talk about all the opportunities that have been made real because I chose to exclude animal products.
Eating Out
You don’t have to be a vegan to go to a vegan restaurant, or try a plant-based item on any menu. But if I hadn’t stopped eating dairy cheese, for instance. I definitely wouldn’t be on a mission to find the best vegan burgers, pizzas, and Mac N’ Cheeses in the land. I now have a bursting mental handbook of the best vegan menus in chain restaurants, along with all the best menu items in the fully vegan restaurants and cafes that I’ve discovered. Friends who visit London have always been impressed when we’ve gone out for food, and one of my favourite things about this diet is getting to sample all the different ways that chefs are attempting to replicate chicken, bacon, sausages, and eggs with plant ingredients. I get that some people aren’t into the ‘fake meat’ craze, but I think it’s so cool. No animal has to die, and some of the results taste pretty amazing.
Baking
I’ve always enjoyed a bit of baking here or there, but it was only once I became vegan that it became one of my favourite hobbies. Just like cooking, it can not only be a fun pastime independent of anything else, but it can also have the power to overcome some of the issues one might face as a vegan. Can’t find a vegan version of your favourite kind of cake? Then search for a way to make it! If it goes wrong, then it’s generally just funny, and if it goes right, then your friends and family will immediately love you. If you stuff people’s mouths with your delicious creations, then you don’t have to listen to them having an emotional crisis about your life-decisions.
One of the greatest things about vegan baking is that there’s so much still to be discovered. Whether you’re into aquafaba, the flax/chia egg, or whipping up a simple cake mix with coca cola (if I’m talking gibberish you may want to start Googling…), there’s a method that works for everyone. Seriously though – if you want to explore the vegan baking world – and why wouldn’t you – I’d advise looking at recipes with familiar ingredients, and there are a few simple ones on my blog. Go crazy when you’re ready.
Personally I’m also a little bit of a stress-baker, and can’t really handle other people around me when I’m in the kitchen, but I’ve heard that baking with others can be fun – so there’s that too.
Activism
I’ve been volunteering with an organisation called The Humane League pretty much since I became vegan (and have written about my involvement with them before on this blog). Earlier this year, I also became President of Durham University Vegetarian and Vegan Society. I want to do as much as I can to stop the kinds of cruelty that take place every day in factory farms and slaughterhouses, and while being vegan is a part of this, it’s given me amazing opportunities to get involved in all sorts of incredible activism opportunities. I’m so, so grateful to have met so many wonderful people who make me think constantly about being showing more compassion and doing more for the animals.
Friends
One of the things that has made me most happy this year is seeing the way that my decision has affected my friends and family. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, and sometimes people don’t understand, which can be disappointing and frustrating.
But when I went vegan, I didn’t think about the domino effect that that would create. Some of my family members now eat less dairy, and my sister chooses vegan options all the time. A few of my friends have also switched from dairy milk to soy milk, and have even spoken to me about giving Veganuary a go in 2019. These are people who have eaten meat on a daily basis – pretty much since birth – and for some of them, I’m the only vegan they know. That makes me really, really happy.
Some of the warmest memories I’ve had this year are sitting around a table with my best friends. I’d still have these memories if I wasn’t vegan, but they wouldn’t be accompanied with the pride of having baked the delicious vegan cake on the table and the excitement of hearing my friends talk about compassionate changes that they might make to their own lifestyle.
Here’s to 2019. And if you ever want to talk, about veganism or anything else, my door’s always open (metaphorically of course, please don’t come to my house).
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