What is vegan? What is the definition of veganism?

According to the Vegan Society definition: Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to excludeas far as is possible and practicableall forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.

In practice, it means not eating any animal products, so no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, honey, insects, gelatine or other animal-derived products, not wearing wool, leather, fur or silk, not using products tested on animals and not using animals for entertainment or sport nor supporting places that do so.

While this is a lot of nos, veganism supports dietary and lifestyle choices and alternatives that are ethical, sustainable and healthy for everyone.

Vegans eat only plant foods and fungi (mushrooms, yeast). This includes:

Vegans can also eat a wide variety of processed products, such as vegan burgers and sausages, vegan cheese, yoghurt, desserts, biscuits, crisps, chips, pastries, vegan pizza and a lot more!

Vegans do not eat meat of any kind (red, white, processed, game or any other), fish, shellfish (so no oysters either), milk and dairy products (from any animal), eggs, animal derivatives such as gelatine, honey, beeswax, shellac, carmine, fish oil or collagen.

There are many ingredients that can be animal-derived and comprehensive lists can be found online.

People tend to go vegan for one of these three reasons:

However, while theres usually one driving motivation, as people learn more information about veganism, many embrace the other reasons too because they simply complement each other.

Caring about animals goes hand in hand with caring about the environment and planetary future, and caring about ones health is important for quality of life and being able to enjoy the future.

Yes, being vegan is super healthy! But it can also be unhealthy if all you eat is chips and vegan biscuits.

The key to a healthy vegan diet is to base your diet on wholefoods and limit processed and junk foods in other words, eat mostly healthy plant-based foods and add the processed or fried and sweetened stuff as a treat only.

When you have at least five servings of fruit and vegetables, two or more portions of wholegrain foods (morning cereal, wholemeal bread, whole wheat pasta), a couple of servings of pulses (beans, hummus, tofu) and some nuts and seeds daily, its a healthy vegan diet.

On top of that, take a couple of supplements vitamin B12 all year round and vitamin D at least from October to April. Vitamin D is recommended to absolutely everyone, not just vegans, because its the sunshine vitamin our skin makes when exposed to sunlight and we simply dont get enough of it in the colder months.

Vitamin B12 is made by bacteria but thanks to our sanitised food systems, there arent any of these on or in the plant foods we eat. Farmed animals are given B12 with their feed so animal products contain it but its no more natural than taking a supplement.

A wholesome vegan diet is healthy, keeps your digestive system happy, lowers your risk of many diseases and provides plenty of healthy energy.Many health organisations agree that veganism is healthy and suitable for people of all ages.

Many plant foods are rich in protein. Pulses and products made from them are particularly good sources lentils, beans, chickpeas, soya, tofu, tempeh, hummus, beanburgers, falafels, lentil dhal, chickpea curry, bean casseroles, dips, spreads, etc.

Wholegrains are also an excellent source of vegan protein, for example oats, whole wheat pasta, wholemeal bread, quinoa, or crispbreads. Nuts and seeds are another food group that offers good amounts of protein any nuts, seeds or nut and seed butters. Peanut butter is a protein-rich staple!

However, all plant foods, unless they are an extract (sugar, oil), contain protein some in smaller, others in larger amounts. If you eat enough calories in a day, you will automatically get enough protein.

Vegans dont eat honey because its an animal product and its taken from bees who would normally use it as their main source of energy. In the process of harvesting honey, many bees are accidentally killed.

No, vegans dont eat any eggs. Commercial egg production causes substantial suffering to egg-laying hens no matter what system the hens are kept in (free range, barn, enriched cages).

Backyard eggs are not considered vegan either because they are still an animal product that perpetuates the cycle of exploiting animals for food.

Thankfully there are lots of vegan egg substitutes to use instead, from natural alternatives like banana and chia seeds to aquafaba.

Some chocolate is vegan, some isnt. Dark chocolate tends to be vegan but not always check the ingredients to be sure. Sometimes it contains milk fat, butter fat or butter oil, or lactose and because these ingredients are all dairy-based, they are not vegan. On the other hand, cocoa butter is extracted from cocoa beans and is always vegan.

Milk chocolate is not vegan but there are plenty of delicious dairy-free chocolate alternatives made with plant milks, and the same applies to white chocolate.

No, vegans dont wear wool because it comes from animals exploited for their bodies and products.

The problems with wool are multiple sheep are bred into captivity, often injured in the shearing process, in some places their hindquarters are mutilated to keep the wool clean, they are made to breed to produce offspring for either lamb or wool production and all are eventually killed.

Its similar with other animal products used for clothing or footwear mohair, angora, down (feathers), silk, leather and fur. All are products of animal suffering and as such are unacceptable for vegans.

There are many other natural materials that are vegan-friendly and sustainable such as bamboo, lyocell (Tencel), cotton, viscose, hemp, pineapple or mushroom leather.

This reflects that veganism is much more than a diet, its a lifestyle that touches many aspects of our everyday life and offers ethical and sustainable solutions.

November is World Vegan Month and every year it draws a lot of attention to the vegan lifestyle. It started with 1 November declared World Vegan Day in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of the term vegan being coined by The Vegan Society and gradually grew to become a full month of celebrating veganism.

It is meant to raise awareness of the many benefits of being vegan, make people curious and bring vegans and non-vegans together in conversation.

Many companies, cafs and restaurants introduce vegan products in November and/or run special offers on their vegan offerings.

Veganuary is a mashup of the words vegan and January and thats exactly what it is its an international campaign asking people to go vegan for the month of January. Once you sign up, you start getting emails guiding you through the month to make your vegan journey as smooth as possible you receive information on all aspects of veganism, meal plans, recipe ideas, eating out tips and even discounts.

They also include plenty of inspiration, introduce you to famous vegans, athletes, doctors and share lots of practical information

In 2022, it inspired over 620,000 people to try veganism and the aim of the project is to encourage people to stay vegan even after the month is up. Every year, more and more people sign up for Veganuary and more companies introduce their vegan products specifically in time for January, and so the movement grows.

Feeling inspired to go vegan?

Start your vegan journey with this delicious ideas for Veganuary meals.

Featured image credit: Claudio Schwarz via Unsplash

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What is vegan? From what vegans eat to where they get protein - Vegan Food and Living