One of my favourite times of year, January. When restaurants and shops alike are desperate for us to pop in and spend the few pennies rattling at the bottom of our purses. If you have anything left to spend, it’s one of the best times to do it. In recent years, Veganuary’s star has been on the rise, and with it, an explosion in new menu items… and some pretty unusual criticisms.
Back when I first gave up meat and dairy, the idea of veganism seemed to evoke a burlap wearing yogi, with an intentional focus on health – an obsession even. And you’d be forgiven for thinking that way. Products aimed at vegans to replace some of their mainstream counterparts (soya milk, mock meats, even dairy free yoghurts and cheeses) weren’t necessarily fortified with the nutrients vegans needed. Supplements were essential (and for many, still are).
But as the years rolled on and McDonald’s turned the veggie burger into something indistinguishable from the real thing, and Cadbury brought milk chocolate (or is that m*lk?) back into our lives, more and more outlets, and certainly more people who frequent the comment section, seemed determined that these foods had become the main staple of a vegan’s diet. I ask myself if Cadbury’s Dairy Milk is the staple of all meat and dairy consumers – surely not. Or if the average British child gets all of their calories from Happy Meals. A new stigma has arrived. Vegan’s eat junk now. In fact, it’s all they eat.
Don’t get me wrong, the day Galaxy introduced their Vegan Cookie Crumble bar, I did have to give myself a stern talking to that this could very quickly get out of hand. But it never made me want to stop eating vegetables! Nor did it stop me from eating nuts, legumes, and the new generation of mock meats that have a better balance of lean protein and nutrients like B12. I’m never going to give up pasta, or roast dinners. Why would I? There’s so much to choose from now, why on earth would anyone, let alone a vegan limit themselves to only eating junk?
I think this lack of imagination when it comes to what the average person thinks of as the average vegan diet stems from something much simpler than we give it credit for. I don’t think there’s even necessarily a wilful attempt to brush away guilt (oh, I could never give up my health for a life of anaemia and brittle bones), but rather plain and simple overthinking. After all, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, these are the staples we all eat already. Regardless of whether we eat animal products. They are the base of most of our meals.
Increasingly I see both vegans and meat eaters alike, obsess over which diet is more natural. An age-old logical fallacy, the appeal to nature. And I think so much of it comes from our very black and white view of processed food. Something loads of us eat loads of. And something newspapers and television love to make us feel bad about. And for good reason too, sometimes. But when the vegan diet is so unavoidably filled with fibre (something most Brits need a serious boost of), how much harm is processed food really doing us?
Well, that comes down to what you perceive as processed. ‘Natural’ is not always best. Especially when you’re in need of B12 to keep your body functioning the way it’s supposed to. I’m picking on B12 so much because it’s really, in my opinion, the biggest concern for vegans. Reality is, plenty of meat eaters experience B12 deficiency too. The reasons behind it are complex, both genetic and economic, as well as simply taste and preference.
It’s not hard to meet the rest of your needs through food though, but B12 previously always required a bit more effort if you’re not consuming animal products. But unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might have noticed fortification is becoming more common place. So much so, it’s not hard to imagine that supplementing essential nutrients for vegans might soon be a thing of the past. Everything from supermarket own brand plant milks are being boosted with calcium, B12 and even vitamin D. Dairy-free yoghurts and cheeses, to meatless ‘chicken’ fillets, the foods we’re eating for convenience, they’re all becoming sources of exactly what we need.
Baked beans are another fascinating example of why not all things are processed equally. Beans are a great source of fibre, protein, and other essential nutrients. Just because they’re in a can with a label, doesn’t mean we need to fear them. Foods should be looked at in the context of the role they play in our whole diet. Nothing will give us everything we need, alone. No packet of Quorn, no carton of Alpro, and no man!
This Veganuary, focus on the big picture. Swap your essentials (milk, protein, snacks) with an alternative you like. And this might mean trying some you don’t end up loving. Amp up everything else you already know you love: your favourite fruits and veggies, grains and legumes. Make peace with the fact nothing will give you the perfect identical experience to what you’ve given up, but it might bring you just enough flavour, texture, and pleasure, to make life on the other side seem a bit more doable than you thought it would be.
Tim Wynne 