Veganuary: A Reflection

If you have been following my blog posts and instagram throughout the month of January, you will have seen I have been doing veganuary for the first time. This week, I wanted to write an honest reflection for you all!

BACKGROUND

To give you a bit of my dietary habits prior to veganuary, I ate approx 70% vegetarian with maybe 30% of that being vegan. The other 30% were filled mostly with fish and then white or red meat as people cooked for me, or if I fancied it when having a meal out.

I decided to do veganuary mainly for environmental purposes. I like the taste of meat and fish and I know there are many nutritional benefits to incorporating them into your diet. However, I wanted to uncover how to ensure you got all those nutrients in a plant based diet. I also wanted to use this as a way to 'do-my-bit' and reduce my carbon footprint (which by the way can be done in many ways - a plant based diet is just one of them!)

THE POSITIVES

• Helping the Environment - Personally, it did feel good to do this bit for the environment. As an NHS worker who works in the community, I spend a lot of my day driving and as someone who loves to travel, I do fly a lot - which obviously is not the best for the environment! The Vegan Society quotes that, "Since the 1960s, world meat production has quadrupled. In certain areas, livestock production has increased massively; there are now 4 and a half times as many tonnes of pig produced in 2013 compared to 1961, while world chicken production has increased by nearly 13 times" [1]. As a result of this, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations predicts that by 2050 world meat production will have almost doubled [2]. The Vegan Society also states that "More animals mean more crops are needed to feed them: the planet cannot feed both increasing human and farmed animal populations, especially when there will be between 2-4 billion more human mouths to feed by 2050". This trend will therefore contribute to global warming, widespread pollution, deforestation, land degradation, water scarcity and species extinction.

• Cheaper and Quick to Cook - Although there is a lot of stigma behind things like dairy free milks being more expensive etc, the overall price of a vegan diet worked out much cheaper than a meat/fish based diet. I got my plant based protein from beans, legumes and soy based products - which in comparison to meat, is significantly cheaper. You also do not need to worry about if your meat is properly cooked because plant based proteins are super quick to prepare!

THE NEGATIVES

• Reading Labels - I have never had to read so many labels before! I found it amazing how many small non-vegan ingredients were in products. Ingredients like honey, molasses and milk fat/solids were among those which I did not expect to be in some foods!

• Social Events - I found it particularly difficult having to be specially catered for at a friends birthday when she was cooking, I also found that when I went out to eat in a restaurant, the vegan options were particularly limiting (this was the case as I ate a predominantly non-vegan restaurants, because those I was going with were not vegan).

• Eggs and Fish - I missed them a lot! They are part of my staple diet normally, and I can't wait to eat them again to be honest!

AM I CONTINUING?

The short answer is no. Although it has been an eye opening experience to see what the world of a fully plant based diet might look like. There were certain things which I did miss and which provide a huge nutritional benefit (mainly oily fish and those omega 3's!). I also felt like I was being 'difficult' when attending social foodie events and meals out - which I did not enjoy. If I had to put a label on my diet I would put it as a 'flex-itarian', which is defined as "a person who has a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish".

If you plan to ever start a plant based diet or look into Veganuary, you need to do it right, to ensure you get all nutrition components, which may also mean taking some supplements. I would highly recommend looking at 'The Food Medic's Veganuary Nutrition Tips' which I found very helpful!

Lots of Love

Ruth xxx