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Monday 16 January 2017

Becoming Vegan: Some Preliminary Thoughts

After being vegetarian for six years and then fully embracing meat again for the past 3 years I have decided to go cold-turkey vegan. I know this will not be an easy attempt but I am sure that the positives will outweigh the difficulties.


1. I'm still going to eat honey. It is not something that I consume regularly and I buy my honey from reputable sources which care for and protect their bees.

2. After reading this opinion piece I know I am not going to be too hard on myself. As someone who eats a lot of dairy products I know that I will slip up. I am also going to accept free food and drinks even if they have dairy in them, I am a student and free food is free food. However, I will not eat any meat, or products that came from the death of an animal.

3. I am doing this for health reasons first, and environmental/ethical reasons second. As someone who has breakouts, asthma and just generally could be in better health I want to see how a vegan diet will impact me. I am also intrigued about how this will impact my mental health.

4. Trying a vegan diet means that I have to cook and prepare meals, something I have got out of the habit of doing. I live in a small town and have a student budget, meaning I don't have access to pre-made vegan meals or food. I'm hoping this will allow me to try new foods and experiment with different flavours. I am way too fussy for a 21 year old, this needs to change.

5. As I am trying to be vegan for health purposes I won't be too focused on the other aspects. I own leather items and will continue to use them. I am already conscious of ethical purchasing and will continue to be so.

6. For me to be successful I will have to plan my meals somewhat in advance, which is something  have been interested in doing for a while. This means I need to schedule grocery shopping and preparing meals into my routine and university/work balance.


- I plan on writing update posts about how I am doing and also some recipes I have made -