This new phenomenon is gripping everyone across the world. Celebrities and Regular folk alike are talking about this new diet. You’ve seen it on social media, seen it on TV, heard about it from at least 1 of your friends and maybe even read a bit about it on the internet. But what is this diet exactly about? Is it just a diet or is there more to it? This blog aims to help you take a deep dive into everything Vegan.
Here is everything that we’ll be covering in this blog -
- What is Veganism?
- Why have you been hearing so much about it?
- Why haven’t you heard about it till now?
- Should you think about actually switching to it?
- Making the Switch
- Diet
- Other Products
So what is Veganism?
A New Diet? A New Type of Clothing? A New Fad? If you’ve read stuff on the internet, you probably think of Veganism as being one or a combination of these three. In reality, there is a lot more to Veganism than just a fashion fad!
Veganism is a lifestyle in which people choose to abstain from using or consuming any products that may involve any degree of animal cruelty or exploitation. This includes foods, clothes, jewellery or any other products made by using animals directly or indirectly. This is where the misconception of veganism just being a diet or a fashion fad comes from. While there are a lot of reasons for which anyone can choose to turn vegan, the main aim behind veganism is to eliminate the needless suffering of sentient animals and living beings, beings who experience the sensation of pain just like we humans do. All the other reasons to turn vegan that are touted by vegans across the world are the many benefits which everyone stands to experience if they made the switch to veganism. Simply put, veganism is a lifestyle that allows you to continue to live a life that’s just as healthy, if not healthier than the one that you’re used to living while having a much smaller impact on animals and on your environment. While we’ve discussed veganism in some detail, you may still be interested in having some of your questions around veganism answered. For that, you can check out our blog - Myths about Veganism – Vegan Dukan.
Okay. So if Veganism is so great, how is it that you’re only hearing about it now? And now that you are hearing about it, why is it that almost everyone seems to be either adopting or opposing it?
Why have you been hearing so much about it now?
In layman’s terms, it’s because, for the vast majority of people who try it, Veganism works. In a bit more detail, The word of Veganism spread organically and slowly at first, however as it did, more and more people were inspired to convince others of the positives, either by spreading information or by helping others make the switch by selling vegan products that could act as replacements for non-vegan products. That explains why it's become the talk of the town now, but why haven’t you heard about it for so long?
Where has Veganism been all this while?
Well, considering that it came about in 1949, we’d say that it’s been quietly hiding in the shadows for the past 73 years. For many decades now, more and more humans have consumed more and more meat and dairy products. This has led to the creation of many dairy and meat product companies; giants who have had the power to control the narrative through marketing! With this power, these giants used a 3 pronged strategy. Firstly, they continuously propagated the supposed benefits of meat and dairy products for multiple decades. They’ve done this to the point where some of their advertising bullets became commonly accepted knowledge, which was then passed down generations and hence became generally accepted truths over time! Secondly, they actively worked and funded some scientists to create research papers that fudged up facts and presented dairy and meat products in a positive manner that doesn’t describe them honestly and clearly. Lastly, they worked with said scientists and other authorities to suppress papers that talked about the negatives of meat and dairy consumption.
This is a simplified summary of how and why Veganism has not been as popular till now as it has always deserved to be. Now that you’ve gotten an idea of where Veganism has been all this while and what it exactly is, why should you think of switching to it?
Should you switch to Veganism?
In one short word, As you may have read in many different articles across the internet, Veganism is a great lifestyle to adopt. It is beneficial for the environment, for one’s own health and most definitely for the animals!
Health - Multiple scientific studies have proven time and again that a plant-based diet can directly contribute to a significant reduction in the probability of one experiencing health issues such as Cardiovascular Diseases, Arthritis, Blood Pressure and even Cancer!
Environment - The process of creation of meat and dairy products is both extremely resource-intensive and leads to the emission of a lot of greenhouse gasses!
Ethics - The modern process of Meat and Dairy production has to be extremely efficient to serve the mass demand. As a result, animals are put through extremely inhumane treatment and continuous, involuntary suffering.
While we covered the reasons in brief if you’re looking for more in-depth information on why you should go vegan, check out our blog - Why Go Vegan? – Vegan Dukan. Now that we’ve discussed why you should make the switch to Veganism, let’s see how you can do it?
Making the switch to Veganism - Diet
As discussed before, Veganism is about avoiding the use of any product that involves any form of animal cruelty, exploitation or abuse.
Therefore, a vegan diet excludes the following items-
- All Meats
- Eggs
- All Dairy
- Honey
For a deeper dive into the various foods that you should avoid in a vegan diet, check out our blog - Vegan vs Vegetarian – Vegan Dukan
While this may have been enough in the times of all-natural foods, there have been a lot of developments in the food industry over the past decades. We are now surrounded by processed foods. This means that foods often include ingredients which you may not expect to be there. For e.g, chocolates contain milk solids. As a result, it is much harder to ensure that the foods that you eat have no non-vegan ingredients! For more information about exactly which ingredients you need to watch out for in the foods that you buy, check out our blog - Vegan Products Ingredients Check- The Ultimate Guide – Vegan Dukan
Making the Switch to Veganism - Other Products
Apart from food products, animal cruelty and exploitation contributes to many other products too. The most well-known of these are clothes, jewellery and clothing accessories. The most prominent of these will be any product made from leather. If you’re looking for alternatives to these products, they’ll usually be made either with faux leather or with some other material like cotton or some other fabric.
