What veganism taught me
Harriet Pudney learned five lessons from her year as a vegan.
Following a vegan diet seems extreme to a lot of people, but a year in, I’m here to tell you there’s life after cheese.
I’d already been vegetarian since I was 15 and didn’t miss meat at all, but going any further seemed too hard. Then last January I went away for four days with a vegan friend.
We stayed at her parents’ bach, cooked all our meals together and ate like kings. On the train home I thought, well, that wasn’t so bad. Maybe it’s time to get off the fence.
Over the following month or so I spent a lot more time reading packets than I had before and became even more committed to the vege market. Now that I’ve got a year on the plant-based clock (and healthy B12 and iron levels), it feels like time to reflect.
It’s easier than you think
Sure, it was a change, and I had to start buying a different brand of margarine, but once I made the decision it came naturally. I do think we rely too heavily on animal products and that the production of them is wasteful and inhumane.
With that in mind, making a couple of minor adjustments to how I shop and eat wasn’t exactly a struggle.
Practically speaking, I don’t think it’s ever been easier to eat a plant-based diet. The supermarket next door to our office sells a vegan salad for $6.50, the food court across the road has almost too many options, and one suburb over there’s a completely vegan bakery (I love you Tart).
Sure, that’s central Auckland, but last week I went to Two Birds Eatery in Hamilton and found a menu and cabinet full of vegan options.
You’re going to be able to eat out.
Recommendations are key
The best meals I’ve had in the last year have come from people finding out I’m vegan, and saying: ‘‘You absolutely have to try this place.’’
When I moved to Auckland from Wellington, I started a note on my phone with a list of restaurants and cafes to try. I’ve been here two months now and it keeps growing. I did the same thing for a trip to Sydney last month and ended up eating so much vegan yum cha I needed a nap.
The thing is that there are a lot more places that are veganfriendly than there are completely vegan establishments. Knowing which cafes have a brunch option for you is key, and you’ll get that from talking to people.
I’ve found most places to be pretty accommodating, but being met with a blank look when you say the word ‘‘vegan’’ is an experience best avoided.
The internet is the best and the worst
I mean, that’s just a general statement of fact, but it’s particularly true of any online vegan content.
I love it for blogs like minimalistbaker.com (where 70 per cent of my dinner ideas come from) and Youtube channels like Hot For Food.
It’s so cool seeing how other people recreate non-vegan comfort foods, and finding recipes that celebrate vegetables rather than treating them as an afterthought.
However, like with any group of people, some vegans are truly obnoxious. In a New Zealand vegan Facebook group that I won’t name, I saw a man brag about hassling staff at a small-town bakery for not having vegan options on offer.
There’s no way whoever he was talking to was getting paid enough to deal with him. Being vegan doesn’t inoculate you against being a pain.
What I’m saying is, it’s best to take a lot of vegan internet chat with a grain of salt.
Find your level
There’s this one episode of The Simpsons where Lisa gets a crush on a boy who says he’s ‘‘a level five vegan. I don’t eat anything that casts a shadow‘‘.
It’s my sincere hope that no one takes that literally, and there aren’t exactly formal levels of veganism, but my point is that you don’t have to sell your car and stop killing flies to eat a vegan diet.
I don’t eat any animal products, but I still carry a leather bag. I have friends who eat vegan at home but will sometimes order meat if they’re eating out. Find what works.
Be prepared to chat
Being vegan is kind of like having visible tattoos, in that it’s unremarkable to you, but other people are sometimes very interested.
No one wants to get stuck in the corner of a bar talking about animal rights, but I think it’s worth having a quick chat and answering a few questions when asked.
I prefer to keep it brief, though. I don’t want to contribute to the perception of vegans as punishers.