© Laura Callan Photography
(Published in two issues of the University of Portsmouth’s Pugwash Magazine in Spring 2008.)
By Laura Callan
Vegetarianism is no longer just for animal rights activists and hippies. Today there are reportedly over four million vegetarians and vegans in Britain. Restaurants almost always have a vegetarian option, and meat substitutes such as tofu and Quorn, make the transition a lot easier.
Currently, 900 million animals (not including fish), are slaughtered in the UK for the purposes of food each year.
Animals bred for the purposes of meat or dairy are more often than not kept in dark and unsanitary conditions, with little space, no exercise, or access to the outdoors. It is arguable that these animals barely see any value of life, and are then often slaughtered by various inhumane methods. The use of battery cages to keep hens for the production of eggs is still legal in many countries worldwide. These hens are kept for the majority of their lives in wire cages with the space of about a sheet of A4 paper, and yet the morality of this is rarely questioned.
Peter Singer, bioethics philosopher and author of animal rights ‘bible’ Animal Liberation, discussed the idea that worldwide vegetarianism could rid the issue of starvation and poverty. He wrote “the heavy emphasis on affluent nations rearing animals for food wastes several times as much food as it produces. By ceasing to rear and kill animals for food, we can make so much extra food available for humans that, properly distributed, it would eliminate starvation and malnutrition from this planet.
I was having dinner with friends and when I mentioned turning vegan, I was met with a slight degree of horror. “What will you eat?” was the typical question thrown around, but the main things I would have to cut out of my diet would be things like cheese, cakes and other junk foods. I’d have to give up pizza, chocolate and take-aways, but keeping these foods out of my diet would be much better for me and my health anyway. Cholesterol is a major issue in dieting and healthcare today and is a large contributor to heart disease, and so as cholesterol is found in animal fats, a vegan diet is virtually cholesterol free.
Issues surrounding the consumption of dairy are something many people know very little about. Researchers say that milk contains somatic cells, which would in other words be described as pus. This is commonly known in the dairy industry, and a ‘somatic cell count’ system is used to measure the amount of pus in milk. Legally, milk produced in the UK is allowed a count of up to 200 million pus cells per litre, and so a glass of milk could technically contain 6% pus content.
Learning this, I never wanted to taste milk again and certainly don’t see myself with a glass of milk and cookies at any time in the near future.
The morning I first decided to take the pledge of veganism I went to Tesco to get lots of fruit and veg, and generally find out what sort of foods I could still eat. It’s actually really interesting to step back and look at what exactly is in the food we eat. I soon found out that I could have tofu but not quorn as it contains ‘milk proteins’, and houmous, but not guacamole as it is made with cream. It was also surprising to find out how many foods contain these ‘milk proteins’, which stopped me from buying anything from salsa to cereal.
I started off my week by eating a lot more fruit, for once actually having the advised 5 a day, and tried to keep a balance of all the necessary food groups. Vegans would certainly get a good amount of fibre, but people often question where you would get any protein.
According to the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a normal variety of plant foods gives more than enough protein for the body’s needs, and often meat eaters can have excessive protein, which has been linked to kidney stones, osteoporosis and even heart disease or cancer. Our bodies only need protein in small quantities, and vegans can get protein for soya milk, tofu and grains as well as various beans, pulses and legumes.
The switch to soya milk wasn’t as hard as I’d expected, the texture is different and it’s slightly strange when you first have it with your cereal, but soon it’s hard to actually notice any difference, and you feel comforted not having to ponder over its pus content.
© Laura Callan Photography - Why I can’t eat meat.
One thing a lot of people would wonder is how I’m managing without chocolate. I will be the first to hold my hands up to previously favouring a Galaxy bar now and then, but I can still have various varieties of dark chocolate, and British company Humdinger have a whole range of dairy free chocolate made with soya, that tastes just like milk chocolate. There are also plenty of chocolate soya drinks, which will just as easily kick the chocolate craving.
The Southern Animal Rights Coalition (SARC) offer a lot of advice to anyone attempting to turn vegan, and advised me on a lot of dairy free alternatives. You can now buy egg-free mayonnaise, vegan margarine, dairy free cheese, and even vegan milkshakes.
When shopping locally, however, it was pretty hard to find any of these things. Many of the typical ‘free from’ ranges in supermarkets will only substitute egg for milk in their ingredients, or vice versa, and so finding vegan foods can be a bit of a battle. There is however a huge scope of food shopping on the internet that will deliver to your home, such as VeggieStuff, based in Chichester, who stock vegetarian and vegan food, natural and cruelty-free body care, as well as various pet foods.
Something I hadn’t considered, and was almost caught out on was a staple part of the student diet: alcohol. I soon found out that even as a vegetarian I should never have drunk Magners, among other beers and ciders, as it is filtered through gelatine. Luckily, other ciders such as Strongbow and Bulmers are vegan friendly, so I don’t have to kiss snakebites goodbye. Most spirits are vegan friendly too; you just need to study up on it to make sure you don’t get caught out. One of the only alcoholic drinks I will miss is Baileys, or Corky’s white chocolate shots, but it’s a very small sacrifice.
But veganism isn’t all about sacrifice, vegan’s can still even have roast dinners with Cheatin’ Chicken and various other meat alternatives. SARC advise: “One way to make things easy is to write out a list of your favourite meals and take a look at what you eat. Go through each meal and find a substitute for the meat! It really couldn’t be simpler.”
A vegan diet is much more beneficial and worthy than it is given credit for. According to the PCRM, a balanced vegetarian or vegan diet provides all the necessary nutrients, has a lower fat intake and is virtually cholesterol free. It also gives you the satisfaction of taking an ethical and moral stance against cruelty to animals.
If anyone has ever wanted to try out being vegan, it is easier than you would think, and being a student is probably the best time to give it a try. Living away from home we are all in complete control of what food we buy and what we eat, and, let’s face it, most of us have a lot more time on our hands now than we might in the working world, so now’s a time where we can handle it. It does take a while to get used to what you can and can’t eat, but you find out more along the way; I am constantly finding new foods and recipes, and I already feel healthier, and cannot begin to imagine looking back.
For more information on the ethics of abstaining from meat, read Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation.
For help and advice on turning vegetarian or vegan, visit the PETA help site at http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan, the Vegan Society at http://www.vegansociety.com/html, or more locally, SARC www.sarconline.co.uk.
Posted by Laura Callan 
Posted by Laura Callan 
