In the last 3 days
I have SAVED
the volume of water needed to take 105 showers, but I’m not dirty.
I have SAVED
enough CO2 to keep 120 trees alive and photosynthesising for a year, but I haven’t sold my car.
I have SAVED
the same amount of energy needed to charge my mobile phone for 12 years, but I’ve still turned the lights on.
I have SAVED
the equivalent area of land taken up by 11 football pitches.
How?
By not eating meat or animal products for 3 days. That’s the amazing impact I’ve made, just me alone all on my own. Too often we are told that one person can’t make a difference, that on our own we can’t change things. It’s that attitude that’s the world into the mess it is today. Each and every action we take as individuals makes a difference to the world we live in.
From the environment to politics we really can make a difference. Most of us are too worried about the day to day problems in our own lives. Paying the bills and putting food on the table are sometimes all we have the time to concentrate on. The rest of the world and its problems can seem overwhelming.
That’s how the politicians and big business are able to succeed. They keep us thinking that we are powerless. But you’re not. Every choice you make every day makes a difference to the world. The food we choose to eat is probably the one place we can make the biggest impact.
What is Veganuary?
First launched in 2014, Veganuary is a campaign to make vegan eating mainstream. I’ve been aware of it for a while now, I’ve watched some videos and read up about the nutrition. Over the years I’ve been vegetarian on and off. I’ve always prefered vegetables to meat. But it’s more than that, from the videos and reading I’ve done, the impact on the health of us, the health of animals and the health of the planet is without question.
The films I watched on YouTube are; Vegan 2018, Why Vegan (Not Graphic), PlantPure Nation and H.O.P.E What You Eat Matters (2018). This is just the start of a journey of discovery for me and I’m sure there are many more great resources about vegan living. If you know of others please comment and share them with all of us below. I thought I knew quite a lot about the way our meat was produced and slaughtered until I watched some of these, the last one is the most graphic.
Why me?
Now I’m taking my love cooking and going vegan for the month. For me, it’s as much about my health as it is about the animals and the planet. Following a gallbladder operation in March last year, my body no longer tolerates most dairy products. I also have to keep my fat intact low and need to avoid most processed meat and cheeses. The tastiest way to do both of those is with vegetables and pulses.
Me and my husband turned 50 in 2018. For us, the birthday has been a catalyst to rethink our lives including the way we fuel our bodies. We want to not just live a long life but also a healthy and fit one. Long-term health has to come from the food we eat not medication from the pharmaceutical industry. Food really does have an impact on our health.
What next?
I didn’t simply throw all the meat out of the cupboards and go vegan overnight. I won’t waste good food and I’m not that rich. Initially, this is just me for one month. My husband is away working which gives me a chance to learn how this will work, time to experiment with recipes and make mistakes.
Our cupboards are already well stocked with a variety of beans and pulses, vegetables and condiments that are great for a vegan menu. There are also a few things I’ll pick up over the month at the health food store, the nut shop and different supermarkets around the island. However, this is a small Greek island and we don’t have access to many of the pre-prepared vegan foods you’ll find in places like the UK.
I’ve heard of one type of vegan cheese available and will try that. There’s also a small Asian supermarket that stocks a few things. Mainly though it’s going to be wholefood, raw ingredients adapted by me. The most affordable way to eat here is local and in season especially with vegetables so that’s what I’ll be doing. There are a very few recipes on the blog already that are vegan you can find them here and I’ll be adding more really soon.
I’ve got one recipe book that is dedicated to vegan food from To Marouli (the only vegan restaurant on the island closed in winter). Other than that I’ll be on google. If you know of any great vegan resources then let me know. As I learn I’ll share my recipes and ideas with you. Greek cuisine already has a number of vegan dishes that are traditionally cooked during lent and I’ll be looking at ways of adapting other recipes to suit a vegan lifestyle.
I’ve found some great resources online at the Veganuary website, including recipes and an essential shopping list. I’m looking forward to trying to cook with new ingredients like tofu and nutritional yeast and seeing how egg replacements work in baking.
I don’t know what will happen over the month, tomorrow I’m heading up the island to the market and shops in Rhodes town and taking some friends along. We will explore and see what we can find, I’ll let you know next week here. You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
To find out how much you or your family could save the planet by going vegan check out this link.
Are you going Vegan in January?
After 3 days I already feel like I’ve got a little more energy. The sluggish post Christmas bloating has gone and I’m sleeping a little better.
Have you tried vegan food or are you vegan? Have you ever thought about changing your diet to improve your health and the planet? Do you have great vegan resources and recipes you’d like to share? What advice would you give someone who is thinking of changing to a vegan diet?
If you enjoyed this post and found it helpful please comment and share below. Thank you
Good for you for taking charge of health and the environment! I do vegan Monday’s and eat about 50% vegetarian the rest of the time and mostly dairy free due to my lactose intolerance. It was a conscious challenge at first but became a bit easier as time went on. Vegan baking is something I’ve been getting into lately and after publishing a raw chocolate cookbook recently, I’ve been exploring more uses for nut butters.
I can see going forward after this having a combination of vegan and vegetarian days in my diet too. I love nut butters and they are so easy to make and taste so much better than anything you can buy in the shops. I’m also interested in vegan baking too if you have any useful links you’ve found please let me know. Thank you
Interesting blog post Amanda. I won’t be participating in Veganuary. As you know I became a non meat eater around the time you were a toddler, I reckon! The reasons were all related to the ‘factory’ production of meat and that because of the heavy reliance on vast quantities of meat by some of the world, large numbers of people starved or didn’t have access to enough nutritious food. These days I have strong feelings about the amount of water used ( you might say wasted) in the production of animal based food. The same can be said for golf courses and large holiday resorts which both steal water from local populations. Veganism won’t solve those issues! I believe that a broad- based diet is the healthiest and locally sourced food is the way we should nourish ourselves. I have even contemplated returning to a non vegetarian diet to nourish my ageing body and mind and to this end I have discovered a farm producing high quality, solely grass fed beef. The cattle eat only grass, hay and sileage are fattened over a number of years and are butchered locally. The owners are researching mobile abattoirs to ensure the distress to their animals is minimised. But the jury is still out on whether I go down that route! I have concerns about the number of young women forgoeing cow’s milk for ‘healthy’ substitutes and the results of research regarding iodine deficiency in non-dairy consuming girls is alarming. Iodine is essential for brain development and function and the very best source is cows’ milk. No matter how hard one tries to replace the nutritional content with vegan-friendly alternatives it is almost impossible to consume enough.
I fear that the growth of veganism is rather like so many other issues these days, recycling, energy efficiency etc. The public are led to believe that they are the ones to blame for the global situation and must do their bit to resolve the problems, governments and industries of all sorts continue to blithely do as they wish, while we suffer the tyranny of having our wrists slapped if we put the ‘wrong’ item in one of our many waste/recycling bins. Ironical that the new food waste collection service in my part of the country has provided plastic containers for us to fill with leftovers! In my house there aren’t any leftovers!
Lecture over, I admire you for having a conscience , so many don’t.
One last thought, what do vegans in Greece think about consuming honey?
A very thoughtful response, thank you Vicky. I don’t know if I’ll continue vegan past January but I’m feeling better for it in the short term. I agree that the subject is far more complex. The way that meat is produced today is really abhorrent and too many are still completely unaware of what they are consuming every day. Then there’s the issue of people starving while crops go to feed cattle and then as you said water and the issues so many places are having with lack of clean drinking water. I’ve always wanted to have a few chickens for our own eggs but not everyone can do that. I feel lucky that we have access to wonderful locally grown in season fruits and vegetables. At the same time we are not bombarded with the abundance of processed foods and advertising here. As for vegans in Greece I’ll find out and let you know.
Well done Amanda. That’s an incredible saving. Interesting. I agree about eating badly at this time of year. It’s hard not to. I have Diabetes 2, and MUST change my way of eating.
Not sure I could do vegan because at 63 I have never liked green veg. I love fruit though, but like you, it doesn’t like my diabetic condition.
I look forward to seeing how you do and to reading the comments.
Thank you Julian, we are all so different and I think it’s for that very reason that one diet will never fit all. The diet industry makes a lot of money based around the premise that we all fail and keep having to return. I’m enjoying this so far and it does help that I love just about every fruit and vegetable known to man!
I’ve been almost vegan for 25 years. The one food I cannot give up is cheese, it’s my favourite thing and I eat it once or twice a week. But you are right, we can all make these changes. The biggest plus, is getting away from eating processed foods, veg or non veg. Good luck and enjoy!
I love cheese too, though it doesn’t love me anymore. I don’t know if I’ll be completely vegan after January but I’ll certainly be on a much better track. Thank you.