Bernadette Galbraith

The festive season in my house was a little bit different this year. We were a full house with all the family home and with two vegans and a vegetarian sharing the food, the kitchen ensued into chaos. While nut roasts baked in the oven, a plate of chicken drumsticks were placed in front of me one frosty night. All eyes were on me and just as I tucked into my succulent chicken, my boyfriend said with a smug look across his face, “Enjoy your carcass.” I rolled my eyes. This was not the first meat joke to be made. I’d taken my fair share of witty comments between the three of them, leaving me to fend for myself on countless occasions. Yet, a fact I can’t avoid, is that between the different non-meat eating members of the family I’d heard the numerous reasons for saying no to animal-based products and I had to admit there was some sense in them. I’d also witnessed an increasingly popular trend in veganism, making me wonder whether I would be able to give it a try.

 

Putting the obvious animal welfare issues aside, many people are unaware of the effects and strain that the meat industry places on the environment. Due to the amount of money that the meat industry rakes in annually for the economy, discussing the negative impact it has is a rather taboo subject. A case study reported by The Conversation revealed that a meat-eater requires at least double the resources of a vegan or vegetarian. It’s this demand on nature which is causing disastrous effects, with The Conversation stating, “We deforest an area the size of Panama every single year. Across the world, food is the number one cause of deforestation, especially our taste for meat.” I knew this was an important issue and while I was still sceptical about making this transition, it was definitely worthy of more time and research.

 

Consequently, the two-week challenge commenced. If I was going to make this work, it was going to take a lot of planning. First thing’s first, I grabbed my laptop and headed to the world of Google. I was certain this would have the answers to my many queries. I can tell you now though, if you’re new to this herbivore diet, then the internet can be an overwhelming place. So I also sought advice from a trustworthy source and an hour and a half long phone call later, my vegan brother had discussed my numerous options. It’s safe to say, he was just a little bit enthusiastic to hear that I was going to give this a shot.

 

It wasn’t long before I received an informative follow-up email, detailing the different websites I could get lost in, while trying to work out how exactly I turn tofu into appetising nugget imposters. Although the photo online made them look appealing, I’m a student whose cooking skills don’t extend very far, meaning I had a challenge on my hands. My brother also ensured I got my intake of various documentaries and case studies on the facts behind veganism, in order of their varying shock-level. This was an element I feared most. Strangely, while not eating meat felt challenging for me, it didn’t particularly concern me too much. Instead, it was confronting the hard-hitting facts behind the subject that made me slightly weak at the knees. I suppose in this sense; I am not alone in saying that ignorance really is bliss. I knew to some extent that there was a rather gruesome reality hiding beneath the meat industry and all the while I could avoid it, I was able to sleep peacefully at night. Facing the truth head on was likely to hit my conscience hard.

 

When you decide to be vegan, you have to be very cautious and very aware of what you can and can’t eat or drink. It’s important to mention here, that I’ve known nothing but a meat and animal produce diet all of my life. As well as this, many people carry this kind of trial out having progressively moved towards it. I, on the other hand, had a meat feast pizza the day before I cut all ties with meat, meaning this definitely wasn’t going to be like second nature to me. My first big shop in preparation for my change was daunting and draining. Despite being armed with meal ideas and recipes, I’d come to realise that if I was going to do this properly, it was essential that I checked the ingredients on almost everything. Do you ever make those indulgent impulse purchases just because something takes your fancy? Well you can forget about impulse-buying if you’re a vegan. Never impulse buy. You can never be too sure of what is lurking inside that innocent-looking can of tomato soup.

 

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Despite morale still being high on day two, I was met with grave disappointment as hunger started to engulf me. I reached into the depths of my cupboard to retrieve my favourite can of tomato soup. I know that generally you can’t get too excited about a standard can of soup but in this particular moment, it felt like the cure to all of my problems. Just as I was about to break the seal and peel back the lid, something told me to check the ingredients – my new annoying habit. I clearly wasn’t switched on to the ingredients before because when I read the first line, revealing that the soup contained both cream and milk, it suddenly seemed obvious. It would have been so easy in this instance to retrace my steps and simply rip open the can regardless but I told myself I had more willpower than that. The can returned to the back of the cupboard and I rooted around for a vegan-friendly alternative.

 

Vegetable soup.

 

It was the ultimate downgrade but my stomach rumbled and I knew I had to put my fussy tendencies aside.

 

This was one challenge I had to overcome time and time again. While I dislike the jokes made at my expense, I’m happy to admit myself that I’m quite particular about which food I will eat and this wasn’t going to help me in the slightest. Trying new types of food was equally as challenging as abandoning animal produce. You have your comfort foods and standard meals you’re familiar with. Stepping out of that zone requires you to become adventurous in the kitchen and drive yourself to put effort in every day. This includes the days when you just want to drown your sorrows in the biggest bar of Galaxy chocolate within arms reach. I had numerous temptations thrown my way; firstly, I wouldn’t recommend trying this for the first time during the Easter holidays. A walk through your local supermarket descends into a dance with the devil, as you wrestle to fight off the vast selection of Easter eggs glaring, waiting for you to break a sweat in the middle of the aisle.

 

Secondly, you have to consider various social factors that may interfere with this lifestyle change. While there is an increase in restaurants and cafés that serve vegetarian and vegan food, the options can be sparse or even worse, you may find an increase in price. This is what makes veganism more of a lifestyle change than simply changing your diet because you constantly need to think about where your next meal is coming from. Being a university student, the lax attitude to routine and particularly dinner plans is common because it suits the heavy deadlines and care-free nature of the lifestyle. Food may be high on a student’s list of priorities but the time and budget they have to fulfil that, means that the McDonalds down the road looks rather appealing when you have an essay looming. Therefore, I had to work my schedule and social plans around my diet, which wasn’t always easy. Spontaneous plans to go for cocktails with the girls one Saturday night saw me sitting at a table with just a drink in hand, while they tucked into juicy beef burgers. Although a part of me was full of a strange, euphoric feeling at the strength I had for choosing the healthier option, I couldn’t help but notice how this had affected my ability to socialise. As much as I was kept involved in the conversation, it was alarmingly clear that I was limited from being able to participate in the same experience they were having.

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Putting all jokes aside, I sat down to have an in-depth chat with my brother, Declan. Being one of the driving forces behind my move to attempt this challenge, it was essential that I went beneath the surface to get an insight into his life as a vegan. After experiencing some strong discomfort in his stomach for about six months and the prospect of a colonoscopy impending in the background, he knew something had to give. He reflected on the thought of an operation, “That all sounded really terrifying and humiliating and not something I wanted to go through, unless I really needed to” so he took matters into his own hands and ventured online, in search of an alternative option. After merely reducing his meat intake to three times a week and a “half-arsed attempt” at cutting out milk, Declan saw virtually an overnight change, relieving all stomach discomfort.

 

While I struggled for meal ideas, there was no denying I felt more revived and less bloated on my new diet. That didn’t stop the concerning questions rolling in from others around me though. The Vegan Society was founded in 1944 and they have been campaigning on various issues and supporting vegans, ever since. Finding an advert to purchase multivitamin supplements on their website, did seem rather puzzling then and led me to join others in questioning the health debate. Dominika Piasecka, a spokesperson for The Vegan Society responded to this, “Supplements are not essential in the vegan diet but many people choose to take them to make things easier for themselves.” She then moves on to settle the dubious area, “You can get all the vitamins and nutrients from a healthy, balanced vegan diet.”

 

But the more documentaries and information Declan started to peel back, the more he uncovered a bigger issue. This is about more than just a health kick now, “At first it’s like ‘oh man!’, it’s difficult to change your lifestyle but the more I was confronted with these points, the more I couldn’t really run away from them.” These points he was referring to are the environmental and animal welfare components of the vegan argument. He looks me straight on, looking the most serious he’s looked throughout the whole interview, “Bernie. You know I’m a food-lover.” This was true, I knew him well and I also knew that he’d become accustomed to eating eggs almost every morning for breakfast. This took me back to my night out with the girls.

 

People do not enjoy feeling left out and they definitely do not enjoy feeling as though they’re having to compromise in some form. This sacrificial element caused me to wonder whether many people viewed veganism in this way, “I think at first people do view it from a few different perspectives, as a sacrifice. They feel like they’re sacrificing taste as well, that enjoyment they get out of meat.” Declan continued, explaining how a splash of adventure in the kitchen can go a long way. The vegan market is also rapidly expanding, with more alternative options becoming available to provide your taste buds with an equally enjoyable experience. Despite this, he knew he couldn’t escape that there would of course be some foods and flavours absent in his life, “My taste buds are not that important to ignore what’s in front of me.”

 

He breathed out with a distressed sigh, “In the end, I just couldn’t.”

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There were particular documentaries that Declan described to be real eye-openers. American animal rights activist and lecturer, Gary Yourofsky, was an initial character to make him sit up and listen and even begin to consider a rather controversial outlook. Yourofsky views all animals and humans as equals and as a result, would use the term ‘Earthlings’ to refer to them. With a touch of sadness in his tone, Declan elaborates on some of the hard truths of animal agriculture. Since male chicks do not reproduce and are viewed as inadequate for meat, a 2010 article from The Telegraph reported that around 30 to 40 million male chicks are killed in Britain every year. He forces me to reflect on my old habits, “The irony is that most people are animal lovers or have some compassion towards animals. If they were to walk down the street and see a small chick with a broken wing, they would want to reach out and help it, take it to the vet.”

 

The truth is, view an animal within that context and all we can see is a cute ball of fur but through purchasing eggs daily, we are contributing to this industry that Yourofsky views essentially as mass murder.

 

This concept didn’t sit comfortably with me and led me to question my morals and lifestyle choices, after the two weeks were complete. What’s worse? The challenge didn’t run as smooth as my good intentions had hoped. A week into the experiment and an obstacle was thrown my way, which I now struggle to erase from my memory. That same night out with the girls plunged into a downhill spiral, starting with losing my phone, along with many sentimental photos. Feeling at my lowest point, drained of energy and depressed with my incessant clumsy nature, I needed comfort. I needed familiarity. Unfortunately, that McDonalds was just there in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It started with me losing my phone and came to a crashing halt as I walked through those golden arches and committed the ultimate sin.

 

I told myself that the rest of the final week was still salvageable. While I may have been carrying a guilty conscience, my energy felt restored again and I threw myself into more adventurous recipes. By day nine, I even attempted the dreaded tofu and used it as an alternative to chicken fajitas, which came with surprisingly pleasant results. But if anything, falling off the wagon highlighted to me the way we look at food. Food can be about more than health and even more than taste. Food can be a reminder of home and a comfort blanket for when life hits you with unfortunate surprises.

 

It carried me through my tough time but I paid a price for it too.  

 

Veganism is a big commitment, requiring strength and determination, in order for it to be a success but it can also bring great rewards. My new-found knowledge meant that I could no longer be ignorant to the chicken drumsticks staring me in the face. The question I now had to answer, was whether I wanted to keep paying that price.