Going Vegan?

by Anonymous, SOC 285 Spring 2017

While looking into the production of food there are those who wish to become vegan, but are not sure where to start. While there is a lot of information out there on the internet, but how would one even begin to start? I think that the answer begins with the definition of vegan.

Vegan: A person who does not consume any animals or animal byproducts.

The next question that comes to mind is how can someone tell if there are animals or animal byproducts in what they are buying? The easiest way to tell if there is something in a product is by looking at the ingredient list and allergy warnings.

Some of the main ingredients to look out for are:

• Milk
• Butter
• Yogurt
• Cheese
• Creams
• Eggs
• Honey -some vegans eat this but not all vegans do
• Gelatin
• Meat + Fish
• All sea food
• Whey

When in doubt google the ingredients

Resources
An additional question that I think is the most pressing is how do I cook for myself or other people who are vegan? I found some resources online that I consider good starting points for this exact question. One of the most popular resources out there is a cook book by the name of Thug Kitchen this has been a popular resource for some time. A word of warning however the Thug Kitchen cook book uses curse words so perhaps keep away from young children. There are also countless websites around that have cooking and lifestyle information. A nice website that I found has helpful options for cooking, shopping, home supplies, and clothing going by the name of hot for food. I also found an incredibly informative and helpful webpage that goes by the name of Choose Veg. while Choose Veg is not solely a vegan resource they have information on how to start the transition into becoming vegan or vegetarian. Choose Veg offers information on ways to begin cooking for yourself with helpful mean plans and a wide variety of meals. If budget is a concern there is a website called Minimalist Baker this webpage has recipes for non-vegan food as well, but has a section dedicated to vegan cooking. When looking to become vegan some people feel that they are alone in this choice but fear not because there are communities of people who connect with each other through sites like the BOSH Facebook page. My recommendation is to just put yourself out there and look into and research things that interest you. I leave you with one last website that has vegan recipes and that is The Buddhist Chef I recommend the vegan lemon pie.