Everyone knows at least a person or two who have decided to go vegan over the past few years. The popularity of a vegan lifestyle makes perfect sense. It is as healthy and sustainable as it is trendy – just look at how many celebrities are vegan. It’s also a worldwide phenomenon.
But everyone who thinks of joining the plant-based crowd needs to understand not only the benefits but also the problems that come with it. Just like in research, informed consent in veganism is everything. So here is a list of the main pluses and minuses of transitioning to a vegan diet.
Pro: A Smart Vegan Diet is Healthy
Despite some people’s reservations, a vegan lifestyle is actually really good for one’s health, as long as it is well-researched and balanced. Studies suggest that vegans have lower risks for a lot of health conditions, including high blood pressure and obesity. What matters is to talk to a nutritionist first and read enough to know how to get the right amount of nutrients from plant-based products.
A vegan lifestyle is especially great for people with high-stress lives, including students. It can be stressful to live on constant deadlines, it is better to contact a research paper writing service, and maintain high grades. Recent research reveals that people who follow a balanced plant-based diet have lower anxiety levels. So going vegan might be a smart choice for everyone who feels stressed and overwhelmed.
Pro: A Vegan Lifestyle is More Sustainable
A vegan lifestyle is also better for the world. First, most ethics experts agree that eating animal products is never an ethical choice. Any documentary about the meat and dairy complex shows that this is true. Besides, both meat and dairy have enormous water footprints. It takes much more water to produce one gram of animal protein than its plant-based alternative.
Sure, transitioning to a vegan lifestyle overnight might not be an easy task, even for someone who cares about the environment and would like to live a more sustainable life. So it might be a reasonable idea to start with a few vegan days a week before going fully vegan.
Pro: Going Vegan is a Great Way to Up One’s Cooking Skills
This one is a little less obvious than the rest. As discussed, it is crucial to maintain a balanced vegan diet for it to be healthy. It should include a lot of high-protein foods, namely, tofu, legumes (for instance, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts), tempeh, and more. People who do not come from vegan families need to learn how to incorporate these products into their diets.
While some may see learning to cook new products as an extra hurdle, it is also a chance to become a better cook. Who does not want to treat their family and loved ones, or even make cooking a fun way to spend time together? Everyone is guaranteed to appreciate it.
Con: A Not-So-Smart Vegan Diet is not Nutritious
Still, what matters is for the plant-based diet to be carefully researched and thought out. When new vegans do not know what they should eat, they risk cutting their protein intake. As a result, their meals might end up not nutritious enough, which sometimes leads to binging on all the wrong foods.
An important thing to remember is that while french fries and Oreos are vegan, by no means should they be a vegan’s first choices. Most nutritionists are supportive of a vegan lifestyle, but they insist that people who consider going vegan learn how to do it right first. Books to start with:
- Vegan for Life by Jack Norris
- Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis
- Never Too Late to Go Vegan by Carol J. Adams
- No Meat Athlete by Matt Frazier
- BOSH! and Speedy BOSH! by Ian Theasby
- Plants Only Kitchen by Gaz Oakley
- The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook
Also, there is a lot of amazing informational content about the vegan diet on YouTube. Some of the best are: Sweet Potato Soul; Pick Up Limes; Avant-Garde Vegan; and The Happy Pear.
Con: Diverse Vegan Foods are not Available Everywhere
Sure, some basic plant-based products are available almost everywhere, and they are typically more than affordable; for example, potatoes, carrots, beans, and whatnot. But they are rarely enough because none of them, except, perhaps, beans, are particularly protein-heavy. Vegans need to have a diverse diet, which means tofu, tempeh, and legumes, among other things.
So the sad truth is that it is way easier to be vegan in a big city like Los Angeles than in a rural area in the middle of nowhere. Access to large grocery stores and farmer’s markets full of seasonal fruit and vegetables makes being a vegan much easier and more enjoyable. Besides, a lot of plant-based products can get expensive, especially during winter. Finding accessible and affordable alternatives is possible, but it requires extra dedication.
Con: Family Gatherings and Events Might Get Awkward
Finally, being a vegan in a non-vegan family or friend circle is not always convenient. During family gatherings or work events, most of the food available is not plant-based. It is naive to expect the hosts to prepare extra just to fit the diet of one vegan person in the group. Endless questions and concerns a new vegan typically hears from people in their life are also exhausting.
Nonetheless, the questions tend to go away after a year or so. As to the food during family gatherings, a nice way for a vegan person to accommodate their own needs is to contact the host in advance and volunteer to help with the preparation. This way, it is easy to add a couple of vegan options to the menu without burdening the host.
Final Thoughts
Going vegan comes with a lot of benefits but also several potential challenges. A vegan lifestyle requires enough knowledge, so researching and upping one’s cooking skills takes some work. It can also get expensive and complicated for a person who is not surrounded by other vegans. Still, the results are worth it. Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is a healthy, environmentally conscious, and fun choice.
Photo Credit: unsplash
There is only one food source that is available everywhere year-round: meat.
Growing fruits and vegetables destroys topsoil and ground water and kills millions of good microbes because of mono-crops and heavy use of fertilizer and pesticides (even organic crops).
Harvesting fruits and vegetables kills hundreds of thousand of insects and small animals like ground nesting birds, snakes, rabbits, rodents and deer.
Be a vegetarian if you like, but don’t judge others based on your ignorance.
That was an epic take, Gary. Well done, sir.