The popularity of veganism: When you are what you don’t eat

The inference is that people who adopt a plant-based diet are only too happy to let others know it; that there’s a certain smugness and zealotry attached to shunning animal-derived products.

One thing’s for certain though, the food movement is enjoying exponential growth.

‘Veganuary’, the push to get people to eat only a vegan plant-based diet for the month of January has been a huge success this year, with record numbers signing up.

Once perceived as joyless and sanctimonious, veganism had shed its dour and anaemic look to be seen as a hyper ethical, healthy lifestyle.

Veganism claims it offers a complete solution. Not just to our personal health but also the elimination of needless cruelty in animal agriculture practices and a dramatic decrease in the damage we are inflicting on the environment.

Celebrities are already all over veganism.

The power couple that is Jay-Z and Beyoncé ushered in the New Year by reaffirming their Vegan vows and saying that it was matter of “global importance” that their fans become vegans.

Vegetarian politician Jeremy Corbyn avers that “some of my best friends are vegans”.

Vegan products used to be restricted to specialist health-food stores, now they are everywhere. Supermarket chains and fast food outlets now routinely offer a range of vegan alternatives. bakery chain Greggs now has a Vegan sausage roll option, there are ‘vurgers’ (vegan burgers), vegan cosmetic products, even vegan pet food.

Veganism demands the elimination of many important food groups from the diet. It is, by definition, a form of food restriction. Renowned chef Anthony Bourdain once referred to vegans as “the Hezbollah-like splinter faction of vegetarians”.

On a practical level, veganism can, food-wise, make day-to-day life seem like an obstacle course.

On a nutritional level you are running the severe risk of having a deficiency of the crucial vitamin B12 because there are no vegetable sources of this vitamin. This is not inconsiderable - one of the many effects of B12 deficiency is the possibility of permanent neurological damage.

And there are concerns that many of today’s new vegans are coming from the teenage/twentysomething demographic. Eating disorders are a problem for a younger generation living in a social media world. There are worries that veganism is the perfect hiding place for anorexics due to its emphasis on food restrictions.

Adopting a vegan diet - which even allowing for the fashionable faddiness of it all, is still a radical nutritional move and should be discussed with a GP or a dietician.

Mark Ashcroft has been vegan for about seven years now.

The 36-year-old Ballyclare man said he turned vegan in South Africa while he was volunteering at the Vervet Monkey Foundation (vervet.za.org), a rescue and rehabilitation sanctuary.

‘‘The sanctuary is 100% vegan, so the food prepared for us was all plant-based. I was very lucky, the chef at the time was Day Radley (aka Vegan Chef Day) who is now a well-known vegan chef based in London, so I think it’s fair to say I got a pretty good introduction to the food.’’

Mark added: ‘‘Being an environmental scientist, I was always aware of the increased burden that meat and dairy production puts on the environment, but the real turning point for me came when I found out how badly abused the animals are on factory farms, even here in Europe where you would expect high standards.

‘‘The hard truth is that there is nothing humane about it; the violence and exploitation is really quite shocking. In the UK, we slaughter over a billion animals every year to satisfy our demand for meat, with most of them spending their brief lives in horrifying conditions. Just imagine that on a global scale.

‘‘These are loving, gentle animals, as smart as dogs, and the way we abuse them is abhorrent. You can see the pain and fear in their eyes. That is not something I want to support or be part of, so it was an easy decision to go vegan.’’

Mark said making the switch to veganism was much easier than he expected.

‘‘And that was seven years ago when we didn’t have the wide range of vegan products and resources that are available today.

‘‘I jumped straight in and used it as an opportunity to learn new skills, such as how to cook my own plant-based meals. I am also an endurance runner, so I

‘‘I did initially have some concerns around nutrition and performance, but those were quickly dismissed once I realised my energy levels were as high as ever.

‘‘I took a lot of inspiration from Fiona Oakes, the founder of Vegan Runners.

‘‘ She is one of the most accomplished endurance athletes of all time, and she does it all on a vegan diet. I’m generally a very minimalist person, I like keeping things simple, so the change wasn’t very dramatic at all.’’

For Mark the benefits of a vegan lifestyle are many.

‘‘Personally knowing that I’m not supporting the unnecessary suffering of animals is a huge benefit. I want my lifestyle to reflect my values and beliefs, and compassion is a huge part of that. The food is also amazing. The best burger I’ve ever had was a chickpea burger made by another vegan chef, Lynn Nicholson (aka The Vegan Food Pimp). There’s no competition, plant-based foods taste better, are healthier, and are better for the environment.’’

And does he think the current veganism trend will continue?

‘‘There is no doubt veganism has become very mainstream recently, and I’m sure a lot of people are adopting a vegan lifestyle simply because of its popularity, but I’m all for it. The stigma associated with vegans, that we’re just a bunch of hippies living off-grid in the forest, is fading away and we now have vegans from all walks of life.

‘‘I take part in vegan outreach events to provide information for people who want to learn more, and it’s pretty alarming how little people actually know about the way our food is produced, or the impacts it has on the environment. People are genially shocked when they see video footage from factory farms, but what I find truly inspiring is the amount of people who now want to know more, especially the younger kids. People are no longer turning a blind eye. Veganism is the future, this is only the beginning.’’