‘At first we thought, we can’t possibly sell this’: how one couple got Veganuary going

From theguardian.com

Eight years after first asking people to go meat-free for a month, the couple behind the campaign say there is still work to do 

When the first Veganuary began in 2014, the estimated 150,000 vegans in the UK were seen as eccentric ascetics.

Nearly a decade later, 9% of adults – about 6 million people – have tried going vegan for January, and adopting a plant-based diet and lifestyle is seen as entirely normal, according to new research.

Polling of 2,129 adults by YouGov for the Veganuary charity also found that 85% of meat-eaters who took part have either reduced or ended their meat consumption, while 71% had heard of the pledge.

Jane Land and her partner, Matthew Glover, came up with the idea while sitting at their kitchen table in York in 2013, after he had grown a moustache for Movember.

“The words vegan January just sort of merged together,” Glover said. “To begin with, we thought, we can’t possibly sell this word Veganuary to people. And in the early stages, people couldn’t pronounce it.”

They debated whether to aim for 100 or 1,000 sign-ups in the first year, and got 3,300.

By 2019, Greggs had launched a vegan sausage roll, Collins had added Veganuary to its dictionary, and the campaign was mentioned in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special.

It became such a big deal that Boris Johnson was asked in January 2020, not long after becoming prime minister, if he was doing Veganuary (he wasn’t, he said, because it required too much concentration).

But the biggest change has been on supermarket shelves. Before 2018, between 4% and 7% of new food products launched each year were meat substitutes, according to Mintel figures, before jumping to 9%. Last year the figure was 12%.

Greggs’ vegan steak bake, launched at the beginning of Veganuary in 2020. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Kiti Soininen, Mintel’s category director for UK food and drink research, said manufacturers were now much more likely to boast about a product’s vegan credentials. Only 6% of new products in 2013 were badged as vegan or free of animal ingredients, but that jumped to 22% of launches in 2019 and 27% by 2022.

Much of the interest in Veganuary comes from flexitarians who are hoping to cut down on meat, Soininen said. Vegans still make up less than 2% of the population but 38% of adults now say they eat meat or fish less often, compared to 28% in 2017.

Food technology and the adoption of pea and soya protein have allowed the invention of no-beef wellingtons, chocolate no-cheesecake and the Beyond Burger. That makes things much easier, according to Jasmine Harman, the presenter of Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun, and one of the first celebrity supporters of Veganuary. Others include Deborah Meaden, Brian May and Chris Packham.

“Being vegan was seen as quite extreme,” Harman said. “Nothing was labelled at the time as being vegan or suitable for vegans so you had to check the labels on absolutely everything, which made shopping very time-consuming.”

There is also less resistance from friends or family. “A lady I’ve known for years told me ‘we don’t eat meat any more but I haven’t told my husband or my son yet’. They haven’t noticed.” Harman is also planning to put her new puppy on a vegan diet.

Vegan pet food sales are on the rise. A study published last year indicated that plant-based diets may be healthier for dogs, although the British Veterinary Association has warned that there is not enough evidence to say it is safe.

Going out to restaurants is now much easier, even outside the UK, Harman said, and veganism is becoming more accepted by the hospitality sector.

Alexis Gauthier, a Michelin-starred chef who became vegan in 2016, removed all animal products from his menus at Gauthier Soho in London in 2021. But convincing his partners, staff and customers was hard.

“Many of my old customers were really upset because it was the place where they had their wedding anniversary, where they celebrate their son’s graduation – it was very personal to them. I lost 5,000 of my regular customers, but I won 100,000 new customers.”

Michelin-starred chef Alexis Gauthier’s vegan haute cuisine. Photograph: Lizzie Mayson/The Guardian. Food styling: Nena Foster. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins

Gauthier has developed a ‘faux gras’ which has all the texture of foie gras without harming any animals, and a bouillabaisse made with Swiss chard that he says is “like eating the sea”.

“The bitterness of turnips, pureed, with mustard and frozen, is the best ice-cream you’ve ever had. It sounds disgusting but I swear this is amazing.”

Although Veganuary has clearly changed the UK, the vegan aspiration to end animal exploitation is still a long way off. Researchers examining data from the ONS National Diet and Nutrition Survey found that Britons had cut meat consumption by 17% between 2009 and 2019, with a daily reduction of 13.7g of red meat and 7g of processed meat per person.

But there was also a 3.2g increase in white meat consumption, and the numbers of cattle, pigs and sheep slaughtered in the UK each year is broadly the same as it was in 2001, ranging from 26-29 million animals, according to Defra figures, while the UK population has also grown by about 3.7 million since 2011.

According to Glover and Land, there is still a lot left to do. “We’ve been asked a few times: are you happy with what Veganuary has achieved,” Glover said. “Well, no, not really, because animals are still getting eaten. When we launched the campaign, about 850 million chickens a year were slaughtered in the UK. Now it’s 1.1 billion.

“There’s a question of whether Veganuary has slowed the growth of what would have happened naturally. But we know that, as soon as someone takes part in Veganuary, that is causing a reduction.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/31/veganuary-changed-uk-eating

5 Healthy, Affordable Vegan Meals for Low-Energy Days

From vegnews.com

Need low-effort vegan meal ideas? These five meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner use affordable ingredients and don’t start by asking you to chop an onion

Sometimes, you don’t have the energy to cook anything that involves breaking out your knife and cutting board, and that’s okay. A lot of factors can interfere with what you cook and eat, from a busy schedule to chronic pain to mental health and everything in between. Sure, ready-made meals and fast food are an option for most people, depending on where you live, but maybe neither of those aligns with your health goals or your bank account. And, another problem might arise when you search for easy, healthy, budget-friendly vegan meals.

It often goes like this: you come across a purportedly simple vegan recipe on a blog, but then the first step asks you to chop an onion or dice up vegetables for mirepoix. Cue the record scratch sound in your head. As far as we’re concerned, having to cut any ingredient is where a “simple” recipe stops being “simple” and becomes inconvenient. Thankfully, you’re not out of luck if you want vegan meals that don’t involve any chopping.

How to make healthy, affordable vegan meals for low-energy days

Just because a recipe is low-effort doesn’t mean that it needs to be bland. So, we asked Rhyan Geiger, an RDN and owner of Phoenix Vegan Dietitian, for simple, healthy, delicious vegan meal ideas that also happen to be budget-friendly. Her top tips? “Pasta dishes are a go-to for affordable and easy vegan recipes. There’s nothing wrong with pasta. And, a loaf of bread can go a long way,” she says.

Vegan food may have a reputation for being expensive, but many plant-based ingredients are among the cheapest options available. Geiger recommends stocking your pantry with staples like frozen fruit and vegetables, brown rice, peanut butter, and of course, whole grain pasta, and whole grain bread. 

Looking for inspiration? Here are five easy, delicious vegan recipes you can make when you don’t have the time or energy to cook.

Sam Turnbull

1Whole grain pasta with frozen greens and beans

Pasta often comes to the rescue on those busy days where appetites are ravenous and the willingness to cook is low.

For an easy pasta dish packed with greens, combine a serving of your favourite whole grain noodles with frozen spinach, shelled edamame, and extra virgin olive oil. This combination of complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat is an excellent way to get all of your macrobiotics on one plate.

“Half your daily grains each day ideally should be whole grains,” Geiger says. Whole grain pasta tends to contain more B vitamins, fibre and protein. 

“Adding a bunch of spinach will boost the nutritional value and should make up about half of your plate or bowl,” she adds. As a finishing touch, top it with frozen shelled edamame to balance out your meal with some protein.

For some easily added flavour, mix your pasta dish with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and nutritional yeast. For a recipe to model your meal after, try this spaghetti with spinach and white beans. Just swap the chopped onion and garlic with one tablespoon of onion powder and one teaspoon of garlic powder. 

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2Whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana

When you need a quick meal, you can’t go wrong with toast. It takes minutes to make, it’s filling, and there are so many options to choose from for toppings. Spread some peanut butter on top and add sliced bananas for a quick, affordable meal or snack.

“Toast doesn’t have to be only a breakfast option,” Geiger explains. “When eating toast for a meal you can opt for two slices and for a snack, depending on your hunger and activity, you could have one slice.”

This meal includes both complex carbohydrates from the whole grain toast, plus simple carbohydrates from the banana, both of which provide energy to help you go about your day.

“Peanut butter not only has plant-based protein, but also fat which will help keep you feeling full for longer, which can be important if your meals are farther apart,” Geiger says. 

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3Dressed-up low-sodium canned lentil soup

As convenient as they are, vegan canned soups can sometimes leave the stomach wanting, calorie-wise. But, for a quick meal, you can and should add your own accoutrements, such as frozen vegetables, brown rice, or whole grain toast on the side. 

“Picking out a soup with protein such as lentils can help keep you feeling full as well as maintain your muscle mass,” Geiger says. “Opt for frozen veggies like broccoli and peppers instead of only corn and peas.”

Be sure to pick a low-sodium soup, as regularly eating high-sodium foods can lead to high blood pressure over time. “If you can’t find low-sodium soup, it’s okay to have the regular kind once in a while—just not all the time,” Geiger adds.

Rocky89

4Oatmeal with frozen fruit and peanut butter

Oats are a good source of complex carbohydrates, fibre, protein, and an array of important vitamins and minerals, including manganese, copper, and vitamin B1. They’re also incredibly versatile, easy to prepare, and affordable.

“Oats can be eaten cold or warm, making them easy to add into your day,” Geiger says. “They’re an excellent whole grain and can be purchased in bulk bins so you can get just the amount you need. Frozen fruit like strawberries and blueberries can be added on top and microwaved with the oats.”

According to research, frozen fruit is often just as healthy—if not more nutritious—than fresh, and it’s typically cheaper, too. It’s also longer-lasting in that you likely won’t have to toss it due to it going bad before you can eat it. But if you see fresh fruit on sale, buy it and freeze it at home. 

“Drizzle the top of your oats with peanut butter to add a source of protein and healthy fat,” Geiger says.

Julieanna Hever

 

5Stir-fried vegetables with rice

You can make a nutritious vegan stir-fry without ever having to chop vegetables, let alone an onion. 

“Stir-fry is one of the best ways to add a surplus of vegetables to your diet easily,” Geiger explains. “Vegetable stir-fry can be a perfect meal for days where you have ingredients in your fridge that you need to use up before they go bad.”

If you want to use all frozen produce, look for bagged mixed vegetables that contain flavour-packed produce, like onions and bell peppers. “It’s a customizable recipe so feel free to use any vegetables you have on hand,” Geiger adds. 

As for the rice, using microwaveable brown rice will cut down on preparation time while delivering healthy carbs. But if you have the time and energy for it, cooking a batch of rice that you can use during the week is a good option, too. “Adding avocado to the top is optional but adds flavor and ‘keeps-me-full’ fat,” Geiger says.

Whether you need to save energy or just time, these easy plant-based meal ideas are worthy of your regular dinner rotation. You can make this vegetable stir-fry easier by using pre-baked and seasoned tofu and by skipping the chopped vegetables in favour of using a bagged mix.

https://vegnews.com/vegan-health-wellness/nutrition/affordable-vegan-meals-low-energy

Why do people do Veganuary and what are the health benefits?

From news.yahoo.com

As January approaches, many people will be thinking about what kind of changes they can make to start the new year on the right foot.

Going vegan for the month is a popular choice, with nearly 610,000 people taking part in the challenge in 2022, according to Veganuary.

Veganuary, the global organisation encouraging people to try a vegan diet for the first month of the year, said this year that it “hit a new landmark”. In 2021, a total of 580,000 people participated in the challenge globally from more than 220 countries and territories.

The campaign has been backed by celebrities such as Dr Jane Goodall, Joanna Lumley and Venus Williams, as well as Dragon’s Den investor Deborah Meaden, who was an official ambassador for Veganuary in 2022.

Big corporations have also joined in on the Veganuary craze, including Harrods, Superdrug and Volkswagen, all of which signed up to the organisation’s “workplace challenge” this year.

A large number of plant-based products launched by brands, fast food chains and supermarkets over recent years has also made it easier than ever to try going vegan for 31 days.

From an extensive vegan range in Aldi including vegan cheese and spicy vegan chicken burgers, to plant-based Babybel, to Burger King’s vegan nuggets and Papa John’s vegan cheese-stuffed crust pizza, the sheer number of options for vegans is dizzying compared to just a few years ago.

Here’s everything you need to know about Veganuary and whether a plant-based diet is good for you:

What is Veganuary?

Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that launched a challenge of the same name in 2014 to get more people to try a vegan diet for one month. When it first launched, just 3,000 people took part.

Now, the campaign takes place every January with hundreds of thousands of people committing to the pledge to eat a plant-based diet for 31 days.

The organisation promotes going vegan as a way to “protect the environment, prevent animal suffering, and improve the health of millions of people”.

It does this by encouraging people to take its 31-day pledge to go vegan, as well as engaging companies and firms to create, launch and promote new vegan products.

Why is Veganuary so popular?

According to the organisation, there are three main reasons why people pledge to do Veganuary.

Many people try veganism as a way to end their role in animal suffering, which occurs due to certain farming practices. Although many British farmers have made plenty of headway in switching to more ethical and sustainable farming, many animals still suffer under poor living conditions.

Another reason for going vegan is to help reduce one’s impact on the environment. Agriculture is a big contributor to methane emission levels around the world, and the fifth-highest sector for greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the UK research and Innovation (UKRI), the industry is responsible for 11 per cent of the UK’s total emissions in 2020 and majority of agricultural emissions is methane arising from livestock.

Thirdly, many people cite wanting to see if going vegan will improve their health as a reason for trying it out.

Does going vegan have health benefits?

Some studies have shown that having a plant-based diet could have some health benefits. However, having a balanced, nutritious diet has consistently been shown to be the best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A 2021 study published in The BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health Journal found that people who follow a plant-based diet were 73 per cent less likely to contract severe Covid-19.

Pescetarians, who only eat fish as a source of meat, were 59 per cent less likely to become ill than those who eat red or white meat.

Earlier studies have shown that a vegan or vegetarian diet could help cut the risk of heart failure by 42 per cent. In 2017, researchers found that participants who followed a plant-based diet had the strongest association with a lower risk of incident heart failure compared to those who eat lots of red meat, fast food, sweet desserts and sugary snacks.

However, scientists warned in 2018 that poorly-managed vegan diets could leave some people with nutrient deficiencies that have potentially severe consequences.

Vegan and vegetarian diets often lack particular vitamins, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and iron. Some vegans may find that they need to take additional supplements to replenish these vitamins if their diets can’t provide them.

https://news.yahoo.com/why-people-veganuary-health-benefits-160635977.html 

Processed Foods Are an Environmental Nightmare, Study Finds

From greenqueen.com.hk

Processed foods taste good. It’s no accident. Food scientists exploit our preferences for salt, sugar, and fat in order to make us return to foods again and again. Science has pinpointed addictive properties in processed foods that trigger similar behaviour to that of tobacco use. And just like regular tobacco use is linked to numerous and severe health risks, too much processed food — even when it’s plant-based — isn’t doing your health any favours.

“It is time to stop thinking about highly processed foods just as food, but instead as highly refined substances that can be addictive,” said Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech, who conducted the research linking processed food addiction and tobacco addiction. Those findings are published in the journal Addiction.

Beyond the increased risks of heart disease, gum disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and the behavioural problems that accompany addiction, tobacco is also a pretty big problem for the planet. Tobacco growing is linked to deforestation; according to a 2018 study, an estimated 200,000 hectares of forest are destroyed for tobacco farming each year. Clear-cutting also produces greenhouse gases accelerating global warming Most tobacco is also heavily sprayed with highly toxic pesticides including aldicarb and chlorpyrifos, which have been linked to threats to pollinators, including bees.

Cigarette butts are also a big problem; they’re a leading source of beach and ocean pollution, threatening biodiversity and ocean health. According to The Ocean Conservancy’s 2018 International Coastal Cleanup Report, 2,412,151 cigarette butts were collected worldwide in 2017 — an increase from the 1,863,838 butts collected the year prior. But millions more wind up in oceans and are mistaken as food by marine animals.

The findings

Now, new research, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, also finds those cigarette-level addictive ultra-processed foods also aren’t doing the planet any favours.

The new research looked at the 30-year American Nurses study, which included more than 90,000 participants. The reported diets and health outcomes were sorted and ranked by type of foods and frequency consumed. The researchers looked specifically at the consumption of plant-based ingredients.

Those findings were then compared with the environmental impacts of the different foods, giving each one an environmental impact score.

Beyond the health risks of consuming too many processed foods, the new research looked at various plant-based diets and their environmental impact. According to the findings, healthier plant-based diets — those rich in unprocessed whole fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains — also carried lower greenhouse gas emissions and required fewer resources including land, water, and fertilizer.

“The differences between plant-based diets was surprising because they’re often portrayed as universally healthy and good for the environment, but it’s more nuanced than that,” Aviva Musicus, co-author of the study, said in a statement. 

Climate diet

“We’re not asserting that less healthy plant-based diets are worse for the environment than animal-based diets. However, our findings show that plant-based diets can have different health and environmental impacts,” Musicus said.

Courtesy nrd-D6tu via unsplash

Climate experts have been calling for ‘climate diets’ for years — mainly a shift away from animal products, which are resource intensive and produce greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane. Flexitarianism — alternating proteins between animal and plants — has been gaining popularity in recent years, largely in response to climate concerns as well as health.

Daniel Wang, a co-author of the study, says the new findings could help to create new dietary guidelines that support a healthier and more sustainable food system. “Because human health ultimately depends upon planetary health, future U.S. dietary guidelines should include nuanced consideration of environmental sustainability and recognize that not all plant-based diets confer the same health and environmental benefits.”

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/processed-foods-environmental-impact-study/ 

Heinz adds vegan versions of Cream of Tomato Soup and Beanz & Sausages

From thegrocer.co.uk 

Heinz is launching vegan versions of Cream of Tomato Soup and Beanz & Sausages ahead of Veganuary.

The innovations – which are the result of “several years” of development – are claimed to offer “the taste of Heinz” without animal products.

Creamy Tomato Soup contains fermented soy in place of the dried skimmed milk, cream, and milk proteins of the original recipe. The plant-based sausages in Beanz & Vegan Sausages, meanwhile, comprise wheat protein, rapeseed oil, potato starch and wheat starch.

Both products contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

They have rolled out on Ocado today (28 December) and will hit shelves in Sainsbury’s on 8 January 2023 (rsp: £1.70-£2/400g-415g).

Heinz brand manager Manel Jordeo said there was “a big appetite for vegan versions of existing Heinz favourites, without compromising on the same great taste our consumers expect”.

“We’re delighted to reveal these two new plant-based varieties in time for Veganuary, especially for those who we know have been calling for vegan versions of our classic products, including creamy soups.

“With the added benefit of being one of your 5 a day, we are confident Heinz Creamy Tomato Soup and Heinz Beanz & Vegan Sausages will offer a nutritious, tasty and unmistakably Heinz meal, while also being great for recruiting new shoppers into the category.”

It comes after Heinz has spent recent months expanding into the plant-based category. In January 2022, it rolled out a range of Made for Veggiez sauces designed specifically to pair with plant-based meals. It also launched a trio of frozen ready meals called Beanz Bowlz in September.

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/new-product-development/heinz-adds-vegan-versions-of-cream-of-tomato-soup-and-beanz-and-sausages/674719.article

What’s the Definition of Vegan? Is It a Diet or a Lifestyle?

From vegnews.com

Eating more plant-based or vegan? What is the definition of vegan, anyway? Is it a diet or a lifestyle? Let’s break it down

ow many vegans, according to the joke, does it take to change a lightbulb? Two: one to change it and one to check for animal ingredients. It’s funny because it contains a kernel of truth. Everyone evidently knows that vegans seem obsessed with reading ingredient labels. But less well known is the definition of vegan in its entirety and whether it constitutes a lifestyle or merely a diet. 

What is the definition of a vegan? 

Vegans—people who do not consume anything that comes from an animal—have been around for thousands of years. The Therapeutae, for instance, were an ancient Jewish sect that abstained from all animal foods, and the philosopher and poet Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī (973–1057) avoided animal products and wrote “do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals / Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught / for their young, not noble ladies.”

But the word vegan was not created until 1944, when six members of The Vegan Society gathered in England and coined it from the first and last letters of vegetarian. According to The Vegan Society, “The group felt a new word was required to describe them; something more concise than ‘non-dairy vegetarians.’ Rejected words included ‘dairyban,’ ‘vitan,’ and ‘benevore.’”

Mercy for Animals

The Vegan Society’s definition of a vegan describes it as “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”

As that definition implies, veganism is not just a diet; indeed, for ethical vegans, it means not supporting any product or enterprise that exploits animals, from drugs that are tested on animals to zoos and aquariums that keep them in captivity. With such an ethic in mind, many vegans regard it as their obligation to speak out for animals by sharing with friends, family, and the public information regarding how animals suffer for food, fashion, experiments, entertainment, and more.

With the increasing popularity of veganism, however, has come an even more holistic and compassionate approach to defining what a vegan is. There is a growing movement that believes that the unity of suffering connects species, races, genders, classes, and religions in a very tangible way—that the exploitation of animals is intrinsically linked to the oppression of humans in its many forms (such as racism, sexism, ableism, and sizeism). For those within this movement, being vegan means advocating for and amplifying the voices of marginalized people as well as animals. 

What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?

The main difference between vegan and vegetarian is that vegetarians do not eat meat and vegans do not eat anything that comes from an animal: meat, dairy, eggs, and honey. Vegans also do not wear or use other animal products, including leather, wool, silk, feathers and down, and beeswax, and they avoid products tested on animals, such as cosmetics and drugs (although the consensus is you’re still vegan if you take necessary medications, whether they’re vegan or not, including the COVID vaccines).   

Canva

Some vegetarians consume animal products: lacto-vegetarians exclude all meat and eggs in their diet but include dairy products, ovo-vegetarians exclude all meat and dairy but include eggs, and lacto-ovo vegetarians exclude all meat but include dairy and eggs. 

Clearly, veganism is a stricter lifestyle choice than vegetarianism, and the vegan movement has given rise to several subsets that go beyond the baseline of avoiding animal products. 

• Fruitarianism. Obviously, the bulk of this diet, which excludes all animal products, is fruit. Raw vegetables are occasionally consumed.
• Raw veganism. Raw vegans eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds that have not been heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit, in the belief that consuming foods in their natural state provides nutrients that are otherwise destroyed when cooked. 
• Whole foods, plant-based diet. Also known as WFPB, adherents to this diet exclude all animal products, but they also focus on whole vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and legumes and avoid refined and processed foods—even oils. 

What is the difference between plant-based and vegan?

More and more, “plant-based” is being used as a synonym for “vegan,” especially in food marketing. Are they really the same? No. A plant-based diet consists primarily of plant foods, but a vegan diet completely excludes anything that comes from an animal. So, while “plant-based” might include ingredients like eggs, dairy, honey, or even a little meat, “vegan” means the food is entirely free of animal products. Moreover, veganism is a lifestyle, and vegans are likely to extend this to other aspects of their lives, including not wearing anything that comes from an animal or using products tested on them.

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What are the health benefits of being vegan?

Many people today say they went vegan for their health. Indeed, both the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the British Dietetic Association acknowledge that a well-planned vegan diet is suitable for every age and stage of life. More specifically, a vegan diet rich in whole foods provides the following benefits.

1Good for your heart 

According to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, diets that focus on nutritionally rich plant foods can give young adults a healthier heart, lowering their risk of cardiovascular disease by 52 percent. The 32-year study found that even participants who shifted to a plant-based diet as they aged gained heart-protective benefits, regardless of the quality of their original diet. The nutrients found in plant foods have been shown to reduce oxidation, lower inflammation, decrease low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and improve other health outcomes associated with lower heart disease risk.

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2Linked to lower cancer rates

A study by researchers at Oxford University showed that vegans have a much lower risk of getting some forms of the disease. The 15-year-long study followed 61,647 British adults, of which 18,298 were vegetarian and 2,246 were vegan. They found that overall cancer incidence—compared to meat-eaters—was 11-percent lower in vegetarians and 19-percent lower in vegans. These findings correspond with numerous other studies looking at how diet affects cancer risk, including another one from Oxford University that analysed data on more than 470,000 Britons and found that people who don’t eat meat have a 14-percent lower cancer risk.

3Associated with a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes

It seems that every day new research touts some health benefit of eating vegan. Among the latest good news is that a healthy, whole foods, plant-based diet is linked to a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which currently affects 450 million people worldwide. The study, carried out by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, involved 10,684 participants and sought to identify the benefits of different plant-based diets and explore possible connections between this and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. Lead author of the study Professor Frank Hu said that “consumption of polyphenol-rich plant foods like fruits, vegetables, coffee, and legumes are all closely linked to a healthy plant-based diet and lower risk of diabetes.”

4Good for your blood pressure

A recent review of studies on the link between diet and hypertension found that compared to people who eat meat, a vegetarian diet lowered the systolic blood pressure by an average of 2.66 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.69 mmHg. Those eating a vegan diet showed an even greater reduction of 3.12 mmHg systolic and 1.92 mmHg diastolic blood pressure. (Interestingly, subjects eating a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, which allows dairy products and eggs, showed no changes in diastolic blood pressure reduction.)

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5Linked to dementia prevention

Studies show that following a diet rich in plant-based foods during midlife is associated with a significantly lower risk of cognitive impairment—including Alzheimer’s disease—later in life. Research on plant-derived antioxidants, for instance, finds they reduce the damage caused by oxidative stress to central nervous system integrity, thereby protecting cognitive ability. Meanwhile, the phytochemicals present in fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, and other plants have been found to reduce the neuroinflammation that can contribute to dementia. 

6Beneficial for arthritis sufferers

A low-fat vegan diet improves joint pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Rheumatoid arthritis is a common autoimmune and inflammatory disease that causes joint pain, swelling, and eventually permanent joint damage. Certain foods, such as red meat and dairy, cause inflammation, which may make arthritis symptoms worse. A diet based on plants, however, can reduce or even eliminate arthritis pain.

What are the environmental benefits of being vegan?

Going vegan is not only good for the animals and your health—it’s good for the planet. “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use, and water use,” says Joseph Poore of the University of Oxford and lead researcher on a 2018 report on food production. “It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” he said, because these only cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

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A growing list of experts agree that adopting a plant-based diet is crucial in the fight against climate change. According to a report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a global shift toward plant-based diets rich in pulses, nuts, fruits, and vegetables could lead to a substantial reduction of GHG emissions as compared to current dietary patterns in most industrialized countries. Another report found that 57 percent of global GHG emissions from food production come from meat and dairy products—twice those of plant foods. 

Clearly, switching to a vegan diet may be the most important step humanity can take to ensure the future of our planet. 

Resources for going vegan

Books

• The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan by Jasmin Singer
• Eat for the Planet by Nil Zacharias and Gene Stone
• Ethical Vegan by Jordi Casamitjana
• How to Be Vegan by Elizabeth Castoria
• Never Too Late to Go Vegan by Carol J. Adams, Patti Breitman, and Virginia Messina, MPH, RD
• Nourish: The Definitive Plant-Based Nutrition Guide for Families by Reshma Shah MD, MPH, and Brenda Davis, RD
• The Plant-Based Athlete by Matt Fazier and Robert Cheeke
• The Ultimate Vegan Guide by Erik Marcus
• Vegan for Her by Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, with JL Fields

For additional resources, check out all of VegNews’ recipes and our guides to vegan beer, milk, cheese, and much more.

https://vegnews.com/vegan-guides/nutrition/definition-of-vegan