From henleystandard.co.uk
A WOMAN from Henley who has been vegan for five years says that adopting a plant-based diet is easier than people think.
Caroline Hopkins, a retired teaching assistant, and her husband Peter, a solicitor, decided to become vegan after learning more about the environmental impacts of the dairy industry.
She said: “I chose a vegan diet when I realised the environmental benefits and as a way to reduce our carbon footprint.
“It’s not the only reason as animal welfare is also a big factor. I love all animals, not just pets.”
The couple say that documentaries and the influence of their eldest son, Edward, who became vegan five years before them, convinced them of the benefits.
In 2020, Edward founded a communications company, Dark Green PR, which works with green-focused businesses on digital marketing and brand strategy.
He has given talks to environmental campaign group Greener Henley about his work at COP and his work in the climate industry.
Mrs Hopkins said: “He influenced us. He became vegan first and his partner is vegan.
“He has always been in PR. A pal of his did a PhD in environmental ethics, that’s what got the ball rolling for him. That’s the job he does now.
“My youngest son Richie and his partner are not vegan but they have dramatically reduced their intake. They don’t do dairy and they don’t eat much processed meat.”
Mrs Hopkins, who was vegetarian for about three years before switching to a vegan diet, says that she didn’t find making the change
difficult.
She said: “I was a complete carnivore and I did drink cow’s milk but now I’ve made the switch.
“I wouldn’t say I found it challenging. It’s easier than you think. It’s changing people’s habits of a lifetime. I’m a great tea lover and never in a million years did I think I could drink it without cow’s milk but you get used to it.
“You drink a cup of tea and think, ‘That’s not so bad’. It’s being willing to make the effort.
“My husband and I are just two people but I feel better for doing it, for lessening our environmental impact.”
Mrs Hopkins, who worked at Trinity Primary School and Rupert House School, believes that since becoming vegan she and her husband, a partner at Mercers solicitors in New Street, have noticed the health benefits of only eating plant-based foods.
“Since we’ve been vegan we’ve both had a healthy gut,” she said.
“I am over 60 and I try to exercise as much as I can. I do have arthritis in our family but it has got a bit better and I would like to put it down to a vegan diet. It’s also cleaner. You have to be so careful how to store meat and dairy goes off quickly.”
She says that it is a lot easier to be vegan now with many restaurants and shops in Henley and further afield providing lots of vegan options which weren’t previously available.
“Côte and Zizzi do an amazing selection of vegan options,” she said. “Most restaurants will try to offer a vegan burger with chips but Zizzi and Côte do a nice meal, which they make from scratch.
“Cook do some frozen dishes which are also vegan, which is great.
“The word is getting out — even supermarkets. Tesco has a great selection called Wicked Kitchen and some are really quite tasty. Waitrose also has a good selection. Lidl had a whole new range for Christmas, which I thought was good.
“The Willow Basket I highly recommend. They have Ecover and you can refill your bottles. I go to fill up with laundry liquid and washing up liquid.
“FourState has some lovely environmentally friendly goods. There’s a lot out there.”
Mrs Hopkins says she enjoys cooking and she has stack of well-thumbed vegan recipe books in the kitchen of her home in Wyndale Close.
“I’ve always been a cook, it comes with my American roots,” she said.
“For my favourite dishes, I like anything with mushrooms. I like mushroom lasagne, I like baking vegan cakes and biscuits, nut roasts and delicious soups. With soups it’s easy, you can add pulses and nuts, which give you protein, and some green veg like broccoli has more calcium than a glass of milk.
“At Christmas, Peter, Ed and myself had nut roast with gravy and vegetables. I made a little bit of turkey for Richie and my mother-in-law.
“For New Year’s Day my mother-in-law came round and I made lemon polenta cake with Oatly cream. It was delicious.
“Shepherd’s pie with lentils, butternut squash soup with sourdough bread and a tossed green salad. You can have all the protein and vitamins through a vegan diet.”
Mrs Hopkins uses other vegan products, including face creams, and tries to lessen the environmental impact of other purchases by buying second-hand goods from charity shops in Henley.
She believes that Veganuary is a good idea to help encourage others to try veganism.
“The thing is to have a go,” she said. “I wish there were some statistics about how many people carry on with it. I know a few other vegans in Henley but not that many — my husband and I are generally the odd ones out.”
Mr Hopkins said: “I have no regrets. It’s the way forward, people moving away from meat and dairy as they try to reduce the environmental impact of what they eat.”
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