Students Dish Out Free Greggs Vegan Sausage Rolls Across UK Campuses

From peta.org.uk/news 

By Polly Foreman

PETA’s youth outreach initiative is off to a delicious start – thanks to passionate student animal defenders serving up free Greggs Vegan Sausage Rolls and starting conversations about kinder food choices.

Working with university societies across the country, three groups stepped up to take part: the Animal Rights Society at De Montfort University, the Vegetarian Society at the University of Exeter, and the Animal Law Society at Northumbria University. Acting on behalf of animals, each society hosted its own campus stall – giving away 100 vegan rolls and engaging fellow students in positive, eye-opening discussions about plant-based diets.

Real Conversations, Real Impact

Students from the Animal Law Society at Northumbria University

In total, nearly 300 vegan sausage rolls were handed out – with many students trying the pig-free option for the first time. The universities also reported excellent feedback from fellow students:

“Had some really great conversations and a lot of people had positive attitudes towards our cause.”

Animal Rights Society, De Montfort University

“We said to people, ‘Just try one and see whether you like it’. A lot of people did actually try it … and agreed they taste exactly the same as meaty  sausage rolls.”

Animal Law Society, Northumbria University

“Having people that otherwise wouldn’t have tried a vegan alternative … be able to try them because they were free was great. I personally loved seeing people’s surprise at how good and similar the vegan sausage rolls tasted.”

Vegetarian Society, University of Exeter

A Simple Swap

The Vegan Roll Pork-Free, a beloved part of the Greggs menu, has become a staple on UK high streets and university campuses alike – and it costs the same as the meat version.

By giving students the chance to try the roll for free, these outreach events showed that choosing vegan food couldn’t be easier. It can be just as convenient, far more delicious, and far kinder to animals.

Powered by Students

Students from the Vegetarian Society at the University of Exeter

The success of these events is thanks to the dedication of the student societies, who organised and ran their stalls on campus, and to PETA’s Youth Outreach Coordinator  who supported the initiative by arranging materials and supplying the vegan rolls.

Together, they created welcoming spaces where students could explore new foods, ask questions, and rethink what’s on their plate.

A Growing Movement

These events are a glimpse of what’s possible when student activists are empowered to speak up for animals.

With more outreach planned, PETA will build on this momentum – reaching even more students, inspiring more conversations, and making vegan options the go-to choice on campuses nationwide.

Because sometimes, all it takes is one bite to change minds.

https://www.peta.org.uk/news/students-greggs-sausage-rolls/

Let Them Eat Plants: Imagining a Better Food Future

From peninsulapress.com

By Eleanor Jackson 

Ava Cuevas often felt excluded in her high school cafeteria. Not because she sat alone, but because, as her friends filled their trays with slices of pizza and scoops of buttery mashed potatoes, she was left with a decidedly less appealing—and less filling—set of choices. A fruit and a vegetable. Or a lactose-induced stomach ache. Always paired with a side of feeling like an afterthought. 

Despite being one of the only vegans in her school, Cuevas is part of a growing community. Today, 14% of Gen-Z self-identify as either vegan or vegetarian–nearly triple their parents’ generation. While they may still be a minority in most rooms, at the recent Food4Thought festival at Stanford, Cuevas and other young vegans found themselves surrounded by like-minded friends. They were living, ever-so-briefly, in the future of sustainable food. 

Research shows that plant-based diets use less land and water and produce less carbon—making them better for the environment. These diets have also been shown to lower risk of diseases including cancer. Despite the documented benefits, most school lunches still rely on meat and dairy products.  

“There was almost never any[thing] for me to eat,” said Dylan Ventura, fellow vegan and UC Berkeley sophomore. “Thinking back on it, I wish I had done something about it. Cause it was something that bothered me.”  

School lunch programs’ reliance on animal products comes partially from policy. In California, for example, public schools are required to offer milk with every meal. But requiring milk be served does not mean students will drink it. Chloe Waterman, a Senior Program Manager for Friends of the Earth and panellist at the conference, shared that “[milk] is the most wasted [cafeteria] item by volume, by weight, and by emissions impact.”  

The good news for vegans? Plant-based meals are better for the environment and for your health. The good news for omnivores? Plant-based meals have become anything but boring. (Ella Jackson/Peninsula Press) 

Waterman was one of many leaders at the Food4Thought festival finding ways for food providers to rely less on animal products. The conference led by example—boasting two full days of vegan catering that ensured even meat eaters left feeling satisfied. They provided vegan burritos and steamed buns for breakfast, paired with pad thai and chocolate cake for lunch. They didn’t skimp on the faux animal products either, offering everything from Just-brand “egg” scramble to Daring’s “chicken” satay.  

While delicious and nutritious vegan cuisine could feed a few hundred people at a two-day conference, experts recognize that they will need to overcome political, economic, and cultural barriers if they want to see more plant-based options in public schools.  

Waterman shared that California is a leader in the field because the state “made historic investments in school meals under the Newsom administration.” The state invested in farm to school, in plant-based options, and in the infrastructure needed for in-house cooking. In 2022, they launched the School Food Best Practices Fund which authorized a hundred million dollars for schools to procure values-aligned foods including California grown foods, plant-based options, and foods to accommodate students with religious or restricted diets. 

Even with the state subsidies, cost remained one of the biggest challenges for districts that receive roughly $4.50 per student per meal from the federal government to cover both food and labor costs. Between 2019 and 2023, the percentage of plant-based school lunch options only grew from 7% to 11% in California. The incremental change means that school lunches continue to disappoint California vegans.  

It’s a disappointment Ventura remembers all too well. Like Cuevas, he became vegan through animal advocacy and recalls being one of the only vegans in his community. He grew up in a mostly Hispanic city where meat is a big part of the culture. “It was rare that people were accepting and understanding and even rarer that people were supportive,” Ventura said.  

Not so at Food4Thought. There students like Cuevas and Ventura lived in a world where food was designed for them and for the planet. They smiled as they shared their best vegan mac and cheese recipes and dreamt of a future world where these recipes became the norm, rather than an afterthought.  

In Cuevas’s dream dining hall, everything would be plant-based by default. Of course, students could ask for animal-based proteins, but “for once, I’m not the one that has to be asking for a change.” That dream may still be far from reality, but Cuevas and her peers are helping to build the momentum, dish by dish. 

https://peninsulapress.com/2026/05/26/let-them-eat-plants-imagining-a-better-food-future/

The humours of veganism explored by two friends of the meat industry

From dailybaro.orangemedianetwork.com

By Roy Keller and Fox Perez

There are few things better than bacon. Sure, world peace and a life without fear have a good ring to them. But thick-cut maple smoked bacon with a peppered and lacy bark on its flank; you can’t beat that.

But loving bacon isn’t just about taste. It’s about comfort, certainty, the familiar sizzle of a world that makes sense. So when you decide to give that up — not for health, not for morals, but for something else entirely — you learn fast what you’re really made of.

In pursuit of something greater, people will forfeit pieces of themselves in order to reach their goal. 

For instance, a while back, we went vegan. 

No torrent of emotion nor grand epiphany led us to make the decision to forfeit the comforts of dairy, eggs and oh so delicious meat. 

No, something much stronger led us to the righteous path of veganism. A bet. 

While the complete contents of the bet are best left unstated, what should be known is that it was our responsibility, as a team of two, to remain vegan for an entire work week. 

For the uninitiated, veganism is vegetarianism’s older, meaner brother. On top of barring the practitioner from meat, they must also omit any and all animal products from their diet, including eggs, dairy, honey and even in some cases, cane sugar. 

Veganism to people like us, proud meat eaters and regulars of the dairy aisle, is a stark contrast to how we choose to live. Without proper stakes, the world in which we live without chicken, pork and beef is distant at best. 

Yet somehow, the stakes presented themselves. With the promise of a dinner akin to a full hog suckling on the nectar of Eden, paid for in full by The Daily Barometer’s Sports Chief Nikolas Muñoz, veganism was a herculean challenge we couldn’t back down from.

Beyond chicken tenders sit in a warmer at the Cascadia Market in the International Living-Learning Center at Oregon State University on April 28. The market offers a variety of vegan food options on the go. Kenzie Whaley

Despite Oregon State University’s sprawling and readily available vegan menu found on their website, we, as newcomers to the vegan space, decided to take to the creed as our forefathers had. Without any research whatsoever. 

For myself, Fox Perez, this lack of due diligence toward doing the homework led me down a path not unlike historical exemplars such as the Buddha or Jesus of Nazareth. That being the ancient and mysterious art of fasting.

Meanwhile, Roy Keller, he took to his own forefathers’ traditions of pillaging and raiding. But have no fear, citizens of Corvallis, Oregon! You all can rest easy knowing that his rampant skullduggery was strictly contained to the wandering of Ninth Street’s Trader Joe’s.

Between some nutritional deficit-induced mania and moving through TJ’s like there was blood in the water, we caught glimpses of the world beyond. One in which we bathe in bacon, sing amongst steak and delight in dancing drumsticks.

For Keller, this delusion of the beyond sent him into thoughts of the electric chair. Meanwhile, for Perez, this mere psychosis led him to the mountaintops of the central steppes of Asia, in which he no longer yearned for food of any kind, merely taking satisfaction and pleasure in the scents that pranced around his nostrils and tickled the neurons in his brain.

Crunchy peanut butter is great, but it can only get you so far. 

Weeks later, from the comfort of a leather armchair with a belly full of very non-vegan dinner, we can say with confidence that being vegan here at OSU can be really easy or it can be pretty dam hard. The gossamer-thin line between the two lies only in your own resourcefulness. 

Luckily for us, our own scrappy nature, alongside invaluable vegan coworkers — KBVR-FM’s Taija Riley and Evangeline Jorjorian — helped us navigate the largely joyless sprawling wasteland that is veganism. 

If you, dear reader, are considering entering the vegan space yourself here at OSU, here’s a word to the wise: if when you walk into your local Subway they ask “the usual?” If your butcher knows you by name, if you have to groan every time you sit down and stand up, consider vegetarianism first.

If, for whatever reason, you can’t help yourself and you long for a life without the modern wonders of cheese or butter, we highly advise you to take a look at the University Housing & Dining Services website.

But here’s the rub: having options on a webpage isn’t the same as having options on your plate. During our week of veganism, we found that OSU’s dining halls offer just enough plant-based fare to keep you alive, but rarely enough to keep you happy. Think cold, sad refrigerators tucked toward the back of Every Bean’s a Good Bean or Bites with a near-empty supply of instant curry and what could be chalked up to mystery meat tortas.

So while veganism is technically available at OSU, we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have a bet riding on it. The dining halls lean hard into meat-and-dairy comfort food, and the vegan alternatives often feel like an afterthought: under-seasoned, under-stocked and under-loved. 

Unless you enjoy interrogating every dining hall employee about hidden butter or walking out with a bowl of plain rice and steamed broccoli, you’re better off sticking with vegetarianism — or just accept the fact that cheese and cold cuts make the rigor of collegiate life far away from your hometown family and friends just a bit more bearable.

https://dailybaro.orangemedianetwork.com/31748/opinion/daily-barometer-forum-column/the-humors-of-veganism-explored-by-two-friends-of-the-meat-industry/ 

Student Life: Surviving on Soy Lattes and Tofu

From bluedotliving.com

By Anna Popnikolova

I challenged myself to eat vegan for one week while away for college. Here’s what I learned

Growing up in a family of meat lovers, I never even considered going vegan. Just proposing vegetarianism would have elicited a big laugh from everyone at my dinner table, where we regularly gathered over traditional Bulgarian meals that often involve several kinds of meat. My family’s favourite meal is a spread of grilled chicken, pork, and beef patties called “Мешена Скара” or “mixed grill.” A dinner without meat simply doesn’t exist in our home.

Still, I have always been curious about a life without meat. Since I left home for college and have had regular access to vegetarian meals and ingredients like tofu (something that never breached the threshold of my childhood home), I’ve started eating more plants and fewer animals.

When I’m at school, I eat chicken almost every day and red meat maybe twice a week. I try to keep my red meat consumption to a minimum — it’s one of the best lifestyle changes we can make to reduce our carbon footprint and a great move for heart health and cholesterol. As for dairy, I don’t drink cow’s milk, but I do enjoy cheese and dairy yogurt. 

As a little challenge, the week before Thanksgiving break, I decided to try to keep a strictly vegan diet for one week. I wanted to learn how difficult it is to eat vegan on my college campus, find some fun new substitutes for my regular animal-based meals, and just see how my body felt after a diet change.

I kept some journal entries from my first few days and took pictures of all my meals. 

Vegan chorizo quesadilla, with brown rice, chickpeas, mashed avocado, and bell peppers. – Photo by Anna Popnikolova

Breakfast

Surprisingly, many things I was already eating were vegan — and I didn’t even know! Here’s what I wrote in my diary on Day 1: 

I was pleasantly surprised this morning — the cereal bars I keep stocked in my dorm in case I wake up late and don’t have time for breakfast are vegan! I eat the Nature’s Bakery fig bars, which are a great portion size for a quick breakfast on the go. I love their raspberry flavour and got their seasonal pumpkin spice one to try out. Over the summer, I became well-acquainted with their whole grain fig brownies … to die for. 

Some days, I woke up early enough to visit the dining hall before class. I was surprised to find that all the bagels there are vegan. I had to walk past my usual butter and cream cheese and opt for jam or avocado spread, but the substitution wasn’t too difficult to make.

When I didn’t have time to get a dining hall breakfast, or when getting coffee with a friend, I frequented two on-campus cafes: Clover and Flour. Flour has always been one of my favourites, and I practically live for their low-fat vegan chocolate muffins. Even after my challenge was over, I found myself peering through the window at their pastry case to see whether they had them in stock. I’ve found a dupe recipe for them online, and I am excited to give it a try next time I go home. 

                     A filling vegan breakfast: bagel with jam, mixed seeds, and tea.    Photo by Anna Popnikolova

Coffee wasn’t a problem for me at all! I’ve been an oat milk drinker for about three or four years now and have recently started shifting over to soy, for the added protein. I like the texture of soy a little better, as I find it less oily. So, I kept getting oat and soy milk as usual.

I picked up an oat cappuccino from Clover, which we have in one of our academic buildings, where my 9 a.m. class is. Their coffee is my morning ritual. Usually, when I grab my coffee I pick up a pastry — a muffin or a slice of banana bread. Drooling over the pastry case this morning, I realized none of my Clover usuals were vegan. I said ‘just the coffee’ and went on.

Beyond missing out on cafe pastries, I missed eating eggs in the morning. And yogurt! I lamented in my diary:

My biggest struggle so far is yogurt. I miss yogurt! Soy yogurt is nowhere near the same, and it has such a weird texture.

Lunch

I learned throughout the week that the dining hall has a lot of really great vegan options. Every entrée option typically comes with a vegan/vegetarian alternative — often, one that I prefer anyway — and they are actually well-thought out and delicious. A few days into the challenge, I wrote:

Today, I was just starving when I got out of class. I don’t have a habit of checking the d-hall schedule, but I was so happy to find that lunch was vegan chorizo quesadillas. They’re one of my favourite lunch options, and while it was sad not to have sour cream with them, I replaced it with the guacamole, and it was just as good.

Clover became one of my go-to lunch spots when I knew I’d miss dining hall hours. Their falafel sandwich on pita with tahini sauce was a very affordable and filling lunch option, especially between classes.  

Snacks

I found some great snacks to keep myself full between classes. My fall semester schedule wasn’t great for meals — I had classes practically back to back from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., often with no time to eat breakfast or lunch. So snacks kept me going. 

I continued popping the Nature’s Bakery bars into my bag, along with dried apricots and dates, which were a great sugar boost for my classes and meetings in the afternoon. I also found myself opting for more nutritious options:

I feel like trying to be vegan has made me generally eat a little healthier – instead of fries, I’ve been having cucumber slices or cherry tomatoes as a side, even though the fries themselves are also vegan. 

         Clover's falafel sandwich on pita with tahini sauce is affordable and filling!   Photo by Anna Popnikolova

A lot of crackers and chips I was already snacking on were vegan-friendly. I discovered some great roasted chickpeas that I added to the crunch rotation during homework hours. 

Dinner

I found myself eating a lot more beans than were previously in my diet to make sure I was getting enough protein. Cannellini white beans, hard-boiled adzuki beans, butter beans, and chickpeas became everyday additions to my salads. I ate tofu every day, sometimes several times a day. And then there was soup:

It’s really cold out today, and I had 30 minutes between classes, so I ran into the dining hall to grab a cup of soup. They had lentils!! I’m so thankful that our dining halls have good soup. I probably wouldn’t survive otherwise. I love soup, and it’s so easy to grab and go… 

I have been a die-hard lentil soup fan since I started eating with my school’s dining services and have also become a fan of their carrot-ginger soup. I missed having chicken noodle soup and chili, but sometimes the dining hall serves a sweet potato and quinoa chili, which is just as delicious. 

Onion orzo, roasted squash, eggplant parm (with vegan cheese!), sliced cucumbers, and marinated tofu on the side. – Photo by Anna Popnikolova

At the end of the week, I headed home for break. 

I’m excited to be eating at home again, but I’m a little worried about my stomach. I haven’t had meat or dairy in a while, and I don’t know if it’ll make my tummy hurt.

I’m really looking forward to cooking for myself again — even just opening the fridge and having ingredients is going to be great. And eating berries!! 

When I was home, I found myself drinking a lot of tea and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, avoiding too much cheese and even yogurt, in exchange for bananas and citrus. My mother always fills the fridge with berries when I come home, because she knows berries are hard to come by on campus. 

Ultimately, I found this challenge really enlightening — I felt great in my body and not tired at all, as I worried I might be. In fact, I think it helps with my energy levels and mental clarity, much more so than loading up on ground beef, bacon, or pork.  

In the time since completing the challenge, I’ve found myself cutting meat even more from my diet and opting for plant-based options instead. I’ve been reaching for the soy meatballs on spaghetti and meatball night at the dining hall and tofu over grilled chicken more and more often. Yogurt, however, I won’t give up — there has to be a better alternative for vegans than the runny, cardboard-like soy, coconut, or oat yogurt. Until I find it, the dairy yogurt must stay.

A lot of vegan creators online say people tell them, “I would totally go vegan, but … cheese.” Their response?  “OK — go vegan but cheese!” If having a bowl of yogurt for breakfast or a slice of cheese on your sandwich makes all the difference, do it. It’s better to try to eat a more plant-based diet, even if you don’t do it perfectly!

https://bluedotliving.com/vegan-challenge-college-meals/

Vegan teens exercise more often than meat-eating peers, study finds

From news-medical.net

While health is the top dietary motive for all students, new research reveals vegan teens are significantly more active and consume more fruits and vegetables, raising important questions for school health policies 

In a recent study published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, researchers examined health behaviours and motivations of secondary school students following vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous diets.

Plant-based eating is on the rise, but what’s driving the shift?

In Europe, 10% of people eat vegetarian or vegan diets. The omnivorous diet is currently the most common, with about 91% of the global population being omnivorous. Nevertheless, 51% of Europeans, 59% of Germans, and 51% of Austrians have reduced meat intake, with Germany doubling the number of vegetarians and vegans during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The massive change in dietary preference toward plant-based diets, particularly by younger people, could be related to health, well-being, animal welfare, ethics, and environmental protection.

Health-related lifestyle and behaviours often solidify in childhood and adolescence and persist into adulthood, with limited possibility of learning healthy behaviours in adulthood. As such, schools represent an excellent environment for health behaviour interventions.

The authors also note that recent Austrian school policy reforms now require that vegan meal options be made available in schools, reflecting broader support for plant-based diets in educational settings.

About the study

In the present study, researchers analysed the motives and health behaviours of secondary school students following vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous diets in Austria. They employed a multi-level cluster sampling strategy following a cross-sectional design. A standardized survey was available for nationwide participation by secondary school students.

The survey could be completed at any time using a computer, tablet, or smartphone under the supervision of parents or school personnel. It was based on individual characteristics, physical activity (PA), exercise, sports, diet, nutrition, and health. Control questions were included throughout the survey to determine conflicts and illegitimate responses.

The survey collected information on age, nationality, sex, residence, anthropometrics, diet type (vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous), dietary motives (e.g., animal welfare, health, tradition, environmental protection), lifestyle interests, and dietary behaviour (vegetable and fruit intake, fluid intake).

Students were categorized as vegan, omnivore, or vegetarian based on survey responses. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-squared tests were used for statistical analyses. The authors acknowledge certain limitations, such as the data being self-reported and the sample sizes for the diet groups being unbalanced.

The cross-sectional nature of the study also means that causality cannot be established.

Who’s eating what? Diet trends, gender, and age

In total, 8,799 students were included. On average, they were aged 15.1 years and had a normal body weight. Most students were female (63%), rural residents (68%), and followed an omnivorous diet (92%). Only 7.2% of students followed plant-predominant diets, with 1.6% vegan and 5.6% vegetarian. More males followed an omnivorous diet, while more females followed a vegan or vegetarian diet.

The paper suggests this could be due to several factors, including parental habits and the socio-cultural association of meat-centred diets with masculinity.

Motivations revealed: What makes students choose their diet?

Vegan and omnivorous diets were more common in middle-school students, whereas vegetarian diets were more common among high school students. There was a significantly higher prevalence of underweight among vegetarian pupils compared to omnivorous pupils. Animal welfare was the most common motive for vegetarian pupils, followed by health.

Conversely, health was the most popular motive for students following an omnivorous or vegan diet, followed by sports performance for vegans and taste for omnivores. The lifestyle of a specific sport and engaging in sports, exercise, and PA were most commonly considered cool across the sample. Meanwhile, 1.4% and 6.1% of students considered smoking and alcohol intake as cool, respectively.

While a vegan lifestyle was seen as cool by some, the authors note that this doesn't yet match findings from other countries, such as a UK study where young people described a vegan lifestyle as “cooler than smoking.”

Lifestyle choices: Activity, diet, and “coolness” in adolescence

Notably, more males reported eating meat as cool than females, while females mentioned a vegetarian lifestyle and diet more often. Most participants (82%) regularly engaged in leisure-time sports.

The prevalence of leisure-time activity was higher among vegan pupils (86%), though participation in more organized club sports did not differ significantly between the groups. It is also important to note that despite these differences, the average activity level for all groups fell short of the daily 60-minute recommendation for adolescents.

Further, most students reported daily intake of fruits (66%) and vegetables (64%).

Daily habits: Fruits, veggies, and what students are drinking

Across dietary subgroups, daily fruit intake was significantly more prevalent among vegan pupils than among omnivores or vegetarians. Meanwhile, daily vegetable intake was significantly more prevalent among vegetarian and vegan students compared to omnivores. Fluid intake level was comparable across dietary subgroups.

Water was the most common drink, followed by syrup, fruit juices, and soft drinks.

More vegetarians reported water as their most common drink (84%) than vegans (75%) and omnivores (72%). Conversely, syrup and fruit juice were the most common drinks among omnivores, and tea was the most common drink for vegans. Around 47% of students consumed alcohol, and 9.3% were smokers.

Alcohol intake was significantly higher among vegetarians (55%) compared to omnivores (46.5%) or vegans (38.0%).

The paper's authors note that this could be linked to the vegetarian group being significantly older on average (15.9 years), placing more of them at or near Austria's legal drinking age of 16 for beer and wine.

What does this mean for schools and student health?

In sum, health remains the top motive for dietary choice, with sports engagement and lifestyle being the top reasons for lifestyle preference. While the omnivorous diet was the predominant dietary choice, students on a vegan diet were the most active in their leisure time.

The findings support the idea that plant-predominant diets are linked to healthier activity levels, which could be a major factor in addressing the global obesity epidemic.

The authors emphasize that these results highlight the potential for schools to become crucial environments for public health intervention. They advocate for a dual “Healthy Eating and Active Living” (HEAL) approach within the school curriculum and suggest that improving the availability and quality of plant-predominant meal options in schools could improve not only dietary habits but also physical activity levels among students.

While these findings are most directly relevant to Austria, the authors note that they may also apply to culturally similar countries.

Journal reference:

• Wirnitzer KC, Tanous DR, Drenowatz C, et al. (2025). Difference in Motives and Basic Health Behavior of 8,799 Children and Adolescents Aged 10–19 Years Following a Vegan, Vegetarian, or Omnivorous Diet. Current Developments in Nutrition, 9(7). DOI: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107498 https://cdn.nutrition.org/article/S2475-2991(25)02959-2/fulltext

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250729/Vegan-teens-exercise-more-often-than-meat-eating-peers-study-finds.aspx

Trial and Error: Learning to Love Veganuary

From varsity.co.uk/lifestyle

Edie Castell reflects on the highs and lows of the Veganuary experience 

The first time I attempted veganism was when I was 12 years old. It was the summer of yellow ochre, mom jeans, and those ‘we should all be feminists’ tees: in other words, the perfect environment for half-hearted teenage activism. I didn’t particularly know why I was suddenly avoiding animal products past a general concern for their welfare, nor did I have the perseverance to sustain my new diet longer than a few weeks. The problem wasn’t a lack of passion, but rather one fatal flaw that I’ve yet to relinquish: I am incredibly lazy in the kitchen. Especially at university, nothing beats the comfort of a bowl of pesto pasta.

This month, however, I decided to work against my nature, and what better way to do so than to commit to a national movement (and an article) to hold myself accountable? Veganuary, for the unacquainted, is exactly what you’d presume it to be: a month-long commitment to a vegan diet. Since its conception in 2014, the movement has only attracted more fanfare – it feels like half of my friends have given it a go at one point or another.

This month I decided to work against my nature, and what better way to do so than to commit to Veganuary?   Natasha Larsen for Varsity

There’s no arguing that the case for a vegan diet is compelling. Not only has it been linked to certain health benefits, like a lower blood pressure and cholesterol, but cutting out meat has a genuine environmental impact. It’s common knowledge that a reduction in our meat intake would lead to a better carbon footprint. These factors considered, I spent the better part of my New Year’s Eve excitedly sharing my new endeavour: to go into 2025 completely plant-based.

As the new year dawned, I was admittedly over-confident about the ease with which I would take to this shift in my diet. As a passionate butter-hater and plant milk connoisseur, I felt like I was already halfway to veganism. What I hadn’t accounted for was waking up on New Year’s Day exhausted (mildly hungover) in the midst of a rain storm. My early morning supermarket plans foiled, I opted to make do with what I could find in my cupboards. A simple tomato and lentil pasta seemed like my easiest bet, and the dish came together smoothly. However, after struggling through half a bowl of tomato pasta sans cheese, I realised it was lacking the umami taste I craved.

Going vegan, I was quick to note, eliminated many of my go-to embellishments for simple meals. Gone were the days where I could just chuck a load of cheddar over a mediocre dish and call it a day. All hope was not lost, however, and to prevent you from succumbing to a similar fate, I have compiled a (tried and true) list of easy food embellishments:

• Absolutely anything pickled or fermented: gherkins, olives, onions, jalapenos, kimchi – take your pick.

• Seeds and nuts: peanuts and sesame seeds were wins for me, though I can also envision cashews or pistachios complimenting a pasta dish or curry.

• Crunchy veg: Finely chopping up some celery, chillies, or bell peppers allows for a more diverse array of textures.

• Liberal seasoning: even if you fail to venture past salt and pepper, being slightly more generous with your food-to-seasoning ratio can make all the difference.

• It didn’t take too long to adjust more fully to my new lifestyle (achieved by sitting down and writing out a proper meal plan). Among the highlights of my meals were colourful finely chopped salads and even ready-meal vegan curries from the supermarket. My attempt at veganism also gave me a chance to finally settle my long-held grudge against tofu. In the past, I have been victim to it at its least seasoned, and it took accepting a couple hours of marination to truly obtain the flavour I’d been searching for. I let the cubes sit in a mix of sriracha and tahini, before popping them in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for half an hour. My biggest win was my discovery that hummus is, in fact, vegan, which widened the potential for out-of-meal-time snacking.

• Eating out whilst vegan can be, in better situations, limiting, and at worst, entirely fruitless. Whilst the pubs, restaurant, and markets of London, and indeed Cambridge, boast a plethora of vegan options, a local pub in Grays lacked the same menu. The sole vegan option, a faux-chicken burger (counterintuitively served with a saucer of mayo), was clearly not a bestseller. “There’s no meat in that. You know that, right?”, the waitress clarified, in a tone that suggested I was making a grave error with my order. She wouldn’t have been all that incorrect – it was by no means fine dining. I can appreciate a pack of Linda McCartney veggie sausages with the best of them, but I’ve found over the course of this experience that meat mock-ups tend to pale in comparison to whole foods that just so happen to be vegan. In my eyes, a portobello mushroom serves as a much better burger filling than a Quorn patty.

• So, will I continue my veganism into February? The jury is still out on that one: whilst I’ve enjoyed the challenge of straying from my comfort zone with my cooking, I haven’t been sold on going entirely plant-based just yet. However, whatever I end up deciding, this experience has certainly pushed me to be more mindful about what I consume. Putting extra consideration into the food I choose to buy and cook has shifted eating into a more deliberate practice, rather than just a functional one. I anticipate many trips to Mill Road (the heart of vegan cuisine) this Lent term.

• https://www.varsity.co.uk/lifestyle/28925
  

UK: Durham announced as the fifth best city to be vegan in the north of England

From thetab.com

It’s been revealed Durham is the fifth best university city in the north of England to be a vegan.

Student accommodation specialists, StuRents, conducted a survey to discover which university city is most accommodating for students following a plant-based diet.

Using the QS World University Rankings, they analysed the top five university cities in the North of England using HappyCow, a website that lists vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants.

For each city, StuRents calculated the number of vegan restaurants, the square mileage, the number of vegan restaurants per square mile, and the average star rating of these vegan restaurants. In line with these findings, the cities were then ranked from one to five.

Sheffield comes out on top. Although it doesn’t have the most vegan restaurants, its average star rating (3.70) was the highest.

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne places second with the city boasting 75 vegan restaurants. Moreover, Leeds and Manchester are third and fourth respectively.

Durham lands in fifth place with only 21 vegan restaurants, around 50 less than the other contenders. However, its average star rating of 3.47 suggests Durham may be going for quality over quantity.

StuRents highlights The Nook and Head of Steam as some of the most popular vegan options in the city. Additionally, with Durham being only a 10-minute train ride from Newcastle, the options for vegan students vastly increase.

A statement from Michael Rainsford, co-founder of StuRents, reads: “It’s becoming clear that students today aren’t just looking for a place to live and study, they’re also searching for communities that align with their ethical and dietary preferences. It’s not just all about the prestige of the university anymore.

According to The Vegan Society, 4.1 per cent of students are now vegan and a further 10 per cent are planning to adopt a plant-based lifestyle. They list reasons for going vegan as concern for animal welfare and the environment, or for the health benefits.

https://thetab.com/uk/durham/2024/05/05/durham-announced-as-the-fifth-best-city-to-be-vegan-in-the-north-of-england-54913 

How to be a vegan – and an Oxford student

From cherwell.org

By Thaejus Ilango

I have a disturbing secret to admit, which might cause people to think I’m crazy, and Katie Hopkins to think I’m smelly: I’m vegan.

I have been vegan for over four years, and I can honestly say I have never found it difficult. Choosing a path of compassion and non-violence feels much easier to me than the alternative, and I firmly believe a vegan lifestyle makes positive contributions towards one’s mental and physical health, both human and non-human welfare, and the environment. What’s more is that one does not need to consume animal products in order to live a healthy life.

I am often reminded how fortunate I am to come from a household that supports my dietary choices, and to have been raised on South Indian cuisine, which can be so effortlessly veganised. I have come to realise this is not the case for my peers from different backgrounds – but university can be the perfect opportunity to assert your independence and choose your own lifestyle.

                                                                          Image credit: Robin Stott / CC-BY-SA 2.0 via Geograph

Despite Oxford being a fairly small city, it has a surprising number of vegan-friendly places. Some recommendations from a certified vegan are: The Coconut Tree, Chick Pea, Delhish Vegan Kitchen, Dosa Park, and of course, Najar’s (they have vegan mayo, ask for it!). A special mention goes to the banana bread French toast at the Handle Bar and the vegan doughnuts at Crosstown. However, I always wish there were more options, especially affordable ones, which perhaps only Najar’s gets points for. 

But what about students who want more than falafel and hummus? Cooking for yourself as a vegan is not nearly as expensive and difficult as people will tell you it is. While realistic meat alternatives can be pretty pricey, many staple sources of protein for vegans, such as beans and lentils, are in fact cheaper than their animal counterparts. Once you’ve secured said affordable vegan goods, a quick google search for ‘easy student vegan recipes’ will show you that you are almost definitely capable of executing a simple dhal or chilli. In fact, there are many cuisines around the world which are not centred around animal products. Ethiopian, Indian, and Mediterranean cuisines, among others, have largely vegan foundations, showing that the idea that one cannot live on a diet that is simultaneously sustainable, nutritious, and tasty, is entirely unfounded.

When it comes to college cuisine, I am privileged to be at St John’s, where hall food is incredibly affordable, and – for the most part – quite nice, with rare (devastatingly bad) exceptions (including a harrowing tempeh dish I still have nightmares about). A special shout-out goes out to the college café, at which the ratio of plant-based to non-vegan options is 2:1, not to mention the fact that there is always at least one vegan cake to choose from. By contrast, although I have generally had good experiences at formals, I have consistently been disappointed by my dessert. I just want to consume a meal that doesn’t inflict pain and suffering on others, whilst still having a sweet treat that looks like what’s in front of everyone sitting around me – is that too much to ask? Apparently so, considering the number of delicately plated fruit platters I’ve reluctantly eaten at the end of a John’s formal. 

My friends make fun of me, I am persistently asked “where on earth do you get your protein from?” and I will, tragically, never have a post-club night kebab. But I will always prefer it to the alternative, and I am proud to be happy, healthy, and 100% plant based.

https://cherwell.org/2024/04/28/veganism-oxford-student/

Being Vegan Isn’t Just For January

From trillmag.com

By Michal Lewis

Veganism is spreading across the globe, with more people deciding to make sustainable choices regarding their food consumption. As Veganuary 2024 is coming to an end, I decided to share my reasons for choosing a vegan lifestyle. Plus, some tips for newcomers.

There has been a fast and sharp rise in numbers of people turning to veganism. This has not been much of a surprise. More people are becoming aware of the harms which animal produce industries cause, deciding to make change in their personal life.

Veganuary has been going on for ten years now since it started in 2014. For a whole month, hundred of thousands of people around the world give veganism a go for a whole month. People sign up for the challenge for one whole month for no charge, and daily support via emails. They are given recipes and tips on how to keep going and develop their ability to maintain a vegan lifestyle. 

My journey for adopting a plant-based diet started when I became vegetarian at 16, and went on to becoming vegan a few years later. Eight years of abstaining from eating meat and eventually animal products, gave me some insights regarding starting your way with veganism. And with the help of our friends on social media- here are a few tips for everyone thinking of giving it a go.

Figure Out Your “Why”

For some, it is their dismay of consuming meat, or products which came from animals. Others are influenced more by ideologies regarding climate change and animal rights, whilst at times it is just the love of animals which drives people to change their consumption behaviours.

There are many reasons why you may want to commit to a vegan diet, but each person has one or two reasons which are at the core of their choice. What made you make the choice of switching to a vegan lifestyle?

Ease Into It

In the beginning, I cut off meat during weekdays, and on weekends still ate meat. By the second weekend, meat wasn’t appealing to me anymore. I continued to slowly took off dairy products, eggs, and everything else.

For most people, making such a big change could be quite overwhelming. That way, your body and mind will get used to your new diet one step at a time. This will make for an easier transition.

Make the transition gradual. This will also help you learn how to provide all the needed nutrition to your body with a vegan diet.

Find The Best, Cheapest Vegan Options Around You For Dining Out

As a student, I am often in university from morning until evening. The best option, in my opinion, is to bring my own lunch with me. But it also happens that I forget, or that I am too busy to make my lunch box.

Use Google and apps such as HappyCow to find the best vegan options around you. Find out where you can buy your coffee, what nice treats there are around you, and where are there proper lunches as well.

Familiarizing yourself with the options around your area will guarantee that you are not stuck looking for food when hungry.

Cut Yourself Some Slack

                                                    No Feeling Guilty- Be Conscious Instead! Credit: Shutterstock/Ariwasabi

This may not be a popular opinion amongst vegans but sometimes, we slip.

Maybe your grandma just made your favourite, non-vegan cookies. Or maybe, you are sitting with friends in a restaurant and just can’t resist trying their food.

While there are replacements for most things, it could be difficult to abstain from what you know. Not being to harsh on yourself is important in the sense that it will allow you to bounce back quicker.

You will not feel as if you have failed, and maybe next time- you’ll know how to resist better. You could even look for ways to make or get the things you like! There are vegan alternatives for nearly everything by now!

Use Social Media!

Many food influencers have already turned to TikTok and Instagram to share easy, cheap, approachable recipes. It is no different with veganism!

You honestly do not have to look very hard. Just put “veganuary” into your search engine, or “easy vegan recipes” and so many results will come up!

So Now That Veganuary is Over- Why Should You Stay Vegan?

As said before, there is no one right answer. Being vegan is one of the most valuable ways in which you can minimise your carbon footprint as an individual. There are multiple health benefits, and moral benefits such as reducing harms to animals and the environment.

It is not an easy transition. But there are huge communities on Facebook and free challenges such as Veganuary, all guaranteed to help you in your journey.

https://www.trillmag.com/life/food-drink/being-vegan-isnt-just-for-january-heres-why-i-chose-a-vegan-lifestyle-and-some-tips-for-newcomers/