The world has evolved a lot since ancient times. This evolution has not only brought changes in lifestyle but also in terms of technology, economy, anthropology, and the most important, the environment. These changes are both positive and negative. While the positive effects have helped a lot to build a sustainable environment, the negative effects have degraded it to such an extent, that researchers are now going out of their ways to find a proper solution to this.
As we know, one of the basic needs for survival is food hence changing the food trends can reflect some positive enforcement to bundle up the environmental massacres that we have done till now. Humans are positioned in the top of the ecological pyramid as quaternary consumers, i.e., who feed upon the producers, the primary consumers, the secondary consumers as well as the tertiary consumers. But since we have a will of our own some groups have turned towards consuming vegetables and excluding meat from their diet. These groups are considered as vegetarians. Among them, there are few who to whom products like dairy are also forbidden and they are called the vegans.
Veganism has come up as the most famous and intense food trend in the present world. Many celebrity figures like Ariana Grande, Bill Clinton, and many more are following this trend. While some say that this helps cleaning their body from inside some say it solely to protect the environment.
History
Vegetarianism has dated back much far in the ancient history of the world. This has mainly emerged in the Indian subcontinent with philosophers like Mahavira, Chandragupta Maurya, and Ashoka. During the 19th century, vegetarianism evolved in England and the United States.
The emergence of veganism is as follows-
1815- William Lambe, a physician in London made a statement that turning vegetarian can help to cope up with many health problems.
1843- The members of the Alcott House for the Promotion of Humanity and Abstinence from Animal Food formed the British and Foreign Society. This was led by Sophia Chichester.
1847- the UK Vegetarian Society was also formed by this community and held its first meeting in Ramsgate, Kent.
1944, August- Many members of the Vegetarian society focused on non-dairy vegetarianism. They requested a section of the newsletter to be devoted to this thought, but it didn’t get approval. This decision made Donald Watson, secretary of the Leicester branch, to publish a personal quarterly newsletter in November.
He named it The Vegan News. the term Vegan was first coined by him by mixing up the first three and the last letter of the word vegetarian.
This publication attracted many eyes and made many individuals like George Bernard Shaw to give up eggs and dairy. A new vegan society was formed and they held their meeting in November at the Attic Club,144 High Holborn, London. Many notable people took part in the meeting.
1945, November- The Vegan News changed its name to The Vegan.
1951- The society gave out its definition of veganism saying that humans should learn to live without using animal products.
1965- Leslie Cross, the vice president of the society founded the Plantmilk Society, which in the later years emerged as the biggest producer of soymilk worldwide
1960’s and 70's- A new vegetarian food movement started with the ideology to stop the exploitation of animals given that animals also have feelings like humans.
The Vegan Diet-
The vegan diet is a very interesting field to draw the focus on. It sometimes seems to be very hard to follow but it’s not the scenario always. But it is quite costly for sure and cannot be afforded by anyone and everyone. The vegan products have quite less shelf life and can’t be heavy on your pockets.
What you can eat if you are a vegan?
The vegan diet differs in many ways. There are a whole lot of varieties of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, seeds pulses, beans, and fruits. these can be mixed and matched in multiple combinations.
Vegan food is not boring. At times with proper ingredients, it tastes better than normal food. Vegans also enjoy curries and desserts but they are very focused on non-exploitation of nature.
What you have to leave behind before turning a vegan?
The main two things that you have to exclude from your diet before leaping to be vegan are meat and dairy products. Vegans believe that there should be harmony between humans and nature and protecting the sources of natural balance is when we stop treating other living beings (the faunas) as a part of our food chain.
What about the proteins, vitamins, and minerals?
Meat is still considered as one of the main sources of animal protein. But in veganism, since meat is forbidden hence the main question comes from where the body will get its protein enrichment? don’t worry because plant proteins can fill up the deficit. Pulses and beans are high in protein and hence consuming those will balance a meal properly. You can add this up with other food recipes and give it a better flavor. The same goes for vitamins and minerals. the vitamin B12 which is very much essential for the body to be active and function in a proper way, you can obtain this from food sources like breakfast cereals, dairy-free yeast, and over the counter vitamin tablets.
Effects-
Turning vegan has many effects both on your body and your surroundings. These effects can be positive and also negative. The positivity and negativity of being vegan vary from person to person.
The positive effects of being vegan are-
You take your step in saving the environment.
You start maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Your body gets detoxified.
Your immunity builds up.
You can refrain from many addictive habits.
The negative effects of being vegan are-
Your body may start feeling a bit weak and drowsy in the beginning.
If you have always been a non-vegetarian this process becomes hard for you.
You can get cravings.
It can be problematic to sustain in the ambiance of non-vegetarians.
It lays weight on your pocket.
Leading the Vegan Lifestyle-
Adopting into the vegan lifestyle cannot be done with a jumpstart. You must lay the road very slowly and build up your body accordingly. It takes a lot of self-control and positive thoughts to refrain from foods that you liked earlier. There will be a lot of luring at first and this will also lead to cravings.
To be a proper vegan you also need to be very focused on your budget and the consumption of food so that the body gets the necessary compounds to work in a healthy manner. Veganism can do miracles towards your body by improving your skin texture and also the muscles and bones.
To conclude, veganism is not mandatory for all. And it’s a myth that consuming animals are a threat to nature, but over abuse is. We, humans, are born with canine teeth for tearing up meat and we are a part of that food chain since our ancestors came to this world. Veganism is a choice of lifestyle which is upon you to follow or not to follow. So don’t step into this just because you want to follow a celebrity, before turning vegan you have to think this through from all the perspective of your lifestyle.
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