Becoming vegan is the best thing you can do if you care about animals. A vegan diet is also the healthiest in the world despite what other people might tell you. Now you have made your choice, stick to it! Providing you go about your new diet the right way, there's no need to worry. So what is the right way? Read on...
Some people choose to go from being a meatie to being a vegan overnight. It does work for some people but it's best avoided for three reasons. Firstly, it will be harder, especially if you've been relying on meat and dairy products as the basis of your diet and don't know of many vegan alternatives and secondly, because you won't have time to learn about all the ingredients which seem vegan but aren't that you'll need to avoid. Finally, even though it wouldn't harm your digestive system to do this, other people are likely to tell you that it would and that's aggravation you could well do without.
The best way to make the change is to adopt a vegetarian diet (if you haven't already) and become vegan gradually by cutting out first eggs then dairy products and finally milk.
Either way, make sure you have plenty of support from more experienced vegans and vegan guidebooks. Joining the Vegan Society will really help as will buying their invaluable book 'The Animal-Free Shopper' for just £4.99. The Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation will also help you. They produce two invaluable guides called 'It's Easy to be Dairy-Free' and 'How To Be Dairy-Free'. Viva! produces yet another invaluable guide called 'The L-Plate Vegan' so there's no need to struggle on your own.
As the resources suggested above will show you, being vegan has never been easier (or healthier). Thanks largely to the growing number of people with egg and dairy allergies and lactose intolerance as well as the growing number of vegans, there are many substitues for milk and dairy products available. These substitues are increasingly being offered in supermarkets but you will still find a better choice in health-food shops. So what's available?
Milk- Milks made from almonds or rice are increasingly being offered in supermarkets but are most easily obtained from health-food shops. Soya milk, on the other hand, is sold in nearly every supermarket along with at least one flavour of milkshake. Look out for Alpro, So Good, Evernat and Provamel amongst others.
Chocolate- Many supermarkets stock Green and Black's chocolate and the dark version of Lindt chocolate, also found in supermarkets, is vegan. Waitrose own-brand chocolate bars are vegan (and prize-winning!) as are Co-Op after-dinnner mints and dark chocolate After Eight's. Many vegetarian and vegan organisations and animal rights organisations also produce vegan chocolates.
Cheese- Redwood's Cheezly and Isle of Bute Scheese are both popular dairy-free cheese brands. They're not sold in supermarkets yet but are available from all good health-food shops. They come in many varieties and forms including slices and melting versions for pizzas or cheese on toast.
Butter- Pure and Suma vegan margarines are both stocked in some supermarkets but practically all supermarkets now produce their own vegan margarines. Less well-known brands such as Granose, Biona and Vitaquell are available from health-food shops.
Above are just a few suggestions to get you started. Don't forget that many supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Tesco have a 'free from' section which is full of dairy-free products and well worth looking at. Many supermarkets now have 'serve yourself' salad bars and deli counters too and you can always ask a member of staff for advice. You shouldn't be ashamed of being vegan but you may find staff more willing to help you if you tell them you are allergic to eggs and milk.
Vegans avoid wearing any clothes or shoes made from animal-derived materials. This obviously means no leather, wool or fur but also means silk (which comes from silkworms) and suede are out of the question. Clothes shopping can seem like a nightmare for a new vegan but it's actually quite easy.
Cotton is favoured for many items (including T-shirts!) and it's plant-derived while jeans are made of denim so they're fine too. Hemp is a relatively new plant-derived material which is similar to wool while acrylic and polyester are both man-made- finding clothes shouldn't prove too hard.
Shoes present more of a challenge because they're often made of leather and the soles can be stuck on with cow gum. This is a glue made from dead cows and it's much cheaper than stitching the soles on. Ask a shop assistant to help you find a suitable pair but if there are none, try a cheaper shoe shop. Plastic is often used to make cheaper shoes as it looks remarkably like leather and the soles are often attatched by a machine or sewn on by hand. If you're worried about buying cheap shoes, try a specialist vegetarian and vegan shoe company. There are plenty of suggestions on my Links pages.