In a few days, I’ll be reaching the six-month anniversary of my role as Communications Manager at London National Park City. The date coincides with the start of World Vegan Month, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take a moment to reflect on what I feel is one of my core contributions to helping build a happier, healthier and more sustainable world: eschewing all animal products from my diet and wider lifestyle.
At the recent Net Zero Festival Joe Smith, Director of Society at the Royal Geographical Society, argued that we should “reveal the climate change in every story we tell” rather than crafting climate change stories, and that’s what I hope to do in sharing my experience of ethical veganism. The latter is a philosophical belief that is protected under law, and is defined as ‘oppos[ing] the commercialisation and exploitation of animals for human purposes’.
In my almost six years as a vegan – I had been a vegetarian since the age of seven before that – I have encountered some pretty dismaying attitudes to my lifestyle of choice. This, I want to preface, is with the exception of some supportive friends/family and the vegan community. From attributing every ache, pain, cold or minor sniffle I’ve endured to ‘being a vegan’ and the perils of not including animal protein in my diet, to grumbles that a plant-based dish I’ve lovingly prepared would taste better with the addition of ‘bit of cheese’ or similar.
Rarely have I been given a pat on the back/kudos for making a decision that – according to a number of authoritative studies – could have one of the single biggest impacts on slashing climate-heating emissions as well as the transformation of the food system in general. While I’m not looking to class myself as some kind of planetary hero, or play the sympathy card, I would like to help reframe the lens with which vegans are often viewed through. Yes our love affair with tofu is bordering on obsessive and we don’t bat an eyelid at traipsing an extra hour or two in search of the perfect sustainably-sourced wardrobe staple, but – from my experience only – we’re actually a group of caring, curious and passionate individuals who just want to right by people and planet in one of the clearest ways we know how. Naturally no one is perfect, and I’ve clashed with all-or-nothing vegans who won’t make room for flexitarians or the vegan curious in the long-running debate on veganism; but this is generally the exception rather than the rule.
So how has being a vegan helped to shape me over my six-year run of being a fully paid up member of the club? Below are just a few thoughts:
Confidence: With so much advocacy going on in the vegan community – and that’s not restricted to in-person/online activism itself – it’s inspired me to be forthright in my opinions and stand up for what I believe in.
Community: I’ve attended a number of vegan-specific events including 2023’s Vegan Campout – if you look very closely you’ll spot me in a blue kagool in this Channel 4 segment filmed at the festival – and the monthly vegan social hosted by vegan influencer Fat Gay Vegan. This has always given me a sense of belonging, a place where I can fully relax and let my shoulders drop and nurture genuine friendships based on shared values. Plus I have learnt a hell of a lot from my fellow vegans, many of whom seem to be on a continuous learning journey and are often keen to share their many pearls of wisdom.
Choices: Ever since becoming a vegan I feel like I’ve made more considered choices, whether that’s in the food I eat, holiday destinations I visit, clothes I buy and more. I’m now the proud owner of a litter picker (on long-term loan from charity Sustainable Merton), and take great pains to recycle items that are not currently catered for in my housing block (lugging soft plastics to my local Sainsbury’s isn’t fun but will hopefully pay off in the long run). I’m also a regular volunteer at Foodcycle, and was partly attracted to doing so by their stance on serving vegetarian-only meals. While I can’t say for certain that one thing naturally follows the other, my gut tells me that this is the case.
So, what can I recommend you do to learn more about veganism if that’s something you want to explore? Below are just a few suggestions.
- Read: The Ethical Vegan by Jordi Casamitjana or check out his repository of past articles on MuckRack. I recently attended a writing workshop of his at yet another vegan weekender and he was adept at explaining the past, present and future of veganism in really accessible language.
- Visit: The Viva! Vegan coffee stand in Walthamstow and sample some vegan fayre. Check out the Happy Cow app for more vegan/vegan-friendly eateries.
- Try: Veganuary. This is what kickstarted my vegan journey, and the campaign offers lots of resources including meal plans to keep you on track. And there’s no pressure to commit after the 31 days are up. I didn’t actually fully embrace veganism until November of the same year – behaviour change is no easy feat!
- Watch: We had the pleasure of hosting veganic gardener Cleve West at our Fleet Street Visitors Centre – which is now closed, more details on a new site coming soon – earlier this year at the Grow Urban Festival. You can watch him in action here and learn more about his vegan journey. Over on Netflix you’ll also find some eye-opening documentaries from proponents of plant-based diets including Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy and The Game Changers.
- Stay: In vegan accommodation, with vegan hosts. I’ve only had one vegan stay via VegVisits but it was a really memorable experience.
- Start: Small. Veganism isn’t something that people normally dive head first into – though I have seen this done on rare occasions. You may want to dip your toe in with Meat Free Mondays, veganise a recipe you love – I’m a fan of vegan food content creator Jess the Beautician -, or simply open up a conversation with a vegan.
And if you choose to do none of the above, that’s ok too. But do keep your eyes – and heart – open for those vegan nudges just in case.
