Is Veganism just for Vegans?

Jordan Darlington·20 February 2019·4 min read
Is Veganism just for Vegans?

The mere mention of the word vegan is often enough to make the vast majority of us roll our eyes in judgement (I know, I’ve done it too…) however, it can’t be denied that the term and lifestyle have become increasingly popular over the last few years. On Instagram alone, #vegan currently has around 74 million posts (that’s more than #steak, #burger and #chicken combined!). Whether you truly understand this or not, let me explain why veganism isn’t just for vegans.

Why is it popular?

Long gone are the days of vegans being able to eat nothing but salad. Today’s influential stars like Ariana Grande, Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch now embrace a vegan lifestyle and have given rise to the vegan recipe market. A simple search online will back this up with an array of colourful dishes and even options that could be mistaken for traditionally non-vegan foods.

Moreover, vegan products can now be easily found in most supermarkets and are becoming more and more diverse. Most recently M&S have launched their new Plant Kitchen range which truly demonstrates how versatile the vegan diet can be. New dishes include exotic options like BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Pizza and Sweet Potato Katsu Curry (a personal favourite of mine).

Why should you try it?

Even if veganism doesn’t remotely interest you and you have no intention to follow the latest fashions and trends, eating vegan food has multiple health and lifestyle benefits to both you and the planet. On average, the vegan diet has fewer saturated fats, more vitamins and a higher intake of fibre. In addition to this, experimenting with new foods often heightens our awareness of general nutrition and results in the consumption of better, healthier foods. Furthermore, vegan alternatives are produced in a much greener and environmentally-friendly way. This may not mean much to you but can be translated as being better for your skin, heart, weight general health and conscience!

Sounds good doesn’t it? But what if I told you that you could have these benefits and still enjoy that occasional box of 20 nuggets from McDonalds? It may seem overly simple, but all you have to do is replace a few meals a week with vegan alternatives (these alternatives could even resemble the non-vegan foods that you love!). You could start with just one meal a week and build up from there. It sounds self-explanatory but when surveyed, we found that around 33% of people have never even tried vegan food. If applied to the general population, this would mean that between 21 and 22 million people in the UK are not giving themselves the opportunity to benefit from something that is readily available to them.

So here at www.accommodationforstudents.com, we want you to know that you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy vegan food and experience all the health benefits that you rightly deserve. Nor do you have to convert to any form of lifestyle to be both happy and healthy.