The V Survey

So, without sounding too dramatic from the offset, veganism has been compared to 'Being the character in a horror movie who saw a demon; trying to warn everyone when no one believes you'. Don't get me wrong, I used to think going vegan was a step too far, a bit extreme, unnecessary even, but it's hard to ignore when you learn some of the undeniable truths. (If you are new to the concept, being vegan is living your life seeking to exclude all animal products/animal exploitation.) (For some reason, the pictures added into this blog with quotes from the survey don't always appear when reading on a mobile.. click blank white spaces for them to appear). I surveyed 100 people to find out more about living a plant based and vegan lifestyle and the results were amazing. I find that people do mock veganism, from countless memes across social media to disregarding facts for fiction but it can no longer be associated with extremists or tree huggers. I didn't want to write a blog solely on my own experiences, I hope that some of the comments published within this blog will encourage your own investigation and questioning.

In early 2015 I couldn't go to work with dogs & cats caught up in Asia's dog meat trade while still eating cows and pigs - it felt hypocritical. Catching eyes with a cow in a slaughter truck made my final decision. I have been vegan for one year now, I transitioned from a vegetarian after about 8 months as it seemed like a logical step after learning a bit more about the food industries and cruelty involved. This led to interest in the environmental effects on our planet from these industries and curiosity about health benefits from cutting out eggs and dairy.

I found that most others shared my reasoning. The general consensus was that there was a sense of guilt that could no longer be ignored.

The most interesting part of the survey for me was advantages and disadvantages. Personally turning vegan has been the best decision of my life. Many say this but it is true! This lifestyle has encouraged me to cook, to investigate where my food comes from & to be healthier without even trying. Stomach and digestion problems I suffered with in the past have disappeared, I could quit taking medication and the most important for me is that I feel morally sound.

Hearing others describing the benefits has made me extremely happy that I put out a survey before writing a post on this subject. Better skin, natural weight loss, more energy, less need for medication previously relied on, more love, compassion and understanding... the vastness of answers were great to read.

However, while the advantages answers were inspiring, I was saddened reading the disadvantages. I expected more answers which would perhaps oppose the above, which could maybe even question the benefits I felt myself in case I was just bias. But while the question before threw out answers which focused on the bigger picture, the feeling that as an individual you are making a huge difference, this question took it back to the playground. Of course there were people who commented on health downsides - worse skin, weight gain (vegan 'junk' exists too!), and there were comments on the struggle to eat out and supermarket labelling but the answers mainly focused on judgement, isolation and ridicule from society.

Before going further, yes vegans too can be dickheads. Because people are people. Although now my mindset has changed, educating myself took me here, not people belittling me. Personally I don't agree with those who seem to preach veganism aggressively. I always remind myself how much I hated that when I was a meat eater. Saying that, I understand why some people do 'throw it in your face', it can be hard knowing the truths and frustrating seeing so many who appear not to care. I have regrettably in the past year slipped down that slope and come across as judgemental, and I do have to hold myself back sometimes now too. However, it's this approach that does seem to put people off giving vegans a bad rep. When asked 'Do you ever feel that vegans put pressure on others (vegan, veggie or meat eating) in a way that could be seen as forceful or judgemental?' a staggering 82% of vegans who took part in my survey said yes. I received a huge amount of comments about the vegan approach, which show opinions on both sides.

It isn't as hard when you realise what a huge range of foods you have on offer, your taste buds tend to change and personally I had a new found love for food. I try new foods and experiment with more foods than I used to, which argues against the 'fussy' stereotype. Nobody seems to care about protein intake before they find out you are a vegan.. but wholegrains, vegetables and beans provide more than enough to stay healthy. Also no, most of us don't miss meat, of course I used to like the taste of meat - I ate it for 19 years - but I wouldn't touch it again party due to the fact my taste buds changed but mainly due to the fact that there is no longer any desire to eat it. It is an ongoing lesson, there are so many things to think about as a vegan, where is my food from, my drinks, my clothes, my toiletries, my household items - I have made the mistake of assuming things were ok to later finding out they had animal products in or were tested on an animal. Honestly some of them are surprising and something I wouldn't have given a second thought to before. It might seem like a hassle, but the benefits outnumber any negatives. I have never felt kinder, more compassionate (to all living things, including humans), more confident in my lifestyle or healthier before. My eyes have been opened. Vegans are often stereotyped. Oversensitive, fussy, hippy, skinny, hipster, preachy... In my survey I asked people what the most annoying or wrong common cliche seems to be...

Thank you to everyone who took the survey, it was interesting to read and has given me a lot more to share than I would have thought to before! Below is a collection of more comments from those who took the survey as I would like to share as many as your thoughts as possible. I have focused this post on the survey but hope to post more soon on the vegan lifestyle and everything associated.

#veganism #vegan #survey #education