Veganuary!

We are starting off our inVIRONMENT Initiative with Veganuary! The month of January is dedicated to encouraging people to try a plant-based vegan diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing the suffering of animals and improving overall health.

This month’s post was written by Richard Knight, Senior IT Systems Engineer at inTEC Education!

What even is veganism? Why should I care about Veganuary? 

I imagine a fair share of the readers will see the word ‘vegan’ and either roll their eyes, or dread someone trying to tell them about their diet five minutes into meeting them. I could write about this for a while, but I fear I’ll be hunted down and made into a kebab.

Having said that, let me tell you about how I’m vegan, or at least try to be. In the turbulent time of October 2020, I decided to make everyday life even more difficult. After debating trying to be vegetarian due to the treatment of animals, I made the decision to go Vegan. The reason was twofold, with the first being the poor treatment of animals and the second being the impact on the environment caused by the animal agriculture industry.

Within the first couple of weeks of doing this I was feeling healthier, sleeping more easily and generally feeling like a better human being, also effortlessly losing some weight in the process. Then after a few months I realised my iron intake had hit record lows and I was likely anaemic, so I started taking some iron supplements – all of which could be avoided if I paid a little more attention to my diet and less on how much vegan Burger King I could eat in any given week. The woes of being a tech guy.

It’s worth noting here that for a diet that only involves plant-based ingredients I’ve only started to eat quite healthily within the last few months, as convenience typically comes first when I make decisions. Veganism in my mind is doing something bigger than yourself, it’s about helping the planet and the ecosystem around you rather than eating a steak just because you fancied it. It’s about viewing the future of everybody’s lives more than the chicken katsu curry you’re looking forward to.

“Veganism in my mind is doing something bigger than yourself…”

I can certainly vouch for this because I used to eat meat often, and I loved it. It’s tasty, contains loads of protein and is generally quite enjoyable. But the farming and overconsumption of animal products is gradually destroying the planet and the ecosystems that support life on planet Earth. The use of overconsumption is important as simply cutting down on your meat intake and how many animal products are used can make a dramatic difference – you don’t need to suddenly go cold turkey (or furkey).

For all the good I preached in my opening paragraphs, I am not a perfect vegan. I slipped into vegetarianism a few months ago as cheese is incredibly tasty, but I only had it in moderation and view it as a treat. I still make an effort to ensure the clothes I buy and the products I purchase aren’t produced through animal means, but the Wetherspoons Beyond triple cheeseburger was simply too tempting the many different times I chose to eat it.

I’m asked on a frequent basis as to why I chose to be vegan, and what it’s like on an everyday basis. I never assume people care, it only comes up if I’m ordering food and choose something that doesn’t contain any meat and it typically confuses my company if they’re not aware – so the questions begin. I then go on to explain my morals around the issue, and why it’s actually quite enjoyable and healthy to give it a try, and to their own surprise they seem tempted by the idea.

“You don’t need to suddenly go cold turkey (or furkey)”

This is where Veganuary comes in, there’s no better time to try it. In a marketing ploy no doubt, companies put in a great deal of effort to bring out an enlarged range of vegan products for you to enjoy, which then usually disappear the moment February rolls around. So, while all the regular vegans are viewed as guinea pigs for new flavours, I would employ anyone who is curious about this to give it a go. Maybe for a few days, a week, perhaps even a couple – you might just be pleasantly surprised.

“There’s no better time to try it.”