A Month of Being (Almost) Vegan
Lila Frost shares her experience going vegan for a month as we approach the end of Veganuary.
Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash
What steak is to you, cheese is to me
In November, I went vegan for a month. My regular diet does not involve much meat at all, especially when I am at university. I don’t see the point in spending more money while feeling the environmental and ethical guilt that comes as the side dish for any meat-based meal. However, it is easy to rave about the benefits of my non-committal vegetarianism as someone who doesn’t think meat tastes great, or even good, most of the time. While meat doesn’t tempt me, my cholesterol-raising, artery-clogging hamartia is cheese. The prospect of veganism made me understand the reluctance of a meat-eater to trade their steak for anything vegetarian, and it was this that made me think to try veganism.
My confessions
With many of you nearing the end of Veganuary, I feel that it would be unfair to claim any strict absolutism to my month of veganism. The 1st of November: only once I had finished my toast did I think to check that my Bertolli spread was dairy-free, and it wasn’t. ‘Olive Oil Spread’ felt like a misnomer specifically designed to spite me.
Soon after, my housemate fed a salt and vinegar Pringle to me through the balustrade of our stairs. As it turns out, Pringles are not just chemically synthesised, dried-up mush: many of their seasonings contain milk.
Those are my more forgivable offences, the two that follow will make any vegan reading this think me an idiot. On the 8th of December I went to a day rave at TESTBED. Thinking ahead, I had packed a cereal bar for my dinner. My coeliac friend did not have such foresight, and in an act of uncharacteristic selflessness my cereal bar became her dinner. I refused to let my enjoyment of 4AM KRU and Sexy Lady Massive be dulled by the ache of hunger, and so, I decided to buy a pizza. Margherita, very cheesy. Delicious.
When I was home for a weekend, I visited my nonagenarian neighbours. They had chocolate digestives and a cup of tea (with milk in it) waiting for me. Unwilling to risk offending my kind and thoughtful friends, I guiltily had both.
Aside from the four transgressions above, I had innumerable near misses. It was ludicrous, laughable, how often I forgot that I was vegan.
Walking in Headingley on a bitterly cold afternoon, I headed to Loaf for a coffee to warm me up. Only while I was watching them make my latte did I remember – dairy, duh. Following a brief but intense internal debate, I asked the barista whether it was too late to have soya milk instead. I explained the situation and apologised for my incompetence, tail between my legs. With a soya latte in my hand, we chatted for five minutes about how tricky she would find veganism – which did make me feel significantly better.
Thank God it’s over
Now that Veganuary is drawing to a close, I am reminded of the last day of my month of veganism. Going without cheese, cold turkey, placed me staring longingly at my fridge. I had been to Aldi and bought 5 different cheeses in preparation for the next day. My month of veganism left me drooling like an oversized Labrador at the sight of camembert, mature cheddar, waxed cheddar, Boursin, and stilton.
Two months have passed, and I am writing this in the library while eating the ‘Two Cheese, Tomato, and Chilli’ sandwich from Coop. Veganism was most definitely a temporary change for me, and not one that I will commit to again any time soon. However, there are some significantly smaller, but hopefully permanent, changes that I have made to my diet. Since November, I have found myself eating vegan meals more often and being more conscious of the animal products that I consume. Changing my diet encouraged me to cook more creatively, and this is something that has continued. Furthermore, I have really enjoyed hearing people’s perspectives on what an ethical diet means to friends, family, and a few friendly baristas.
For me, cutting meat and dairy out completely is unrealistic for now. I am content with just reducing my meat and dairy consumption. I admire vegetarians and vegans to an even greater extent, but I feel wary of identifying with such strict labels. My month of veganism proved that (at least for me) mistakes are inevitable, and that plant-based lifestyles should be spaces of encouragement rather than judgment and guilt. Even incorporating the odd vegan or vegetarian meal into your diet is significant and valuable.
Words by Lila Frost