Vegan: How?

BY NOAH HERNANDEZ

In recent years, the vegan lifestyle has been promoted, specifically for its health benefits. According to The Vegan Society, “Well-planned vegan diets follow healthy eating guidelines, and contain all the nutrients that our bodies need.” However, this does not mean that being vegan is attainable for everybody. According to Nerd Wallet, most vegans either live alone or do not have children living with them. So while buying and eating for one would not be too expensive, the grocery bill would raise for families. For their College English class, Allison Connelly (12), Shelly Trinidad (12), and Caroline Wagner (12) created the Instagram account, @spreadveg. They created this account to help spread awareness about veganism and its benefits. “We were inspired by a service learning project to share our passion and the plant based diet” “America’s poor, have access to only non-vegan products” -Daily Collegian

“Getting your protein from legumes, such as nuts or beans, is more costeffective than getting your protein is from meat” -Spreadveg

Accessibility is a problem for many lower-class Americans. An article from the Daily Collegian highlighted this saying, “Most vegans have access to meat, dairy, eggs and so on...Others, namely America’s poor, have access to only non-vegan products.” The article elaborates stating that not everyone has access to a local variety of sustainable food, let alone sustainable vegan food. Spreadveg acknowledged this issue and did suggest some fairly affordable options. They said, “Eating produce from your own garden, farmer’s market or local grocer does not have to be expensive. Getting your protein from legumes, such as nuts or beans, is more cost-effective than getting your protein is from meat, and is in itself a benefit of limiting meat in your diet.” Going vegan is not the option for everyone, but for anyone interested, Spreadveg does have transitional steps that they advise people to follow. They recommend taking small steps to become vegan, and not just going in headfirst. They suggest starting out by including more of the vegan options that you already enjoy. Other options could be including a Meatless Monday into your weekly meal plans, or switching from cow’s milk to a dairy-free alternative. Spreadveg recognizes that going vegan is not the easiest decision or path, but they stand by the health benefits. According to Spreadveg, going vegan has been shown to decrease one’s chances of getting heart disease, cancer, or becoming obese.

Given the health benefits, going vegan should not be a painful process. Spreadveg says, “It [going vegan] should be a positive and gradual change. switching your diet to a vegan one is best when viewed as opening the door to new possibilities of food to enjoy!”