Vegan Soc in TCD 2018

FRESHERS’ GUIDE 2018

Welcome from DU Vegan Society!

Dear Freshers, We are incredibly proud and privileged to be able to start our first full year as a society with you. Becoming an officially recognised society was a long process that had been unsuccessful many times in the past few years, and it was only when people involved in several of those previous attempts joined forces that we were able to get to this point. We’ve been joined by more and more people since, and it’s this growing community that makes the society what it has become.

Although this is DU Vegan Society, we welcome everyone from vegans to omnivores and every stage in between. Adopting a more plant-based diet does not have to be an all or nothing decision and we encourage anyone to join our society no matter what stage in the process you’re at. Whether your loyalty is to tofu or bacon, as long as you have some interest in learning more about the vegan lifestyle, or even if you just like the occasional opportunity for free food, we hope you’ll find something you love here.

We have a lot planned for throughout the year, but first we wanted to give you some information on veganism in Dublin and provide some relevant resources. If there’s anything we can help with during the year, or if you have any feedback for us, please let us know so we can become a better society.

Thank you for joining us, and we hope DU Vegan Society can

add as much to your time in college as it has to ours.

All our love, The DU Vegan Society Committee

The crowd at our first AGM as a newly recognised society

A Map of Vegan Eateries in Dublin Š OpenStreetMap contributors

Three restaurant reviews Hannah Gaden Gilmartin Cornucopia Cornucopia is one of the most famous vegetarian restaurants in Dublin and is well worthy of a visit for either lunch or dinner. Although they are a vegetarian restaurant they have a huge variety of vegan options. It is situated less than a ten minute walk from Trinity College and as a result of its central location it tends to be quite busy, but there is ample seating upstairs as well as on ground level and I have never had to miss out for lack of space. Getting food and a seat also happens very quickly, in spite of the number of customers.

Any main course, as well as the lunch special, includes your choice of salads (which are so filling and delicious they deserve a name that associates them with a less boring food group). Turning vegan didn’t sway my deep and abiding love for chips, but I have never left Cornucopia feeling anything less than delighted with the meal. They also have lovely cakes for if you need something sweet.

Prices are decent, especially considering the large portions, with a main course costing under fifteen euro, but you can dine on soups, salads etc for well under a tenner. It’s also a great place to experiment with ingredients like tofu and quinoa if you’re unsure how to use them at home. If you want to try some of their recipes for yourself, they have a cookbook. Overall, this restaurant is a staple in the vegetarian/vegan food scene in

Dublin and their healthy, flavourful food is not to be missed.

Garden of Vegan Garden of Vegan is a 100% vegan and gluten free restaurant that opened in Ranelagh earlier this year to high praise which was well deserved. It makes vegan food everything you didn’t know it could be: this place is the fix for that craving for garlic cheese chips that’s been haunting my baby vegan steps. It’s a colourful and inviting place (think lots of cartoon vegetables) and luckily it’s open from midday until ten pm every day of the week. It’s also a five minute walk from the Ranelagh Luas stop, just off the main road, so it’s very easy to find.

The menu isn’t particularly huge (though it may be expanded over time) but the food is filling and tastes great. The smoothies are really refreshing alongside some of the heavier food as well.

Prices are good, with a burger and chips coming in at just under eleven euro and, like all the best places, sweet potato fries come with the same variety of toppings etc as regular chips. Staff are very friendly and happy to answer any questions about the menu.

This restaurant grew from a food truck thanks to an online funding campaign and has enjoyed quite a bit of success since its opening, making it a great example of the growing influence of veganism in Ireland. More branches are said to be opening in the future.

Brother Hubbard (North Branch) Located on Capel Street, a five minute walk from Temple Bar and very close to the red line Luas, Brother Hubbard is

not actually a vegetarian or vegan café, but it boasts a full and impressive vegan brunch menu, as well as multiple vegan options throughout the day. This makes it an especially good spot to bring people with different tastes and I can guarantee my omnivorous friend left as happy as I did when we visited.

Being right in the middle of town makes it a good spot for people-watching through the window while you enjoy your food, but inside the dining area itself feels spacious and bright in spite of its smallish size. The service is friendly and efficient so you don’t have to wait long for your meal, and when it arrives the food is beautiful. It looks that little bit fancier than you might expect of the average café, and it’s full of colour and flavour.

Different menus are available throughout the day, all with plenty of variety. The flatbreads in particular look and taste great for any time of day. As well as vegan options, gluten free options are also available (including some dishes that satisfy both requirements).

A Guide to Vegan Nutrition Abigail Coyne The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has said that a vegan diet is “healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.” Although many people voice concerns about B12, protein, calcium, and other nutrients, with a little bit of planning it is very easy to get all the nutrients you need on a vegan diet!

B12: You can find B12 in fortified vegan yoghurts and milks, breakfast cereal, nutritional yeast, and in certain types of seaweed like spirulina, which can be added to smoothies. A simple way to make sure you’re getting enough B12 is to take a supplement.

Iron: Great sources of iron include lentils, soybeans, tofu, brown rice, oats, nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens like chard or kale, or even fortified breakfast cereal. If you eat a healthy, varied diet with oats, nuts and grains, then you shouldn’t have to worry about your iron consumption.

Just be sure to consume vitamin C (bell peppers, citrus, melon) with your iron so that it’s more easily absorbed!

Protein: All plant foods contain protein, and the idea that vegans suffer from protein deficiency is a myth. If you are worried, some of the more protein-rich plant foods include tofu, broccoli, peanut butter, lentils, and chickpeas.

Vitamin D: Spending time in the sun is the best way to absorb

vitamin D, though that isn’t always possible in Ireland! Good vegan sources are maitake and portobello mushrooms, button mushrooms (ones that have been UV treated and look like they got a bit of a tan), and fortified plant-based yoghurts and milks.

Calcium: Fortified plant milks, dark leafy green vegetables like kale, bok choi, and collard greens, tahini and sesame seeds, tempeh, tofu, almonds, pinto beans, broccoli, dried figs, and oats are all good sources of calcium. Calcium is also best absorbed when it’s eaten with vitamin D, so go enjoy your figs in the sunshine!

The best way to ensure that you’re getting all the nutrients you need is to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as a nice amount of whole grains and nuts. You may also want to consider your calorie intake - a lot of people don’t realise that they’ve drastically reduced the number of calories they eat when they go vegan. So eat more!

Painting the Town Green: The Vegan Social Scene in Dublin Abigail Coyne If you’re a vegan in Dublin, the best way to get acquainted with the community is through the facebook page Dublin Vegans (https://www.facebook.com/groups/DublinVegans/) - it’s our own little corner of the internet where you can share your vegan journey and talk to really interesting people! It’s a great way to connect with individuals and with groups, and you get an overall impression of the community really fast. There are also other vegan-related groups and meetups easily found online, and a vibrant Instagram community.

Every year around September there’s the Dublin Vegfest (this year in Griffith College on the 22nd and 23rd) with vegan food producers, cruelty free cosmetics, and hundreds of fellow vegans. There will also be speakers on a variety of topics related to veganism. It’s also worth joining the Vegetarian Society of Ireland who as well as providing other events and information are currently organising World Vegetarian Day (this year taking place in St. Andrew’s Resource Centre on Pearse Street on the 30th of September).

If you’re an environmental vegan, you may be interested in Dublin Low-Waste Vegans (https://www.facebook.com/ groups/lowwastedublin/), a Facebook group for vegans in Dublin who are interested in the zero-waste lifestyle too. There is also a regular Zero Waste Festival which although not a specifically vegan event provides expert tips on reducing waste

and living in the most sustainable way possible, and consequently often emphasises elements of a plant-based lifestyle. There are always stalls with a good variety of things to purchase, from vegan food to sustainable cosmetics and toothbrushes, and often a swap shop for all your clothing needs on a student budget.

If you’re into animal rights, you can volunteer with the D.S.P.C.A., and take a look at Effective Altruism Ireland to find the animal welfare organisations with the largest impact. Many of the groups campaigning against things like fur farming, animal testing and more also have strong presences in Dublin.

Of course, if you’re a Trinity student the best way to meet other vegans is by joining Vegan Soc and coming to our wonderful events!

Our lovely committee members, Will Stapleton and Leah Moloney, helping out at Dublin Yoga and Vegan Festival

A (Vegan) Feast for the Eyes: How to Find Vegan Clothing and Cosmetics Leah Moloney Going vegan often begins with changing one’s diet to exclude all animals and animal products. Ethical veganism extends this philosophy to all aspects of one’s life. For example: clothes, cleaning products, toiletries and refraining from visiting organisations that use animals as a commodity. If you’ve just begun following a vegan diet, don’t worry about veganising every aspect of your life overnight. I personally began quite slowly- once I changed my diet I turned to buying only vegan cosmetics and clothes, and at the moment have just begun to seek out vegan cleaning products. It can be overwhelming so my advice is to stick to your own pace, and focus on eating a vegan diet first. The rest will happen gradually.

Cosmetics I found that it took some time for the contents of my makeup bag to become fully vegan. I chose to use up my non-vegan makeup instead of throwing it out as it would be wasteful. As a student, I couldn’t afford to replace everything right away and thus found use for the products. I started to seek out vegan products about two years ago. Initially, it was difficult but now we are spoilt for choice in the vegan cosmetics department! This is a testament to how popular veganism has become in Dublin in recent years. In the same way that vegan restaurants have

multiplied across Dublin, so too have vegan makeup counters.

There are plenty of affordable options, too. As a makeup lover I was attached to certain brands like M.A.C. and Benefit and, being picky, it took me a while to find replacement products for my ‘holy grail’ items. Replacing products one by one will make this easier. I started with my foundation first and tried on a lot of different types before finding my all time favourite- Kat Von D’s Lock-It Foundation. It was worth the effort, as this foundation is infinitely better than any I’ve tried from M.A.C. Once I had sorted my foundation, I went on to replacing other products.

An important distinction to make is between the terms ‘crueltyfree’ and ‘vegan’. Cruelty free implies that the product has not been tested on animals, even in places where it is required to do so by law. Vegan implies that it is both cruelty free and does not contain any animal or animal product derivatives. You might find it easier to begin by buying cruelty free cosmetics and then determining which of these are also vegan. Once you know a brand is cruelty-free you can select any of their items, but if you’re searching for vegan products you have to be more discerning. Luckily, cruelty-free companies know that they have lots of vegan customers, and some will have a definitive list of vegan products on their website. Bring a phone with internet when you go cosmetic shopping to make this easier.

Non-vegan ingredients to look out for: beeswax (often in mascaras/eyebrow gels) • cochineal/E120/carmine (often in lipsticks) • Collagen • Lanolin • Shellac (yep, shellac nails aren’t vegan.. head to Skinfull

Affairs for an alternative) • Glycerine (can also be plant-derived, so check!)

• Animal hair- this can even be labelled ‘cruelty-free’! So make sure to check they are made from ‘synthetic’ hair Companies can get away with saying they are ‘cruelty-free’ by stating that they don’t test on animals, and in the small print state that the exception is in countries where they are required to test on animals by law. M.A.C. is notorious for this.

Whilst the European Union banned animal testing in 2013, China’s law states that all beauty products must be tested on animals. If the company sells their products in China, they are not cruelty free. NARS used to be cruelty-free, but this title was revoked when they started selling their items in China.

Vegan friendly makeup brands available in Dublin include: • Too Faced • Urban Decay • Kat Von D • Sleek • Essence • Inglot • The Body Shop • Charlotte Tilbury • Lush • ELF • Catrice • NYX • Wet n wild • Barry M • Gosh

• •

• • •

Eco Tools (makeup brushes) Skinfull Affairs (beauty parlour which sells a range of vegan cosmetics) Superdrug Glossier (online) Anastasia Beverly Hills (online -beware of importation costs if ordering from the US)

I recommend Kat Von D, Inglot and Too Faced if you’re getting a makeover as I’ve been delighted with the jobs they’ve done- you can specify that you only want vegan items and synthetic brushes used.

Toiletries and Skincare Products A lot of vegan hair and skincare products (such as the ones available from health food shops) are very expensive and thus inaccessible to students. I recently discovered Superdrug and am delighted with them. They have a fantastic range of affordable vegan friendly toiletries and skincare products. I recommend ordering online as there are only a few shops in Dublin. When you have a Superdrug card the delivery is free once you’ve spent over 10£.

Superdrug’s products are both excellent and affordable. Skinfull Affairs sell a lot of vegan toiletries, some of which are affordable. Lush also deserves a mention, but the products are pricey.

Fashion Vegan fashion is arguably easier to navigate than vegan cosmetics. Most clothing materials are vegan. Fur, leather and silk are acquired through horrific processes and are unfortunately still being used in the fashion industry. This is beginning to change,

though, with large fashion houses recently pledging to ban fur from their collections. Gucci’s fur-free ban came into effect with their Spring-Summer collection, with DKNY and Versace stating they will be fur-free by 2019. They join the likes of Calvin Klein (fur-free since 1994) and Stella McCartney (fur-free since the brand’s conception in 2001). This is a promising trend.

When shopping for vegan clothes, read the labels. These should tell you what the item is made of. Beware of ‘mixed materials’, a term which might not explicitly state the materials used.

On shoes, you can see the label on the sole. There are symbols which stand for different materials. You can see what they stand for via signage in the shop, by searching online or by asking a staff member. Again, it’s helpful to bring a phone with internet when clothes shopping so that you can quickly Google unfamiliar materials. It’s up to you whether you would like to donate your non-vegan clothing items or continue to wear them.

As a student it is probably more affordable and practical to continue to wear, and then donate once you no longer use them.

Second-hand/vintage charity shopping is a brilliant, ethical way of finding new clothes. It’s more environmentally friendly, often more affordable, contributes to a circular economy and can raise money for good causes. By shopping second-hand you are also avoiding fast fashion which is unsustainable and unethically made via human exploitation.

Remember to check labels to determine whether the materials are vegan. I highly recommend using the Nu Wardrobe, https://www.thenuwardrobe.com/, a clothes sharing platform. They have loads of really amazing clothes including exquisite dresses. Perfect for ball season, and at 5 euro a bor-

row, you will save a lot of money whilst helping the planet!

Non-vegan clothing materials: • Fur (mink, fox, racoon..)

• Leather/suede (cow, pig ..)

• Skin (snake, crocodile..)

• Wool • Cashmere (from the cashmere goat) • Angora (rabbit wool) • Mohair (from the Angora rabbit) • Shearling (lamb skin with fleece attached) • Silk • Down (feathers from ducks and geese) Vegan clothing materials: • Cotton • Nylon • Vegan leather - made from materials such as diverse as

polyurethane and mushrooms • Vegan shearling • Faux fur • Faux snakeskin • Vegan silk • Polyester • Rayon • Linen • Acrylic • Basically all synthetic materials!

Ailsha Davey of Flawless & Pawless and Grace Rubinger of Skinfull Affairs give a talk on vegan makeup for Vegan Soc last year

Useful Links for Vegan Living in Dublin Will Stapleton, Cassia Gaden Gilmartin and Hannah Gaden Gilmartin For finding vegan restaurants: A Billion Veg: https://www.abillionveg.com/ Happy Cow: https://www.happycow.net/ Vanilla Bean: https://www.vanilla-bean.com/

Vegan pages and groups: Dublin Vegans: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ DublinVegans/ DU Vegan Society: https://www.facebook.com/duvegansoc/ Low Waste Dublin: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ lowwastedublin/ Vegan Ireland: https://www.facebook.com/VeganIreland/ Vegetarian and Vegan House Share Ireland: https://www. facebook.com/groups/812730832151934/?ref=br_rs

Vegetarian Society of Ireland: https://www.facebook.com/ VegetarianSocietyofIreland/

Clothing and cosmetics: Flawless and Pawless, a blog containing lists of vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics: https://flawlessandpawless.com Forester Products, vegan leather: https://foresterproducts.com Skinfull Affairs: https://www.skinfullaffairs.ie