We are the vegans

Posted this at my Facebook page and thought it was worth it to share also here.

Vitamin D, veganism and information

When you're vegan you can't assume things. Searching for information is a endless "job" and I'm still impressed about how many things that are present in what we consume that we don't know what exactly they are or where they come from. In Brazil we have even less information and it's not easy to figure things out but this is one more reason to keep searching for information, writing companies, asking questions.


This week two facts about Vitamin D came to my knowledge. The first one is related to a soy milk product in Brazil, from a company called Yoki. They have a line of soy milk, with different flavours, and I read on line that the Vitamin D they use to fortify their soy milks has an animal origin (D3 and not D2, which is vegetable). This was a shocking news for a lot of vegan friends that used to consume their products to avoid consuming Ades (a popular brand that's owned by Unilever).


The second news was about Kellogs corn flakes. I read that Kellogs used to have Vitamin D2 on their cereal and recently it was replaced by D3. I don't consume them but I know vegan people who do - and one of their reasons if because these cereals are fortified with vitamins while organic ones are not.

The biggest issue for me in cases like that is that the consumer is not informed and if you don't keep reading boxes and asking for information all the time you will end up consuming something that's not suitable for vegans. I know this is a risk that everybody is dealing with when consuming "regular" products that are "accidentally" vegan, mainly because these companies don't care about veganism, they just want to reach more parcels of the consuming market. But I still believe that consumers have the right to know everything about what they are consuming.

About the Vitamin D, I'm not an expert but make sure the products you're consuming have D2 and not D3 (fortified products are the main source of Vitamin D for vegans -and also sunlight). And don't forget to check your blood from time to time to see if you need any supplements (you'll find vegan options for sure).

Veganism: one more thought

In October, when celebrating one more vegan anniversary, I wrote that I'm having some thoughts about veganism in general and that I wanted to write more about it. Yesterday it was the World Vegan Day and considering the attendance of the event in Dublin some of that thoughts came back when I was talking to Matteo about it.

One thing that I'm noticing lately - and the fact that veganism is going more and more mainstream has helped me to notice this - is that being vegan seems to be more focused on the diet and the consumption. Of course not eating and not consuming anything derived from animals is a huge part (and maybe the core?) of veganism but it's not everything. You are, for sure, helping the animals but you could do more. I know you could say that everybody could do more and I agree with you, but there are some things that are not that hard or "extreme" as some people like to say to fight more for animal lives, for animal rights.

I'm not saying that I think every vegan should be an animal liberation  activist, involved in direct actions and I know there is a difference between being vegan and being an activist, but I think everybody should try to do more and more. How? Supporting your local vegan group, helping them with campaigns and protests (there are so many good causes around and most of the protests are pacific ones), organizing small events to spread the word, sharing vegan food with those who need food (this is a great way to help both humans and non-humans animals), etc. I know that our lives today are busy and crazy, but are you sure you can't do any of these things from time to time?

What all this have to do with the event of last night? Nothing really directly related to the event, which was really great and I hope Vegan Ireland will keep doing them, but with people. I think I (still) expect too much from people but I was hoping to see more people I know there (vegans and non-vegans). Vegan Ireland does an amazing work and they need all the support they can get. It's not up to me to judge what people can or can't do, want or don't want to do, but I really believe the animals deserve all of our efforts and as many voices as we can bring together to defend them.

Buying vegan products, cooking, eating vegan food (and writing about vegan food, recipes and places to eat) is truly amazing, but it's a hard battle and we need to keep on fighting.

Enjoying your (vegan) food

Spaghetti with "meat" balls in Italy:
Italians don't eat spaghetti with meat balls,
but my sister-in-law made it for us

A couple of weeks ago I came across this quote from chef Jamie Oliver: “Stop being a vegan and start enjoying what you eat.” Until that day I thought he was an "OK" chef who sometimes cook vegetarian (and even vegan) meals at his show 30 Minutes Meals. I don't know from when or where this quote came from and I won't spend this post talking about him (I already read some posts about the topic in the internet). What I really want to say here is that most of the people I know that truly enjoy their food are vegan.

I'm reading a lot about food to write my thesis and also its relation with culture. It's clear that the post-modern days pushed away people from the kitchen and from dinner tables too. Most of the people I know who aren't vegan don't know how to cook or just know a few basic dishes and a lot of them eat out or take away or ask for some fast food/pizza delivery. Yeah, I know, there are vegan people like that too! But I'm just talking about my experience and the people I know (and believe me, I know a lot of them).

vegan gorgonzola
also made by my sister-in-law

Becoming vegan still means that you should learn cooking and eating more at home. Even with more and more vegan options in restaurants and coffee shops it's still better (and more trustful) to eat at home. I know that my interest on cooking is not the usual one, I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen, but as everybody there are some days that I don't want to cook too. But there is no situation - even when I'm tired as I'm being these days - when I do not enjoy the food I'm preparing or just eating. For me, eating is one of the biggest pleasures in life and I do enjoy what I eat and I take time to do it every single day.

How many people do you know who spend more than 30 minutes in their kitchen preparing (and enjoying) their food and another 30 minutes eating (and enjoying even more) their meals in this crazy world where everything is fast and furious? Between these people, how many are vegan?

perfect vegan dessert plate

GO VEGAN. I'm sure you will enjoy your food.