#Veganuary2021 THE OFFICIAL VEGANUARY STARTER KIT 2021 EDITION The Official Veganuary Starter Kit CONTENTS WHY VEGAN? Animals Health WELCOME Obesity Heart disease WHAT IS VEGAN? Type 2 diabetes Cancer Global health NUTRITION Zoonotic diseases Antibiotic resistance Protein The health of our planet Calcium Climate change Iron Water shortages Omega-3 Pollution Iodine Deforestation and species loss Vitamin B12 Dying Oceans - including plastics Sustainability VEGAN KIDS Feeding the world Protecting their future Local versus vegan OUR TOP TEN TIPS TEN COMMONLY-ASKED TO GET YOU STARTED QUESTIONS ABOUT Planning VEGANISM Accidentally vegan foods What do vegans eat? Transition foods Do fish feel pain? Do plants feel pain? Veganise already-loved dishes Is soya the cause of deforestation? When you’re ready, branch out What would happen to the animals if we Keep snacks to hand did not eat them? Be bold - try lots of new recipes and products Why does plant milk curdle in hot drinks HappyCow and how do I stop it? Find new friends for support Almonds and water Be kind to yourself if you make a mistake What do I do with leather bags and shoes? Can you be a successful vegan athlete? Do you need milk for strong bones? MEAL PLANNING What difference can one person make? RECOMMENDED RECIPE FIVE LIFE-CHANGING SITES AND BOOKS BOOKS TO READ EATING OUT FIVE LIFE-CHANGING On the go FILMS TO SEE THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE PDF — JUMP TO EACH TOPIC BY CLICKING THE TITLE The Official Veganuary Starter Kit WELCOME! Thank you for signing up to take part in Veganuary and pledging to try vegan for 31 days. This guide will answer all your basic questions, from Where do I get my protein? to How does what I eat affect the environment? Veganuary is a charity registered in England Over the next month you will also receive & Wales which works globally to create a your 31 inspirational and fact-packed kinder world where animals are not bred, emails to guide you through those first fattened and slaughtered for products that few weeks. Who knows what you might damage our environment and can cause discover along the way, or how much better serious health problems in us. Instead, we you might feel in yourself? show that there is another way, and that each of us can have a major impact on the world SO, LET’S GET YOUR VEGANUARY around us simply by making small changes OFF TO A FLYING START! to the way we eat. BRIAN MAY, MUSICIAN AND VEGANUARY 2020 PARTICIPANT, SAYS: “VEGANUARY!!! Yes! It’s done - and I loved it. Not a morsel of meat or fish or dairy passed my JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR AND VEGANUARY lips. It was so much easier than I AMBASSADOR, SAYS: expected, and gave me so much. So I am now plunging in for a “No matter our differences, Vegan February!!! I certainly don’t kindness and compassion should feel like giving up this new journey rule everything around us.” of discovery.” 3 RETURN TO INDEX The Official Veganuary Starter Kit WHAT IS VEGAN? Veganism is often defined by what we don’t eat: meat, fish, eggs, dairy and honey, plus some of the animal ingredients that are hidden away in products, such as whey, gelatine and cochineal. But really, we should focus on all the great stuff that vegans do eat. And in reality, the ALICIA SILVERSTONE, difference isn’t all that huge. Instead of ACTRESS AND meaty burgers, sausage and steaks, we VEGANUARY eat plant-based versions. Instead of dairy AMBASSADOR, SAYS: cheese on a pizza or cows’ milk in our “Despite all of our recycling, coffee, we choose the non-dairy versions. energy-saving, and water For almost every animal-derived ingredient conservation (all of which are and product, there is now a vegan great), most people still don’t alternative, and this means that a vegan know that they can have the meal may look and taste exactly like a greatest impact on our precious non-vegan meal, it just doesn’t come Planet Earth by adopting a with the animal suffering, or the same plant-based diet.” environmental impact. 4 RETURN TO INDEX The Official Veganuary Starter Kit NUTRITION Please be reassured that every single nutrient we need is available from non-animal sources, and if we eat a balanced diet based on wholegrains, legumes, fruits, proteins and healthy fats we won’t go far wrong. We discuss some of the major health benefits of a vegan diet in theWHY VEGAN? section of this guide, but here we have also included additional information on the six nutritional queries that crop up most often. PROTEIN CALCIUM The first question asked of vegans is often Just as meat does not have the monopoly where do you get your protein? And it on protein, milk does not have the surprises us because protein is in almost monopoly on calcium! Beans and greens every single food we eat. Of course, there tend to be calcium-rich, so eat plenty, are better sources than others, but it is not including black turtle beans, kidney beans, difficult to reach the recommended daily soya beans, kale, watercress, okra and intake as a vegan. broccoli. You’ll also find calcium in sweet potato, butternut squash and tofu, and if Some of the best sources include tofu, you snack on dried figs and almonds, you’ll tempeh, vegan sausages made from pea be getting a calcium hit again. Plant milks, or soy protein such as Linda McCartney including milkshakes, and yogurts are often or Quorn; lentils, chickpeas, black beans, fortified with it, too. baked beans and edamame; seeds, nuts and nut butters; quinoa, oats, rice and Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, and grains. Even vegetables contain protein! many people are low in this vital vitamin particularly in the winter months, A typical day’s food that exceeds our protein irrespective of their diet. Be out in the requirement might be: sunshine as much as possible and look out • Oatmeal with a sprinkle of almonds for dairy-free margarines, breakfast cereals or seeds 12g and breads that are fortified with it. In the • One hummus and falafel wrap with winter months, it is recommended we all a three-bean salad 24g supplement with vitamin D. • Veggie sausages with potatoes, peas and broccoli 30g 5 RETURN TO INDEX The Official Veganuary Starter Kit IRON IODINE Although iron-deficiency anaemia is not Iodine can be tricky to get right because uncommon, research suggests that those having either too much or too little can who eat a plant-based diet are no more at cause thyroid problems. There are small risk than those who eat meat. amounts in nuts, bread, fruit, vegetables and beans but the best plant sources are Start your day with a breakfast of oats, seaweed and iodized salt, though the or a cereal that is already fortified with it. amounts in seaweed can vary quite widely. Sprinkle some seeds and dried fruit on top, Brown seaweeds can contain a lot of iodine and you may just have reached your daily so eating them just once a week will be intake before you even leave the house! sufficient.1 Those who dislike seaweed and Other foods to help boost your iron intake need to reduce salt intake should consider are: edamame beans, lentils, chickpeas a supplement. and beans, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, blackstrap molasses, watercress, kale and other dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, sesame seeds and dark chocolate. Be sure to eat plenty of vitamin C to help you absorb it and avoid drinking coffee or tea with your meal. OMEGA-3 AND OMEGA-6 Our bodies are able to make almost all the fats we need for the proper functioning of our tissues, but there are two we must get from our food, and for this reason they are known as Essential VITAMIN B12 Fatty Acids. This is the one vitamin that can be trickier Omega-6 can be found plentifully in to obtain as a vegan. It is present in animal leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains and products, but it isn’t made by the animals most vegetable oils. It is very easy to get themselves but by the bacteria inside them. sufficient omega-6 on a balanced vegan diet but this fat competes with omega-3 for We can get B12 by eating yeast extract, use in the body, and so we need to make nutritional yeast, breakfast cereals and sure we are getting sufficient omega-3 plant-based milks that are fortified with it. every day. The best sources are: leafy green However, everyone who maintains a vegan vegetables (Brussels sprouts, kale, spinach), diet beyond their Veganuary pledge should walnuts, rapeseed oil, ground flaxseed and take a B12 supplement to ensure they are flaxseed oil, soya beans and tofu. getting a sufficient amount. 6 RETURN TO INDEX The Official Veganuary Starter Kit VEGAN KIDS When we change our own diets, it is normal to think about nutrition in a way that perhaps we didn’t before and to consider what this means for our family. The good news is that the British Dietetic Association says that vegan diets can be suitable for people of any age, including children. There are bad vegan diets, of course, in the same way that there are bad meat-inclusive diets, and so it is important to get the nutrients right. So, what to feed them? The following advice from the NHS is a great place to start.2 Growing kids burn a lot of energy and need a high-calorie intake; too much fibre will cause small stomachs to feel full before they’ve actually got enough.