I've been having a big think recently and I've decided I no longer want to eat meat or dairy products. I haven't been brainwashed or anything but seeing as though I don't eat that much meat anyway I'd rather just have nothing to do with the industry.

I was just wondering if any vegans/veggies on here can give me any tips or words of advice as I don't know anyone in real life who is one.

Peace out

http://www.vegsoc.org/newveg/index.html

Ace, thanks. Just having a read now.

I was just lying in bed unable to sleep after thinking about all the chicken stuff that's being going on and I thought I would get up. Thanks for your request. I really really want people to see beyond the lie of free range etc and it was really upsetting me. Seeing your post was a godsend.

ANY particular advice you need then pm me. I've gone from a meat eater to a veggie to a vegan. There is a good cook book I can recommend Vegan Cooking For One. The author sets out a week shopping list and a weeks meals to make it easy. This book was invaluable to me when I was first starting out. Good luck! I think you are making a great decision for yourself and the planet and I applaud you!

Thanks Ruby I have been watching the programmes on TV this week and it really has made me think. My favourite foods are vegetables - I could live on cauliflower, and rather going on quests to find meats/chickens that come from "nice" backgrounds I'd rather eat none at all. I know one person can't make much of a difference but I'm going to do it.

I'm wondering about wine and stuff though - I do like a drink but I don't know if it's 100% OK for vegetarians/vegans.

And another thing - the last time I cracked an egg open it had blood in it and I knew I'd never eat an egg again. Well, I knew that I'd try my hardest to (I know loads of things have egg in them..)

Right, I'm kinda talking to myself now but I can't think take these celeb chefs (even though they mean well) seriously - Hugh whatshisname and Jamie Oliver I have both seen going out and shooting wild birds - OK so they're not being kept in cages prior to their killing but they're still getting robbed of a life just to feed someone's stomach.

Tesco's own brand label their wine vegetarian or not. I get their Frascati wine. £3.99 a bottle it's quite cheap.

I am so glad you posted. I was getting really depressed that all those programmes where making people go free range like there wasn't a problem.

Carlsberg lager is deffo veggie! I bought my hubby the draughtmaster for his birthday. Don't worry you don't have to give up alcohol! I like a drink too

And I thought no one was noticing that...

It's ok! You don't need eggs. I've had a great time learning how to cook etc. There are loads of cookery books out there for vegans and any help you need then pm me. I'll give you my facebook address if you like if you pm me.

What will you do without roast dinners, Viotet?

I have lovely meat free roast dinners...

Hi, another vegan here! Was vegetarian for 10 years before I actually realised the truth about the dairy and eggs industries, and veganism wasn't really a choice I made, it was just something I knew I had to do.

It can be a bit daunting at first, and some people find it easier to gradually phase out animal products, but I went cold turkey.

I was a pretty fussy meat eater and vegetarian, but after going vegan I eat things now that I used to turn my nose up at, and love trying new things. It's totally changed the way I see food.

A great resource for questions and advice is http://www.veganforum.com

Don't worry if you make any mistakes, it happens to everyone. I was still eating a certain brand of muesli for about a month until I realised it contained skimmed milk powder. Now checking labels is a habit lol.

Meat was never the highlight of roast dinners, Leeroy

Same here; I've had them for the last two days running in fact, as I love them that much.

I stopped eating meat altogether in October 2003 after reading the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. It happened more or less overnight; I just woke up one morning and decided I wouldn't touch meat again and I haven't to this day. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.


Agreed; Tesco usually label their wine as suitable for vegetarians. I think the Co-op have started doing similar too, though you need to sell your house to buy anything from our local one, as it's slightly on the pricey side. Grolsch is definitely a veggie-safe lager, as well as Carlsberg.

Congratulations on your decision to give up meat, BruisedViolet; as myself any many others have found, you don't need meat to have a perfectly healthy, yummy diet. If you're giving milk up, you'll want a replacement. I love soya milk, however, I only drink 'So Good' soya milk as I find 'Alpro' soya milk to be vile. I do my shopping online and last week Tesco sent a couple of their own brand soya milks as a replacement and that's not too clever either. Try the various brands and see which you prefer.

Non-veggie ingredients can creep into the most unlikely of things, so read ingredients carefully to avoid any nasty surprises. I'm usually about most days and will help and advise when I can, should you require it.

If everyone in the world was forced to go vegan tonight,what happens to all the animals that used to get killed?

Surely there would be too many of them and someone would have to neuter them or the planet would get over run by them?

The Vegan cooking for one cookbook looks very interesting and I am more than tempted to buy it.

Hi. Everyone going vegan overnight is simply not going to happen but as more and more people become vegans there will be less and less demand for meat and dairy and so less animals will be bred for this purpose.

Try looking at this site for some FAQ's about vegetarianism.

Thanks.

I bought the two books by Leah Leneman to see if I can go back to vegetarianism again.

When I was a vegetarian a long time ago,life was very difficult especially when you travelled to foreign countries and they looked at you as if you were an alien when they exasperated "tu no comes carne?" "tu comes lomo?" was always the next question as if "lomo" was a vegetable.

Travelling abroad can be a problem sometimes and I find it helps to do a bit of research beforehand using sites such as Happy Cow. I do think more and more countries abroad are now catering for vegetarians though. France is one of the worst although there are a few veggie restaurants there.

I should really remember to add stuff to Happy Cow because I do find a fantastic veggie restaurant sometimes abroad that isn't mentioned on the site.

Good luck!!!!

In terms of shopping, Sainsburys are very good, as a many of their own-label products are now labelled as being suitable for vegetarians and/or vegans. If you have a Waitrose nearby, although they are a bit expensive, they also label their products for vegetarians/vegans, and I've never found a better supermarket for choice of vegan foods - both their own-label and third-party suppliers.

As others have commented, animal products can creep into the most unexpected foods. I once checked a cheap brand of orange juice only to find it had milk proteins in! Other things you may come across are Guinness and the miniature Celebrations chocolates - neither of these are suitable for vegetarians, never mind vegans. Also, be careful of gelatin. It's an animal by-product that isn't suitable for vegetarians/vegans but you can frequently find it in many sweets and other confectionary, and of course most brands of jelly.

Hope that gives you a few pointers to get you started.

Be wary of beer from micro breweries. The use animal products in the filtering process.
Not sure if big breweries do or not.