Issues in the community

 Within the vegan community, it may become frustrating being the constant butt of the jokes from meat eaters. Some may claim that vegans are trying to push their diets onto people, others may argue that is anything really 100% vegan, when considering the likes of fuel for example when transporting ingredient and products. From vegans themselves, someone may question, is it even worth it? Researchers at the University of Oxford found that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual's carbon footprint from food by up to 73 per cent (The Independent, 2018). But when you take into consideration the amount of people that aren’t vegan compared to those who are, does this really make a difference. However, as a vegan the conscious point to not contribute to the problem is enough, regardless of how much impact it has on the planet.  As well as this a fully vegan diet has been proven to; 

• reduce blood sugar levels 

•  improve kidney function 

•  weight loss, 

• reduce cancer risks  

However, this only comes into full affect if done properly. So, a 100% vegan diet. Which would mean regular exercise, no unhealthy food, no alcohol or smoking. So, if someone isn't fully committed to the healthy lifestyle then is there any point? What people may not be considering is the number of unhealthy foods now that have become so accessible to vegans now. Companies the produce snacks and other kinds of unhealthy foods are changing their recipes and process to suit the vegan diet. So, how difficult could it be to only eat the healthy things when more and more food is becoming veganised. Another issue that lies within the industry are the lack of understanding for people that don’t have the privilege to afford a vegan diet. People may feel as though vegans are out to guilt people into switching diets- and while there are obvious health benefits, not everyone has the privilege to afford this lifestyle. When taking into account the cost of the individual vegetable, they aren’t necessarily expensive, however when we start to look into some of the meat alternatives such as, egg, milk, cheeses, snacks, these types of products aren’t particularly cheap. It also needs to be considered if people are even in a financial situation to be able to cook all these meals from scratch. This is particularly effecting people in lower income families. As a result of this, this leads people with minimal options due to them typically being the cheaper option such as fast-food chains like McDonalds and KFC.  

So, what is important to remember in this industry and community is that while having the moral conscience of not eating animal products or contributing as little as possible to the climate crisis, being able to afford this lifestyle is a privilege.