How to Be Vegan

Becoming a vegan is becoming more and more popular. People who are vegans eat no animal products and use no animal products whatsoever. Vegans adopt a vegan philosophy for many reasons including animal rights, to help the environment, for health reasons and for spiritual and religious reasons.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Avoid eating meat. This means beef, chicken, turkey, and anything that has a meat base in it. This may mean potato or onion soup in restaurants. In this way, veganism is similar to vegetarianism.

2. Ingest no diary. Since dairy comes from cows and vegans use no products from animals, diary is out. This is where veganism differs from vegetarianism. Eating no diary means no cheese, yogurt or milk products. Soy milk or soy products are usually fine and businesses are coming up with more and more soy products, so you may find eating your favorite foods still possible on a vegan diet.

3. Consume no eggs. This is where things may become difficult for many people. Many bread and desert products have eggs in them and many people find it difficult to cut bread out of their diet.

4. Eat plant-based foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fruits and legumes are fine, as long as egg or dairy products have not been used to create the foods. Common vegan products include wheat chips and bagels.

5. Do more than just change your diet. Being a vegan means avoiding animal products used in clothing and household products. No leather, wool, fur or down. Any cosmetics you use such as shampoos and make-up should not be tested on animals.

6. Talk to your care provider before starting a vegan diet. Depending on what you eat you may need to take an extra vitamin to get enough calcium and iron.

Tips & Warnings

• To eat in restaurants, have your server ask the cooks if your meal is vegan-friendly.
• Veganism may not be an appropriate diet for growing children. Speak to your pediatrician if your child is on a vegan diet.

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Resources

• To find out more about veganism see Vegan Action.
• For vegan-friendly recipes check out Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World by Robin Robertson
• To see a list of vegan- friendly products go to PETA.

[veganrachel]

on 3/26/2009 I agree with tamaramcfarland there is so many breads that can still be eaten just watched out for breads with bleached flour. because they bleach it using animals bones...same with white sugar. use sugar in the raw. I have also seen many perfectly healthy vegan children in my time, as aposed to most american children these days living off of fast food and disguisting cafeteria food, I would suggest raising a child vegan to avoid hormonal risks that can come from eating meat and consuming dairy as well...

[tamaramcfarland]

on 4/20/2008 I'm happy to see tips on veganism on eHow, but as a long-time vegan myself, I disagree with a few points in this article.

First, it is absolutely not true that you must cut bread out of your diet to become vegan. Yes, many mainstream commercial bread products do contain dairy or eggs, which are off-limits, but you should be able to find vegan versions in any natural foods store, or simply make your own, which isn't hard at all if you have a bread machine.

The author mentions bagels and 'wheat chips' as examples of common vegan foods... personally, I never eat bagels and have no idea what a wheat chip even is. My diet is rich and varied, encompassing a huge range of delicious fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, etc.

Lastly, it is completely possible to raise a healthy child on a vegan diet. Compared to the standard American diet full of fast food crap, a vegan diet is super