Three Questions Vegans get All the Time
Having been vegan for about four years now, I like to think I have heard just about every question someone could ask a vegan. I have no problem fielding these repeated questions. I actually like talking about my veganism and I’m sure most other vegans feel the same. If you have a question you’d like me to write about, feel free to send it to me on twitter: @Abvegan
One of the most common questions we get is:
1. How do you get your protein?
I think this question comes up so often for the following reason. Omnivores know meat is full of protein. So, if one does not eat meat, surely a vegan should be concerned with supplementing this missing source of protein.
In fact if anything, it is the omnivore who ought to be more concerned for getting too much protein. Protein intake does not follow a “the more the better” principle. Nothing in nutrition does.
Also, meat isn’t the only thing with protein. To the contrary, protein is considered the building block of living cells. In other words, every living thing, plant or animal, has protein. Vegans can easily get protein from sources like the wide variety of beans and nuts. When you start listing these out, it’s actually an incredible amount of variety.
Really, you hear of protein deficiency unless you visit a population subject to famine. It’s really not high up on a vegan’s list of concerns. A better question might be “where do you get your B12?”
This is a vitamin most often found in animal sources. However, it is fixated by a bacteria so it doesn’t necessarily have to be in animal products. Some vegans just take an occasional B12 supplement for good measure.
2. Were you always a vegan, is your whole family vegan?
Personally, I was not always a vegan. Before March of 2007, I abstained from consuming meat for about five years until I learned there is no ethical difference between using an animal for meat or for milk. I am also the only vegan in my extended family.
As for others, there are indeed individuals who have been vegan since birth and who are raised into vegan families. But, they are few and far between. Most of the vegans I’ve met went vegan after knowing a friend or family member who was vegan.
For this reason, I always encourage friends who are looking to try veganism to maintain contact with a vegan they know for support.
3. So what do you eat?
Of course, it’s hard to generalize an answer to this question, but one thing I can say from the vegans I’ve met is that you might find a standard vegan diet surprisingly full of familiar food and surprisingly lacking of mock meats and cheeses.
Yes, we do stock our kitchens with foods you may never have heard of and we do eat veggie burgers and soy cheese pizza, but we also try to find things to eat at our local coffee shop or restaurants.
Speaking of mock animal products, we often hear from people statements like “oh you’re vegan? I tried to go vegan but I got sick.” I personally don’t like people telling me this. If you get sick on a vegan diet, it’s not veganism itself that is the problem, it’s the food you’re eating. Find out what you’re missing from your diet.
Also realize a vegan diet is not a processed soy version of a Standard American Diet. Soy analogues might fulfill nostalgic cravings but they don’t provide much nutrition. They’re also quite pricey.
When I try to assemble a meal, I usually try to pick one thing from every category on the vegan food pyramid. Some nuts, fruit, vegetables, a protein, and a leafy green usually does the trick.
