By Stuart Parkinson
Growing up, I had a very conventional diet. But all that changed in 1988. It was the era of the video cassette, and videos were circulating showing the conditions on factory farms and slaughterhouses. When I saw these I started wondering about my eating habits. I also started reading the research on the environmental impacts of livestock farming. It led me to a decision to stop eating meat, and soon afterwards all animal products. The trouble was that I liked eating these foods…
I quickly found that I was already eating plant sources of protein – beans, pulses, nuts, cereals – and I just needed to eat more. Baked beans and peanut butter were common enough, but I realised I had to be a bit more adventurous. Houmous quickly became a new favourite. I also liked fruit and vegetables – but again, it paid to try new options.
There weren’t many plant-based alternatives to processed animal products back then. Plant milks were restricted to a few brands of soya milk – and you quickly found the tastiest one. There was one brand of vegan cheese spread – but it looked like builder’s putty, and didn’t taste much better…
The most common processed meat alternative was TVP – textured vegetable protein. I wasn’t impressed with this either! And what on earth was this strange white food called tofu? So I bought a couple of vegan cookbooks and worked on my cooking skills. There was a lot of trial and error, but things quickly improved. I discovered how herbs, spices and other flavourings could transform a meal. I found that lentils are such an underrated food. And I learnt the profound importance of a good vegan cake recipe.
I found like-minded friends at university, and we cooked for each other, exchanging recipes and tips on the latest new vegan products in the shops. (Remember, this was before the internet, so word-of-mouth was often the key source of information.) I ate in Indian and Chinese restaurants for the first time, as I discovered they always had more plant-based options.
At the same time, I read more about nutrition. I learnt that my love of Marmite was providing me with vitamin B12 (more difficult to get in a plant-based diet) and that it really pays to ‘eat your greens’ – especially dark leafy vegetables like broccoli and kale. These are good sources of iron, calcium, and vitamins. I learnt that ‘getting some sunshine every day’ (at least during the summer) was important for your vitamin D levels, regardless of your diet.
Of course, it’s so much easier to eat plant-based foods these days. You can even get vegan tiramisu! And the wider availability of fortified foods means that you don’t have to know much about nutrition. It’s also a lot easier to eat out. I sometimes hear people saying that they can’t go vegan because it’s too expensive. This has not been my experience – after all, beans and chickpeas are much cheaper than meat and cheese! It mainly seems to be because people are just comparing the prices of ultra-processed foods. While it’s very helpful to have more vegan products on the supermarket shelves these days, I’ve never forgotten the importance of home cooking – especially quick recipes for busy days.
I’ve been vegan for 35 years now – and I’m looking forward to the next 35!
