Читать книгу BOSH! How to Live Vegan - Henry Firth - Страница 9
ОглавлениеThe Vegan Society’s definition of veganism is living in a way that ‘seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to animals’.
In fact, it was the founder of the Vegan Society who actually created the word ‘vegan’. Based in the UK, the society supports vegans all over the world through information and campaigns, and registers products with its Vegan Trademark. We think the bit about it being ‘as far as is possible and practicable’ is massively overlooked in most conversations about what it means to be vegan. Some people will tell you there are very strict rules about what you can and can’t do if you want to be a ‘proper’ vegan – but there aren’t! When you start to really think about it deeply, it’s nearly impossible to live 100% totally vegan. Animal products end up in the weirdest of places – from the ink in your printer, to the interior of your car and even your money.
We see veganism as something to aim for. It’s an ideal, a direction to move towards – we’re still working on it, too – and however far you want to take it, that’s OK with us. In this book, we want to show you the facts. You can use them however you want.
For some people being vegan is all about the food, while for others it’s about other parts of their life too, like their clothes or make-up, or the products they buy for their home. Maybe you just want to eat a few more plant-based meals each week, or swap your dairy milk and cheese for plant-based alternatives. That’s amazing! What we’ve found is that even the small changes, make a big difference. And not only to your life, but to those around you too.
We started BOSH! three years ago, motivated to help the world eat more plants, as a means of reducing climate change. Our videos have reached millions of people, and we’ve lost count of the number who have got in touch to let us know that they’ve gone vegan, or eat far less meat, after trying one of our recipes. We are supportive of whatever positive action you take towards consuming fewer animal products and eating more plant-based foods. Maybe you’ve made a decision that all your main meals are going to be vegan, but you simply can’t live without your non-vegan snacks – we’re cool with that! Whether you go the whole hog (pun intended) or choose to start with a few smaller adjustments, it’s about doing whatever is practicable for you.
Before we went vegan, pretty much every meal we ate was based around something animal-based. At first, we admit, it was a bit of a challenge to go completely plant-based – Ian cooked a lot of brown curries in those early days … But things are much better now – there is so much choice out there! We are excited by the plant-based options on the supermarket shelves, the new vegan restaurants opening up every day and the vegan options appearing on menus in even the most mainstream of fast-food outlets. And, of course, we’ve learned a huge amount along the way too. We’ve learned how to cook really amazing vegan food, and we’re so excited to be able to share that with you through our YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and our books.
Our mission today remains the same as it was back then. We’ve all heard the facts. We all know about the increased risks of wildfires, extreme weather events and rising sea levels. But recently, the language has changed. We are no longer talking about climate ‘change’, but rather climate crisis and climate emergency. Hearing Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and Professor Mike Berners-Lee talking on the BBC documentary, Climate Change – The Facts, in clear and certain terms about the huge, extinction-level threats we face as a result of climate change, it brought everything even more keenly into focus for us. We watched, gripped in horror as the first climate refugees were forced from their homes by rising sea levels, and at the deforestation spreading across the globe and the unprecedented California forest blazes in 2018. It’s a lot, we know. And we don’t want to depress or scare you.
But in the face of these terrifying events, it is easy to want to bury our heads in the sand and wait for the inevitable apocalypse. Thankfully, though, Sir David Attenborough along with his co-presenters ended the show with perhaps their most important message of all: they finished by telling us what we can do about it.
The biggest way you can help our planet is to reduce your meat and dairy intake, and move towards a more plant-based diet, become a flexitarian, go veggie or go vegan.
There are so many ways to reduce your meat and dairy intake, but the most important thing of all is to make sure you do it your way.
You need to find a way to make plant-based eating work for you, in your life, right now. Perhaps a fully plant-based, vegan diet is just too big a change at the moment. If so, then a few simple adjustments to your usual routine can still deliver some amazing improvements. Even switching out beef in your diet and moving towards more sustainable options is a really powerful change. Or maybe you want to play with being a flexitarian before you take the plunge – eating mainly plant-based but with the occasional meat, fish and dairy.
Beyond Meat, the groundbreaking new vegan burger company, says 93% of their sales are from meat eaters,[2] showing that the interest in everyone eating less meat is most definitely on the rise. This means that the buying power of flexitarians is causing a huge spike in sales of vegan products! Being vegan is actually being made easier by people becoming flexitarian, because it increases the demand for quality and easy-to-find non-animal products. So even eating a few more plant-based meals, will make a big difference in our overall global consumption.
You don’t have to be a full-blown card-carrying vegan. You don’t have to wear socks and sandals or put hemp seeds in your smoothies. It is not about that. It’s about reducing your meat and dairy intake, whatever that means for you.
Think about what has brought you to this point. Why do you want to live vegan? Is it due to the environment, your health, the animals or for humanitarian reasons? Are you planning to change the way that you shop for non-food products as well? Some clothes, personal care products and make-up are made from animal products – do you plan to cut those out? Or just focus on food for now? Considering all your options will help you stay committed to your decision. It’s a really good time to think about your life and what you plan to do, then make daily decisions keeping you in line with those aims.
It’s simple. Choose animal-free products. As far as is right for you.
As consumers, our biggest power is in what we buy. Reducing the amount of money we spend on animal agriculture is the single best way we can, as consumers, start to make a positive impact. We’re going to show you how to vote against the meat, dairy and animal products in your life, without compromising choice, flavour or lifestyle. You’ll see how easy it is, you’ll feel better and healthier, and you’ll know that you are drastically reducing your carbon footprint, too.
We’ll help you BOSH! your kitchen, your bathroom and your life. We’ll show you how to remove animal products and turn your fave meaty meals plant-based. We’ll give you all the tools you need so you can save the planet and feel amazing.
In Great Britain, the number of vegans quadrupled between 2014 and 2018. There were about 600,000 vegans in 2018, or 1.16% of the population.[3] During that time, BOSH! launched making recipes for our books and our channels, where our videos have been viewed 1.5 billion times. That’s a lot of views!
