TSR Veggie Society

How vegan-friendly is England? Wales? Scotland? I'd appreciate any info.

Won't be trying those then!

Quorn pepperoni also has an interesting taste/texture. Anyone tried it? I'm not really keen on any of their sandwich fillers.

I do like the Quorn pepperoni and their really strange bacon, always wondered what the pepperoni would be like on pizza

But if you occasionally don't mind eating eggs or dairy, how can you say you're vegan? Also, veganism isn't just diet - do you wear / use products that come from or are tested on animals? Not trying to get at you, but 'vegans' who eat eggs and use animal-tested products aren't vegan and make it harder for actual vegans to get by, as people start assume we eat this and that because 'I know a another vegan who does'. Etc.

England can be very vegan-friendly, but it depends where you live. Wales would be much less so. Scotland - Glasgow is great, my favourite vegan pub/restaurant is there, but further north and in smaller towns you'd struggle more.

Sorry, for barging into your conversation. Personally, the area where I live (South-Eastish England) is atrocious for veggie eating. I am the only vegetarian in a family of 4; I am always out-voted when it comes to choosing where to eat out. The last few places we went to the only thing I could eat was a jacket potato with a tiny portion of Heinz beans. Then again, there is a city near me on the coast where the majority of cafes, restaurants and shops are all veggie/vegan friendly, so you just have to look around.

I know. I was surprised too. I don't think my body processes dairy very well.

At first it was a bit time consuming, but once you've been vegan for a while, you know what you can and cannot buy. I'm also picky where I shop. I actually live in California and the area I live in is very big on natural eating. So I have a variety of markets I go to that cater to vegans/vegetarians. As well as many restaurants that have seperate vegan menus.

I decided to do self-catered this fall at uni. It'll be cheaper to feed myself, than pay for catered accommodation and not be able to eat most of it anyway.

How vegan-friendly is England? Wales? Scotland? I'd appreciate any info.

i'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, have been for the past 7 years

But if you occasionally don't mind eating eggs or dairy, how can you say you're vegan? Also, veganism isn't just diet - do you wear / use products that come from or are tested on animals? Not trying to get at you, but 'vegans' who eat eggs and use animal-tested products aren't vegan and make it harder for actual vegans to get by, as people start assume we eat this and that because 'I know a another vegan who does'. Etc.

Was it the Tuna and Sweetcorn ones? Thinking about it, I haven't seen them for a while either... It's annoying that the only good grills are always limited edition! Linda Mccartney used to make these escalopes with a sundried tomato sauce on top, which were incredible, but I could only find them for a month or so!

Ahh, bean burgers! I love making my own ones; burgers and falafels are the best. There also so much healthier than the ones you buy ready-made; I don't understand how shops can load so much junk into them, when they are basically beans, chickpeas and herbs/spices!

I used some of their ham the other day with pineapple on a pizza, it was pretty good but a bit dry.

I like the chunks of chicken style stuff, the slices it depends on my mood. Some of them have a weird tang but others can be really nice for me.

Tesco once did these bacon style pieces, they were basically just tiny bits of texture to fry and add to stuff, I loved them so much but I literally only got them once before they disappeared I wonder whether tiny bits of tofu would have the same effect?

Xxx

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Ahh, that's brilliant! I love going to vegan/vegetarian shops and markets Unicorn is a great vegan/veggie supermarket here in the UK, there isn't one in my local area though sadly England is fairly vegetarian friendly in my experience; most places have at least 1 or 2 vegetarian options, however I don't think it's as easy to eat vegan. However saying that, they did always have a vegetarian and vegan option whilst I was in hospital, which surprised me!



What made you decide to stop eating meat?


Out of interest, are animals ever killed purely for the production of products such as leather and gelatine? I always viewed such materials as a by-product of the meat-industry (which is why I don't have a MASSIVE problem with using/eating them, as they'd only be wasted otherwise).

I think it's also interesting to hear veggie/vegan views on hunting. Personally I don't have an issue with animals being culled for population control (although it seems ridiculous that due to our own persecution of larger predators we now have to shoot animals to keep them under control ) and then their fur/bones etc being used, as those materials are once again a by-product which would only be left to rot otherwise. What do others think?


I don't think so, but I can't remember what it actually was Those sound divine Linda McCartney sausages are pretty nice actually, have to say I prefer them to Quorn ones.

Yes, same here!! Home-made hummus is also delicious Me neither; they're so simple to make, it really is quite baffling how much crap they manage to fit into them!


Not sure how I'd feel about pineapple on a pizza Isn't it kind of wet?

I like those chicken-style pieces; very good for fajitas Never heard of those tesco bacon pieces, it's a shame that all the nicest foods seem to disappear after a month or two Hmm, I'm not sure, but tofu added to anything usually = delicious

Well, kind of... Similar to how sweetcorn is on a pizza, it's very fresh compared to how other veg goes. I just always loved Hawaiian pizza, so thought I'd make my own and see how it goes. I like hot pineapple, I'm gonna try a pineapple fritter next time I get the chance, but I can see why people wouldn't like it. I for example hate when you get a slice of tomato in a hot panini, it just feels wrong to me!

Xxx

posted from the TSR Android app

Pineapple fritters as in the kind you get from Chinese takeaways? I'm so uncultured I will have to give pineapple pizza a go at some point; although I usually gravitate towards goats cheese () or vegetable (mushroom, sweetcorn, pepper and onion). You're insane, cheese/onion/tomato paninis are the best!

I do mind when I happen to consume something I thought was vegan, but turns out it had trace amounts of animal products. I don't fry up eggs, and chug glasses of milk. I don't like when I happen to consume trace amounts, but it happens. Unless I were to strictly eat raw, there are going to be trace amounts of both in processed foods. I'm not sure what food labels look like there, but I know the Food and Drug Administration here in America requires to label if foods are , "processed on equipment shared with wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts" etc.

Also, veganism is not the same for everyone. Some are vegan purely for dietary reasons. Some are vegan purely for animal protection reasons. Some are a mix. I've met people that used to LOVE eating meat, but care too much about animals to eat it. I've met people who dislike meat, but choose a vegan lifestyle because it is healthier.

Personally, I am vegan because I dislike meat (including how people attain meat and what the animals have to go through), the taste, the texture etc. And I'm vegan because dairy doesn't agree with my body.

The original definition of "vegan" was simply someone who doesn't eat meat, dairy or eggs. It wasn't until 7 years later that the definition was extended to mean living/eating without exploiting animals.

Then there's the whole honey matter. Some vegans do not eat honey because technically it's an animal product. Some vegans do eat honey because it's not exploitation, bees make honey regardless of humans harvesting it.

Does this make either preference right or wrong? No. It's simply different.

Oh, vegan discussions are the best. So many opinions, views, thoughts on the matter.

Out of interest, are animals ever killed purely for the production of products such as leather and gelatine? I always viewed such materials as a by-product of the meat-industry (which is why I don't have a MASSIVE problem with using/eating them, as they'd only be wasted otherwise).

I think it's also interesting to hear veggie/vegan views on hunting. Personally I don't have an issue with animals being culled for population control (although it seems ridiculous that due to our own persecution of larger predators we now have to shoot animals to keep them under control ) and then their fur/bones etc being used, as those materials are once again a by-product which would only be left to rot otherwise. What do others think?

I hate the 'they'd only be wasted' argument! I don't want any animal to have died for something I'm going to enjoy eating, wearing or whatever else. Whether or not it would have been 'wasted', the animal is dead and you're profiting from that fact. That's just kind of grotesque to me. How are we ever going to get animal-free versions of products while there are legions of so-called vegetarians happily consuming gelatine? It sends the message to these companies that what they're doing is okay, and that vegetarians are happy to eat dead animals as long as they don't taste like dead animals.
If something is a by-product of a horrendous industry, I don't see why that makes it any more usable. We wouldn't want a holocaust lampshade (made from the skin of dead prisoners), after all.

Population control is one thing, though I think this gets wrongly used all the time as a excuse for people who just really like killing things. When it comes to game-hunting and the like, it is unjustifiable and disgusting. The game birds are bred for the purpose of being shot - pheasants aren't native to this country and would die out almost instantly if left alone. Many die before they're old enough to get shot, as they're bad at adapting to the outdoor environment once released from their battery breeding cages at the start of each season. It's horrible. As for fox-hunting, their are kinder ways to control numbers. The point of fox-hunting is that some people love violence, and get pleasure from seeing a fox ripped to bits. Population control, *if needed*, should be taken seriously and not turned into some thrillingly gory sport.

I hate the 'they'd only be wasted' argument! I don't want any animal to have died for something I'm going to enjoy eating, wearing or whatever else. Whether or not it would have been 'wasted', the animal is dead and you're profiting from that fact.

I totally agree with this. Also, I think that the usage of gelatine by food manufacturers is quite... well, a bit lazy and frugal to be honest. Another gelling agent can be derived from plants, called pectin; the only reason that they do not use it is that it is too expensive. I know that, in some cases, to be economical is better, but in other cases, it just isn't necessary.

I didn't neg you by the way (I've only just returned to TSR after a long break). But the negs *might* have something to do with the phrase 'strict vegetarian', which tends to annoy / amuse vegans in equal measure. I don't think there *is* such a thing as a 'strict vegetarian' - if vegetarians were serious and strict about their consumption of products that cause death to animals, they'd be vegan. No?

No, veganism restricts more than just avoiding products that cause death to animals - milk and honey for example are both restricted in principle, not just the methods that are used for their production today. Also banned is the use of animals in cinema, or the use of animals for any purpose - things that many vegetarians can often have no issue with, no matter how 'strict' their commitment to their cause.

Edit: Sorry I didn't realise the post I was replying to was old.

Yes I suppose that's fair enough. I'm sure there are teenagers on here who went vegan in spite of their parents, but given that I didn't become vegan until my twenties, I'm in no position to judge. It's great that you're even thinking about these things at all - I was brought up around farms and never questioned our use of animals until I was way older than you.

Exactly: but if 'vegetarians' go around eating gelatine because they don't want to waste it, then the companies have zero incentive to use a plant-based alternative. If veggies stood up for their principles a bit more and stopped buying products that contain animals, plant-based versions would come to be more available (once companies realised they could be losing money). It's the inconsistency (on the part of the gelatine-eating 'veggie' that baffles me. It just seems like a lazy excuse.

See, I just don't consider dietary vegans as vegans. I'm from the Gary Francione school on most things (not everything, though), and define veganism as an ethical philosophy first and foremost. The actions are just a corrollory of the belief. If someone is a vegan purely for health reasons, that implies they still use animal-testing products / wear leather because they don't care about those things, which I don't think is vegan. I'd also expect that person to go back to consuming animal products at any time, because it's not based on a philosophy, just a preference. Then you get those awful so-called 'ex-vegans' writing in newspapers about how 'veganism' helped them lose weight / ruined their skin / nearly killed them / whatever. It's annoying, because it takes the focus away from the animals and makes the general reader think veganism is just another faddy diet.