Veganuary in January – to encourage people to eat a cruelty-free diet.
World Vegan Month in November – to celebrate a cruelty-free diet.
Soon there will be a reason to go vegan every month – so why not start now?

Here are some quick definitions :
A pescatarian is someone who doesn’t eat meat but does eat fish. A vegetarian is someone who doesn’t eat meat or fish. A vegan is someone who doesn’t eat anything to do with animals (including meat, fish, dairy products and eggs).

Being a part of Veganuary 2019 has changed me in several ways, including the fact that my diet has become tremendously healthier. Being a vegan for just one month has brought up lots and lots of conversations about veganism (more conversations than  I can count on two hands and two feet) and genuinely I feel empowered talking about my diet, and it has strengthened me from being a timid girl who wouldn’t say a word to now blurting out that everyone should stop eating meat immediately. On the other hand, it caused some minor disruption in my household – the rest of my family would want to eat a dead animal for dinner, and I would want a healthy salad full of nutrients, which meant my mum would have to make two dinners every single night. This was difficult for her, especially after a long hard day at work. And so, we came to a compromise – after Veganuary, vegetarian meals would be cooked every night and on the odd occasion, an innocent little animal will be eaten by my family (luckily, I did not have to eat the innocent little animal). And so ever since, I have been a vegetarian, but of course still supporting vegans and all types of vegan food.

Recently, whilst tapping away at Snapchat, I saw an advertisement for going vegetarian or vegan in November as part of fundraising for Cancer Research (it is called the Veg Pledge). My initial reaction was of course I would go vegan, especially if it was for helping out a charity. After doing some more research, I have found out that World Vegan Day is in November so that’s an even bigger reason to go vegan. However, I have begun to reconsider going vegan, since I will have to sort out meal plans and make food for myself as it will be a struggle for my mum to handle again. I also began to think about my meals at school. Lately, there has been an introduction of meat-free Mondays which I am delighted about (this includes the consumption of Quorn sausages and falafel). Nonetheless, on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the only vegetarian option which is for definite is tomato pasta with cheese. Now imagine if I were to go vegan; I would be eating plain tomato pasta every single day as we cannot be certain that every meat-free Monday would have vegan options. Now I’m sure I’m not the only vegan girl in the entirety of the school so it will cause some issues. On the other hand, I could bring lunch from home as I will be able to make sure I am getting lots of nutrients and I am eating a wide variety of food.

In conclusion, I will be going vegan for November and I will be fundraising for Cancer Research as part of the Veg Pledge. Maybe you should consider it as well, as eating a plant based diet has many positive mental and physical effects too. More people becoming vegan will mean there will be a less demand for meat. This will mean fewer animals will be slaughtered, and this will make me and lots of others feel so much better about themselves knowing that they aren’t contributing to the murder of animals and global warming.

If you want to some inspiring words from a person who has been a vegan since 2014, check out James Aspey (https://www.instagram.com/jamesaspey/?hl=en ) on Instagram.

Tia Bhatti