As a long time vegetarian - about 10 years at this point - I've recently had time to think about my lifestyle and the issues that are important to me. In the middle of last year, I graduated and got a full-time job around the same time, and since I finished my studies I've found that I have more time to think about my life in general, and that I'm having more interesting conversations with my family, friends and colleagues that leave me with a lot to think about. I realised that as a massive animal lover, being a vegetarian was kind of a stepping stone to veganism. In the past, I always thought that being vegan was a bit mad and that it wasn't any better than being a vegetarian, but learning about what goes into things like egg production and the dairy industry in general kind of made me do the fastest 180 of my life. If the animals that we use for food and cosmetic testing etc came from a nice local farm who provided for the immediate local area such as a small village, I'd have almost no problem with it, but the mass production of animal produce is quite scary and is so profit driven that it's just mental, terrible for the animals, the environment and for people too in terms of too much meat consumption and the links to cancer and all that good stuff. So I've decided to go vegan!
I'm going to ease myself in gradually, as I know there are so many different aspects to this lifestyle like clothes and cosmetics, not just food, and there are some small obstacles to face before I can say that I'm successful as a vegan! For instance:
- Dublin isn't yet the most vegan friendly city in the world in terms of buying groceries and the like (it's getting there, though) and even getting coffee with non-dairy milk is sometimes a struggle (so many coffee shops run out of it very quickly each day, in my experience)
- I don't have a hell of a lot of money either, and vegan alternatives to things like cheese can be expensive, so that's something I'll have to get used to budgeting for
- I live with my Mam and sister, neither of whom are vegan or even vegetarian, so shopping is something we're going to have to compromise on
Several of my friends have gone vegan, and it's something I've always wanted to do. I'm not aware of everything, but I learn new things each day and there's a real openness to the idea in Ireland now. something I couldn't say was there even 5 years ago. Despite these obstacles, it's 100% possible, and I'm getting to it as we speak!
Some websites I like with sustainable fashion and accessories
mattandnat.com/shop
peopletree.co.uk
drmartens.com/eu/c/vegan (the chelsea boots are 👌👌)
One of the best vegan channels on YouTube (I want her to personal-shop for me because her recipes are actually criminally good)
There are loads of food websites too, I won't link them all but one of them, and I'll link the page below, gives a list of three or four big supermarkets that have links to the vegan items that they stock (spoiler alert, the lists are fairly big and exceeded my expectations tbh)
http://irishvegan.ie/?page_id=760
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