Hey there #YugenCommunity !
Thank you so much to those of you who have joined us so far, i'm really excited about the conversations we are going to have and the solutions we are going to find in this forum!!
In honour of Veganuary, my most recent blog post looked at the topics of animal agriculture, veganism, vegetarianism and flexitarianism.... (head over to the blog if you haven't read it yet!)
This prompted an interesting comment by one of our site members @popeianstar - as seen below:
"Today's blog was really good and very insightful. I think that in terms of diet people will struggle to shift/change diet because 1) its difficult to adjust to considering you eating macaroni pie and stew chicken since childhood. 2) sometime the cost of getting items to make a proper meal is above their budget. 3) People do not take the time to assess food option(s) and therefore stick to what they know. Unless you going to the gym or have a medical condition or some other reason meat will forever be a mainstay or rather will be primarily what is consumed in our diet."
I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this, especially the thoughts of our vegan/vegetarian site members!
Tell us:
- Why did you choose to (or choose not to) go vegan/vegetarian?
- If you are vegan/vegetarianism: What was the most difficult part & what was easiest? Any advice for persons considering trying these diets?
Personally, I still eat meat but i am working towards flexitarianism.....however, I did choose to completely cut out beef from my diet in 2017 and i'm really happy to have made that decision. It was a bit difficult as first, but honestly after a couple months I stopped missing it, and no longer crave it.
Anyways, that's enough about me...share your stories with us below!
- Jamala
Hey Kirina, it can be quite costly at first making the vegan switch, but I'd say that you require two main things. 1. The tools and equipment eg. food processor, blender, baking dishes etc. 2. The ability and patience to make your own stuff from scratch.
It can be very empowering preparing your own meals and you may not need to invest as much time as you think.
I've only been vegan for a solid 2 months now and after making some investments, I can safely say that my food budget hovers around 500-600 dollars a month. Thats how much some people spend on lunch or even less.
I do agree that there is a shortage of options here in Trinidad when compared to other countries but we have enough, and note that almost any dish can be made vegan.
Pick up Limes is definitely one of my favourite youtubers to follow(watched the channel even before I made the switch) and there are many others who offer easy and delicious recipes and tips. Without the internet this wouldn't be as fun, that's for sure.
Cheers