The vegan lifestyle is gaining a lot of popularity these days. But at the same time, it’s also surrounded by many misconceptions and myths. We believe the best way to learn about something correctly is to do it the old-school way – by reading books about it.
Before we skip to our book recommendations, let’s quickly get you slightly acquainted with a vegan lifestyle.
What Is A Vegan Lifestyle?
A vegan lifestyle is one where you do not include anything animal-derived or animal-tested as a part of your life. In other words, from your clothing to accessories and makeup to bathroom essentials, everything must be free of ingredients obtained from animals. Things like leather, gelatin, dairy, meat, honey, medicines, anything tested on animals, etc., all fall under animal-derived and animal-tested products.
The Difference Between Veganism & Vegetarianism
Vegetarians are people who do not include meat in their diets. Being vegan is simply one step further where they will completely exclude direct or indirect animal-derived ingredients like dairy, meat, or eggs. For example, a vegetarian meal may include milk and honey, but a vegan meal will not, because both milk and honey are animal-derived products.
It’s Not Just About Food
Veganism or a vegan lifestyle is not simply limited to food and its ingredients; there’s much more to it. Vegans avoid the exploitation of animals in any form. For example, it can be for fabrics (like silk, leather, wool, fur, etc.), for accessories (like the ones made from ivory), for testing (makeup products, medicines, etc.), and lastly, for entertainment purposes.
As humans or vegans, we should be kind to all living beings!
Myths About Veganism
Some common myths about veganism are
- A vegan lifestyle is expensive.
Yes, some prepacked vegan items can be expensive; but most of the things you need are pretty affordable, like food items such as grains, pulses, fruits, veggies, etc., or clothing items made from fabrics like cotton or hemp. Also, look at it this way – Meat, a moderately expensive food item, is already off your list, and so is leather, which is quite expensive. This would only mean more savings. So, veganism being expensive is no more than an excuse, than a reason. - You don’t get enough protein when you’re vegan.
There are multiple protein-rich vegan foods available like oats, quinoa, beans, spinach, tofu, lentils, broccoli, nuts, seeds, etc. So, no worries there! - Veganism is restrictive and hard.
For some, it can be difficult, especially in the start, to completely let go of animal-derived products like meat and dairy. However, there are enough plant-based alternatives available for such products. It’s healthy, harms no one, and tastes the same.
3 Must-Read Books About A Vegan Lifestyle
1. Becoming Vegan, Express Edition By Brenda Davis And Vesanto Melina
Becoming Vegan gives you a good insight into the very foundation of a vegan lifestyle: staying healthy and being kind to all. It answers several questions about the health benefits of a vegan diet, balancing a plant-based diet, treatment of animals in the food production industry, and much more. If you are vegan-curious or considering adopting a vegan lifestyle, this is an excellent book for you to begin with.
2. The Omnivore’s Dilemma By Michael Pollan
The Omnivore’s Dilemma is the perfect book for vegan beginners. There are three reasons for that. First, the author is neither vegan nor vegetarian. This offers an unbiased perspective to everyone. Second, the book is very engaging and actually helps readers realize where the food on their tables comes from. And lastly, because it gives you food for thought! If you are looking at your food from a moral and environmental standpoint, this book is a must-read.
3. Vegan Reset By Kim-Julie Hansen
Vegan or not, if you love to eat and also flaunt your culinary skills, Vegan Reset is a good book for you. Kim-Julie Hansen walks you through some healthy and delicious vegan recipes. She also helps you with grocery lists, introduction to vegan ingredients, budget-friendly ingredients, easy-to-find vegan options, and introduces her reader to meal prep. How can one even put this book down?
So, we hope you find a clear answer to the question ‘why go vegan?’ in these books, especially for all those newbies and vegan-curious people. And for all our vegan friends out there, we hope these books gave you a fresh perspective and loads of delicious recipes to dig into!
Happy Reading!
