Vegan Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ)
[click on the question to
find the answers and relevant links, or scroll down to them]
Is it true that after 7 years
of perfect veganism, a person’s blood is completely vegan? (why does it take that
long?)
What can organizations do to help me, as a vegan?
1. What does vegan mean?
Vegan means eating no animal
by-products. These include beef, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, gelatin,
and honey. Honey is included because bees are nearly always ground into the
honey, because the bees are nearly impossible to eliminate.
Standards that vegans usually value and look for are VEGAN, ORGANIC, NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS/ CRUELTY FREE, and GMO-FREE / NON-GMO. Further, they try to support companies which use minimal packaging, and which has been & can be recycled.
2. What do vegans eat?
More than just tofu! Evolving
to a vegan diet involves seeking replacements for unacceptable foods, which
opens up a new reality of opportunity! Pop YOUR bubble, and try ALL of the
healthiest vegan foods you’ve never tried a few times. It is quite surprising
to find how many good foods most people have never tried!
3. Where can I find vegan food?
Just about anywhere! See our Vegan Food Sources, and Vegan Restaurants & Markets pages to get you started.
4. How do I eat a vegan diet, and make sure my body gets the best possible nutrition?
Learn about vegan nutrition. We highly recommend books such as Michael Klaper’s Vegan Nutrition Pure & Simple, and Brenda Davis’ Becoming Vegan.
5. Besides eating habits, what else do vegans do differently?
Vegans don't use animal products of any kind: such as leather, wool, silk, fur, etc. This means they refrain from wearing animal products, and also from using non-food products that have animal ingredients. In addition, vegans are usually environmentally conscious, and will recycle and use environment-friendly products.
6. Where are all the vegans, anyway?
Vegans are found worldwide! To meet vegan people, there are several vegan online services. See our Vegan Dating, Friends, & Networking page for links.
7. Where do vegans shop / where can I find vegan products?
Vegan foods and healthcare/beauty items can be found in natural foods markets. There are also many vegan websites that sell vegan clothing, shoes, etc. See our Vegan Businesses and Vegan Products Directory pages for links.
8. Where can I find a place that serves vegan meals?
http://www.happycow.net has a restaurant guide. Also see our Vegan Restaurants & Markets page.
9. How can I tell if something is vegan, or not?
For eatable products, ingredients must be listed. Compare these ingredients to the List of Animal-derived Ingredients at: http://veganproducts.org/ingredients.html
For clothing, make sure that the tag lists the content, and avoid fur,
leather, suede, wool, and cashmere. If the tag does not list ingredients,
try to establish whether one of these products is in your garment, shoes,
etc.. Shoes often list materials on the box, not on the actual shoes. Real
fur is very smooth, and leather and suede usually can be identified by its
distinctive smell. Wool, inspected closely, often has fraying fibers, and
can be itchy. One sure way is to
buy directly from vegan companies (like Pangea).
10.
What are the animal-derived ingredients found in
food, cosmetics, hair care, etc, and their alternatives?
See the List of Animal-derived Ingredients at: http://veganproducts.org/ingredients.html
You can see a list of Vegan Ingredients and Alternatives at: http://www.happycow.net/health-veg_ingredients.html
11.
Which alcoholic beverages are vegan?
To see what kinds of alcohol are vegan:
http://www.VeganProducts.org
12.
What types of sugar are and aren’t
vegan?
For information on which SUGARS are and aren’t vegan see: http://www.VeganProducts.org
13.
What are leather alternatives?
For alternatives to leather see: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/leather.htm
14.
Who else is vegan, that I know?
15. What does going vegan lead to?
Since being completely vegan is quite nearly impossible, it becomes a matter of how creative you are, and how easily you can redefine your life to be as life-fostering, and nurturing as possible. Some people get to a level where they are comfortable, and others spend their whole lives finding ways of becoming evermore vegan. Some people feel that the natural evolution is to fruitarianism, breathaireanism, or epidemiology. While breathaireanism is an interesting ideal, it has no supporting scientific, or nutritional evidence, and may lead to nutritional disease. Fruitarians do trump traditional vegans in niceness, because they do not finish off (kill) the plants they eat from, such as vegans do when they eat carrots. Raw foodists cannot access the additional vitamins and digestibility of foods whose nutrition increases through cooking, but do exist nonetheless! They are an inspiration, but there are not many large populations to study.
16. Are cars vegan?
17.
Where can I find a list of vegan companies
See our Vegan Businesses page.
18. How can I see a rating of how vegan a company?
19. Where can I see a vegan product list?
20. What are the easiest ways to go vegan?
25. What are the biggest problems vegans face? (mix with 2nd search part/issues)
Persistent vegans have the
constant dilemma of what is the most vegan way to live, regardless of who they
are, and what their lives are like. One serious challenge, is
that many medications, both prescription and OTC, are only available in
gelatin-capsule form. Steel has been said to
contain animal byproducts, and we all seem to sit in steel chairs, in
steel-reinforced buildings Further, it is difficult for
many vegans to find appropriate jobs and careers, with so few vegan businesses
in existence.
Sources of Vegan Food:
100% organic seeds, plants,
foods www.seedsofchange.com
100% vegan gardening
fertilizer ?www.veganorganiced.org
?International Vegan
Organization
EarthSave International
American Vegan Society
International Vegetarian
Union
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
What is the difference between
vegan and…
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/VegetarianTypes.htm
Vegan discussion boards,
where you can get answers to questions
(Vegan Advice Directory
>Discussion boards)