How to Shop for a Vegan

The primary principle of veganism is abstinence from animal products. This does not merely mean refusing to eat meat. Vegans eat no food that is deemed to have come from exploiting an animal. This includes all dairy products, eggs, and in some cases honey. This extends to more than just food. Many vegans do not use wool, leather or any product that has been tested on animals.

The vegan diet and nutrition

In order to create a healthy diet, vegans must research and plan alternative sources of the same nutrients they would otherwise get from animal products. Failure to adequately plan replacements is likely to result in malnutrition and other forms of ill health. A course of vitamin supplementation may be necessary for vegans to maintain health, therefore certain vitamins will have to be on a shopping list for vegans. There are several supplements produced primarily for use by vegans. Iodine and choline, for example, are essential and may be missing from diets completely lacking in animal products. There is a wide variety of vegan substitutions made to replace common animal-based ingredients used in cooking. Tofu can be used as a substitute for eggs in baking, for instance, and there are common products like vegetable shortening and pancake mixes that have no animals products at all even though they are not aimed at vegans particular.

Reasons for veganism

For some people, eating meat is seen as a purely ethical issue rather than a necessity. They believe that using animals for food and clothing is both cruel and unnecessary and they opt to not do so. Man-made items with no animal products used in the manufacturing process will have to be purchased for them. They do not believe that humans have the right to kill and eat other creatures. They view veganism as a philosophy and not merely a set of dietary choices. In other cases veganism is entirely about diet and health. For dietary vegans, eliminating animal-products from the food shopping list is sufficient.