Veganism research

What is ‘Veganism’?
Veganism is the idea of not consuming or using animal products in anyway. A
large part of being a vegan is not eating meat or products such as egg and milk
that are derived from animals. However, veganism also extends to the
cosmetic and fashion industry as many animals are used in the making of silk,
wool, leather, duck or goose feathers and soap (made from animal fat).
There are also many animals products that are used in the making of products
such as albumen, beeswax, blood, bone char, bone china, carmine, casein,
gelatin, keratin, lactic acid, lard and yellow grease. Some people (such as
philosopher Gary Steiner) have argued that it isn’t possible to be entirely
vegan as the use of animal products is ‘deeply woven into the fabric of human
society’.
Another definition of veganism:
https://www.vegansociety.com/go-
vegan/definition-veganism

Primary Research
• Primary research is a direct way of collecting information
which involves conducting self-made surveys, questions or
questionnaires.
• I conducted my primary research though the questionnaire
website SurveyMonkey : https://www.surveymonkey.com
• My research sets out to explore how much people know about
veganism and what their opinions of it are. I asked 8 questions
to get insight into how people feel about veganism.
• I find this the most effective and interesting online way to
gather information about a certain topic.
• I distributed the link of my survey to my friends and family
through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
• I got 7 responses to my survey in the first 24 hours which I
consider to be very successful.

Primary Research – Q1 What do
you think veganism is?
Here are the responses from my survey:
• “Choosing not to use products made from animals or which
exploit animals in some way”
• “Not eating meat or any animal biproducts”
• “No meat or fish or dairy products”
• “A vegan is somebody who doesn’t eat meat or any products
deriving from animals.”
• “Not using any products that come from animals”
• “The idea of not eating meat”
• “Yes”
These responses tell me that generally speaking, people are
aware of the idea of veganism and know how to define it
accurately.

Primary Research – Q2 Would
you ever consider being a vegan?
Would you ever consider being a
vegan?
Yes
No
Maybe
This data tells me that
generically, people aren’t
very willing to consider
being a vegan and are
closed to the idea. This is
interesting to know that
many people couldn’t give
up meat and dairy
products. If I were to redo
this research, perhaps I
could ask “Would you
consider becoming vegan
for a month?” and I might
get different results.

Primary Research – Q3 If yes,
why? If not, why not?
• (No) “There are easier ways to reduce your impact on the planet”
• (Yes) “If I was sure that I would be able to sustain a balanced diet
without breaking the bank”
• (No) “Love the occasional steak. Need vitamins from certain meat,
fish and dairy”
• (No) “Humans were designed to be carnivores. Veganism is
unnatural to humans and we should feel guilty about it.”
• (Maybe) “There isn’t enough motivation to get me to become one”
• (Yes) “Because it is more healthy and there is less suffering”
• (No) “Because I like cake too much”
This shows that many people have personal opinions against and for
being vegan. This question was insightful as to why many people don’t
consider becoming a vegan.

Primary Research – Q4 Do you
think there are any misconceptions
about veganism?
Do you think there are any
misconceptions about veganism?
Yes
No
Not sure
This shows that a
majority (71.43%) of
people feel that
veganism is
misunderstood and
misinterpreted.

Primary Research – Q5 If yes,
what are they?
• “That it is stupid or pointless”
• “They are hippy radicalists that wish to impose their unnatural
views upon the world.”
• “Misconceived ideas about health benefits”
• “Not fully understand what it means to be a vegan”
• “That they are all middle-class hipsters that think of their
dieting as part of their look.”
This data shows me that many people feel that others think
negatively about the idea of veganism or associate it with
negative feelings. “stupid” “hippy radicalists” “dieting as part of
their look”

you like about the idea of veganism?
• “Increased awareness of your impact on the world”
• “It is a way of making a personal stand and feeling as though you
have a better moral conscious because you are aware of where your
food has come from”
• “Nothing”
• “Cost savings; meat and animal based products are expensive.”
• “The commitment”
• “That no animals get killed in the process of making and eating
food”
These responses show me that people see veganism to have a better
sense of moral and environmental awareness than carnivorous diets.
Also that it is cheaper than meat and animal based products. This is
useful in finding out how people think of veganism and why it is good.

you dislike about the idea of veganism?
• “The prescriptive nature of some of it’s followers, the idea that
vegans are better than non-vegetarian and dietary issues”
• “The idea that everyone should be vegan and the limited food
substitutes”
• “Lack of vitamins and goodness”
• “Humans need meat and animal based products in order to achieve
a healthy balanced diet”
• “How strict is it”
• “The though of not having bacon…”
• “A lot of the options to eat are taken”
This data shows that people think that there aren’t enough substitute
vegan food that give all the vitamins that you need. People don’t like
the strictness of the diet or the idea of not having bacon. People think
that meat is a necessity in a human diet.

Primary Research – Q8 Do you
know anyone who is vegan?
Do you know anyone who is
vegan?
Yes
No
This data was surprising to
me, as many people showed
misconceptions and
stereotypes during the
survey. I thought that people
wouldn’t know others that
are vegan but it turns out a
majority of people do.

Primary Research – Addressing
misconceived themes in the data
• Q1 – What do you think veganism is? “The idea of not eating meat”
Yes, but that’s vegetarianism too. Veganism is the idea of not
consuming animal based products which extends further than just
eating meat.
• Q3 – If you would consider being a vegan, why? If you wouldn’t, why
not? “Need vitamins from certain meat, fish and dairy”
Conversely, vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is the only vitamin that researchers
agree that should be taken a supplement for, or eat a fortified vegan
food. Vitamin B12 is a bacterial product needed for cell division, the
formation and maturation of red blood cells, the synthesis of DNA and
normal nerve function. With the right vegan diet, all minerals and
vitamins such as calcium, protein and iron can be obtained. “Because I
like cake too much” There are many recipes online that can be found
without the use of egg. Vegan cakes are delicious.

Primary Research – Addressing
misconceived themes in the data
• Q6 – What do you like about the idea of veganism? “Cost savings; meat and
animal based products are expensive”
While meat and animal based products are moderately expensive, vegan food
isn’t inherently cheaper. Many meat and cheese substitutes are quite
expensive compared to ‘normal’ food. Vegan ready meals are also highly
priced. It all depends on you eat and put in your body. A dried bag of grains
such as rice, oats, pasta, quinoa or legumes are pretty cheap however and
can form the basis of a healthy, low budget vegan diet.
• Q7 – What do you dislike about the idea of veganism? “lack of vital vitamins
and goodness” “Humans need meat and animal based products in order to
achieve a healthy balanced diet”
Again, this isn’t true. A vegan diet covers almost all ground that a meat based
one does, and new research is suggesting that eating too much meat has
drastic affect on our health. Lots of people lose weight on a vegan diet and so
there isn’t a lack of ‘goodness’ or healthiness. “limited food substitutes” “not
having bacon” Increasingly so there are more food substitutes that are vegan,
including vegan bacon. Many of them have less fat, salt and sugar of the
original item.

Secondary Research
• Secondary Research is the idea of using existing information and
material to educate and inform on the topic matter. This is very
broad and lots of different mediums such as books, text-based
websites, video resources, radio and TV. There are many ways to
gathering information on specific topic.
• I conducted my secondary research predominantly using websites
such as www.wikipedia.org and Google searching veganism and
(insert topic matter). This was useful as it gave my lots of relevant
links to look at.
• This research takes advantage of existing resources to incorporate
them into my work.
• Validating sources is really important in this type of research as it
would be wrong to draw conclusion from incorrect facts and data.
There are a number of factors I would look at to help me determine
whether or not sources can be trusted.

The food culture of veganism
• A vegan diet doesn’t contain meat, dairy or any other animal products
which eliminates consuming a lot of foods that we eat on a daily basis.
Chicken, pork, beef, eggs, milk, honey and many other foods are a no-go for
vegans. Vegan diets are based on grains, seeds, legumes (particularly
beans), fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and nuts. There are many substitutes
for ‘normal’ foods such as mock meats (based on soybeans) or wheat-
based seitan/gluten which are a common source of plant protein.
• Increasingly, many food chains are offering options for people who are
vegan. These include but are not limited to: yo! sushi, Zizzi, Loving Hut, JD
wetherspoon, handmade burger co, La Tasca, Pret a manger, Prezzo, Ask
Italian and Pizza Express.
• There are many websites that have vegan recipes on them for regular foods
which have vegan ingredients such as pizzas, cakes, burgers and more.

Vegan Recipes
A quick Google search can unveil some hearty vegan recipes. Many of which are
plant, vegetable or legume based. More than ever vegans can have a very varied,
healthy diet. I found these ones on Jamie Oliver’s website:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/lentil-tabbouleh/
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/sweet-potato-white-bean-
chilli/

Nutritional implications
Many vegans become vegan for the health benefits, almost as a diet. With planning, it
is completely possible to enjoy a healthy, beneficial vegan diet that is delicious.
However, the health impacts of veganism have been long debated.
As with any diet, it depends on what you actually eat as not all vegan foods are
intrinsically healthy. Many vegan ready meals and processed ingredients tend to be
high in salts and fats that are bad for you. Using organic, untreated ingredients is a
way to avoid this; but the way to eliminate it completely is growing your legumes,
fruit and vegetables.
Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fibre, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C,
vitamin E, iron, and phytochemicals. Well-planned vegan diets can reduce the risk of
some types of chronic disease including heart disease. It is accepted by researchers
that vegans should eat B12 (cobalamin) fortified foods or a take a vitamin supplement
as uncontaminated plant foods do not provide vitamin B12.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism#Health_effects

Controversy around veganism
Like all (fairly) modern ideas, there is
naturally controversy around the veganism
discussion. This is for a few different
reasons:
• Being a meat-eater is hard to defend from
a moral or ethical perspective. “Bacon
taste nice” isn’t a valid argue.
• It’s easy to offend people. “I don’t eat
meat because it’s wrong” isn’t going to sit
well with a large majority of the
population who eat meat. People don’t
like being told they’re wrong and are
generally skeptical of new things.
• The alleged hypocrisy of vegans around
some issues such as evolutionary
legitimacy (“We’ve been eating meat for
hundreds of thousands of years, why stop
now?”) and the health affects of a vegan
diet (such as the lack of the vitamin B12).
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-veganism-so-
controversial-but-eating-meat-and-dairy-not

Fashion and veganism
Fashion is one of the major industries that heavily uses animal products,
particularly cow hide for leather and mink fur for mink coats; but also suede,
wool, pearls, silk, feathers, bone, horn, cashmere, shearling, angora,
shahtoosh, snake skin, down, pashmina and mohair.
There has been much controversy about the sealing industry in Canada
(brutally killing baby seals for their skin) and the Chinese fur industry which is
the world’s largest fur exporter. They are brutal industries that neglect and
abuse animals and have been investigated by organisations like PETA. This type
of activity extends to most leather, skin and wool industry.
Many brands have created vegan alternatives that use plastics and non-animal
products to supplement leather or fur. Ethical vegans abstain from buying any
clothing that has used animals in its making.
http://greenlivingideas.com/2015/10/29/how-
to-be-vegan-what-is-vegan-clothing/

Cosmetics and veganism
Many companies test/have a history of testing on animals;
which according to many vegans who are vegan to be
compassionate to animals isn’t vegan. It is becoming
increasingly easy to find makeup and cosmetics that are
‘cruelty-free’ and vegan products that are guaranteed not to
have used animals in any stage of the manufacturing of the
product. It is used in marketing as a unique selling point (USP)
which appeals to the vegan makeup market.
A list of products
that are available
for vegans:
http://www.vegan.com/guides/makeup/

Environmental issues and veganism
It’s generally accepted in many cultures that veganism is better for the environment
than the meat industry, which is very detrimental to the natural world. However,
many vegan-skeptics argue that the worlds food infrastructure isn’t designed to
support an all vegan population and isn’t the best way to maximize sustainable land-
use.
In a study, researchers from Elementa Science found that based on their model of a
vegan diet, it would feed fewer people than two of the vegetarian and two to four of
an omnivorous diet in the long run and actually found that a predominantly plant-
based diet with some meat on the side is more sustainable and efficient. However,
this is a single study of many that have been published and focuses on land use
sustainability and not the ethics of veganism or what is healthier for the human
body.
http://qz.com/749443/being-vegan-isnt-as-
environmentally-friendly-as-you-think/
This article stirred quite a controversy among the
media and on social media sites such as Twitter. The
article was corrected by Chase Purdy (author) as
the headline didn’t accurately reflect the study
findings which were based on land efficiency and
not the environment.

Veganism research

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