Frances Clark watched a documentary on Netflix that was about agriculture and livestock and how much water/ grain it takes to feed and raise the livestock alone. It mentioned how agriculture and livestock was the biggest contributor of carbon emissions and that even with all the transport emissions added together, livestock production still was the biggest factor. This made Frances think about going vegan straight away and tells Female First it was definitely the environmental impact that made her do it.
She reveals how she found it easy to cut out meat, milk and cheese as she loved pulses, fruit and veg, wholegrains etc. before doing the vegan pledge. She has found through the transition however that eating out with her friends takes some planning - not many of the usual places she dined at have a vegan option. Frances admits it will take her a few months to transition fully to vegan, due to the social aspects. She is keen to improve her cooking skills at home and to make sure she has all the right nutrients in her food. In the interim period, she told us that there will be days where she will be vegetarian, but the long-term goal is to be vegan! We caught up with Frances to talk a little more in depth about her vegan pledge experience.
Please tell us the name of the documentary you watched on Netflix and how you heard about it? How did you feel when watching it?
It was called Cowspiracy (directed by Leonardo DiCaprio I believe). I was just browsing through the documentaries and it interested me so just thought I would watch it one evening. I always knew producing livestock had some environmental impact on our planet, but didn't realise how much. It had a massive impact on me and made me realise how much I took for granted the food that I get from the supermarket. It was a real eye-opener that we get a lot of information from the media about reducing car emissions, recycling more and using less energy, yet no-one even mentions changing our diets as a way of reducing our carbon footprint.
How important do you think documentaries are in encouraging people to make the shift?
I think they are hugely powerful pieces of media if you can get the audience to watch in the first place. I just happened to stumble across this documentary, so if there were more documentaries about it and they were widely available across different media platforms, then I can see it being very influential. Even if it just makes people think twice about reducing meat and dairy products, it can only be a good thing.
Why was the environmental impact the most important aspect for you?
It's the most important aspect for me as we are all individually responsible for taking care of the planet. If we all made small changes it will ultimately make a huge difference to the emissions we produce. I think we live in a 'throwaway' society and if the planet is going to be sustainable we all need to 'do our bit'. For me it seemed the simplest way for me to help. I think if other people knew the impact livestock production has on the planet, there would be many more who would consider Vegan as a lifestyle choice. I am still working to become fully vegan, but feel I am gradually getting there now that I know where I can buy vegan products locally.
Why do you think you've found it so easy to cut out animal products?
I found it very easy to cut out meat as there are so many options in both supermarkets and restaurants to support the change. I found that I missed meat for the first two weeks, but after that I didn't really think about it. I have found it more difficult to cut out all animal products such as milk, egg and cheese. However, I am slowly getting there and I am pleased with my progress so far.
You say that eating out with your friends as been a challenge- so which restaurants can you all eat in together?
Wagamama does a vegan option, which is great and there are some great cafés and curry houses near me that do vegan options. Despite all the progress I've seen, it would be nice to be able to go to a wider range of restaurants (especially chain restaurants), knowing you could get a vegan option. Unfortunately you can rarely pick a restaurant and have comfort they will do a vegan option. You have to do your research, which I think is the hardest thing about trying to become vegan and I believe more choice would make it easier for others to do it too.
You say you want to improve your cooking skills at home- but which dishes have you mastered since becoming vegan?
I love anything with aubergine at the moment! My favourite thing I cook recently was a chickpea and aubergine curry, with heaps of broccoli and spinach! I felt I missed the texture of meat rather than the taste, so I like to add vegetables to my food that have a bit of crunch. I think spices are key to vegan dishes… a bit of cumin and garam masala goes a long way! J. I am reading articles online more about nutrition to make sure I am eating the right things and getting the vitamins I need.
For more information- go to www.peta.org.uk
http://bit.ly/1gl53CX
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