The vegan revolution

Strapline centre on margin Embracing change

The vegan revolution

Veganism has gone mainstream in Ireland, and in West Cork there are plenty of choices available for those who have embraced this lifestyle – including many local restaurants, hotels and cafés which are offering vegan menu options, writes Aisling Meath

WITH no offi cial fi gures released in Ireland yet, the UK’s Vegan Society has declared the number of vegans there has tripled in the last decade. This trend seems to be increasing worldwide due to growing concerns about the environment, general health and animal rights, which are the main reasons why more people are choosing to stop consuming not just meat, but dairy-based foods as well. It is not so diffi cult or indeed marginal to be a vegan these days and many local supermarkets across the region stock vegan products and alternative dairy products, e.g. almond soy or oat milk.

The health food shops across West Cork are a fantastic resource to explore alternatives. Staff off er great nutritional advice, not just to people who are giving up dairy due to lactose intolerance, but also to many vegetarians who are making the transition towards being fully vegan.

Being a vegan means that you don’t consume any product which has been derived from animals or fi sh, and this includes eggs and all dairy products such as milk and cheese, with many vegans even avoiding honey. A large number of vegans won’t wear leather with some who won’t even use feather pillows or down duvets.

Many well-known established brands are responding to this growing demand and providing alternatives. For example, the Doc Marten footwear company now makes vegan boots, and even Guinness have phased out the practice of using isinglass (dried fi sh bladders) to fi lter out yeast so if you enjoy the ‘black stuff ’- all bottles, cans and draughts are now completely vegan.

Donald Watson, who founded the Vegan Society with his wife Dorothy, coined the word vegan in 1944. An animal rights activist from South Yorkshire, Watson became a vegetarian at 14 after he had witnessed his uncle slaughtering a pig on the family farm. He recalls his view of farm life changing from then on and some 18 years later he gave up all dairy products as well, citing his motivation as ethical concern for sentient animals.

Animal rights are still one of the main concerns for people who choose to be vegan but there are also many people who have food intolerances, and fi nd that avoiding dairy and eating a more plant-based diet helps their condition.

‘I’d say about 50% of my friends are vegan,’ said Emma Fleury from Schull who is 26 and owns ‘The Little Chickpea Company’ – a regular fi xture at the Skibbereen Farmers’ Market. ‘Some are vegan for emotional reasons to do with animal welfare while others follow a fl exitarian diet.’ she explained.

The fl exitarian diet – semi-vegetarian or eating meat in moderation – is a solution based on recent fi ndings that in order to keep climate change under two degrees Celsius, a shift towards this type of diet is necessary. This would mean that the average world citizen would need to eat 75% less beef, 90% less pork and half the number of eggs, while tripling their consumption of beans and pulses and quadrupling their consumption of nuts and seeds. All of these endeavors would halve emissions from livestock researchers have said.

Food choices are very personal and behaviour can be diffi cult to change, but Emma has found that her vegan

Donald Watson, founder of the Vegan Society in the UK, coined the term ‘vegan’ in 1944.

‘Animal rights are still amongst the main concerns for people who choose to be vegan but there are also many people who have food intolerances, and fi nd that avoiding dairy and eating a more plant-based diet helps their condition’

foods – both savoury and sweet – have proven to be very popular.

She makes delicious and healthy food from scratch using chickpea fl our in many of her recipes, and her range includes chickpea burgers and tasty chocolate brownies.

‘Chickpeas are packed full of protein, fi bre and minerals, with one cup of chickpeas providing 50% of your daily fi bre and 30% of your daily protein,’ she said.

Niamh O’Reilly from Clonakilty and her partner Mark Stewart run the ‘Hungry Crow’ – a regular feature at the markets in West Cork, selling their delicious vegan chocolate treats, which are also available in local health food shops.

They were awarded Best Emerging Artisan Food Product for their ‘Coconut Caramel’ at the Listowel Food festival in 2016, and since then are busy producing their range of vegan chocolates such as ‘After 9s’ – made using probiotics, cashews and peppermint oil – from their specialised commercial kitchen located close to the birthplace of Michael Collins at Woodfi eld.

Skibbereen will soon get its very own fully vegan bistro. Nicola Smyth who runs the Time Traveller’s Bookshop with her husband Holger, discovered her love of vegan food through her daughters Shawn and Madlyn many years ago. This ‘foodie’ family will open a new bistro in December, providing vegan food, tea specialties and rare books – a wonderful addition to the town and especially for those pursuing a vegan or lactose-free diet.

‘When I switched to a vegan diet myself a few years ago my energy levels really increased’ said Nicola. ‘I love the feeling of eating “clean” food.’ she said.

Nicola Smyth (centre) pictured with her daughters Madlyn and Shawn, believes that her energy levels have improved considerably since she changed to a vegan diet a number of years ago. Right: Vegan burger with buckwheat, tomato, onion, vegan mayonnaise and spinach on a fresh bun with fl ax seeds and sesame.

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