Vegan in Aberdeen

VEGAN guide to

Aberdeen f

er e

VEGAN: A QUICK

…

INTRODUCTION

EATING

AT HOME Holland and Barrett, 155 Union St and St Nicholas Centre, Mon - Sat 9am - 6pm, Thur until 8pm, Sun 11am - 5pm.

Health food chain with two locations in the city, go in for their vegan sausage rolls and pastries! Good frozen section.

Nutri-Center, inside Tesco Danestone, Laurel Drive, Mon - Fri 9am - 9pm, Sat 9am - 8pm, Sun 10am - 6pm.

If you ever find yourself in Aberdeen’s biggest supermarket, you’ll notice this small health store, it makes a nice addition to Tesco’s sometimes lacking Free From section.

We’ve given you these addresses to help you but we also wanted to let you know that switching to a vegan diet won’t mean that you have to change entirely your shopping habits.

Most of what you will be eating can be found cheaper in any supermarket or at The Corner. Supermarkets also all have a Free From section if you’re craving some vegan custard or soy mince. Independent stores, while we would like to support them more often, tend to be more pricy and you might only need to visit them every couple of months if you’re looking for something very specific.

EATING Restaurants and cafés are a great way of showing omnivorous friends and family just how easy and delicious eating vegan can be! Whether it's a sit down meal or just a light-bite, Aberdeen has a small but high quality selection of local shops, cafés, and restaurants that offer tasty vegan options.

Roots, The Hub, Old Aberdeen Shared Planet Café, Johnston House, Old Aberdeen (studentrun café, currently closed but hoping to re-open, follow facebook.com/sharedplanetcafe for updates!)

Books and Beans, Belmont Street The Coffee House, Belmont Street Food Story, Thistle Street Tea Lane (Saturdays only), Maccombie’s Court (near St. Nicholas Centre) Last Bus Canteen, (outside Aberdeen), New Pitsligo Bite Me Delphs Bistro, Skene Street Rosie’s Café, Rosemount Place The Bobbin, King Street Cumin Tandoori, Union Street Of course, Aberdeen also contains an array of larger chain restaurants – many of which have vegan options on the menu already! Other cities have these restaurants too, so it's always

OUT handy to know there are tasty, vegan options - whether at home or away! The menus for most of these restaurants typically label their dishes clearly as vegetarian or vegan and have their menus available online too. Some of the options listed even have separate vegetarian/vegan menus, which can be provided upon request in-house.

Wagamamas, Union Square and Belmont Street socialism will Handmade Burger Co., Union Square (30% student discount on Mondays! bring your student ID) save the world, right????

Las Iguanas, Union Square bring it on!!! organise. mobilise Nando’s, Union Square and Belmont Street veganise. veganise Yo! Sushi, Union Square and Belmont Street SAY NO NO TO Pret A Manger, Union Street and Belmont Street TRIDENT Pizza Express, Union Square and Union Street NO NO NO NO Giraffe, Union Square come on go vegan you can do it.

Carluccio’s, Union Square if you’re reading this you can do it Wetherspoon, Union Street i believe in you. yes i do. good Cups, Belmont Street luck!!!! spread the word!! share this. www.happycow.net is invaluable for finding vegan friendly restaurants wherever you may be. Just search your location and discover vegan friendly restaurants in the local area! Any restaurant should be able to cater for your dietary needs

EATING (vegan food is cheaper for them to make) so if you’re going somewhere that may not already have an option on the menu, don't be afraid to phone ahead and ask if a vegan option can be provided, as most restaurants are more than happy to accommodate. Asking for something off the menu isn't an option to be afraid of, as it lets restaurants and cafés (both local and chain) know that the demand for vegan friendly food is growing! Most world foods (Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Italian, etc) have many classic dishes which are vegan friendly, so be sure to check their menus before deciding on where to eat. Another option is making a more balanced meal, when a main can not be adapted, from sides or starters, but remember to ask some simple questions in these situations – especially if the item you're ordering isn't clearly marked as suitable for vegetarians/vegans on the menu– as it may have been prepared using products which are unsuitable.

Does it contain dairy? organise, mobilise, veganise, organise Does it contain eggs? the socialist revolution awaits, veganise What has it been fried in/with? MOBILISE AND VEGANISE If you're ever in a real rush, don't forget that vegan meals can be found in some fast food chains too! By simply adapting vegetarian options anywhere can be vegan, even places you

OUT may not expect - like McDonald's! (The veggie burger, when ordered without Mayo, is vegan friendly, as are their fries in the UK). At subway, you can order Italian bread and all the salad to get a tasty vegan sub! Pizza shops usually have something to offer for vegans too - with vegan dough options available at Pizza Hut and Papa Johns.

Other great options for vegan lunch on the go can be found in any supermarket – just remember to double check ingredients on products and voila! Lunch sorted. Fruit, salads, smoothies, nuts, breads and everything else you might want can be readily found in any shop. M&S is particularly good, as their range of prepared salads (2 for £3) have several vegan options, all of which are flavourful and filling!

DRINKS

DRINKS DRINKS wines are also ok (e.g. in Tesco and Sainsbury’s) and there’s so many other brands available, it's usually best to check online and see what's available.

Vodka: Absolut, Ciroc, Crystal Head, Smirnoff, Glens, Finlandia, Grey Goose, Russian Standard, Vladivar Whiskey: Glenfiddich, Jameson, Southern Comfort, Wild Turkey, Jim Beam, Bushmills, Tullamore Dew, Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, Famous Grouse, Bells, Johnnie Walker Rum: Bacardi, Havana Bay Rum, Malibu, Sailor Jerry, Kraken, Captain Morgans, Mount Gay Gin: Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, Gordon’s Shots and other spirits: Amaretto, Cointreau, most products

by Bols, most products by Cactus Jacks, most products by Corky’s, most products by Sourz, Goldschlager, Jägermeister, Kahlúa, Limoncello, Tia Maria Other: Buckfast!! Lambrini, VK! (But not the strawberry and lime or black cherry flavours), WKD

DRINKS The options provided are by no means exhaustive, and there's new companies starting all the time so be sure to keep an eye out for anything new or different as it may be a tasty veganfriendly surprise!

Many people are probably confused at the minute, wondering how or why their alcohol of choice wouldn't be vegan or at least vegetarian – sadly the use of isinglass and other animals ingredients in the manufacturing process of some alcohols is fairly widespread. Other animal ingredients are sometimes used in manufacturing, so it helps to double check online if you have any doubt. As it is not an “ingredient� per se, companies that use non-vegan filtration processes are not legally obligated to declare this on the bottle. Honey is also an ingredient in some drinks and spirits (but this is usually apparent on packaging).

If you're ever confused and Barnivore may not have the information you need, the best thing to do is to e-mail the company directly and enquire; not only will this hopefully yield information for you regarding the drink of interest, but it will also show to companies that producing vegetarian and vegan products is a service that is increasingly demanded by

DRINKS DRINKS consumers. For example, companies such as Guinness have declared their intention so switch to vegan friendly filtration in the near future, as a result of increased demand.

If your fave drink isn't vegan then try searching online for veganised alternatives and recipes.

Vegan Irish Cream recipe: 1 Can Coconut milk 2 tbsp Brown sugar ½ Cup Vegan cream (eg Alpro) 2 tsp Vanilla extract 1/3 Cup coffee 60ml (2 oz) Whiskey

COSMETICS There is a surprising amount of non-vegan products out there, and unfortunately, the big well-known companies are often the worst. That’s why a general rule can be using own brand products of chain stores. These products are often labelled as vegan, and they’re way cheaper than the “designer” products.

They are also very readily accessible.

There are a few brands that can be found “everywhere” that are vegan, and some of them even says so right on the bottle!

Examples of brands like these are Original Source (soaps and hygiene) and Ecover (laundry detergents).

Where to shop vegan cosmetics and household in Aberdeen?

Superdrug, St Nicholas and Trinity Centres Most of Superdrug’s own brand makeup is vegan. On the back of every product they have, you can see if it’s vegan or vegetarian. They sell most of what you need for cosmetics, e.g. mascaras, lipsticks, foundations and hair dyes. They also sell other general own brand hygiene products like hair care, dental care and more. You can also buy vegan products from other brands here, e.g. Ecotools (vegan makeup brushes).

& HOUSEHOLD The Co-Operative, Union Street and literally everywhere Co-op’s own brand products are very often vegan and will also say on either the front or the back (most commonly using words like “Contains no animal derived ingredients”). Products include washing up liquids, laundry detergents and more.

Tesco, King Street and literally everywhere Tesco’s own brand products are often vegan as well, and will sometimes say on the bottle that they don’t contain any animal ingredients.

Boots Pharmacy, Union Street and Bon Accord Centre Boots sell both own brand cosmetics as well as other brands that are vegan. Their own brand products aren’t labelled as vegan but they do not test on animals. However, some of their products contain lanolin, so it’s worth it to check the ingredients.

Holland and Barrett, St Nicholas and Trinity Centres Sells more independent type makeup. Very often allergy friendly, mineral makeup. Also sells vegan toothpaste, hair dyes and more. A bit pricy compared to e.g. Superdrug, but often higher quality.

COSMETICS Lush, Union Street Entirely cruelty-free, Lush have always been vocal about their animal rights stance. Quite pricy, but nice for a treat!

The Corner, Johnston House, Old Aberdeen Already mentioned previously, The Corner is a student run cooperative offering vegan and eco-friendly shampoo, tooth paste, household products… If there is anything in particular you need they are also always happy to order it in for you from their supplier, Greencity Co-operativein Glasgow.

Brands to put on your no-list are, in alphabetical order: Air Wick, Always, Aussie, Axe (Lynx), Bobbi Brown, Bodyform, Chanel, Clearasil, Cliniderm, Clinique Laboratories, Compeed, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Dove, Essie, Estée Lauder, Febreze, Garnier, Gillette, Giorgio Armani, Glade, Gucci, Head & Shoulders, Lacoste, Lancôme, Listerine, L’Oréal, MAC Cosmetics, Max Factor, Maybelline, Nivea, Olay, Old Spice, Oral-B, Origins, Pampers, Revlon, Schwarzkopf, Sensodyne, Sunsilk, Tampax, Toni & Guy, TRESemmé, Vanish, Vaseline, Veet, Vichy, Wella.

The list is not complete, but contains the most well-known companies.

& HOUSEHOLD Ingredients to be on the lookout for are, in alphabetical order: albumen (commonly from egg whites), beeswax, cashmere (wool), castor/castoreum (anal glands of beavers, but is most commonly synthetic), cholesterol, collagen, oestrogen/ oestradiol (horse urine), E120 (carmine; crushed beetles to get red colour), gelatin, glycerin/glycerol (animal fat), keratin, lactose, lanolin (sheep’s wool), lard, lecithin/choline bitartrate (nervous tissue), linoleic acid, musk (several animal species’ genitals), pristane (sharks), propolis (bees), royal jelly (bees), shellac, squalene (shark liver), stearic acid (commonly from plants, but also animal fat), stearyl alcohol/sterol (sperm whale oil), tallow (beef fat), vitamin A (plants, animals or synthetic), vitamin D3.

The list is not complete, but contains the most common animal-derived ingredients. More information can be found at www.peta.org/living/beauty/animal-ingredients-list/.

CLOTHING For clothing, there are a few materials to be on the look out for. Leather, suede, silk, wool, angora, pashmina, cashmere, shearling, alpaca, down, mohair are all materials to avoid.

Cotton, linen, acrylic, nylon, viscose, denim, polyester, any synthetic material are all ok.

We’re not going to give you a list of shops in Aberdeen, just go into any and read the labels, most (affordable) clothing these days is made with synthetic materials anyway. If you want to support more ethically made clothing over fast fashion such as Primark or New Look, you will mostly have to look online and it will usually be on the pricier side. ethicalconsumer.org has a list of brands and sites to peruse.

Charity shops are a great alternative if you don’t want to support fast fashion but also don’t want to spend hundreds on ‘ethical’ clothing. Aberdeen has lots of charity shops, some of them supporting animal charities. Not every charity is worth supporting though. For example, the Bethany Christian Trust on Belmont Street have been vocal about their anti-abortion stance. Is that really something you want to support? If you’re unsure about a particular charity, Google should be able to help you!

HEALTHY Is a vegan diet healthy? Before we go any further, let’s define what a healthy diet is. This could be difficult to do, but thankfully The World Health Organisation (WHO) released new guidelines on this topic in September 2015. They state that a healthy diet contains: ● Fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice). ● At least 400 g (5 portions) of fruits and vegetables a day. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables. ● Less than 10% of total energy intake from free sugars which is equivalent to 50 g (or around 12 level teaspoons) for a person of healthy body weight consuming approximately 2000 calories per day, but ideally less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits. Most free sugars are added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and can also be found in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.

VEGANISM â—?

â—?

Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats.

Unsaturated fats (e.g. found in avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard).

Industrial trans fats (found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarines and spreads) are not part of a healthy diet.

Less than 5 g of salt (equivalent to approximately 1 teaspoon) per day and use iodized salt.

From this, we can see that whole plant foods are being promoted (no one ever tells you to eat less fruit and vegetables) and consumption of animal products is being discouraged. This makes complete sense as they are inherently high in cholesterol and, more importantly, saturated fat and trans fats which are dietary causes of high blood cholesterol a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. On the topic on disease, did you know that vegans have an overall 19% lower chance of suffering from any type of cancer? (For more facts and information check out the EPIC Oxford Study).

HEALTHY

VEGANISM

VEGAN A delicious vegan treat to help satiate those sugar cravings! Chewy sweets that contain precisely no gelatine: what a result. Where? All the supermarkets and most small shops (including Keystore on Aberdeen University campus).

Jam doughnuts, custard doughnuts.

Vegan!? You better believe it. An absolute treat by any standard and a bargain at two packs of five for a measly £1! Where? Co-operative stores: if you’re in the town centre of Aberdeen, the George Street store tends not to have them. But don’t fear – the Union Street co-op always has them in plentiful supply!

Perhaps the food that most instantly elicits a ‘WTF?’ reaction from non-vegans, these readily available biscuits are a meat, dairy and egg-free delight. They’re at the heart of the vegan biscuit world. Where? All supermarkets and a majority of small shops. To get them at their cheapest, get to Farmfoods on Great Northern Road!

TREATS

…

ONE LAST THING Adjusting to a new diet may be difficult so if you’re ever unsure as to what to eat and in what quantities, the vegan food pyramid is there to help you out! vegan food pyramid

This guide was put together by members of the Veggie and Vegan society, Shared Planet society, and AUSA’s Environment and Ethics committee.

We hope you found it useful!

If you have any questions or want to meet fellow vegans, feel free to contact us. veggiesociety@gmail.com sharedplanet@gmail.com You can also join the group Vegan Aberdeen on facebook to find a nice community and many more pieces of advice! Both this group and the Veggie and Vegan society organise regular meet ups if you would like to meet other vegans face to face.

You may reproduce, adapt or distribute this document freely, as long as any resulting copies may also be reproduced, adapted or distributed freely.