Research on being a vegan

1. Research
Ellie Marsh

2. What is a vegan?
A vegan is someone who dose not eat or perches products that contain animals such
as meat, diary, wool or fur as well as others, some of the common reasons people
become vegan are,
• To feel healthier and more energized
• To not contribute to the cruelty and killing of animals
• To help save the environment and lower their carbon footprint
• Because some famous people that are seen as cool are doing it
Most vegans live of a plant based diet consisting of vegetables and nuts as well as fruit
and different types of beans, however as the demand for vegan food is rising as the
diet becomes more popular different foods are emerging that are vegan friendly, some
you may not have expected are,
• Oreos, Unfrosted pop-tarts, Jell-O instant pudding mix, Duncan Hines cake mixs,
Lindt excellence cocoa bars, nature valley granola bars, Betty crocker’s bac-o’s
bacon flavor bits Tomas’s New York style Bagels and many more!
As well as this more and more restaurants are providing vegan options in there
restaurants and take away, some of these are,
• Yo! Sushi, Zizzi, Loving Hut, Tobey Carvery, Pizza Express, ASK, Bagel Nash,
Stakeaway and lots lots more.
• As the diet has become more popular more places and businesses are becoming
equated with the food that is suitable for it.

3. Definition of a vegan
https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism
This definition is from the vegan society website and is as close to a perfect
description of what a vegan is that your going to get.

4. Primary Research

5. Questionnaires
• For my primary research I used a questionnaire, I chose this method of
research because I think it is the easier way to reach lots of different
people, I posted the link for my questionnaire on two different social
medias so that it would reach people in different walks of life. I made my
questioner quite general so that anyone could answer it vegan or not, this
widens the demographic of the people who can answer the questionnaire.
I also did this because I want to know why people became vegan and what
was the main reason the changed to a vegan diet, as well as finding out
what people know about being a vegan and whether they would ever
consider it.
• I have analyzed the results from the 49 people who answered my
questionnaire and from this I have gathered the important information
about the people in my target audience. I have also got information from
people who are already vegan or vegetarian, this has been helpful because
it has shown me what has made them want to make the diet change and
therefore I now have more information to start my project with.

6. Results

7. Age
I put my questionnaire on Facebook
and instagram so that it would reach
a wider rang of people, however the
majority of people were aged 18-30,
some of the key things I can learn
from this are,
• That the people that are on social
media that follow the hash tag
vegan and vegan food.

8. Are you a vegan?
• From this question I can
learn that only 10% of the
people who did my survey
were vegan, this tells me
that most of the results are
from none vegans.
• I can also link the age
question to this and could
say that most people ages
18-30 are not vegans.

9. If not why not?
The results from this question
were all different however
some of the key points were
• Not wanting to give up meat
• Bacon
• Not knowing the health
benefits
• The vegan alternatives to
meat and dairy products are
expensive
• To busy to keep up with the
lifestyle

10. If you are, why did you choose to
become a vegan?
As only a hand full of people
answered my survey were vegan
I only got a few answered
however from the answers I get I
think the most important
reasons are,
• For my health
• For ethical reasons

11. Would you ever consider becoming a
vegan?
From this question I can learn that
about 15% of the people who
answered my survey would consider
becoming vegan, these people are
my target audience.
As well as this another 18% said
maybe, these people are also the
target audience for the ‘Veganuary’
project as it is aimed at people who
are thinking about it and would be
able to be convinced to try it for a
month.

12. Have you ever heard of Veganuary?
The results from this question
tell me that most of the people
who did my survey did not know
about veganuary. I also know
that three five people from my
class answered my survey, this
means that they do know about
veganuary but only because they
have been told about it at
college, because of this, this
result could not be accurate and
the people saying no could be a
lot more.
However I still know that more
people (65%) said that they had
never heard of it.

13. How aware are you of the impact the meat
and dairy industry has on the
environment?
These results show me that most of
the people on my survey were
aware of the impact however 30%
of them were either not very aware
or had never heard about it.
Because of this I know that lots of
people are aware of the impact.
after looking at each individuals
results I learnt that most of the
people who answered very aware or
aware were either people in my
class or people who were already
vegans, because of this I know that
most of the people who weren't
vegan did not know very much
about the environmental impacts of
this industry.

14. If you are not a vegan, what would be the
main aspect that would turn you into one?
One thing I can learn from this result is
that the main reason the people who
took part in my survey would become
vegan would be to become healthier
and I know that the least amount of
people think they would become vegan
because someone who was famous
had.
However the top three results are
quite, 27% would become vegan for
their own health, 22% would do it to
save animals and 20% would change to
help the environment. After analyzing
the results farther I found that most of
the people who answered to become
healthier are the people who are
already vegan, these people are not my
target audience however this is still a
good piece of information to have.

15. Secondary Research

16. Why
become a
vegan?
Summery:
This text is all based around why people would want to become vegan and what the different
reasons are, one reason is animals. Some vegans become vegan so that they no longer
contribute to the killing and suffering of factory farm animals. Another reason is for there own
health, this article states that it has been ‘scientifically proven’ that a vegan diet is better for the
human body that a modern western diet. The third reason was for the environment, this section
speaks about the effects on the worlds environment due to the mass production of meat and
dray products, things such as ‘5.6 billion acres' of land in Brazil is used to grow soya beans to
feed cattle, this helps to create poverty is the poorest parts of society. The last section was for
the people, this section speaks more about the animal suffering and the effects on the planet
also including information about ‘ethical’ meat.
Tags
• Vegan
• Animals
• Meat
• Diet
• Environment

17. Source
• https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/why-
go-vegan
• I think that this source is reliable because it is the
main website for information about veganism.
This websote dose have an agender and my be
bias as they are trying to make people think
about becoming vegan and may not show both
sides of the arguments and possablie the down
sides of becoming vegan. However the facts and
figures on this website are regually updated and
are all correct at the time they are published.

18. Quotes
• ‘Having emotional attachments with animals may form part of that reason, while many
believe that all sentient creatures have a right to life and freedom.’
• ‘avoiding animal products is one of the most obvious ways you can take a stand against
animal cruelty and animal exploitation everywhere’
• ‘health benefits: increased energy, younger looking skin and eternal youth are just some
of the claims from enthusiastic plant eaters.’
• ‘helping mitigate some of the modern world's biggest health issues like obesity, heart
disease, diabetes and cancer.’
• ‘In Brazil alone, the equivalent of 5.6 million acres of land is used to grow soya beans for
animals in Europe.’
• ‘This land contributes to developing world malnutrition by driving impoverished
populations to grow cash crops for animal feed’
• ‘A plant-based diet requires only one third of the land needed to support a meat and
dairy diet.’
• ‘it's the simplest way to take a stand against inefficient food systems which
disproportionately affects the poorest people all over the world’
• ‘The suffering caused by the dairy and egg industry is possibly less well publicised than
the plight of factory farmed animals.’
• ‘egg industry, even 'ethical' or 'free range' eggs involve the killing of the 'unnecessary'
male chicks when just a day old.’
• ‘all living creatures (even those labelled 'free range' or 'organic') fear death, just as we
do.’

19. Why become
Vegan part 2
Summery:
This text is based on the top ten reasons to become a vegan, they have used the idea of a new
years resolution and the benefits that veganism can have to our health and life style. The ten
aspects on the list are ‘slim down’ ‘animals’ ‘healthier and happier’ ‘vegan food’ ‘ meat is gross’
‘helps feed the world’, ‘saves the planet’, ‘cool kids are doing it’, ‘looking better’ and ‘the
intelligence of animals’, for each section they explain what benefit of a vegan diet is to a person
and why the reader should try it. They use lots of facts and figures in there points as well as
using very informal language. Points such as why eating meat is bad for you and how the vegan
will make you feel better in yourself as well as including some aspects of the cruelty to animals,
however the main focus is still on the benefits for the person such as looking better and feeling
better.
Tags
• Health
• Lifestyle
• Benefits
• Top ten
• Look better
• Feel better

20. Source
• http://www.peta.org/living/food/top-10-reasons-
go-vegan-new-year/
• This website is a site based sound animal wrights
and protecting the animals in the world. I think
that this website is a reliable source because it it
the worlds largest animal wright organization in
the world with over 5 million members. This
means that the website will be accessed and
updated regularly to make sure that the
information is correct and up to date.

21. Quotes
• ‘Vegans are, on average, up to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters are.’
• ‘Did you know that every vegan saves more than 100 animals a year? ‘
• ‘vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or high
blood pressure than meat-eaters are.’
• ‘Meat is often contaminated with feces, blood and other bodily fluids – all
of which make animal products the top source of food poisoning in the
United States.’
• ‘In fact, it takes up to 13 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of animal
flesh!’
• ‘Meat is not green.’
• ‘Vegans tend to be thinner than meat-eaters and have more energy,’
• ‘animals used for food are every bit as intelligent and able to suffer as the
animals who share our homes are. ’

22. Environmental
effects
This source is a short version of the documentary ‘cowspiracy’, the documentary is based around one man
filming other people as well as himself talking about the environmental effects of eating meat and dairy
products. He uses animated info graphics to explain what the scientists and other people he interviews are
saying in simpler terms so that the audience can understand. He also uses animations to show the audience
the difference between things and to show them in way that they can see and understand, he uses facts and
figures to get his point across. He also highlights points that most environmental agency's do not talk about
the effects that agriculture has on the environment, he says that its like people rising awareness about lung
cancer not talking about smoking. Also highlighting the fact that we have enough food to feed everyone one
in the world however the food is going to rise livestock to meat and dairy products.
Tags
• Environment
• Agriculture
• Cowspiracy
• Info graphics
• Documentary
• Food
• Easy

23. Source
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSjE8xw_-
Dg
• I think that this source is quite reliable as it was
produced as a factual film, and the information
that is featued in this documentary has come
from experts in this field such as scientist’s and
charity workers. However I do think that their
could be some bias in the source as the poeple
that he is interviewing want the people watching
to become vegan and to tell them the most
shocking facts instead of a balanced argument.

24. Quotes
• ‘One quarter pounder ham burger needs 660 gallons of water to produce this is
the same as showering for two months straight.’
• ‘Razing animals for food uses 15% of the worlds fresh water, occupies 45% of the
worlds land and is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.’
• ‘Fishless oceans by 2048 is the production’
• ‘Free living animals made up 99% of the bio mass and human beings made up 1%.
Today only 10,000 years later… we human beings and the animals that we own as
property take up 98% of the bio mass and wild animals only make up 2%’
• ‘An entire football filed is cleared every single second by deforestation to graze
cattle’
• ‘1812 – 1 billion people in the world, 1912 – 1.5 billion people in the world, 2012 –
7 billion people in the world.’
• ‘Animal rights and environmental activists are the number one domestic terrorist
threat according to the F.B.I’
• ‘The purpose of cows milk is to turn a 56 pond calf into a 400 pond cow as rapidly
as possible’
• ‘To feed a person on a plant based vegan diet for a year takes 16th of an acker, to
feed that same person on a vegetarian diet that includes eggs and dairy requires
three times as much land, to feed an average US high consumption diet of meat,
diary and eggs requires eighteen times as much land’
• ‘I realized I had the choice every single day to save over 1100 gallons of water, 45
lbs of grain, 30 square foot of forests, 20 lbs of CO2 and 1 animals life.’

25. Environmental
effects 2
This source is a lot shorter than the previous few, it is mostly faces with a small explanation of
how eating mean damages the environment, they use shocking facts similar to the last source
to try to explain the impacts that meat eating has on the environment and to back up the points
they have made in the first paragraph. They talk about the amount of land that is needed to rise
and animal and how much food they need to create the meat that they do, the also talk about
the amount of land lost for razing cattle to be sold as meat or diary products and how this is
effecting the environment in a big way. They also state where they have got there information
from at the end of every fact by saying something like ‘according to’ this backs up there facts
and makes them seem even more believable.
Tags
• Environment
• Cattle
• Land
• Crops
• Facts

26. Source
• http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how-does-
eating-meat-harm-the-environment/
• I think that this source is reliable because it if
from the ‘peta’ website which is the leading
animal activist website in the world. Another
reason this source is reliable is because they back
up there facts with the information about where
it has come from and because the information
has also come from reliable sources such as the
‘Environmental Protection Agency’ it makes the
information more trustworthy.

27. Quotes
• ‘In fact, it has such a devastating effect on all aspects of our environment that the
Union of Concerned Scientists lists meat-eating as the second-biggest
environmental hazard facing the Earth’
• ‘According to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute, a staggering 51
percent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal
agriculture’
• Cows must consume 16 pounds of vegetation in order to convert them into 1
pound of flesh.
• ‘It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat but only 25 gallons to
produce a pound of wheat.’
• ‘Producing just one hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20
miles’
• ‘A typical pig factory generates the same amount of raw waste as a city of 12,000
people.’
• ‘raising animals for food is the number-one source of water pollution.’
• ‘Of all agricultural land in the U.S., 87 percent is used to raise animals for food.
That’s 45 percent of the total land mass in the U.S.’
• ‘More than 80 percent of the corn we grow and more than 95 percent of the oats
are fed to livestock.’
• ‘The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of
8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth’

28. Ethical
reasons
This article I about the what the ethical reasons are for not eating meat and diary products, they
make points about the treatment of animals and the way they have to live their lives as well as
male calf’s being taken from there mothers at birth and either killed or exported to other
countries for veal. They also talk about the environment and they way that is being effected as
well as the fact that animals eat lots of the food grown in the world that could be given to
starving people in third world countries. They use facts as well as emotive language to get their
point across in a very direct way, the picture also helps the audience to visualize the text even if
they don’t want to.
Tags
• Animals
• Ethical
• Food
• Environment

29. Source
• http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/animalrights/w
hatisveganism.aspx
• This source is a website for a magazine called ‘Ethical Consumer’
this magazine tries to make the ethical choises that we make every
day easier. On their website I states ‘Each day we all make choices
according to our personal ethics. Ethical Consumer provides the
tools and resources you need to make these choices simple,
informed and effective.’ I think that this website is a reliable source
because they are a magazine and therefore is they publish
information that is not correct they can be pulled up for it by
‘Independent press standards organization’ or the ‘advertising
standers authority’ because of this I think this is a reliable source.
However they do not produce a balanced argument and do not talk
about the benefits of eating meat and the other ways that animals
are farmed that are not as ethically wrong. As well as this I know
the information is up to date as it was last updated in April 2016.

30. Quotes
• ‘Meat production obviously involves the slaughter of animals’
• ‘animal cruelty up until the animals are killed - being kept in
crowded and filthy conditions, injuries left untreated and with no
access to outdoors are all commonplace.’
• ‘Male calves are removed from their mother at birth and killed or
exported to the continent for veal production.* Female calves are
kept to become the next generation of milk-producers.’
• ‘with 97% of the crop being grown to feed animals for meat or dairy
production’
• ‘methane from farm animals which contributes 18% of global
greenhouse gas emissions.’
• ‘ while people in some countries are starving, one third of the
world's grain production is being fed to farmed animals in rich
countries.’
• ‘a Western meat-based diet uses four and a half times more land
than is necessary for a vegan diet’

31. Diet
aspects
This article is from Jamie Oliver website and highlights both the advantages and disadvantages
of a vegan diet. It talks about the benefits such as being low in saturated fats and bring the risk
of high cholesterol and heart disease down, as well as being higher in vitamin C and fiber.
However it also talks about the down side of a vegan diet and that it isn't always heather, it talks
about the fact that a vegan diet is low in calcium, vitamin D, iron and some others, it states that
if you take up a vegan diet and do not eat the right types of vegan food or do not take the right
supplements it can end up being worse for you than a meat eating diet. They talk about the
alternatives to eating meat products such as chocolate moues which is typically made from
cream but by swopping the cream for avocado you make the desert much healthier.
Tags
• Healthier
• Diet
• Vitamins
• Fat
• Alternatives
• Jamie Oliver

32. Source
• http://www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-
features/features/vegan-diet-
healthy/#oEMUvvBZPMu3dEwU.97
• This article has been taken form the Jamie Oliver
website and I think it is quite reliable as it highlights
both sides of the argument, I have not seen this is any
of the other sources I have found. This makes me think
that this article is reliable because it means that it has
no bias, however the article was written published in
December 2014 which means that some of the
information could now be seen as incorrect.

33. Quotes
• ‘research shows that there are potential benefits to a vegan diet.’
• ‘the average vegan diet is higher in vitamin C and fibre, and lower in saturated fat
than one containing meat’
• ‘vegans have a lower BMI (height-to-weight ratio) than meat eaters – in other
words, they are skinnier.’
• ‘a diet without any meat or dairy products is likely to contain a lot less saturated
fat, which is related to increased cholesterol levels and increased risk of heart
disease’
• ‘a vegan diet is generally thought to contain more cereals, fruits, vegetables, nuts
and seeds than a non-vegan diet.’
• ‘A vegan diet is naturally low in calcium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B12, zinc and
omega-3 fatty acids’
• ‘there you have it: going vegan does not necessarily mean you are going to be
healthier.’
• ‘I found it hard to believe that someone could be toned and strong without meat,
but he well and truly proved me wrong.’
• ‘If you look at the “eat well” plate, you will see that less than 15% of our diet
should be made up of protein.’

34. Make up
This source talks mainly about the mistreatment of animals in the make up industry, they talk
about the different types of ways that animals are treated such as being poisoned and being
subject to brain damage as well as pointing out some numbers and facts along the way. They
make the point that this is not happening in some far away contrary they state that it is
happening in Europe and that makes it more real to the reader. They also speak directly to the
audience and use bold writing to make certain parts stand out, as well as this they talk about
the animals like they are humans, they say things like animals instincts like humans are to be
free. This gets to point across to the reader and makes them think about if it was the other way
around and makes them think that animals aren't that different to us.
Tags
• Animals
• Treatment
• Humans
• Make up
• Testing
• Europe

35. Source
• http://www.peta.org.uk/issues/animals-not-experiment-
on/
• Again I have used the ‘peta’ website as this seems like on of
the most reliable sources I have found, because of its status
and the amount of people who will access it and read from
it every day. As well as this they are a charity and they do
not need to make up facts or exaggerate to get their point
across, they only need to tell the reader what is happening
and try to convince them to change there ways to help stop
it. However as I have said in the previous two section from
this site, I do believe this source to be bias as it done not
talk about he company's that do not use animals to test
their products such as lush.

36. Quotes
• ‘They feel pain and fear just as we do’
• ‘their overwhelming natural instincts – like ours – are to be
free’
• Approximately 11.5 million animals are used in experiments
in Europe every year
• ‘animals may legally be poisoned; deprived of food, water
or sleep; subjected to skin or eye irritants; subjected to
psychological distress; deliberately infected with diseases;
subjected to brain damage; paralysed; surgically mutilated;
irradiated; burned; gassed; force-fed; electrocuted; and
killed.’
• ‘happens to millions of animals every year.’

37. Clothing
This article is all about the production of animal clothing products such as wool, lather and fur,
the article is mainly focused on how society some not accept the production of fur from animals
such as fox's and minks but dose accept the production of animals like sheep and cows being
killed for products like lather and wool. The article uses graphic images and videos to back up
the points they make and try to shock the audience into really thinking about the choices that
they make every day. As well as this they speak about the mistreatment of the animals and that
people may think that sheep making wool is naturel and that sheep shearing is not painful for
the animals when in actual fact it is and that animals are restrained to make shearing them
easier. They also speak directly about the methods of killing animals that are used for fur, these
include being electrocuted, glassing and even being skinned alive.
Tags
• Clothing
• Fox
• Minks
• Animals
• Cruelty
• Wool
• Leather

38. Sources
• http://www.animalequality.net/clothing
• I think this source is a reliable one because again I is a
charity and has no other purpose but to inform its
readers about the things that are happening in the
world and to try and make them change the things
they do every day. As well as this because it is a big
organization their website is accessed every day by lots
of people all over the world, therefore if this website
produced incorrect information then they could be
held responsible by the advertising standard authority
or in some cases could be liable. However this is less
likely to happen with brought facts about the general
farming industry.

39. Quotes
• ‘Sheep and cows are bred and slaughtered; foxes, mink and rabbits caged and
killed, wild animals shot or trapped, to make clothes and shoes from their skin and
fur.’
• ‘Many of us have seen shocking images of foxes or minks suffering in cages on fur
farms or being gassed, electrocuted or skinned alive’
• ‘fact that leather and sheepskin are also the skin of an animal’
• ‘usually thought to be a 'by-product' of the meat industry’
• ‘Approximately 35 animals are killed and skinned to make a single coat’
• ‘'fur' industry currently kills around 30 million animals a year.’
• ‘they used to produce only enough wool to protect themselves from the cold, as
wild sheep do not need shearing’
• ‘domestic sheep today have been selectively bred to produce more wool than is
natural’
• ‘selective breeding has resulted in a multitude of illnesses related to their
excessive amount of hair, such as deaths from overheating and flystrike’
• ‘workers immobilise sheep during shearing in order to obtain every possible inch
of wool from their bodies’

40. Celebrities
This article is written about the famous people who have taken up being vegan, they name
explain what being a vegan is and they state that many A-list starts have taken it up. They talk
about how starts are always coming up with new ways to look and feel good, however this is the
newest thing on their list, they also talk about how becoming a vegan is a big step and takes a
lot of control, they ‘salute’ the famous people. They do not specifically name any celebrities in
there article however underneath there is a set o picture of the famous people who are vegans
that the reader can look through.
Tags
• Celebrities
• Famous
• Looking good
• Feeling good
• Vegan
• A-list

41. Source
• http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/celebrity/celebrit
y-galleries/2011/05/celebrities-who-are-vegan
• I think this source is reliable because it is an online
magazine and will be well aware of the libel laws and
the fact that they could be prosecuted if something
they published was found to be untrue. As well as this
their purpose is to entertain and inform people of the
entertainment business, because of this saying
someone is a vegan when there not would really not
make a reader want to read the article more.

42. Quotes
• ‘The rich and famous are ALWAYS coming up with new - and
sometimes bizarre - ways to better their lifestyles, their looks’
• ‘we've spotted an ethical new trend on the A-list horizon –
veganism’
• ‘Find out who's famous and vegan.’
• ‘We salute the celebs who have overhauled their jet-setting
lifestyles to make this most eco-friendly of choices’
• ‘these celebrities have made the commitment to banish meat
and dairy from their lives’

43. Additional research
• http://www.peta.org/living/food/egg-replacements/
• Food replacements, the neat egg, ener-G egg replacer
• http://www.gaia.com/article/vegans-dont-forget-fats
• Facts about plant fats ‘Plant-based fats not only
enhance the taste of your food, but they also help
make your body healthier. Take a look at omega-3 fatty
acids €” they contribute to the normal functioning of
the nervous system, eye health and healthy brain
development’
• http://www.all-creatures.org/health/7-things.html
• Cholesterol levels when you don’t eat meat (34% drop)