now with fact checking

1. Second Draft: Interview with a vegan
1) What made you decide to become vegan?
Hard question, it started when I realised that cows don't just produce
milk all the time for the fun of it, cows only produce milk for their
baby cows (https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235185/the-life-of-
dairy-cows.pdf Cows only produce milk when they give birth), and
baby cows have four stomachs to digest said milk
(http://articles.extension.org/pages/71110/rumen-development-in-
the-dairy-calf Dairy calves do have 4 stomachs but some of them
don’t work straight away), it's not really meant for humans. Who
even first decide to drink animal milk anyway? Cheese is just
mouldy animal milk, and eggs are chicken period.... Nice.
I then started looking into the environmental impact of the dairy
industry and that made me really start questioning my eating habits.
2) What are your favourite meals/ snacks?
I eat a lot of mush; mush is just a mix of lots of veg and spice all
whizzed together. Doesn’t look to great but you can make it into
burgers, into soups or toppings for baked potatoes and it tastes
amazing.
3) Have you felt any advantages/disadvantages from becoming
vegan? (health, missing out on anything etc.)
It's stressful because people are constantly telling you that you're not
getting enough protein, and every time you’re ill it's
apparently because you're vegan. But ultimately I feel a lot more
energetic, its easier for me to manage my wait, my skin is a lot
better and it forces me to think properlyabout what I am putting into
my body and what I'm getting from it.
4) Are there any foods that you have found that are vegan that
you wouldn't expect to be?
Oreos! Amazingly, they are pretty much made up of sugar and
preservatives, unbelievably unhealthy. (http://www.oreo.co.uk/faq
Oreos are NOT vegan because they contain milk)
Most ginger biscuits are also accidentally vegan
(https://myvegansupermarket.co.uk/product/mcvities-ginger-nuts-
250g/ there are some vegan ginger biscuits).
5) What did you find hardest to give up?

2. Second Draft: Interview with a vegan
CHEESE! Milk and Chocolate substitutes are amazing but as of yet
nobody has made a cheese substitute that doesn’t taste like plastic
although you can make your own out of cashew nuts (there is indeed
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/sliceable-vegan-
cashew-cheese/) which I am yet to try.
6) What coping mechanisms did you have?
I used to eat bits of cheese when nobody was looking, but eventually
I realisedit was just a taste I was craving, and the more I didn't give
in to it, the easier it got to ignore it.
7) Do you feel healthier since becoming vegan?
I think so, but I was already eating quite healthily before so I can't be
sure.
8) Is it more expensive than not being vegan?
Not at all, you just have to be sensible with your money and not
spend it all on ginger biscuits.
9) Do you have support from other people who are vegans?
I had a few Vegan friends who were reallyhelpful, but my family
were also extremely supportive which I know is not always the
case.
10) What would your best piece of advice be for someone who
wants to become vegan?
Join vegan groups online, there are so many people out there willing
to answer your question. Also don't be too harsh on yourself, if you
cave in and eat some chocolate it’s not the end of the world. The
best thing to do is find vegan treats that make you happy, and have a
stash of them for those moments when you want a slab of cheese or
chocolate. Also bake a lot; there are so many amazing vegan recipes
out there which are a lot more inventive than mush.
I read a great bit of advise the other day which was 'always be the
vegan you would have liked to have met before you became vegan'
Its so easy to try and make people around you understand why you
have decided to go vegan, and it's hard to talk about being vegan to

3. Second Draft: Interview with a vegan
someone who isn't without sounding like you are implying that
you're better than them.
It's all about staying calm and trying to take part in constructive
conversations.
My last tip would be to enjoy it, again get involved in groups online
and meet other vegans, enjoy living in the knowledge that you are
staying true to what you believe in.