This document contains research conducted by Alex Walker on veganism. It includes primary research through interview questions asking people if they could live a vegan lifestyle and what appeals/doesn't appeal about being vegan. It also contains secondary research such as articles on why go vegan and the ethics of being vegan. Other research includes vegan recipes, videos promoting veganism, and an infographic on dairy industry facts. The document aims to provide information to create a leaflet promoting the positives of a vegan lifestyle and alternatives.

1. VEGAN RESEARCH
Alex Walker

2. Primary Research

3. Question 1: Could you live a vegan life
style, why?
No, because I wouldn’t be able to stay away from things like milk and leather etc., giving
up meat wouldn’t be the hard part about being vegan for me.
Charlie, 21
I think if I went into the life style gradually, I would be able to. I wouldn’t if I just had to
stop altogether in one day. I already don’t eat a lot of meat or drink a lot of milk so it
would just be about training myself not to use other items that aren’t vegan friendly.
Helena, 20
I wouldn’t be able to do it, not even for a week. I enjoy so many of the things too much
that I wouldn’t be allowed if I was a vegan.
Fran, 21
I think I would be able to try it at least, I do try and be as healthy as possible but
because my job is quite strenuous and requires a lot of manual labour, I need the meant
and the nutrients that comes with it to give me strength and energy.
Mark, 45
I couldn’t live the vegan life style, I wouldn’t be able to not eat meat or give up any of the
other aspects that come with not being vegan.
Sam, 17

4. Question 2: What appeals about being
vegan and what doesn’t?
It’s supposed to be healthy appeals, what doesn’t is having to learn what day to day
foods are vegan or not and not knowing where to go out to eat.
Charlie, 21
I like the thought of being more healthy and doing a bit more to make the world more
sustainable. What doesn’t is the lack of nutrients that come with the meat/fish I eat, I
won’t have the same amount of natural vitamins and minerals that some foods that
aren’t vegan friendly provide me with.
Helena, 20
The only thing that appeals to me is that I would be helping the environment more, but
other than that it doesn’t appeal to me at all.
Fran, 21
The healthiness of the life style appeals to me. I find the alternatives can be tasteless
and not a nice as the original and that’s what doesn’t appeal to me.
Mark, 45
I can’t think of any appeals to myself but for the environment it would probably have a lot
of positive impacts.
Sam, 17

5. Question 3: Would you be able to live with
the alternatives of a vegan life style?
With some things I probably would after a while, but with things like milk I don’t think I
could live the life style.
Charlie, 21
I think over a period of time, I would be able to live the life style.
Helena, 20
I could maybe change some things like milk but not for a complete life style. The
alternatives don’t appeal to me as much as the real thing.
Fran, 21
Probably for a few months because I know how much more healthy it would be for me
but after a while I would need to eat meat or something that wasn’t vegan friendly,
Mark, 45
No. It doesn’t appeal to me and I like meat too much.
Sam, 17

6. I asked the three previous questions to a group of friends and family in order to get
general answers from people who weren’t vegetarian or vegan. This would help me
with the idea for my leaflet about being vegan – focusing on the positives and the
alternatives, rather than focusing on what cause people to turn vegan like animal
rights etc.
I wanted the view of people who aren’t vegan as this is who I am aiming my leaflet
at, I will conduct a separate set of questions for some of my friends that are
vegetarian and vegan so that I can incorporate that view into my leaflet too.

7. Survey Monkey Results

8. Could You Be Vegan?

9. What Appeals About Being Vegan?

10. Which Would Be The HardestAspects Of Being Vegan?

11. Secondary Research

12. Article 1: Why Go Vegan?
https://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/why-go-
vegan
Tags:
Vegan, vegansociety,
animals, health,
environment, people,
veganism
Summary:
The article is essentially a list of why being vegan is
better for you, the environment and animals.
The copyright is up to date so even if the article hasn’t
been updated its still likely that administration for the
website has looked at it.
It uses links to other websites to back up the things
they’re saying.

13. ‘Why Go Vegan?’ Quotes
“avoiding animal products is one
of the most obvious ways you can
take a stand against animal
cruelty and animal exploitation
everywhere”
“More and more people are
turning to a vegan diet for the
health benefits: increased energy,
younger looking skin and eternal
youth are just some of the claims
from enthusiastic plant eaters”
“One of the most effective things
an individual can do to lower their
carbon footprint is to avoid all
animal products.”
“The vast amount of grain feed
required for meat production is a
significant contributor to
deforestation, habitat loss and
species extinction”
“A plant-based diet requires only
one third of the land needed to
support a meat and dairy diet”
“The suffering caused by the dairy
and egg industry is possibly less well
publicised than the plight of factory
farmed animals”
Possible ideas:
Look at the alternatives of cutting
out meat/dairy etc.

14. Article 2: Is being vegan the most ethical
way to live?
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/29/should-i-go-vegan-lucy-siegle
Tags:
Vegan, sustainable, footprint,
grain, livestock
Summary:
The article is questioning whether
being vegan is better than not being,
in summary she says that we need
to be more vegan but still need
livestock in order to stay
sustainable, but just cut back on the
demand for livestock.
It was published march 2015,
however it uses links to other
websites to back this up and they
are all up to date.

15. “Is being vegan the most ethical way to
live?” Quotes
“Along with processed foods, animal
foods are among those with the highest
effect on climate and environment
(including water use, air pollution and
deforestation).”
“Eating plant-based protein results in
far fewer greenhouse gas emissions
per “protein unit” than producing
ruminant livestock like cows”
“if the world were to go vegan, that
wouldn’t solve an ecological crisis.”
“There’s also the suggestion that
there are only 60 years of topsoil
(ie the life-sustaining bit)
remaining
“UK beef imports were responsible
for 1,160km2 of illegal
deforestation (an area two-thirds
the size of London)”
Possible ideas:
Research if the world were to go
vegan further, look at the effects.
Also look at ways to reduce the
importing of meats.

16. Blog: The True Confessions Of An Ex-
Vegan
http://www.popsugar.com/food/Why-I-Stopped-Being-Vegan-35306835
Tags:
Ex-vegan, meat, low energy,
conflicted
Summary:
She is talking about
her years as a vegan
and then how her
cravings got too
much and how she
got dangerously thin.
It was written in
December 2015, she
isn’t stating any facts,
just telling her side of
the story, it doesn’t
need backing up.

17. Quotes:
“I felt utterly convinced that I
was doing the right thing for
the planet, for animals, and for
my health.”
“I believed the best chefs were
the ones who could produce a
vegan tasting menu full of
creative, interesting flavors,
rather than simply serve a
plate of steamed broccoli.”
“My weight (and energy) were at all-
time lows, yet I attributed it to my
busy schedule and the rigor of city
life. The only thing I couldn't handle
was the hunger. Sure, being vegan,
I felt my stomach grumble every
couple of hours, though in New
York, I felt painfully hungry
constantly.
Possible ideas:
Look at some common negatives
of being vegan.
Look at some ways to overcome
them.

18. Posters
These posters show the two methods of
getting people to turn vegan/use vegan
products. The cow poster and the dog
poster uses scare tactics to get you to turn
vegan, whereas the vegan society posters
use more positive messages to try and get
their point across.

19. Eating Vegan
http://www.peta.org.uk/blog/menu
-vegan-options-chain-
restaurants/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAtri0
BRDLoaCF95e7o_sBEiQA_pgR
QwGfECxnV95mi98iGSYAZcMR
0Ug-FF8Dfb-
hvD4f0EcaArIl8P8HAQ
This article from PETAUK shows
where and what you can eat in
different chain restaurants in the
UK.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Veget
arianhealth/Pages/Vegetarianhea
lthhome.aspx
This is the NHS website and this
page gives tips and answers
questions and tells you about
vegan diets.
http://www.vegansociety.com/r
esources/recipes
This page on the Vegan Society
website shows a variety of
different meals and ideas for
foods for vegans.

20. Vegan Friendly Chain Restaurants
PETA have given a list of different
chain restaurants within the UK that
have vegan options or food on the
menu which can be made vegan. It
even gave suggestions as to which
particular dishes can be made to be
vegan friendly. This helps give people
more choice as to where to go for food
rather than assuming that there is no
where else to eat.
Tags: Food, PETA, chains

21. Vegan Society Recipes
The vegan society
separates recipes
into different sections
so that people can
help narrow down
different recipes to
suit different groups.
This is useful for lots
of different groups of
vegans from all
walks of life. This is
also a very reliable
source for people.

22. Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gibX8JSP6mY
Summary:
This channel is designed for
kids to show in a more
positive way about why being
vegan is better for you. I think
that this is an easier way of
looking at this view as it
doesn’t use scare tactics or
guilt tactics to make you want
to turn vegan, it is simply
stating the facts in a simple
format for people to make up
their own minds about this
lifestyle.
Tags:
Children, vegan, simplified,
youtube, bite size

23. http://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/blog/10-great-videos-help-non-vegans-make-connection
Summary:
Vegan Society show 10 of the most positive
and touching videos about being why being
vegan is better than not.
Tags:
Vegan society, top 10, videos,
children, second chances

24. Dairy Industry Infographic

25. Facts
• 21,000,000 dairy calves are slaughtered for veal or cheap beef every year
globally.
• Cows must give birth in order to make milk. Like human mothers, they carry their
babies for nine months, then begin to lactate for the sole purpose of nourishing
their young.
• Due to extensive genetic manipulation, today’s dairy cows produce up to 12 times
more milk than they would naturally produce to feed a calf.
• Virtually all dairy calves are stolen from their mothers within hours of birth in order
to maximize profit. 97% of newborn dairy calves are forcibly removed from their
mothers within the first 12 hours.
• To keep them lactating at maximum yields, cows are artificially and forcibly
inseminated year after year. The constant cycle of forced pregnancy and birth
creates a huge surplus of calves.
• Some female calves will join the milking herd. They typically spend the first 2 to 3
months of life confined in lonely hutches, fed a diet of milk replacer while humans
drink the milk intended for them.
• Over 90% of U.S. dairy cows are confined in primarily indoor operations, with
more than 60% tethered by the neck inside barren stalls.
• Dairy cows’ overworked bodies begin producing less milk at 4 to 5 years of age, at
which point they are slaughtered. In natural conditions, cows can live 20 to 25
years.
• http://www.peta.org/living/food/five-misconceptions-milk-dairy-industry/
http://freefromharm.org/dairyfacts/