My self-imposed vegan challenge!

This may seem like a complete departure from the tone of this blog so far (not that I've really been posting that much), but, for the next two months at least, this will be the place that I record all my experiences, recipes and pictures of my vegan challenge to myself.

For the next two months, until the 28th of February, I am going to eat only vegan food. I specify vegan food because I can't really call myself vegan - I'm not going to throw out my wool coat, or my leather handbag, or... well, I'm too poor to have any more clothes that involve animal products. Cheap clothes are all synthetic! But I will stop buying wool/leather/silk/any other animal dervived clothing for the next two months (possibly also related to the aforementioned poorness, but it's what we do that counts, right?).

To anyone who knows me, including my roommate, who is shaking her head predicting that I won't make it even as I type this post, it may seem like a bit of a stretch to go from omnivore to herbivore overnight. However, little do (most of them) know my secret passion:

Reading vegan food blogs

I have to admit my secret obsession so that everyone knows I am not going into this unarmed - for about a year and a half now, at least a third of the blogs in my RSS feed have been vegan cooking blogs. They were a welcome distraction to me while completing my Honours year at university back in New Zealand, and I have kept up the habit while over here in the UK. I even ordered a zine or two from those who have them (Swell Vegan, I'm looking at you...), so will love having the motivation to make some of the more 'complicated' vegan recipes.

Before lauching full-on into my experiences in eating vegan, I should probably list the reasons that I decided to make this change:

• As a student of sociology, one of my main interests in veganism is the way that it challenges accepted food norms. In Western society, eating meat, cheese, eggs and other animals products is pretty much accepted as the norm, and while vegetarianism has gained quite a lot of ground, with vegetarian options almost always available when eating out and in supermarkets, veganism doesn't seem quite so accepted. The best way to experience the way that veganism breaks these norms is, of course, to be vegan (who knows, maybe I'll find out that there's nothing hard about being vegan in a meat-and-dairy-eating society, but I don't quite think that'll be the case...).
• To re-evaluate my relationship with food. In the past I've been a bit of a sporadic overeater, and working crazy hours my job has made my eating habits all the more crazy. I hope that by not being able to just grab a takeaway because I'm lazy, and actually plan what food I am going to eat, I will gain some healthier attitudes to food - and healthier food as well!
• For the environmental and ethical reasons. To be fair, I'm sure we've all read the same arguments for being vegan before: eating meat is murder, killing animals is unethical, the way that dairy cows are treated is wrong, etc. etc. All of these issues come into my decision, but the overarching idea is to make sure that my actions come into line with my political beliefs. After all, if I believe in equality and freedom, shouldn't animals be included? If I'm passionate about regulating large producers of carbon dioxide gas because of climate change, shouldn't I also stop supporting meat and dairy farmers, whose dense farming produces large amounts of harmful methane gas? For me, the worst thing to be, politically, is a hypocrite.

Maybe these reasons will expand, as I find new and exciting reasons to be vegan. But for now, it's time to eat! Hmmmm... what's in the cupboard?