LITMIR.BIZ

       Introduction

      Vegetarianism is entering a new and dynamic phase. A cuisine based on vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains, flavoured with the herbs and spices of the world, is taking the place of a diet reliant on dairy products. This has come about primarily because of the growing realization that everyone in the world could be fed if a switch were made to a completely vegetarian diet. Britain could be self-sufficient if grazing land were used to grow pulses and grains were fed direct to humans instead of being diverted to animals. Since dairy farming is almost as inefficient a way of using land as beef farming, the switch must be complete if it is to be effective.

      It is not only human beings who would benefit for slaughterhouses would disappear. Lacto-vegetarians are beginning to realize that drinking cows’ milk contributes to animal slaughter. Cows are kept continually pregnant and lactating. their calves usually taken away very shortly after birth (many ending their brief lives as veal), so that the milk can all be sold for human consumption. Even if factory farming were to be abolished, male calves would still have to be slaughtered to maintain the dairy industry. Similarly, in order for hens to lay there must be fertile eggs, and all of the male chicks will be killed. Thus, while free-range hens do not have to endure the inhumane battery system. eating any kind of eggs still contributes to animal slaughter.

      There are so many second, third and even fourth generation lacto-vegetarians in this country now that no one could convincingly claim that flesh foods are necessary for health. Many people still fear, however, that to give up all animal produce is dangerous (and anyone who embarks on a vegan diet while riddled with apprehensions may well become ill from sheer anxiety). In fact, many lacto-vegetarians consume an excessive amount of dairy produce, thereby clogging up their arteries with saturated fat – a far greater health risk than a vegan diet.

      The biggest worry seems to be protein. Giving up cheese and eggs, it is feared, will mean eating only ‘inferior’, and therefore insufficient. protein. Fortunately it has become more generally known that cereals can be combined with pulses or nuts to obtain all the necessary amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in required proportions. This combination forms the basis of many of the recipes in this book, making it virtually impossible for anyone using it to become deficient in protein. It is certainly not necessary to eat foods high in protein at every meal, or to worry about food combining.

      The one and only nutrient which does not occur naturally in a vegan diet is vitamin B₁₂. Although some pioneering vegans who had never heard of this vitamin appear to have been able to synthesize it in their intestines, the effects of a deficiency are too drastic to make it worth the risk. Most of the plant milks now available in Britain are fortified with vitamin B₁₂ as are most textured vegetable protein (t.v.p.) products and a number of other foods. Yet only a small amount of this vitamin is required, which makes it very easy to incorporate into a vegan diet by eating any of the above foods regularly. (Note, however, that nearly all of the breakfast cereals found at supermarkets which contain vitamin B₁₂ also contain vitamin D derived from an animal source and are not therefore vegan.) For those who prefer not to use processed foods, vegan vitamin B₁₂ tablets are available in health food stores. Incidentally, anyone who argues that a vegan diet cannot be a truly natural one since it lacks an essential vitamin, should realize that the answer lies in our perhaps ‘unnatural’ level of hygiene, since an all-vegetable diet in a country where produce is not so vigorously cleaned would certainly contain that elusive vitamin.

      Honey is a contentious issue as, strictly speaking, it is an animal product, but whether it causes suffering is matter for disagreement. The Vegan Society does not admit those who consume honey as full members, and honey is not used in any of the recipes in this book, although many vegans do eat it.

      The concern with animal products usually spills over into other areas as well. Most vegans do not wear leather or use soaps or cosmetics which contain animal products or are tested on animals. Wool production can be cruel, and as for lanolin, the idea of putting sheep fat on one’s face is not appealing.

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