Vegan Life Magazine Issue 5

Vegan Life magazine is now monthly and it is almost time for the next issue to come out! May's issue was another fantastic one as usual.  

 I found the article on vegan hay fever remedies really interesting as my boyfriend suffers with the condition and I am always looking for new treatments he could try. The article also debunks the claim that eating locally-produced honey can cure hay fever. 

 There was a great piece on vegan sandwiches; I often struggle to think of exciting sandwich fillings but I now have plenty of ideas thanks to Vegan Life's suggestions. One I am particularly intrigued by is BBQ jackfruit. I keep hearing amazing things about jackfruit and how it is an excellent substitute for pulled pork. I have never eaten pulled pork so I have no idea what it's supposed to taste like, and I have no idea what jackfruit tastes like either, but it looks delicious! 

 As usual there were some mouth-watering sweet recipes, and I can't wait to have a go at making strawberry rocky road, double chocolate strawberry pie, strawberry cupcakes (strawberries are now in season in Britain if you didn't know!), chocolate courgette cake, spiced coconut macaroons and surprise chocolate brownies. 

 

The debate in this month's issue was 'should vegans use animal manure?'. To be honest, this is something I have never even thought about. Arguments for included the fact that manure is just animal excrement, and to say you are against it would mean you would have to trace the source of all your food to see if manure was used to grow it or not. On the other hand, manure is technically an animal product and using by-products of animal agriculture supports the practices of the industry. Sometimes animal manure can be contaminated with bone, blood, wool, feathers and antibiotics. Although fruit and vegetables are washed before eating - removing the manure - sometimes traces of components of the manure such as antibiotics have been found to contaminate the crops. It is an interesting subject, and I guess the only way to avoid it is to grow as much of your own produce as possible using non-animal manures, or to buy local fruit and veg where you can find out how it was grown (luckily my sister has an allotment so I am able to get a lot of my veg from her). It does seem a little impractical to trace all sources of your food, so just remember that being vegan is about avoiding animal products as far as you possibly can. 

 There were also two articles that explored a couple of common vegan myths. The vitamin B12 article outlined what the vitamin is, why we need it and recommended vegan foods that are fortified with it, showing that veganism doesn't automatically equal a B12 deficiency.  

 The vegan pregnancy article demonstrated that you can get everything you need from a vegan diet to ensure that both you and your baby will be safe and healthy. I often hear people say that they were vegan or veggie but stopped when they became pregnant. I think it's such a shame that some people unnecessarily give up their vegan lifestyle when they really don't need to. 

 Issue 6 of Vegan Life magazine will be on sale very soon - you can subscribe to the paper version here and the digital version here.