I have noticed lately a considerable number of people touting veganism as a great way to lose weight. On the surface of it, I don't mind this - whichever reason people decide to turn vegan still results in less animal suffering, so I am all for it. However I feel that promoting veganism as a diet is problematic for a number of reasons:
1)It's not a diet, it is a lifestyle, it will also impact on your choice of clothing, cosmetics and cleaning products.
2)Most people don't stick with diets! Diets are restrictive and people like to rebel against them. I have tried diets and given up very early, but not so veganism.
3)You won't necessarily lose weight going vegan. At all. You might even gain weight because of all the delicious food on offer!
I will address the third point first because I am annoying like that. A "plant based diet" will generally be healthier than a meat and dairy based one, because of the reduced amount of cholesterol, salt and saturated fat generally found in such a diet. But it would be wrong to suggest that all meat eaters are on a diet of hamburgers and ice cream. Some meat eaters eat crap all the time, some eat well. In turn, some vegans eat crap all the time, and others eat more healthily.
I enjoyed a great deal of junk food as an omnivore. . When I became vegan, I didn't suddenly swap cake, ice cream, meatball subs, hamburgers and chocolate milk for brown rice, quinoa and fresh fruit and veges. Sure I eat those too, but I very quickly discovered vegan alternatives for all my junk food needs. Therefore I have not lost weight since becoming vegetarian and subsequently vegan. In fact I have gained weight. This might be as a result of what I like to call "The Baker's Dozen Effect" in which I cannot just pop down to the local store for a quick treat, I must make my own, (often cupcakes) and as a result end up eat five of something when I only really needed one to satisfy my craving.
It kind of reminds me of a study which showed people who have dogs often lived longer lives. This suggested that people could increase their longevity simply by acquiring a dog. However, it was soon found that this increased longevity was in fact due to dog owners walking more, because they had dogs that needed walking. Therefore people could reap the benefits of dog owner's longevity by walking more, not by simply acquiring a dog. It's the same with veganism. You could turn vegan in order to restrict yourself so that you can't eat McDonalds all the time, or you could just stop eating McDonalds all the time for pretty much the same effect.
This brings me to my second point, self control. I have terrible self control when it comes to diets. My worst one is when I see people fatter than me, like hugely fat, on Biggest Loser or whatever. This always makes me think I have nothing to worry about and then I eat whatever I feel like. Vegan of course. I also get on my feminist high horse about unrealistic standards of beauty and fashion dictating acceptable weight, and weight loss goals taking energy away from proper goals. So I eat what I like, vegan of course. When you diet for weight loss you are only accountable to yourself and I think that means that people will cheat, talk themselves out of it (like me) or otherwise let themselves down.
Which brings me to my third/first point. Veganism is a lifestyle and it's Not About Me. It's about the animals, and it's about the environment. If you are vegan for these reasons, then you also wouldn't wear wool, leather or silk, and you won't use things that have animal products in them, or have been tested on animals. But if you are doing it for health, perhaps you don't care about any of that stuff. I'm not sure.
Because of the kinds of selfish arguments that I get from I Could Never Give That Up omnivores I guess I find it really hard to comprehend a selfish reason for giving up animal products. I also guess that since I have dealt with so many "Where do you get your calcium/protein/B12?" questions and treated like I might drop dead any minute, that I forget that veganism is actually healthier than omnivorism, and that the kinds of problems caused by the western diet are those of excess, not of deficiency.
As I said though, whatever reason someone decides to become vegan, the net result is a positive one. Perhaps also people who start down the path to veganism will soon realise that what they are doing is also good for others too. Perhaps the health reason will be enough to tip the scale, and people who were considering a vegan diet but thought it was unhealthy will join us in reducing suffering and destruction. If you are thinking of going on a diet for this year's New Year's Resolution, consider veganism instead for not only your health, but for the good of other human beings, animals and the entire planet.
