Getting Started with Going Vegan

Perhaps the most important way to start is to make a commitment—a promise to yourself to follow some course of action.

Once you read the tips below, particularly the ones involving strategies, commit to the strategies you have chosen and stick to the commitment.

Make the commitment as strong as possible and as concrete as possible.

There are numerous ways to go about transitioning to veganism—and the process is so personal—that it is virtually impossible to lay out a strict blueprint that will work for everyone. However, you should consider how fast you want to transition.

A good general rule is to proceed as rapidly as you can, but not so fast that you feel overwhelmed and give up. Keep in mind that once the transition has been made, your new ways of eating and purchasing will become second nature.

It’s a good idea to seek out support and encouragement from other vegans in your area. Often you will find local vegan meetups and Facebook groups that gather for potlucks, dining out, and other activities.

Stay connected to what’s happening concerning veganism by frequenting a vegan news source such as Plant Based News.

People in vegan groups are usually happy to answer questions about cooking and other topics.

To find vegan groups in San Diego, for example, search Google for “Vegan meetups near San Diego”—or search Facebook for “Vegans San Diego.”

In addition to local groups, there are several national and international Facebook groups with a stated mission of helping new vegans.

“New Vegan Support,” is a Facebook group with over fifty thousand members and dozens of posts per day. The group is open for anyone to join, but it’s a private group, so only members can see your posts.

Animal products are near ubiquitous—they can be found in bags, car tires, glue, and a wide range of other products for which there are no viable substitutes or for which alternatives are difficult to obtain.

Vegans seek to eliminate harm to animals, according to the most widely accepted definition of veganism, “as far as is possible and practicable…”¹

Don’t get frustrated because you can’t be perfect. There are no perfect vegans.

Here are a few overall strategies you might choose in purchasing groceries:

Transition All at Once

Not everyone finds it agreeable to immediately throw out existing supplies of meat, eggs, cheese, milk, and processed foods that have animal ingredients.

For those who can, transitioning all at once shows the highest commitment and encourages success.

In being exposed to the information that contributed to your decision to go vegan, you have likely lost at least some of your appetite for animal products. If this is true for you, then this option is the most viable.

As Food Runs Out

With this strategy, you run down existing supplies and replace animal products with vegan items when the supply of any particular item is exhausted.

Some choose this method because they are on a tight budget.

A Hybrid Strategy

A compromise approach between the above two strategies is to throw out the items that are most obviously animals, such as meat, eggs, cheese, and milk, and then replace other things that have smaller quantities of animal ingredients as they run out.

A Meal or a Type of Food at a Time

Some have chosen to eat vegan for breakfast for a week, then also lunch for the next week, then also dinner.

Others have chosen to replace one food at a time.

For example, you might decide to replace animal milk with plant milk this week and then meat with either vegan meats or whole-food recipes the next week. And so on.

There are plenty of vegan recipes available with a quick online search. There are many vegan recipe books as well.

As you start to interact with other vegans at meetups—and on Facebook and other platforms—exchanging information on recipes and recipe books will become a joy.

You can also make your favorite recipes vegan by substituting ingredients. Just search for “how to veganize recipes,” and you will be connected to several articles discussing how to accomplish this.

Many foods have ingredients with names that obscure that the ingredients are derived from animals.

Here is a list of ingredients that typically are animal in origin: albumin, aspic, casein, cod liver oil, collagen, elastin, gelatin, honey, isinglass, keratin, lactose, lard, pepsin, propolis, royal jelly, shellac, tallow, some vitamin D3, and whey.²

Be aware that glycerine, glycerol, lactic acid, mono or diglycerides, and stearic acid can be from animals or plants.³ Hopefully, the label will indicate if they are plant-derived.

Before eating out at an establishment, it’s good to check out their online menus and call beforehand with any questions about what is vegan and what can be made vegan.

You should never hesitate to ask your server for clarifications, but you may find everything goes a little smoother if you come prepared.

A little preparation before you go might be a little less awkward for you, particularly if you are new to veganism and eating out with friends or family who are not vegan.

After making progress on food, it’s time to consider your purchases in other areas of animal exploitation. With a little research, you will find that zoos, aquariums, rodeos, and circuses are not as innocuous as you may have thought.

If you haven’t already, you will also learn that leather, wool, and silk are products of cruelty and exploitation.

Some adopt the strategy of using existing non-vegan furniture, clothing, and shoes until they wear out before replacing them. Sometimes this is for financial reasons.

Others donate them to a charity to avoid the waste that comes from trashing them. And others argue we should trash these items to avoid continuing to participate in any way in the exploitation these items represent.

Soaps, cosmetics, sundries, and various home products often contain animal products or are tested on animals. If you haven’t looked into this already, you might be shocked at the horrors done in the name of product testing.

Several online guides are available to help you purchase vegan and cruelty-free products.

One such guide that does a good job of elucidating the topic is Redfin Real Estate’s “The Ultimate Guide to Make Your Home 100% Cruelty-Free and Vegan.”⁵

It’s not unusual for those new to veganism to feel a little isolated from family and friends during mealtime. You will experience various degrees of understanding and acceptance from those you care about.

As time moves forward and they see how important your commitment is to you, almost everyone will accept your choices. Many will admire your conviction.

You need to keep in mind the reasons you became vegan, remember what it was like to not be vegan, and give others time to accept and embrace your compassionate way of living.

It’s likely that some of your family and friends will eventually become vegan because of the example you set and your conviction. With this in mind, it’s helpful to think of others as pre-vegans.

There is no need to panic when you’re asked over for dinner by friends, acquaintances, or family.

If your hosts don’t know you’re vegan, you should mention it to them as casually as possible. Then you should offer to bring a delicious vegan dish that can be enjoyed by everyone.

As you have no doubt discovered, there is a wealth of information available about veganism on this site and others.

Never stop learning and growing.

Many have found leaving animals off the plate to be an adventure, discovering new foods, recipes, and tastes they have never before experienced. Like many changes, being vegan will soon be second nature.