Benefits of being vegan & where to find vegan meals

Have you ever considered going vegan when living in halls? 🌱

Former halls student, Orla, shares with us an insight into their journey to becoming vegan and what they have learned over the past few years.

About Orla's journey to becoming vegan 🥑

Sometimes I hate ‘coming out as vegan’, I don’t want to be ‘that’ person; it’s always a battle between not wanting to inconvenience and my own strong moral convictions-the latter one takes over. Everyone has different reasons for becoming a vegan, mine was because I like animals and wanted to reduce harm. For some people, some people, they become a vegan for health reasons, environmental, ethical or religious.

I have been a vegan for almost 8 years, prior to that I was a vegetarian, so the transition wasn’t as hard. In fact, I decided to go vegetarian at the age of 6, having watched a TV show called Evacuation on CBBC. In this series, children were sent as ‘evacuees’ to a farm, and in one episode, they had to kill their own livestock- as a child this permanently altered my brain and made me go vegetarian that young.

Aside from the depressing stuff- being a vegan has brought so much joy into my life- like having to learn about nutrition and what it means to have a balanced diet, as well as creating new ways and alternatives to meat and dairy based products. There is a sense of fun to that problem solving and forces me to be even more creative in my daily routine. Furthermore, I find that vegan goods are a lot less dry (in my opinion).

Top things Orla learned from being a vegan over the past 8 years 📣

• There’s no point in being a moral absolutist- if you mess up or didn’t realise something wasn’t vegan- it’s okay. It is about trying.
• Seconding the first point, it’s probably best to assume that not everyone can be vegan or will want to be, but it is best to encourage the reduction of animal product consumption. Whether it be having a vegan curry night or switching to a plant-based milk like oat!
• Some people are annoying and read it as a personal attack. It’s not you – it’s them.
• Sometimes you feel like you’re missing out on certain cultural experiences- especially is you’re from a background that might be meat or dairy- heavy. But it is also extremely fun to make your own version of these traditional cuisines and to honour heritage through your own way.
• Also, a lot of things are vegan or happen to be vegan- a lot of cuisines have traditional dishes that happen to be vegan due to that culture’s geographical positioning, belief system or access to certain resources at a particular time.
• Food tastes even better, especially knowing that less harm went into it.
• Finally, being a vegan should not be viewed from a place of lack- but of place of gaining. You gain a new appreciation for flavours and the labour that goes into your food!

Menus for UAL Canteens and Cafés 🍽️

Did you know we offer Vegan options in our canteens?

Vegan Pumpkin Risotto Recipe 🎃

Want a recipe for your leftover pumpkins? Take a look at our Vegan Pumpkin Risotto Recipe.

For more food related content, visit the Food & Drink section on our Halls Life website. 🥗