EBS Mensa goes Vegan

Can a vegan diet save the world?
According to a new UN report the answer is "yes." A global shift towards vegan diet is not only vital to save the world from hunger and resource poverty but is also crucial to protect the environment. The report stresses that the Western world’s preference for meat and dairy based diets is “unsustainable”, especially as the global population is expected to grow to 9,1 billion people by the year 2050. Problematic is the fact that with growing population, the consumption of animal products will increase, as well. As it is difficult to look for alternatives, the only option is to cut down the consumption of animal products.

The report notes that "animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals." Especially, animals raised for meat consumes a large portion of the world's crops production and accounts with the agricultural sector to 70 percent of worlds freshwater consumption. Livestock also uses about 39 percent of world’s total land and is responsible for 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

United Nations is not the only organization advocating a plant-focused diet. More information can be found on the following sites.

EBS Mensa Goes Green

UN report: http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/Portals/24102/PDFs/PriorityProductsAndMaterials_Report.pdf

Veganuary movement: http://www.eater.com/2014/12/9/7362971/activists-launch-veganuary-to-pressure-you-into-veganism

Eater Website: http://www.eater.com/tags/vegan

Everyone who ever lived on a special diet with some restriction, knows how hard it is sometimes to go out to restaurants and Co. Your friends at first won’t understand why you restrict yourself in some foods, so be prepared to answer a lot of questions.
But what to order, when you eat at a non-vegan or non-vegetarian restaurant?


Many restaurants already start to offer special vegan dishes but it is not common, though. Study the menus first and look what kind of vegetarian alternatives the place offers. You can find vegetarian plates or side dishes in absolutely every restaurant or fast food stop. Just open your eyes.

Steakhouses: salads or baked potatoes without sour cream are always a good and tasty meal.

Burger Restaurants: look for vegetarian burgers and tell the cook to leave out mayo and cheese. Fries with ketchup are always vegan.

Döner Kebab: one of my favorite fast foods (available in every Döner Kebab store) is the falafel sandwich or Döner. Falafel are small fried balls made out of chickpeas and herbs. Super delicious! Just leave out the sauce from your Döner.

McDonalds: fries with ketchup and apple/cherry pockets are vegan there.

Other restaurants: if you can’t find anything vegan, just ask what the restaurant can offer you. Usually you will always have a choice of vegan pasta or salads, just tell the cook to leave out the dairy ingredients.

Stay tuned for more tips.

EBS Mensa goes Vegan

People become vegan because of personal beliefs. But the society as whole does still not understand the vegan trend. The first reaction when people realize you don’t eat dairy products and meat, is: “OMG, You are VEGAN??? Why?” - Well… because I like to. People seem to get offended because you don’t eat animal products. Wait, what?

But it’s true and a nice example for such offended reaction is the Facebook shitstorm against vegan food in our Mensa, last weeks. Generally, people know that eating animals or their co-products is not necessary for humans and not healthy, but they won’t change their diet because they don’t think it works and they can handle it.

Here are some annoying questions you will be confronted with every single time:

“Is it ok, if I eat meat in front of you?” – Yes, everyone decides himself what he eats.

“Would you eat at a non-vegan restaurant?” – Yes, of course. Vegan food is available everywhere, even in steak houses.

“I could never live without cheese!” – Don’t worry, there are many sorts of vegan cheese. And you might even start to dislike the taste of cheese after starting with vegan diet.

“Why do vegan people always tell they are vegan?” – Let’s be honest: they don’t. If you order a salad without cheese, mayo and meat in everyone will ask you if you are vegan. But most of vegans won’t tell themselves because they are tired of those annoying questions.

If you have nice stories about people’s reaction to you vegan diet, do not hesitate to share.

EBS Mensa goes Vegan