Food for Thought

Nina Simon BEM
Redbridge SLS

Librarian’s view:

As rates of obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes soar what we choose to eat has become one of the most important of the 21^st century because it has such an impact on our health and our planet’s health. One solution is eating a plant-based (or vegan) diet. Many people try Veganuary in January with a 31-day go vegan challenge.

What it is to be vegan can be easily incorporated across the curriculum including discussion about climate charge, land use and water use. While in lessons on healthy eating students may be amazed to find that calcium for strong bones isn’t just in milk – good sources can be found in soya, beans, almonds, tahini, greens, figs and even oranges.

Two years ago, I tried opting for plant-based meals and I haven’t looked back.  It was much easier than I thought to cook with just vegetables, nuts and legumes.  I have even found a wonderful butternut squash, chestnut and cashew roast recipe that non vegans love as well. I don’t miss meat and I feel healthier for it.

The term ‘veganism’ was coined in 1944 when a British woodworker named Donald Watson announced that because vegetarians ate dairy and eggs, he was going to create a new term called “vegan,” to describe people who did not.  However, the concept can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies.  Some anthropologists believe that early humans mostly gathered and ate plants. They supplemented a primarily plant-based diet with occasional animal protein and meat. Studies on the Palaeolithic or Stone Age diet reveal that early humans collected up to 55 different types of plants to eat and relied heavily on vegetarian foods for nutrition and survival.

Interest in vegetarianism and veganism has doubled in the past decade, and plant-based food is now more mainstream than ever.

Some well-known people who choose plant-based meals often or who are fully vegan include:

Benedict Cumberbatch
Zac Efron
Beyoncé
Madonna
Ariana Grande
Venus Williams
Miley Cyrus
Michelle Pfeiffer
Lewis Hamilton
Paul McCartney

Plant-based eating is simple. My aim is to eat the rainbow by choosing a diverse range of plants, nuts and legumes which are also key to a healthy microbiome, healthy body and good mental health and optimal weight. This diet is also good for the planet because it generally has a low carbon footprint.  Many of the books below will provide you with facts and figures about being vegan, as well as tasty eating ideas.