How Being Vegan Has Changed

There was a time when in order to make a yummy vegan dish that would appease any diet we had to first scour the local book store to find a good recipe book. Even then, good vegan cookbooks were hard to come by and when one was located, the ingredients were often obscure and difficult to acquire.

Welcome to 2016! Veganism is on the rise, companies are popping up weekly with new vegan food choices and online vegan recipes are in abundance. You can spend minutes or hours creating all kinds of meals from basic every day choices to fancy, gourmet fare fit for the most discerning palate. Meatless Mondays are catching on and as people are discovering that vegan food doesn’t have to taste bland or resemble cardboard; more people are trying it and surprising themselves.

We have always had access to non-leather shoes, purses and furniture but as we evolve as a society the quality of those items is improving. There is even a new “pleather” being made from pineapple called Piñatex which is being dubbed “a real game changer” not only in its appearance and feel but also in its sustainability and environmentally friendly footprint.

As our climate changes, anything we can do to reduce our negative impact on the planet the better we feel and the greater the chances become that we can reverse the current damaging trend. Veganism is about doing as little harm to others as possible and I think society as a whole is beginning to see the impact of that. The percentage of consumers embracing this lifestyle is growing and therefore the manufacturing community is constantly creating products to appeal to them. There is power in numbers!

I love that Spud has a vegan section in their grocery selection and they are constantly bringing new items into the fold. Never has there been a time when being vegan is not a difficult choice and is no longer an underground lifestyle!

Susan Hollingshead

Susan is our resident vegan. She’s been a vegetarian for 20 years, and a vegan for 3. She has researched both lifestyles extensively and is constantly exploring new recipes, add her own twist. She is a long time Spud customer, and now our very own resident vegan blogger!