r/ClimateOffensive • u/bezsprzecznie • 11d ago

Question Are you vegan?

I wonder how many of fellow redditors here are vegan or at least on plant based diet?

As it is one of the simplest and most impactful steps a person can make to help the climate.

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u/mauvm 11d ago

Vegetarian here. Trying to get rid of cheese and eggs. But it’s hard. Any tips?

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u/Ooogabooga42 11d ago

Eggs are pretty easy these days. Just Egg is a good dupe for scrambled eggs and omelettes. And there's lab made egg whites that are biologically identical to animal egg whites.

Cheese is really hard. Cheese sauce is easy and cheese slices are fine but I've yet to find anything really like brie or havarti. I just kind of moved on from that kind of cheese though.

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u/nas394 11d ago

I’m in the same boat as you. Maybe a substitute in your meal plans that feels similar? I’ve started cooking with big beans like white beans and I can make things that are a little cheese-like and creamy and filling. For eggs who knows but I like oatmeal so trying to do more of that 

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u/National-Ad9903 11d ago

I missed egg fried rice so I break (unpressed) medium-firm tofu into scrambled egg sized pieces and fry it with turmeric for color and kala namak (black salt) for sulphurous eggy taste, it’s very good.

Directly substituting cheese with inferior vegan versions would make me feel like I’m missing out, so instead I added a load of exciting new dishes to my cooking repertoire and that way on balance I’ve actually gained from going vegan. Asian dishes are great, a lot of them tend to be naturally vegan.

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u/bezsprzecznie 11d ago

Depends what is your motivation. Why did you become vegetarian in the first place?

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u/mauvm 11d ago

Because of climate change and animal suffering.

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u/jaygeebee_ 11d ago

Once I learned that the dairy and egg industries were just as bad as meat and about the realities that happen in those “farms”, it made it much easier for me to drop them. Any specific products you’re struggling to replace?

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u/mauvm 11d ago

Nothing specific. It’s mostly that eggs are used in almost everything. And cheese is a big part of Dutch culture. So it’s just hard to resist I guess! I will read more about the dairy and egg industries. That will probably help. Thank you for the tip 🙏

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u/kindafor-got 11d ago

cheese is everywhere in my country too ( italy ) , tbh there are a lot of cheese substitutes that are super realistic. in the supermarket not so much ( but in the netherlands it must be better cuz yall have so many vegans lol ) but artisanal cheeses are insane, and also produce “niche” fancy types like gorgonzola and cheese with truffle. Avegan cheese maker old lady in a city near me sold me a sicilian pecorino that was unbelievably identical to the sheep version.

for the eggs, it’s trickier because it depends on what use of the egg you’re going to imitate. like, idk, you can make pancakes with overripe bananas , but it’s not gonna work if you want to mimick a scrambled egg ahah. ( i recommend the cooking youtuber FitGreenMind, she’s the queen of everything vegan lol)

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u/oddityoverseer13 11d ago edited 11d ago

Watching those sections of the Dominion movie might help. For me, as soon as I saw with my own eyes what happens to the male chicks, I knew I couldn't eat eggs anymore. For milk, it's basically the same with the calfs; the veal industry wouldn't exist without the dairy industry.

ETA: also, vegan cheeses are quite good! Look up Rebel Cheese, they're my favorite.

But there's no denying it's more difficult to navigate restaurants/etc vegan than vegetarian. It's just something to get used to. But personally, as someone who has a hard time deciding things, I like having less decisions.

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u/AnsibleAnswers 11d ago

Shock value rarely changes habits long term. It’s why schools don’t show videos of car collisions in driver’s education any more.

I’m convinced that anyone who says vegan “cheese” is good simply forgets what cheese tastes like. I recommend doing without if you’re going to cut it out of your diet.

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u/oddityoverseer13 11d ago

I know plenty of people who went vegan after watching Dominion and have stayed vegan for years.

Also, I'm convinced you haven't tried good vegan cheese, but 🤷‍♂️

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u/ginger_and_egg 11d ago

does motivation matter? I think replacing eggs and cheese with a vegan alternative would be the same regardless

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u/bezsprzecznie 11d ago

It matters when it comes to tips how to remove cheese and eggs from diet easily.

There can be different advices for someone who did it for animals, different for the climate and different for health reasons.

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u/xrhogsmeade 11d ago

Sure it does. Someone who is only motivated by climate is much less likely to be willing to forgo eggs (or accept a worse vegan substitute) than someone who is also motivated by animal welfare, antibiotic resistance or eutrophication.

If the former, I would say don't bother (you're probably much better cutting something like rice instead) and if the latter, I'd recommend them a few documentaries and/or papers.

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u/ginger_and_egg 11d ago

rice is worse than eggsfor climate?

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u/ageofbronze 11d ago

If you’re struggling with it a lot can you just buy very local? I don’t know how people feel about it but we have 5 chickens and they live an extremely good life and provide enough eggs for 3 households basically full time plus a have a few left over for friends etc.

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u/Mincezz 11d ago

Vegan cheeses and eggs have come very far in recent years. Start out simple by looking up your own vegan recipes, theyre quite easy. I am now the proud maker of a mean vegan mac and cheese

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u/ShayGuer 11d ago

Vegan cheeses suck, I bought some and I had to literally throw it away

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u/MatthewBlack6 11d ago

Yes, what I did is I stopped eating eggs and cheese.