Opinion: I’m convinced becoming a vegan has made me more planet-conscious

After more than three decades as a vegetarian I tried Veganuary on for size in 2018, and after slipping off the wagon (vegan-wise) in the ensuing months – Brie, and frankly any pungent cheese being my downfall – I committed to a fully plant-based diet in November of that year.

I imagined the main difference between being vegetarian and vegan would be a few dietary tweaks, opting for oat milk in my decaf lattes, embracing tofu in all its guises and understanding what made vegan wine, well, vegan. But what I hadn’t bargained for is a fundamental shift in my planet-conscious lifestyle choices that seemed be a significant step up from my time as a vegetarian.

Take recycling as an example. Before becoming a vegan, I had my basic all-in-one recycling bag, and didn’t think much beyond throwing used tins of tomatoes and cereal boxes absentmindedly into it.

Now I’ve becoming a born-again recycling zealot. I think nothing of collecting mixed soft plastics, including everything from sauce pouches to crisp packets, all washed and dried of course, into a separate bag and hauling it to my local Sainsbury’s at regular intervals along with my used Brita water filters.

And while my borough has bins for food waste and paper/card collection, this isn’t available to me as a flat dweller. My solution? Haul the latter to the family home so it can live again in the guise of a promotional greetings card or leaflet.

I’ve also acquired a litter picker, borrowed from the local sustainability charity, Sustainable Merton, and take great pleasure in plucking the empty cans of beer that are often strewn in front of my flat and placing them surreptitiously in our communal bins.

My weekly shop is also full to the brim with compostable tea bags, Fairtrade dark chocolate, biodegradable cleaning wipes and recycled jam jars filled with quinoa and multi-use Castile soap from my local zero-waste shop, aptly named Zéro.

And as I write this, I’m sporting a sweatshirt made from sustainable cotton. I recently left a department-store personal shopper in dismay with my make-or-break request for clothing made from only synthetic, planet-friendly materials that ideally featured re-used plastic bottles and the like.

What always surprises me is the amount of energy I have for these activities. My internal compass is directed firmly towards sustainability and very little can make the needle deviate from true North. And what’s even more peculiar is I don’t resent having to go the extra mile one bit.

Is the above fueled by eco anxiety and the computer algorithms that no doubt feed my existing eco inclinations? Probably. But I can’t help but feel that becoming a vegan has turned on a planet-conscious switch that’s impossible to turn off.

I’ve yet to find a study that makes an explicit link between veganism and becoming more sustainable, and only have a vague straw poll from fellow veganites to confirm what I feel to be true.

My colleague Francesca Brahmbhatt, CIWEM’s executive assistant, also concurs that “being vegan is a way of living more than just a dietary requirement” and that has played out in her decisions to regrow her own food, step away from fast fashion, upcycle, not use single-use sanitary products and more.

I’m not outlining the above to sound smug, and I’m not saying that veganism is the only route to becoming planet conscious. I know plenty of flexitarians, pescatarians and meat eaters for whom doing their bit for the planet comes as second nature.

It’s more that I’m putting on an anthropological hat and examining my evolution as a vegan, and I can’t help but conclude that there’s been a seismic shift in my thinking.

I’m by no means perfect and still have a long way to go. Next on my list? Moving to an energy provider that draws largely on renewables, on hold given the recent surge in energy prices, getting a firmer grip on both my carbon and water footprint and a generally elevating my planet-conscious game.

Here’s to the future.

Miriam Habtesellasie is CIWEM's digital-content editor

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