Vegan Alternatives, by Susan Edmonds. PAWING founder

We are surrounded by a massive array of food that either contains animal products (ie: fresh cream cakes), or has been produced by using animal products (ie: some sugars*), so it is easy to assume that a vegan diet is an impossible goal for any individual who has never really considered how to change their eating habits.

I know this only too well because when I first learned about veganism in the late 80's, my first thoughts were - 'that's just too hard!'. By the spring of 1995 however, I was a proud vegan. I went vegetarian in 1991, but the more I learned about the dairy and egg industries, the more I wanted to distance myself from both. What helped me was the fabulous information provided by campaigns such as Animal Aid, The Vegan Society and also vegan friends.

Today, thanks to the internet, it is even easier to source information, advice - and online shops that provide alternatives to dairy products. To give you an idea of just how vast these alternatives are, please see the pictures of just a few of the products that we use regularly at PAWING. Some can even be purchased at your local supermarket (most supermarkets now do their own version of soya milk which is cheaper than 'branded' soya milk), others are only available from health food shops or online stores.

Whilst there are lots of vegetarian meat substitutes (ie: supermarket's own brand vegetarian sausages), many contain milk or egg (or both!). There are plenty of vegan meat substitutes - here is a selection of really tasty vegan alternatives to meat: