National Vegetarian Week 2015

You may have seen around social media that today is the start of National Vegetarian Week 2015 – so what is it all about?

The Vegetarian Society has a wealth of information and facts about vegetarianism to help you find out more, whether you’re cooking for veggie friends or wanting to switch yourself. People may be vegetarian for many reasons, including animal welfare, environmental benefits, healthier diet or religious beliefs.

Here’s a few feel-good facts:

1. Going vegetarian can reduce your carbon footprint, help conserve land and water and protect the oceans – it’s better for the environment
2. A balanced vegetarian diet is low in fat, high in complex carbohydrates and packed with a variety of fruits and vegetables.
3. An affluent diet containing meat requires up to 3 times as many resources as a vegetarian diet.
4. Worldwide, farmed animals produce more greenhouse gases than the world’s entire transport system.
5. There’s a massive range of vegetarian food, clothing and more out there – we have over 1,000 vegetarian products in store, from biscuits to designer handbags (yes really!).

Personally speaking, I’ve been vegetarian for 22 years now and even though I made the choice when I was only 14, I never found it difficult as my choice was made because of my ethics and love for animals. Back in those days (making me feel old now!) it was a little more challenging to find vegetarian options even in major supermarkets, and especially when eating out, in the north of England. But nowadays even when travelling abroad or dining in a rural restaurant in the middle of nowhere, I can pretty much always count on not only an option for me but delicious menus and snacks. Pursuing fitness recently I have had to focus on a high protein diet, again not a problem for a vegetarian as there’s a multitude of things to eat for protein.

We’d love to hear your stories and reasons, or questions about being vegetarian!

Whatever your reasons, you can easily make a vegetarian diet work for you – read the wide range of factsheets from the Vegetarian Society.

You can also find events near you to join in with the fun! Check out the website or join @vegsoc on Twitter for more information, great recipes and more. Their campaign launches today in our very own Newcastle, and they’re dishing out free pizza (I’ll say that again – FREE PIZZA!) around the country, so don’t miss out.

Throughout the week we’ll be featuring great recipes and favourite products – follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get the latest, and feel free to submit your own favourites too.

Want to join in or stock up? Shop our range of over 1,000 vegetarian products ›