Veganism means refusing to use many products such as animal-based food, clothing, accessories, for different reasons in today's society. In this trend started by Donald Watson in 1944; He gathered many supporters around him with the words 'Veganism is the way to exclude all forms of exploitation and cruelty towards animals' and this view has continued since then.
Veganism was first heard and adopted in our country in the 1990s. With the support of some philosophical movements, veganism has become a way of life for many people today. In summary, veganism aims to refuse to consume foods such as milk, cheese, eggs, honey, meat, and to use accessories such as fur, animal skin wallets, bags.
How Vegans Live
People who adopt veganism and make it a lifestyle do not consume any animal-based foods such as milk, yogurt, ayran, meat, eggs, honey, fish. They also reject foods such as skin, bone, gelatin found in prepackaged foods. In addition, they do not use household tools such as feathers or sheep's wool.
Instead of silk clothes, they use herbal clothing and textile products made of linen and cotton. They do not use cosmetic products containing animal food and do not participate in activities such as zoos, horse races, bullfights and circuses where animals are used. Due to the increase of this ideology, many vegan restaurants and markets have been opened in our country.
What Are Vegan Varieties?
There are many varieties of veganism. Ethical veganism, which is one of them, opposes the use of various animal species as resources by humans. They are against killing animals and using them as food unless it is necessary for their survival. For example, they are against the killing of cattle, fish, sheep, goat species, chickens and other poultry by slaughtering and hunting.
Another type of veganism is environmental veganism. Environmental vegans are defined as environmental vegans because of the harm that animal products cause to the environment. Environmental vegans argue that animals are produced for financial gain in places such as animal farms, causing the global climate crisis. They are against animal production because they think that such mass production causes climate change.
Health Veganism
Those who adopt veganism to be healthy claim that animal foods harm the human body and that the vitamin values they will obtain from animal foods can be found in herbal products. While veganism, which is based only on plant-based nutrition, is healthier than animal-based nutrition, some vegans argue that animal food can be taken at very long intervals, not intensively, by citing researches.
In addition to these dietary types, they exaggerate the veganism they adopt, and claim that the human body cannot fully adapt to the evolutionary adaptation of plant foods consumed by cooking, claiming that some herbal products should be consumed raw without cooking. Vegans do not only consume animal products, but also vegetable dishes prepared with whey powder and animal fat.
How Is Vegan Nutrition Made?
In addition to not consuming animal products in vegan people, there are also different diets in addition to consuming herbal products. For example, some vegans only consume fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, while others only consume grains. There is water at the top of the pyramid, which represents the vegan culture. The amount of water to be consumed daily is approximately 1 liter.
Food products are 3 portions of vegetables, 3 portions of fruit and 6 portions of cereals. There is a food consumed instead of every animal product. Due to the increasing loyalty culture in recent years, many markets or supermarkets sell vegan products. In addition, the number of restaurants where only vegan meals are cooked is increasing.
Vegan or Vegetarian?
Today, veganism and vegetarianism are confused with each other, but the views adopted by both are different. While vegetarians do not consume meat, fish and poultry, vegans do not consume or use eggs, milk, honey and any animal products. Vegetarianism came to the fore in 1842 much earlier than veganism and has been adopted by many more people since then.
Some vegetarians are against killing animals for humans, while others prefer vegetarianism for healthy living. However, vegetarianism is more of a religious view. For example, some sects of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Christianity have adopted vegetarianism because they emphasize that living things should not be harmed.
Vegan Restaurants in Turkey
After the increase in veganism in our country, vegan restaurants were opened in many parts of Turkey. No animal products are used in these restaurants, most of which are located in Istanbul. Dishes such as cowpea with fennel, bulgur pilaf with Çiriş, carrot soup, leek tart are available in Istanbul Taksim Vegan restaurants. In addition to vegan foods, there are diet menus in Kadıköy vegan restaurants.
Vegan restaurants in Turkey continue to serve not only in Istanbul, but also in cities such as Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and Muğla. In addition to vegan food, these restaurants offer special meals for diabetics and other diabetics, and they offer peach, gluten-free pies, vegan hamburgers, sugar-free sweet desserts, vegan cheeses and pickles.
Turkey Vegan Market
In our country, where vegan markets, like vegan restaurants, serve, mostly online sales are made over the Internet. For example, the vegan market, which was established in 2004, adds a new one to its products every day. In addition to gluten-free, natural sweeteners, jams prepared with herbal products, sweets, breakfast foods, nutritional supplements, many products are sold in the vegan market, not just food.
There are cleaning products that do not harm health, cosmetics and personal care products that do not contain animal ingredients. In addition, kitchen tools and utensils such as cotton pillows and quilts, cloth bags made of linen, pet foods, books and even bowls made of coconut continue to serve for people who adopt a vegan lifestyle in vegan market chains.
What is Vegan Certificate and How to Get It?
There are organizations that register the quality of the products or services used under the name of the ISQ document, which includes many certain categories called quality management systems, in the world. These organizations appear as accreditation or registration services. This type of certification bodies inspects the products of the applicant customer organization, and if it finds it appropriate, it provides NSO-NAP 7, that is, Vegan standard registration certificate, allowing the consumer to use the product with confidence. This document given to the producer is called the Vegan Certificate. Vegan certificate is obtained from ISQ certification by applying to the NSO-NAP 7 authorized accreditation body. For different purposes, vegan associations with certificate infrastructure can be used.
What are the Stages of Getting a Vegan Certificate?
The producer who wants to get the vegan certificate must first apply. Then, a number of contracts, inspection and control phases will begin. As a result of the examinations and inspections to be made after the application, they can have a vegan certificate within 1 or 3 weeks. However, with the delay of some procedures, this period can be up to 12 weeks. The producer requesting an ISQ document at the application stage bears the cost of the work carried out according to the offer given in the application form and the variety of the product. After the application is completed, the producer organization that has the Vegan certificate is responsible for every application and inspection made during the inspection. In addition, the vegan certificate is voluntary, not mandatory, in order to gain the consumer's trust.