She became a full-time vegan in February, although she had to work hard to complete the process. “I became a vegetarian in 2012”, says Lotte Simons (22, African Languages and Cultures). “At the time, I didn’t intend to become a vegan – that was far too extreme in my view. I had loads of leather bags and shoes and I was worried that I’d have to get rid of them.”
Being a vegetarian, Simons supposed that no more animals would be killed on her behalf. “But that’s what I wanted to believe. It’s doing things by half. Take the egg industry for instance: half of the chicks that are born are cockerels. Because they don’t lay eggs, they’re considered useless and are either ground up alive or suffocated in plastic bags. The same thing goes for the milk industry: we have no use for baby bulls and they are slaughtered almost immediately.”
When Simons discovered that, she decided to become an activist. Since joining 269life, she has campaigned against the use of animals for testing, consumption and entertainment. A global operation, it is considered one of the most extremist organisations. Since 2013, more than thirty people have had themselves branded with the numbers that refer to ear-tags applied to livestock. As yet, branding is too much for Simons. “We break into farms and record footage of unacceptable situations. Sometimes we remove animals and take them to farm sanctuaries.” So far, she has not been involved in any liberation operations, but is to take part in one soon. “I can’t say too much because the AIVD, the General Intelligence and Security Service, are keeping tabs on us.”
Not many people sympathise with her veganism: “People think we sit around a campfire plaiting each other’s hair and singing Kumbaya.” Initially, her family could not understand her decision either, she explains: “My mother grew up on a farm that kept animals and for years, my father’s hobby was hunting. He used to skin rabbits in the kitchen.”
Her lifestyle is impractical at times: examining the ingredients on supermarket packets and at dinner parties. “People tend to think that your whole life consists of tofu, but it doesn’t. There are plenty of other very good products. When I first tried vegetarian chicken, I thought somebody had secretly given me meat because it tasted so good. Hey, did you know that I can eat Oreos? They’re made entirely from plants!”
Simons continues: “The prejudices are worse than the fact that I’m surrounded by a society in which it’s normal to consume meat and dairy products. People call me élitist and suppose I think I’m better than they are, but they’re wrong. For a time, I thought meat eaters were the devil incarnate, but now I don’t want to distinguish between any living creatures.”
And what about eating out? “Then I ring the restaurant to say I’m lactose-intolerant, because vegans are not taken seriously. However, if you say you’ll be ill and might throw up all over the place, they’ll listen.”
Since turning vegan, Simons has felt much better and doesn’t miss any aspects of animal products. “But I take vitamin B12 supplements. B12 is in meat eaters’ bodies only because it’s in food produced by or from animals.” Although she is usually quite committed to her diet, she still uses one product that is tested on animals, but she has good reason for it. “Sometimes I need medicines that are tested on animals”, she explains, “I can’t avoid it. If I don’t take them, I can’t help the animals and I wouldn’t be able to campaign for their welfare.”
Is honey allowed?
“We ought to introduce ourselves”, remarks Emmy Mesman (21, Dutch Language and Literature; a vegan for four years). She’s attending a meeting of student fraternity Prometheus’s brand-new Vegan Guild at the “baked potato shop” Jacketz.
“It’s very trendy: living consciously is very hip and happening”, claims Esther van Haren (20, Business Administration, Film and Literature Studies). She tries to stick to a vegan diet as much as possible, but it’s a real challenge. “I’m allergic to nuts, so I sometimes opt for cheese.”
“I used to think veganism was nitpicking”, recalls Mesman. “Until I realised that I wanted people to stop hurting animals. I was already a vegetarian, but all the same, I didn’t do anything. What about eggs? They come from hens, obviously – farmers don’t have any use for cockerel chicks. There isn’t even any meat on them so they’re shredded.”
“I keep forgetting honey’s not allowed”, remarks Lieke Smits (24, Medieval Studies in Utrecht), studying the menu. She has been a vegan for a few months. “It’s only noticeable when I eat; it’s hard talking to other people about it. I feel like an activist, extreme. But shredding chicks is really extreme.”
“Some kinds of fruit juice are clarified with offal”, declares Mesman and Van Haren adds: “It’s not always mentioned on the bottle either. You should be able to read that there’s offal in a product, if it contains offal. Smits says: “I’ve only just discovered that peppermints contain gelatine. And not every kind of wine or beer is suitable for vegans either.”
Mesman thinks it is self-evident that she doesn’t wear leather of wool. “Other people might choose to be vegan for their health, but I’m vegan to help animals.” “But the production of artificial leather causes more damage to environment”, argues Van Haren. Smits buys second hand clothes: “Made of wool or leather if necessary.”
Jacketz and Eazie both offer easy vegan options on their menus. “And noodles are a great vegan dish for beginners”, says Mesman. “You don’t miss the meat when you leave it out.” “Falafel is vegan too”, Smits says. “Not that we’re trying to reform you,” says Van Haren. “Meat eaters tend to think that’s what we do but everyone should decide for themselves. I’m trying this now because I need the energy from my food now that I’m doing two courses and I’m on a committee this year, all at the same time. Everyone’s body is different. Some bodies are upset by starch and some bodies might need a steak.”
Statement
“Yeast flakes are the vegan’s secret ingredient; they have a savoury, cheesy flavour”, reveals Flora Groothuizen (29, a PhD student at the Netherlands Cancer Institute). She and her boyfriend Coen van Hasselt (29, post-doctoral pharmacological research at Leiden University) are making leeks in a cream sauce with smoked tofu tonight.
“We made the final decision last year”, he says. “I’d been a vegetarian for ten years, but I thought I would miss cheese too much.” However, he discovered that he could do without during the 2013 VeganChallenge. “You should try the carrot cake and the savoury Indian-style quiche on their website”, Groothuizen adds.
“At first, you wander round the supermarket in a daze, but soon you realise that it doesn’t have to take up a lot of time or money. We found that we started to enjoy our food more – it’s been a real ‘reset’”, says Van Hasselt. Groothuizen adds: “German supermarkets sell products with vegan quality marks but Dutch manufacturers aren’t really involved.”
Asian restaurants are particularly vegan-friendly. Van Hasselt says: “Some vegans take their own cheese to pizzerias, but we usually ring a restaurant up before we go out. Sometimes they produce something a bit limited, but often the chef sees it as a bit of a challenge.” They feed their cats regular cat food mixed with vegan stuff. Van Hasselt explains: “Some people give their cats products that are made entirely of plants, because obviously cat food is processed; others buy offal from the butcher’s. We haven’t really made up our minds yet.”
“We don’t want to preach”, he continues and Groothuizen adds: “I prefer to cook a good vegan dinner for friends. I organised a pizza evening on my birthday, and we used all sorts of different vegetable cheeses made from things like coconut fat.” They haven’t thrown out their leather shoes or woollen sweaters: “We have given some away, and we’ll keep the rest until they’re worn out.”
E-number E472 is an unnecessarily troublesome additive for vegans: “For Muslims too: the substance can be made from plants but it can also be derived from pork and often its source is not specified on the packaging”, says Van Hasselt. B12 is the only vitamin you can’t acquire from a vegan diet. Groothuizen says: “It’s added to soy milk, but we both take supplements.”
Surprisingly, speculaas is often “vegan-proof”. “And Ritter Sport Marzipan! A discovery that I frequently eat too much of,” admits Van Hasselt.
Peanut butter and jams are not a problem either. “If you think about it, there are probably insects among the peanuts that get killed for a jar of peanut butter, but that doesn’t upset us really. You make an impact by simply living. Veganism isn’t an allergy – it’s statement.”
One per cent of the global population
• Vegans do not use any animal products, and that includes dairy, eggs and honey. In addition, they avoid products that have been tested on animals
or that contain leather and wool, etc.
• There are many different motives for this choice, ranging from animal
welfare, personal health, and ecological footprints to spirituality.
• E-numbers can be quite treacherous because manufacturers do not often make it clear whether E472 is made from plants or from animals. E411 stands for gelatine and E120, which comes from scale insects, is the red colouring used in red M&Ms and roze koeken.
• According to the NVV, the Dutch association for Veganism, one per cent of the global population is vegan, but that percentage is much lower in the Netherlands. The NVV estimate that there are around 50,000 vegans, but
of course most vegans are not officially registered anywhere.
• The Nederlandse Veganistenkring, the NVV’s predecessor, was founded
in 1978.
• Visit veganchallence.nl for vegan recipes.