The Magazine of The Sierra Club
6 Off-the-Plate Tools to Fuel your Vegan Lifestyle
Lifestyle tips for vegans and others looking to reduce reliance on animal-based products
Photo by seb_ra/iStock.
Adopting a vegan lifestyle can be a major decision. Whereas dietary vegans avoid consuming meat-based proteins, lifestyle vegans abstain from all animal-based products, both on and off the plate. Whether you’re motivated by animal rights, dietary, and/or environmental factors, October, aka World Vegetarian Month, is a great time to think about reducing your impact. Here are six resources to help ease you into a way of life that’s gentler to animals, and on the planet.
Finding high-quality vegan accessories can present a challenge. You want to avoid leather, but cheap plastic shoes and shoddy, faux-leather wallets aren’t the answer either. That’s where MooShoes comes in. With a stylish selection of vegan shoes, bags, and wallets, MooShoes lets you accessorize without compromise. Plus, it offers a curated selection of books, magazines, and DVDs to fuel your next quest for a vegan recipe or documentary.
Seeking cruelty-free beauty products is a whole other can of worms. With confusing labels or a complete lack thereof, it can be tough to unearth vegan makeup or hair products you really love. The Vegan Cuts Beauty Box simplifies the hunt by sending you new, eco-conscious products each month, for a starting rate of $18.50. If you’re not one to adventure-sample new brands, but simply seek a trusty shampoo, Vegan Cuts also boasts a selection of non-subscription-based products—so you can cut the consumerism, and stay faithful to your go-tos.
Want a vacation, but seek to avoid unidentifiable meat objects in your Airbnb freezer? For a seamless, meat-free getaway, VegVisits features hosts around the world who can provide a vegan homestay, or even lend a vegan kitchen. Use VegVisits to connect with locals in your dream destination, and then pay it forward by hosting the next vegan visitors who pass through your hometown.
Travel lodging is important—but surely second to adventure. Once you’ve settled into your VegVisits digs, check out Vegan Travel, a social media platform created by vegans, for vegans, featuring resources to help jump-start the vacation fun. Get the latest scoop on all the best places to eat, shop, and sightsee, vegan-style, through the platform’s Vegan Travel Guides for Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas.
With only 2.5% of the US population eating a vegan diet, finding a vegan lover by happenstance may be tough. Still determined to find a partner who shares your values? Check out VeggieConnection. Proclaimed as the “top site to find a veggie mate” by VegNews Awards, it could hold the cure to lonely nights spent with Netflix and butterless popcorn. Scout your next S.O. from among the thousands of vegetarians and vegans comprising the internet’s largest vegetarian community. Prefer an app instead? Download Veg and you too can join in with the millions of millennials swiping their way to love.
Going to the doctor can be an anxiety-ridden chore, especially if your primary care physician doesn’t agree with your dietary choices. A division of The Plantrician Project, Plant-Based Docs is a free international directory of certified doctors who believe in the power of whole foods and plant-based nutrition for treating and preventing ailments. So, smooth those knitted brows. The next time you go for your annual checkup, your doctor will respect your veganism.
