Vegan Ireland has compiled a Vegan Guide to help you make the transition from an animal-based diet to a vegan one.

The Vegan Guide will also help you to know which personal care products are suitable for vegans, where to buy shoes and other accessories and why vegans oppose circuses using nonhuman animals, zoos, animal testing, etc.

It is surprisingly easy to become and remain a healthy vegan, although as with anything new, a little bit of preparation is needed at the beginning to make sure that the transition goes smoothly and without difficulty.

You don’t have to spend a fortune visiting your local health food store in order to get vegan food. Most supermarkets store a good range of products suitable for vegans.

How do I know which products are vegan?
Start reading and understanding labels. Keep a list of animal ingredients in your bag or wallet and look for these ingredients when you go shopping. Most of the time, animal ingredients hide in a number of products that you would not expect to find (for example: whey, gelatin, rennet, cochineal, casein, etc).

It can be a little bit challenging and tedious at first, but you will soon get to know which products are suitable for vegans with just a glance at the label. Remember that it does take a bit of practice, but it is worth it as it is important to be aware of what you put in your body, whether you are a vegan or not.

When buying clothes, make sure the label doesn’t mention wool, silk, leather, fur, feather, and any other material or accessory that comes from an animal.

Reading labels from personal care/cosmetics products will be very challenging, due to the amount of chemicals that these products contain. Also these products and their ingredients will have most probably been tested on animals. It might be safer to stick with the list of products we recommend, as they are suitable for vegans and not tested on animals.

Buy Vegan substitutes
Health food stores will have a number of “fake” animal products, from ice cream and cheese to sausages and burgers. Some of these products can also be found in supermarkets. Vegan substitutes are not an absolute necessity. Some vegans prefer to stick to foods that do not look and taste like animal products, but they can be very helpful to make the transition to a vegan diet.

If you can’t cook, learn to cook. You don’t need to have a degree in cooking to eat vegan. Very simple and delicious meals can be made in less than 30 min.

Ready-made meals are an option if you really don’t want to cook, but in order to be a healthy vegan, it might be better you get to know your kitchen.

Vegan Ireland recipes are easy to make, fast and delicious. They also don’t require too many ingredients. You can also buy vegan cookbooks.

Modify recipes
You can easily modify non-vegan recipes into vegan ones. Just substitute soya/rice/oat milk for cow/goat milk. Vegan cheese or tofu can be substituted with non-vegan cheese.

Discover new foods
Now is the time to explore different kinds of products such as quinoa, millet, sea vegetables, etc that you didn’t necessarily buy before being vegan.

Reading books, magazines and websites on veganism will help you to explain your convictions with more confidence.
Discussing your thoughts with other vegans will allow you to articulate your reasons for helping animals. Educating yourself also makes it easier to educate others who may never have thought about the detrimental effect their lifestyle had upon other animals.

Socialising with other vegans will make your transition simpler, especially if your family and friends respond poorly to your decision of going vegan. It's also good to do so if you enjoy the company of other like-minded people.

Join vegan mailing lists and forums, Animal Rights groups, listen to vegan podcasts, or create a meet-up event. The possibilities are endless.

For some people, making lifestyle changes can appear overwhelming and intimidating. Others will embrace such change with excitement.

However you deal with your transition to veganism, make it at your own pace. Be patient with yourself but be confident that you are doing the right thing, for the animals, for you and for the planet.