Oat drink instead of cow’s milk, soy Bolognese instead of minced meat: vegans avoid all products of animal origin. Many also include honey because bees produce it, and when it comes to juice or wine, make sure that the drinks have not been clarified with gelatine.

Around 1.58 million people in Germany eat vegan. You hear prejudices from time to time: for example, that a diet without animal products is unhealthy or that being vegan is expensive. We have checked what is true and what is not.

1. Those who eat vegan don’t get all the nutrients

The supply of vitamin B₁₂ is critical, informs the German Society for Nutrition (DGE). “Vitamin B₁₂ is produced exclusively by microorganisms. Various animal species can absorb the vitamin B₁₂ produced by the microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract,” says the DGE. In a form available to humans, it therefore occurs almost exclusively in animal foods. Vegans would therefore need to take B₁₂ supplements. The vitamin is also found in sauerkraut, shiitake mushrooms and seaweed – but not in sufficient quantities.

The DGE also classifies vitamin D, calcium, iron, iodine, zinc and selenium as critical nutrients. Anyone who lives vegan should make sure that they eat food that contains enough of it. As a remedy, the DGE recommends “selecting nutrient-dense foods and fortified foods very specifically”. However, vegan nutrition is not necessarily complicated: Once you have found out about new eating habits and gotten used to them, you will automatically eat whole foods at some point.

2. For vegan dishes you need a lot of exotic foods

Exotic means that a food comes from a foreign country, is unusual or unusual, explains Niko Rittenau. “Retail is full of foods that come from far away, but which we no longer perceive as exotic because we have always eaten them”, says the nutritionist, whose focus is on plant-based nutrition. Many vegan protein sources such as tempeh, seitan, farinata, soy strips and tofu often come across as exotic to people with little connection to veganism because they have never come into contact with them.

“The foods from which they are made – cereals and legumes – are largely grown in this country and are therefore anything but exotic,” says author Rittenau. However, foods such as tempeh or seitan would not necessarily have to be part of the vegan diet. “Grains, legumes, seeds, vegetables and fruit can be found in every supermarket and discounter. With the right recipes, you can create very tasty vegan dishes from these staple foods,” says the nutritionist.

3. Vegan diet is unhealthy

“Whether vegans eat health-promoting food depends on their food choices,” writes the DGE. Eating a lot of vegetables, legumes, fruit, whole grain products, nuts and vegetable oils can have a positive effect on your health. Variety is also important in the menu. “With a vegan diet without nutrient preparations or fortified foods, however, an adequate supply of some nutrients is not possible or only possible with difficulty,” warns the DGE.

However, studies would show that a diet with vegetables, fruit and high-fiber cereal products reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. In addition, according to the DGE, vegans often tend to lead a healthier lifestyle. They smoke less, drink less alcohol and exercise more.

4. Humans need meat and animal protein

No, not mandatory. Plants also contain protein. Legumes, nuts and whole grains, for example, are particularly high in protein. In one thing, however, critics are not entirely wrong. According to the DGE, people can use protein from meat more easily than protein from plants. The same applies to iron. Iron of animal origin is more easily absorbed by the human body than iron from plants, informed the health insurance company AOK.

5. Plants are living beings too!

Yes, of course that’s true. But, as the science magazine Quarks reports, plants feel no pain. Because, like us humans, they would need an organ that, for example, interprets damage caused by caterpillars as pain. In humans, the brain takes over this function. The plant only reacts, but does not feel suffering in the sense that we know it. This is also the result of a current scientific study. That plants are conscious is a misleading claim, is under investigation.

Peta’s animal rights activists also argue: It is better to eat plants than animals that have eaten plants before. “It’s an extreme waste,” Peta said. The animal rights activists of the Albert Schweitzer Foundation indicatethat there are almost four to 9.4 kilograms of grain in one kilogram of beef, which requires 15,400 liters of water.

6. Cook vegan, okay – but what about fast food?

One of the most popular side dishes for burgers or schnitzels is vegan: fries with ketchup. At least when the cook deep-frys the potato sticks in vegetable fat. Large fast-food chains have long had vegan burgers on offer. Patties made from plants can be bought in supermarkets and discount stores. Vegan melted cheese is sprinkled on pizza instead of mozzarella. Falafel, consisting of chickpeas, are no longer exotic in kebab shops. The selection of vegan fast food for eating on the go or for delivery is now large. But: “Processed foods with high amounts of added sugar, fat and table salt, whether vegan or not, are not nutritionally favorable,” warns the DGE.

7. Vegans Eat Soy Substitutes – And Growing It Is Destroying The Rainforest!

In Brazil, for example, the rainforest is being cleared in favor of soybean cultivation areas, that’s true. However: by far the largest part of the harvest is not fried by vegans as tofu, but farmers feed to their livestock. The increasing demand for soy is therefore primarily caused by meat eaters. The connections are explained in more detail here: “The rainforest is giving way to the soybean — and meat eaters are largely to blame.”

8. Eating vegan is expensive

“You can’t generalize about that. Vegan staple foods such as grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, kernels and seeds are relatively cheap,” says Niko Rittenau, a nutritionist specializing in plant-based nutrition. With these basic foods you can create wholesome vegan dishes for a few euros a day. “In our cookbook, we show that you can prepare three delicious vegan main meals a day for less than 5 euros,” says Rittenau, who is also one of the authors of “Vegan Low-Budget”.

He also points out that vegan milk substitutes based on soy, oats and rice are now available at very reasonable prices. “In the field of meat and cheese alternatives, however, it is correct that many plant-based alternative products are even more expensive than their animal equivalents,” says the nutritionist. On the one hand, from a purely nutritional point of view, these would not have to be part of the vegan diet. On the other hand, with the growing popularity of veganism and its entry into mainstream retail chains, Rittenau predicts that they will become significantly cheaper in the coming years.

9. Vegans don’t eat animal products, but what about leather?

Some also refrain from doing so. “Many vegans do not use any animal-derived objects or materials,” informs the DGE. These include wool, fur or leather. Vegan leather alternatives consist, for example, of pineapple palm leaves, apples or mushrooms. Many vegans also make sure that mascara, shower gel or hairbrushes do not contain any animal components.