Hannah's Veggie Lifestyle

Can our planet cope with increasing demands? Even though it might feel like it's been a few years now since everyone went crazy for coconut oil, with many claiming it's practically a food from the gods and (something about being healthy) (even though it's actually got more saturated fat in than butter), the demand for all things coconut is still growing. New products are constantly featuring coconuts are constantly appearing on supermarket shelves, whether in drinks, desserts or even loo roll- don't worry, I'm as confused as you are on that one. There's a lot of conflicting information about whether coconuts products (particularly coconut oil) are healthy or not, but we won't get into that side too much. Just remember that swapping to coconut oil or coconut sugar doesn't magically mean you're not using oil or sugar, and just because it's trendy doesn't magically make it healthy. Admittedly, I love all things coconut. I'll always happi...

Is its versatility speeding up deforestation? I gave up counting years ago how many times I'm asked 'what about the environmental impact of soya?' when people find out I'm a vegetarian. I understand why they ask- it's a hugely argued topic that just seems to cause more and more concern as we're encouraged to eat less and less meat. But if it's true that 90% of soya is used for animal production, then why are veggies and vegans always the first to get the blame? It's true- soybean production is on the rise. Since the 1950s, it has increased 15 times over. Even if you don't think you're eating it, you probably are. It's in the obvious like soy sauce, tofu and some veggie burgers. But it's also in a lot of everyday foods that we consume without even realising. Around 27% of vegetable oil is made from soya, and it's also commonly found in many household staple like bread, ice cream and cereal. According to WWF , soya production is t...

Is the water consumption worth it? Daria Shevtsova ~ Pexels Yes, you might have spent the last 15 minutes perfecting that avo-on-toast picture to let your Instagram followers know  you're #cleaneating. But if I were to tell you that the avocado industry is causing families living nearby to lose their clean water supply, does it still count as clean eating? A world without avocados everywhere might sound odd now, but when they were first brought to the UK in the 1960's they were not a big hit. Marks and Spencer introduced them as 'Avocado pears' in shops in 1968, but the name caused a lot of confusion. One customer sent in a complaint after stewing the 'pear' and serving it with custard. It wasn't until the 2010's that the fruit (I know, no wonder people got confused) really took off. Now it seems to be in everything- from chocolate mousse to sushi, french fries to soup... you name it, it probably (definitely) exists. There's even a Nati...