From great-tasting semen to fighting climate change – why veganism is growing

Some would call veganism an imitation game, filled with faux sausages and chicken nuggets posing as their protein-rich meat-based counterparts.

But that’s not completely accurate.

If you’ve dined at places like Lekker Vegan in Cape Town or Brik Cafe in Rosebank, you’d know that vegan can be good. It’s not all seeds and avos. There are juicy burgers and sticky Gatzby’s. There are corndogs and Tempura. There are sauces and dips and all the good stuff.

Around the world, people are choosing to eat less meat for environmental, health, and ethical reasons.

Despite the well-documented benefits of ‘going green’, for most South Africans, who have grown up in a country with rys, vleis en aartappels or biltong and a meaty stew with dombolos and Shishebo, made with that unmatched flavour of Jikele spice, the idea of giving up – or even reducing the amount of meat consumed – sounds odd.

Vegans remained the butt of the joke, but in 2020 – there seems to be major change.

According to Donovan Will, the director of ProVeg: “We’re a country that cares about our natural environment, and our health, so when we hear that there’s an easy way to make a big difference, we are often quick to sign up.”

It began with Veganuary, the challenge to go vegan in January, saw over 19,000 South Africans sign up this year, and the ProVeg Veggie Challenge (a free online challenge with options to sign up for 30 days of eating vegan, or vegetarian, or just a few meat-free days a week has had over 31,000 South African participants join over the last six months.

A major indication that there is real interest in plant-based eating is the first major expo dedicated to the brother and sisterhood of the plant.

The Vegan and Plant-Powered Show – which will be held in Cape Town on 30 and 31 May at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) – will be the first of its kind in South Africa, bringing the vegan, plant-based and conscious living revolution to a mainstream audience. A Johannesburg leg of the expo is already planned.

“As the global move towards more plant-based diets and vegan lifestyles has been growing, South Africans are learning about the benefits of this change – the Vegan & Plant-Powered Show is a great opportunity to accelerate this learning, and for the public to experience the best that the movement has to offer, and to find out more about the health, environmental and ethical benefits of moving towards a more plant-based diet.

“Most importantly, it’s an opportunity to sample, and even learn to cook, tasty, healthy and sustainable food. Anyone with an interest in food, health, the environment or more conscious living, will benefit from attending the show,” says Will.

Veganism has a lot of traction for those who don’t like the idea of living, sentient beings, suffering.

The debate over animals being sentient has been proven to some extent – and since they can feel pain, it’s obvious that killing them opens a Pandora’s box of ethical questions. So much so that indulgences like wine and chocolate is even in the crossfire. But South African brands have really been making vegan wine and chocolate accessible – and fairly priced when compared to those laden with milk or fishbone.

Honest Chocolate, located on Wale Street, offers dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free and Paleo options, as well as good old fashioned rich chocolate cakes and the like, along with quality coffee made by their dedicated barista, using locally roasted beans.

The cafe has been running successfully for the past five years, and has become available countrywide. It’s even exported. The same goes for wine. South Africa’s first-ever range of premium alcoholic popsicles from Pierre Jourdan also shows how fun vegan items can be.

The two newest additions, the Gin and Tonic popsicles – a G&T Classic and G&T Berry Infusion – are the first products launched under the Frost Popsicles label, a consumer brand created by JML Consulting who caused a stir in late-2016 with the launch of their eye-catching Pierre Jourdan Wine Popsicles.

In keeping with the Frost Popsicles philosophy of working with local producers, they turned to acclaimed Cape Town distillery Hope on Hopkins. The G&T Classic delivers all the subtle bitterness and juniper-driven notes of a classic gin-and-tonic, while the G&T Berry Infusion incorporates notes of blackberries, strawberries and blueberries to offer a rounded, slightly sweeter G&T experience.

The G&T Popsicles are made on Frost Popsicles’ state-of-the-art production line, with flash freezing ensuring a delicate sorbet texture. Like the PJ Pops, the G&T Popsicles are best enjoyed frozen.

The two deliciously eye-catching PJ Pops offerings are made from the Pierre Jourdan Brut, a Cap Classique, and Pierre Jourdan Tranquille, a still wine made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Both wines are from acclaimed Franschhoek cellar Haute Cabrière. The range consists of four popsicles; all dairy-free, vegan-friendly and made using only natural ingredients.

Ditch the Viagra and extended-hour condoms and go vegan instead.

Doctors agree: The best way to prevent artery blockages, improve heart health, and lower blood pressure is to eat a diet high in fiber, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

These foods help clear your arteries and get your blood flowing to, well, the important parts.

Want good-quality sperm? According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal researchers at the Cleveland Clinic say it’s simple: Eat your fruits and veggies, especially tomatoes, which are loaded with sperm-friendly lycopene.

For those looking to reproduce (whether now or down the road), you can feel confident knowing that eating vegan plays an important role in fertility. Several studies indicate that frequent intake of lipophilic foods—i.e., meat and dairy products—can negatively affect sperm quality, whereas fruits and vegetables may maintain or even improve it.

Not only have researchers found that processed meat intake is related to lower-quality sperm, they’ve also found that infertile men have significantly higher concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl and other contaminants in their seminal plasma: The highest averages of those concentrations were found in urban fish-eaters.

Plus, eating meat increases the amount of synthetic hormones that you consume. These hormones may contribute to a reduced sperm count and a higher risk of testicular tumours.

You taste better.

Meat and dairy products are distasteful in more ways than one, women insist. Former porn star Annie Sprinkle says vegetarians taste best.

Eating fruit and drinking fruit juice a few hours before sex is thought to improve the taste, while cigarettes, alcohol, meat, dairy products, and deep-fried foods make semen less palatable.

And you’ll last longer.

A Danish study tested the stamina of meat-eaters against vegetarians and found that men “peddling on a stationary bicycle until muscle failure lasted an average of 114 minutes on a mixed meat and vegetable diet, 57 minutes on a high-meat diet, and a whopping 167 minutes on a strict vegetarian diet”.

Celebrity culture in the USA kicked off in January with the first plant-based major awards dinner served up to the stars at the Golden Globes.

This wasn’t a surprise. Globally, we’ve seen the phenomenal rise of more plant-based eating amongst the privileged who easily afford a high consumption of meat, a status symbol in our social hierarchy for millennia.

SA Registered Dietitian, Kelly Scholtz says: “An affordable diet in the average SA household is already very much plant-based, with small amounts of meat, chicken or fish used when possible, with beans, peas, lentils and foods like milk and eggs providing alternative and good sources of protein.

“For those households with more access to expensive foods, there is also likely to be more awareness of diet and nutrition trends. It is already clear that restaurants and retailers in South Africa are stocking more meat alternatives and vegetarian and vegan products in support of this trend, which suggests that there is more demand for plant-based options from consumers.”

ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa) spokesperson, Cath Day, says: “In my view, every vegetable and fruit is a rock star as they all promote eating fresh and unprocessed food. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and fibre; making them a nutritionally dense food option.

“Therefore the message, ‘eat your fruits and vegetables’, will never go out of style in the nutrition world. The new rock stars on the block, in my opinion, especially from a sustainability point of view, are the pulses.

“Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. Pulses grow in pods and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, and include dry beans, dry broad beans, dry peas, chickpeas, cowpeas, pigeon peas and lentils. Pulses promote the health of the planet too as growing pulses promotes sustainable agriculture.

“Pulse crops help decrease greenhouse gases, increase soil health, and use less water than other crops.

“Additionally, pulses are a low-fat source of protein with high levels of protein and fibre. Pulses also contain important vitamins and minerals like iron, potassium and folate. Therefore, not only are they great for the earth, but they are also great for your health.”

There’s also big companies opening in SA that only stock vegan products. One major roleplayer is Vfoods – that has made vegan options similarly priced. Buying in bulk from them means that you will pay about R58 for 10 slices of Vegan cheese. Regular cheese slices retails for around R40 – R50. The price gap is really narrowing on these items.

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