Robyn Denz

Butler, B. (2013, August 2). Think all vegans are virtuous types? Check out
expletive-ridden food blog Thug Kitchen...; The blog with a penchant
for profanity has a cult following even among dedicated carnivores.
The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/food-and-drink/features/think-all-vegans-are-virtuous-typescheck-out-expletive-ridden-food-blog-thug-kitchen-8742700.html

This article looks into three social media driven counter-culture

approaches to spreading the word about veganism and vegan recipes,
namely Thug Kitchen (a blog and cookbook), Post Punk Kitchen (a blog
and tv show), and Vegan Black Metal Chef (a YouTube channel). The
author details how the abnormal tact of these sites draws a large
number of followers, both vegans and non-vegans. For all of the sites,
the main goal is to get people interested in vegan cooking and eating,
as a precursory step to transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. This article is
useful for this research topic in that it explores some of the current
methods of expanding the vegan lifestyle to more people.

Cherry, E. (2015). I Was a Teenage Vegan: Motivation and Maintenance of

Lifestyle Movements. Sociological Inquiry, 85(1), 55-74.

This article is a sociological investigation into the recruitment to and

sustaining of a vegan diet. Researchers point to ethical motivations as

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a starting point for new vegans and a social support system as

essential to maintaining a vegan lifestyle.

Craig, W. J. (2009). Health effects of vegan diets. The American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition, 89(5), 1627S-1633S.

This article is a meta-analysis of many articles detailing the

advantages and disadvantages of a vegan diet from a health
perspective. Additionally, recommendations are made for obtaining a
healthy balance of nutrients and vitamins with a vegan diet.

Ho-Pham, L. T., Nguyen, P. L. T., Le, T. T. T., Doan, T. A. T., Tran, N. T., Le, T. A.,
& Nguyen, T. V. (2009). Veganism, bone mineral density, and body
composition: a study in Buddhist nuns. Osteoporosis
International, 20(12), 2087-2093.

This article compares older women with omnivore diets against

Buddhist nuns (with long standing vegan diets) on various measures of
bone mineral density, body composition, as well as nutrient intake, in
an attempt to find a link between diet and negative health effects.
Results indicate no significant difference in bone mineral density or
body composition between the two groups of women. Even though the
nuns reported a lower intake of calcium, this had no connection to

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bone mineral density. Overall, no significant correlation between diet

and negative health effects was observed. This article is useful for
combatting a misinformed opinion that a vegan diet has adverse
health risks, especially long term. It demonstrates the lack of
connection between a slightly lower intake of calcium due to lack of
dairy milk and bone mineral density.

Meier, T., & Christen, O. (2012). Environmental impacts of dietary

recommendations and dietary styles: Germany as an example.
Environmental Science & Technology, 47(2), 877-888.

This article examines the environmental impact of two German dietary

recommendations, a vegetarian diet, and a vegan diet, as well as the
average German diet from twenty years before the research was
conducted. Overall, results show that the vegan diet is best for the
environment is terms of CO2 emissions, NH3 emissions, land use,
phosphorus use, and primary energy use. Interestingly, the vegan diet
is the worst when it comes to water use. However, while the majority
of the water usage in vegetarians and vegans comes from nuts and
seeds, it is best to keep in mind that the two dietary recommendations
do not include nuts and seeds and therefor do not account for the
water use attributed to them. Nevertheless, it would still follow that
vegans and vegetarians consume more nuts and seeds than other

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diets, increasing their water use. This article is useful for taking a
larger picture look at the impact of diet on the world, not just the
individual. It clearly shows that overall, a vegan diet is best at reducing
a persons environmental impact.

Painter, K. (2008, January 28). Veganism is taking root, but is it healthy? USA
Today. Retrieved from
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2008-01-27-yourhealth_N.htm

This article outlines the dietary challenges and advantages of eating

vegan. The main idea is that the diet can be healthy if you do your
research and make an effort to consume the vitamins omnivores
generally get from animal products, such as calcium, protein, and
vitamins D and B12. Near the end of the article, the difference between
being vegetarian and vegan is outlined, specifically that the latter is a
subset of the former, also omitting all animal products. This article is
important to this research because it illustrates the health aspects of
adopting a vegan diet, one of the key points.

Zamir, T. (2004). Veganism. Journal of Social Philosophy, 35(3), 367-379.

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This article takes a philosophical approach to evaluating the moral and

ethical motivations behind and implications of a vegan diet, in
comparison to a vegetarian diet. The essential idea is that while both
vegetarians and vegans take a stance against killing animals, vegans
also opt out of the systematic exploitation of animals in various
industries.