Nowadays, being a vegan in the UK is easy.
You walk into your local supermarket and it’s all “suitable for vegans” this and “plant-based alternative” that. You can fill your basket with everything from laundry detergent to pasta sauce and spot the little vegan label with ease. Shampoo, toothpaste, bread, bottles of wine. If it exists, chances are there’s a version with a smug little “suitable for vegans” badge right on the front.
But let me tell you something. When I went vegan a quarter of a century ago, none of this existed. Supermarkets weren’t trying to woo us. Most of them didn’t even know (or care) we existed.
How did we cope back in the dark ages?
Read more below.
Back then, we had to get creative. The Internet was our lifeline. We congregated in chatrooms and forums with usernames like “Tofu4Life74” and “ChickpeaWarrior”. We’d swap info like it was top-secret intel. “Don’t buy that brand, it’s got E471” someone would type and we’d all gasp in horror.
And I remember the laminated wallet card. Produced by Vegetarian Network Victoria, it was a tiny little marvel that listed all the suspicious E numbers and whether they were vegan-friendly. It was the height of sophistication for the vegan on the go. If you didn’t pull one out in the middle of the supermarket while squinting at an ingredients list, were you even vegan?
Then there was The Animal Free Shopper. A cute little pocket-sized handbook from The Vegan Society that helped us navigate the treacherous aisles of the British supermarket landscape. You’d carry it like a sacred text, thumbing through it while trying not to block the aisle for too long.
All of these things might sound quaint or even unnecessary now, but back then they were vital. They were our torches in the darkness. Our compasses in a land of unlabelled groceries and suspiciously shiny baked goods.
And the thing is, we didn’t get here by accident. All these clearly labelled products we see today aren’t just the result of time passing. They’re the direct outcome of decades of hard work by activists, campaigners, charities, and everyday vegans who spoke up, asked questions, wrote letters, and pushed for change. From protests and petitions to phone calls and social media campaigns, they made noise and got results.
So next time you casually toss a bottle of vegan-friendly wine into your trolley without a second thought, give a little nod to the laminated card warriors of the past. Progress didn’t happen overnight. But it did happen.
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The “fun free shopper” as we affectionately called it!…But what a joy to discover those hidden gems. coop treacle sponge puddings in a tin or tesco plain chocolate biscuits which were accidently vegan. There was a rumour the sponge puddings were going to be discontinued so we stockpile so many of them. no wonder my teeth are so bad now! Things are so much better now- clearly labelled wine being one of them, but the downside is so many wholefood shops have been killed by the supermarkets.
Thank you for this important reminder about progress. Which often feels like it’s not happening. Or, taking place too slowly. Fifty years ago, when I was transitioning from vegetarian to vegan, the only place you could buy tofu was Chinese supermarkets in Soho. Large blocks of tofu sitting in water in washing-up bowls sitting on the floor were cut up into smaller ‘bricks’ that you pulled out carefully with tongs and put one brick each in small plastic bags. Plus, you had to avert your eyes from all the pressed ducks hanging up at head level. Thank you for your 25 years of service to veganism!