Ok, consider this a placeholder for the FAQ which I shall edit when necessary, namely whenever I get another Q.

I must make it clear that any answer I put here is my own opinion and justification and is therefore whimsical, mercurial and subject to change. That said, I am not going back. No way.

So...
Why did you go vegan?
I turned vegetarian at a very young age, & am glad my parents supported me, they could've told me to piss off & starve, but they were very good about it. We had vegan family friends as a child & I thought it seemed like a good idea, but didn't consider it seriously. It has played on my mind many times. I ate a relatively small amount of meat in my early-mid 20s but went back to vegetarianism when I moved to Lincoln. Fast-forward nearly a year, late this summer I learned about the Nocton Mega-Dairy [LINK]. The idea of it turned my stomach, & I refuse to be part of the industry that makes concentrated farming 'necessary'. The plans have now been cut to 3,770 cows but it's likely that if that gets the go-ahead it will expand in future. That's still a hell of a lot of cows. Much better to live putting as little pressure on the environment as possible.

What do you eat?
VEGETABLES!!! People seem to assume students all live on ready meals, takeaways & baked beans, but a couple of us know how to cook. I eat curry & chilli, veggie soups & stews, risotto, pasta & yeah, the occasional Linda McCartney sausage. I really enjoy cooking & it'd be bloody difficult (& entirely uninspiring) to live off the stereotypical student diet.

But.... cheese!
Yes, I miss cheese. But I think of the 8,100 cows in the proposed mega-dairy & I don't miss it anywhere near as much.

Isn't vegan food expensive?
No, vegetables are a lot cheaper than meat! I also buy bags of spices which last for ages, much cheaper than getting jars or tins for every meal, & allows for experimentation. The only vegan product I get regularly whcih is more expensive than its 'normal' equivalent is soya milk (I like it!) but given the massive pressure supermarkets put milk farmers under (one of the conditions which has led to the 'necessity' of the mega-dairy), I am willing to accept that cost. Speaking of which, veg is cheaper & decidedly less capitalist from the local food market than the overpriced, overpackaged identikit veg in the supermarkets.

Why not ale?
Cask ale is prepared for sale using isinglass finings to remove the yeast sediment. Isinglass is made from cod and/or sturgeon swim bladder. I will not consume any products made using fish.
Fortunately several breweries make very good bottled ales without isinglass, including a few of my favourites such as Kelham Island, Bateman's & Black Sheep, though a lot of popular ones like Hobgoblin aren't vegan.
The Vegan Society's excellent website has a list of vegan beers HERE.

You're wearing leather!
I have no compunction about second-hand leather. I will not buy new leather, but I know that by buying second-hand I am not supporting the slaughterhouse industry and am willing to put perfectly viable items to good use.

Can you eat/drink [any foodstuff you'd care to mention]?
Not can, will. "Will you eat [x]?" It's a choice, a decision.

So can like vegans eat milk? since its not meat is it?
Shut it.

HERE is a nice little film about going vegan, worth a watch if you're curious.