As I touched on last week in my blog, Veganuary has ended. Veganuary was a one-month pledge people made to try out the vegan diet. Now that January has come and gone, people are trying to decide if maintaining this diet long term can be doable. I will be conducting an analysis on a recent article written by Lisa Drayer, “Thinking of going vegan? What you need to know first,” as she discusses the trend of the vegan diet, differences in diets, and how to be responsible when switching to a vegan diet.
Vegan diet trends:
Drayer discusses trends for the vegan diet and how the topic has become increasingly mainstream. A common number I have seen throughout vegan discussions, and one that she mentions, is the 5% increase in vegans from 2014 to 2017, which she backs up.
She also mentions several celebrities that are vegan and links the audience to several stories where celebrities open up about their experience. Drayer includes a disclaimer that, “rich and famous vegans have professionals to keep them on track,” which I believe serves as a balance statement for those considering immediate change.
Varying diets:
Drayer does a good job outlining what a vegan diet is and isn’t. One of Drayer’s sources, Sharon Palmer, a registered dietician, defines veganism as abstaining from all animal products and honey. Drayer includes information on other similar diets that may interest this audience.
Changing one’s diet responsibly:
Switching to a vegan diet can be a big decision, and Drayer is dedicated to making sure that her audience has the information to decide if the change is doable for them. Drayer’s source, Amy Kimberlain a registered dietician provides tips for cooking vegan dishes at home or when ordering out. Kimberlain emphasizes that making the change needs to be handled with care, and that people need to be prepared to do some planning to meet all of their nutritional needs.
The purpose for the article:
This article does a good job a job explaining the increase in vegan population and how the diet can be maintained. Closer to the beginning of the article, Drayer uses credible web linked sources. Throughout the article, Drayer uses credible registered dietician sources. As the number of vegans increases, the public health awareness on this topic becomes more pressing. This is a public health awareness topic because some people on this diet do not take enough care to ensure that they are meeting dietary needs.
Drayer’s credibility:
Drayer is a CNN reporter, and I find her to be a credible source on this topic because she herself is a registered dietician and has a track record for reporting health journalism. She has written other nutrition related articles covering plant burgers, soda, and hydration.
Concluding thoughts:
I would give this article an “A” for credibility because it provides information on how to transition to a vegan diet in a healthier way by encouraging readers to plan first. I think that this article does miss some of the points for why people make the transition. In an effort to not make the article too lengthy, I think the audience could have benefitted from linked sources on why regular people (non celebrities) make the change.
