Some food for thought on Veganuary | Letters

Veganuary should mean natural foods, not ultra‑processed. Many people embarking on Veganuary this month will assume that vegan substitutes for animal foods are nutritionally equivalent to them (How to go vegan: our beginner’s guide to everything from essential supplements to meat alternatives, 3 January). But this is far from true.

Most meat mimics are far lower in protein. Important micronutrients in meat, such as zinc and iron, are often not added to meat substitutes. Even if they are, they may be poorly absorbed by the body.

Most vegan cheese contains no protein, and much of it includes a lot of coconut oil, which is extremely high in unhealthy saturated fat. And the essential omega-3 fats in oily fish are absent from almost all vegan foods, whether natural or ultra-processed.

Eating fewer animal foods is crucial for the environment, but they should be replaced with natural plant foods, not ultra‑processed foods.
Richard Hoffman
Royston, Hertfordshire