veganism: I feel confident in myself to become vegan now. But I have a problem. I wear contacts in my eyes because I have messed up eyes. Should I still wear contacts after I turn vegan? Also with a vegan diet, what vegitables and other products should I be consuming for me to get all of the nutrition I need? Is rye bread vegan?|||To go to wearing glasses or not is a personal choice that really only you can make. But if your going to make that kind of jump because the contacts are plastic based - you are also going to have to make sure that the frames are metal and the lenses are not plastic but glass. Again - a personal choice on your part. The best diet is a diet that is varied and has variety within it. Eating the same things over and over is not only boring - you also are more than likely not getting a full variety of the vitamins that you need for your body. I don't know about the rye bread where you live - but where I buy it would be considered to be vegan. Maybe it depends on the bakery I guess? If you are concerned about it - ask. Or just read the label if it is in a store where it is pre packaged? EDIT: I have actually met some people from India that really are that strict - and they would never consider wearing contacts if they are the plastic type. They won't wear the plastic/fake leather look shoes either because plastic is based upon fossil fuel which is indeed an animal product. The ONLY things that they can't avoid - are the plastic that is found within something like a car for example. Even on the car thing - the couple that I met even had the seat covers replaced with totally cloth ones. But since glasses and shoes can indeed be bought that are not based upon a product that is fossil fuel based (thus animal based) - something that many that are vegan - evidently not within the western world - are making concessions that clearly many within the western world will/do not make - or maybe they haven't really thought it all out?? Who knows. But there are some that are indeed that strict. Again - the choice is an individual one.|||Unless there are animal derivitaves in your contact lenses or the production of your contact lenses, than they are acceptable for a vegan. If you are feeling bad about it because they are a luxury, that has nothing to do with veganism but more to do with minimalism. Do what you are most comfortable doing, and certainly look into the products and manufacturing of your contact lenses... but chances are (and in my experience), they are vegan. :) Hope this helps :)|||I still weat contacts because (a) I'm not sure what wouldn't be vegan about them and (b) you can only do what you can do. Back in the day when you had to use those little enzyme tablets, there was a warning label on the box for people who were allergic to pork. I got papaya-based enzymes from my optometrist to use instead. The multi-purpose solutions and disposable contacts eliminated the need to enzyme clean and have no pork warnings on the box. Your nutritional question is a whole other discussion. For general knowledge I recommend "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, both registered dietitians. As for the rye bread, read the ingredients.|||the above poster mentioned that you can't avoid plastics. that is so completely true! you're doing your best by becoming vegan in the first place, it would be virtually impossible to eliminate plastic from your life. you wouldn't have a car, you couldn't use your appliances, etc.etc. you should definitely consume a wide variety of veggies AND fruit. usually the more vivid the color, the more they're packed with vitamins. it's not a hundred percent true, but it's a very good rule of thumb. you should eat breads and pasta's that are whole grain if possible. the hardest vitamin for vegan's to get is B12. make sure you're taking a multi-vitamin or find recipes that use nutritional yeast (makes an awesome vegan mac and 'cheese').|||You becoming a vegan has nothing to do with your contact lens. Unless you are becoming an extreme environmentalist, then don't worry about that. Right now you are trying to take care of your body. Contacts won't harm you if you keep them clean. Added: If you are not shopping at a health food store, make sure you read the ingredients to the products you eat. Vegans don't eat anything from an animal, so you need to make sure the products you buy don't have milk and egg in them.|||All of the companies that make contact lenses test their products on animals. However, there are two companies (Clear Conscience and Lobob Laboratories) that don't test their contact lens solutions on animals. It's impossible to be 100% cruelty-free, even on a vegan diet. I would try to buy one of the cruelty-free contact lens solutions that are available and not worry about your contacts. (You could also e-mail the company that makes your contacts and ask them to stop testing on animals. Companies pay attention to feedback from their customers.) To get the nutrition you need, eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains. Here are some vegetarian foods that are high in protein, iron, and calcium: http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=08sourc鈥?/a> I looked at some rye bread recipes online and the ingredients were vegan, but check the label to make sure. Good luck!|||You can only do so much. I'm not sure what wouldn't be vegan with contacts. What exactly are they made from? If it's plastic you're worried about, don't. Plastic is everywhere and is unavoidable. Look at your comp. Isn't the keyboard, mouse and monitor frame made of plastic? Sadie---you're wrong about the contacts. It is important. Vegans don't use any products derived from animals, unless it's unavoidable. It's got nothing to do with being an extreme environmentalist. It's got to do with being vegan. http://www.vegansociety.com/html/about_u鈥?/a>|||why cant you wear contacts? im confused do they have some sort of meat or milk product in them? i dnt think so.|||hahaha. what do contacts and not eating any sort of animal products have to do with eachother?! and duh you wear them on your eyes. you're not gonna stick em up your a**.