This week we were super lucky to meet the beautiful (inside and out!) Linn Persson; you may have seen her on campus/ around town with the word ‘CARBS’ written across her shirt. This is a girl close to our hearts and she has definitely given us style envy one too many times! We decided to interview her this week as the vegan trend (especially amongst us HC girls) is hitting an all time high and she’s the most clued up girl I know on all things veggie.
Linn is great at proving that you can be smart, stylish and easily make compassionate choices everyday; whether that is in buying cruelty free make up, advocating vegan leather or posting daily updates of her yummy vegan nosh on her Instagram.
HC: First things first, what encouraged you to go vegan?
LP: I was kind of a lazy vegetarian to begin with for non-ethical reasons. I was just restricting as much as I could basically, so cutting out meat seemed like a good idea for weight loss. After a while when I occasionally did eat meat I would get bad stomachaches. I was on Youtube one day and I came across the High Carb Low Fat Vegan (HCLF) movement (which I had never heard of before) and I was shocked when I learnt that a HCLF vegan diet allows you to eat unlimited calories, mainly from carbs such as fruit, pasta, potatoes and rice. I LOVE carbs! And the thought of being able to eat as much as I wanted without getting fat just made me really excited. The ethical side of veganism simply came with the lifestyle. Veganism of course IS the ethical side of it, you can’t officially be vegan simply by eating plant based foods, but I believe that what we eat makes the biggest difference for the animals and the environment and it is a powerful choice for individuals to make. For every meal we consume we make a vote and, although it is easy to feel like one person can’t make a difference, that is how every movement starts.
HC: Is it easy to be a vegan at AU?
LP: I have never had any difficulties finding vegan food at Aberdeen Uni. We have Roots in the Hub who always offer a vegan meal, as well as vegan sandwiches and wraps being available in the ShopHub. Even Starbucks offer vegan wraps (although personally I don’t really like them). Kilau is amazing for vegans! I love their soya lattes and their hummus focaccia, they always have a vegan soup and usually a vegan cake as well!
HC: A lot of people are scared to make such a big change in their life. What small daily swaps could someone make to live a little more vegan?
LP: Actually almost all substitutions are very easy to find. Changing from dairy to a plant based alternative is a great first step; you can get soya milk from Aldi for 59p if you want to keep the price down. Also using some kind of syrup instead of honey- I personally love agave syrup. Vegan butter, yogurt and even ice cream can also be found in most stores. Those are a few easy swaps.
HC: Not that you’d commit a crime or anything…. But what would be your death row meal? Would you go junk food crazy?
LP: Well you never know! Maybe I’ll do some crazy activism? Jokes aside, I would probably ask for something boring! I mean it would make sense to choose something really exciting but if I would have a last meal I would want something I know I love, so honestly? Thai food. Some kind of veggie/tofu curry! I could live off of it and if that was my last meal I would die pretty satisfied.
HC: Which celebrities do you follow/ admire and why?
I have loved Ellie Goulding for years and recently found out that she eats plant based foods. She has made videos where she talks about her food choices and is open about it, which I think is great. Although I admire people who are engaged in activism I believe that in the end, celebrities are the ones making the biggest change as their fans usually listen to what they have to say. I also follow Liam Hemsworth, aside from the obvious reasons (cheeky!) he is also vegan!
Thank you so much Linn! Are you looking for a little vegan inspiration? You can check out Linn’s Insta @liinnmp and give her a follow. Let’s keep the trend going after Veganuary!
HCXO.