Eighty-year-old Lake Hāwea man Christopher Horan has written a book of stories and tips about how to become a vegan.

Christopher, who has practiced veganism for roughly ten years, dispenses his best advice in the comical, self-published book ‘The Grumpy Old Vegan’. 

“If you could think of the most traditionally pathetically ignorant man, that was me,” Christopher said.

He believes he was a “complete novice” when it came to buying and cooking vegan food, but he improved over time with the help of lots of research which he’s compiled into his book.

Christopher’s concerns about animal welfare, growth hormones in meat products and food contamination were some of the reasons that prompted his lifestyle change.

“I also just felt so relieved I wasn’t a part of the whole ‘eating animals’ thing. I hadn’t realised but it clearly had been bothering me for a while.”

Christopher doesn’t deny there can be issues with making such a huge dietary change.

“I try to be straight about that in the book: for example, I take B12 tablets daily.”

Vitamin B12 can be found in dairy products and isn’t produced by plants. This nutrient is needed to help speed up reactions in your body, and deficiency can cause anaemia and nervous system damage.

Local cafés rarely had a non-dairy option when Christopher first became vegan ten years ago.

“Now, I went to one local café and they had two vegan menus,” he said.  

Christopher belongs to a local writing group and has had short stories produced on Radio New Zealand National. He’s currently writing a novel.

Anyone looking for extra hints and information about going vegan can find Christopher’s book at Wanaka PaperPlus.

PHOTO: Supplied