The Vegan Journey of Vikash Bihani | VBI #009

Vikash Bihani is an environmentalist and a vegan for animals and the planet. He has worked for the environment and animal organisations including Greenpeace India and FIAPO (Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organization).  At present, he is the co-founder of Kolkata's first vegan cafe named "UBUNTU Community Cafe".

How did your vegan journey start?

I am an engineer and quit my job as one in 2013. I joined Greenpeace as a full-time employee after that because my passion was the environment. During those days, I realised how much plastic we were using. Right from our toothbrush to our daily use products, we use a huge amount of plastic. I started the change with myself by using eco-friendly products and always taking public transport. I have worked on myself a lot. In that journey, I got to know about how food is affecting our climate. Around 5 years back, when I got to know about all this, I turned vegan. Nobody used to talk about that back then. Now the situation is better, the awareness is increasing.

Although I was a lacto vegetarian, dairy also has a huge carbon footprint on the environment. I gave up dairy within a month. Initially, it was a little tough but the fact that I was living away from home helped. Even after quitting dairy, I didn't term myself as a vegan because I realised many products which I was using that time had milk solids, or they were animal tested. Gradually, in 3-4 months, I removed all the non-vegan products like toothpaste, shampoo, soap etc. Even today, I keep myself aware.

During this journey, I considered starting a vegan cafe. I thought it would be a good example to make vegan food accessible and also to show people how we can have equally good food without causing cruelty. Our cafe embodies Bengali dishes. We have vegan dishes of meat, chicken and prawn; everything is veganised.

Tell us more about the Ubuntu Community Cafe. How is the response?

The people of Kolkata love food, and they say that they are ready to die for good food. I decided to start a vegan cafe in Kolkata because even though it is a metro city, it has no vegan cafes. Thus, we started Ubuntu Community Cafe. Through this cafe, we also support activism, giving discounts to local activists who do street activism. We also have a big place on the terrace which we use for screening movies and documentaries related to health, veganism, and the environment. Recently, we did a screening of ‘The Game Changer’ and ‘A Prayer for Compassion’. We do a lot of engagement and through this, we bring together not only vegan communities but a lot of other communities as well because it's very important that others too get to know about veganism.

So far, the response is really good. Nowadays, even some non-vegetarians are coming to try these food items. Even in the present situation of lockdown, some of our customers are calling us and enquiring if we deliver our food. All this is quite motivating.

Big organisations working for the environment like Greenpeace, often don't say directly about animal agriculture. In your 3 years at Greenpeace, what are your insights about it?

When I was working with Greenpeace, I didn't know about animal agriculture and veganism. Even our campaigns had no mention about it and they never spoke about it. However, in recent times, they have started talking about animal agriculture. I asked the higher authorities about it, and they said we can’t suddenly come up with a new campaign without researching it. I understood their point. I got to know about another organisation called FIAPO - Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations. Earlier, I was volunteering with FIAPO during the weekends and doing my activism. Then, I realised that I'm done with Greenpeace and I moved to FIAPO as a full-time employee at Chennai. Till May 2019, I was working with FIAPO and then I moved to Kolkata and started my cafe.

How was your experience at FIAPO?

I was working in FIAPO at Chennai, the only employee there at that time. It was a little challenging compared to Greenpeace but yes, that was also related to sustainable development. I was mostly working with Jain communities in Chennai. These communities follow the path of ahimsa. My job was to talk to their religious gurus. I made them aware of how our milk is produced and how we can substitute that with plant-based milk. The campaign was more focused on ahimsa rather than veganism. I made them understand about animal cruelty. Because of their busy schedule, I used to go visit them early in the morning and had to wait in long queues. However, I did enjoy it and got to know a lot of the Jain community in Chennai.

What were your challenges while starting Ubuntu Cafe?

The first challenge was to find a place. Another issue was that it was a vegan food place so I received less support from my family. Also, we were starting in a place (Kolkata) where the majority of people eat non-vegetarian food. My partner and I started it with our savings and with the help of our friends. For one month we searched for a small and nice place to start the cafe. After that, we started setting up everything and finally, we launched in September 2019. We are India's first fully eco-friendly cafe. We don't use any single-use plastic. All the furniture is upcycled from waste material. We have a sofa seat which we got from an Ambassador taxi. During the time of setting up the cafe, we used to visit Rabindra Sarobar, a very famous lake in Kolkata. We used to talk to random people to make them aware of the issue as well as to tell us about our venture. We went for around 100 days and met many people. We met many vegans during this time as well. We met a person who is vegan for the last 30 years. However, all of them were isolated. After that, we also started potluck to get together. Throughout this, we met a lot of new people and it was a good experience. In September, when we started the cafe, most of our customers were vegan or someone in the transition phase. After 2-3 months, many non-vegetarians also started coming when they got to know that there is similar food available to what they are used to, except that it is plant-based. The good thing is they are liking it.

How is the vegan community in Kolkata?

I know around 200 vegans, so there are many vegans in Kolkata. On January 19th this year, The Telegraph, the leading English Daily in eastern India, covered our detailed story. It was only possible because of the support by many of them. The entire community is helping us move ahead.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

We all are learning and vegans aren't mocking anyone. The problem is not about right or wrong, but the lack of awareness. I would request non-vegans to explore those things, which are kept hidden by the media, government and the businesses. We need to work on ourselves to make the Earth a better place.

One more thing I would like to add is that many non-vegans and people who are in the transition phase say that being vegan is expensive. It is expensive only if you opt for high-end products like almond milk, mock meat or mock chicken every day. But most of the regular Indian food is vegan by default and full of nutrition. Be it rice-dal, roti-curries or idli, dosa, poha etc are by default vegan, given you don't add ghee or butter in them.

A message to non-vegans...

Every vegan was once a non-vegan and we all are learning every day and working on ourselves to become better. We are together on this journey of compassion. Believe me, if I can be vegan, then anyone can.💚💚

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The Vegan Journey of Sana Suhail | VBI #008

A cruelty-free makeup enthusiast, Sana Suhail has conducted workshops on how to do your makeup using beauty products that aren't tested on animals. A volunteer at Cupa LARRC. Certified Pranic Healer, currently healing animals at Cupa. In love with Mother Earth, She spends time gardening and learning about eco-conscious ways to survive. 

How did you become vegan?

I remember watching videos and pictures posted by PETA on Instagram; they were an eye-opener. If I was aware of the dairy industry's ugly truth, I wouldn't have even tasted milk to go vegan in the first place.

I have always loved animals. But being born in a non-vegetarian family, we're conditioned to eat non-vegetarian food and it's a core part of our diet. I think many other non-vegetarians also love animals but we're conditioned in a way that it becomes a part of life. Being an animal lover, I started following PETA and CUPA on Instagram and each of their posts made an impact on me. Once, PETA posted about how animals are used and how they are treated during product testing. All those things made me think and I started using cruelty-free cosmetic products. However, that was just the beginning. Each time they posted about other ugly facts about the meat and dairy industry, it raised my awareness. I realised that we don't need this. By drinking milk and consuming dairy products, we are contributing to that cruelty. So, if I could eliminate dairy products from my life, I could save a lot of cows and calves that are affected in this industry. A lot of calves are killed because of this. Once I got to know of all this cruelty, I didn't want to be a part of it and turning vegan was the right thing to do.

Being born in a non-vegetarian family, how were your initial days after becoming vegan? Were they supportive enough?

It was a mixed response. In the beginning, it was a little difficult for them to accept it. However, they were supportive enough. They started preparing food for me separately. It started with me being vegetarian. When I turned vegan, they were a little sceptical because they were concerned regarding my nutrition. I made them understand and my immediate family was quite supportive after that. But we have a big family and a lot of gatherings keep happening. It's a little complicated when I get out there and sometimes I get mocked. In those situations, we have to be mentally very strong and be okay with it as long as you believe in yourself and your choices.

How easy was the transition from non-veg to veg?

In my case, the transition from non-veg to vegetarian happened quite easily. It didn't take much time. I did it in a very systematic way so that my body gets used to change. First I eliminated eating non-veg at home and then outside. After that, I totally cut it off. The reason behind going vegetarian was very strong, so it helped me switch very easily and quickly.

The faster I eliminated meat from my lifestyle, the faster I found happiness. It's been more than 8 years now being vegetarian and a year being vegan, and I'm really happy about it.

Non-vegetarian people say “It tastes so good, I can't quit". What’s your take on that?

It depends on what is more important and your priorities: the ethics or the taste buds. In a day, we prioritise what tasks to do. Likewise, we need to prioritise whether we want to satisfy our taste buds and ignore the fact that we are contributing to such cruelty or we want to make the change. At the same time, vegetarian food is also tasty and there is a lot to explore in that. Also, we are helping ourselves too by consuming healthier food.

How is your volunteer experience at CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action)?

When I started volunteering at CUPA Large Animal Shelter (LAARC), I loved it. My heart just wanted to stay there. The people at CUPA genuinely love animals. It's very healing and therapeutic because the love that animals give you is just amazing and can't be described in words. Every Sunday I spend my time over there and I look forward to it.

As volunteers, we can help in various ways. It can be in the form of giving them baths, cleaning them up, giving them some dressing or helping other staff or the doctors. There is no hard and fast rule. We can ourselves come up with ideas and also passively adopt the animals over there. I was interested in healing animals. Most of the time people can be sceptical about the energy healing process but CUPA really supported me with this. All of us at CUPA do twin hearts meditation on Sundays and bless the animals all around the world.

Every time I go there it has been a different experience. I've spent days with various animals, be it a donkey, horse or a dog.

You conduct workshops on cruelty-free makeup. Can you tell more about how cruelty happens in the cosmetics industry?

Not just makeup, but a lot of beauty products and day-to-day products like detergents, shampoos, soaps etc are tested on animals. The animals that are tested upon in the labs are usually rabbits and sometimes cats and dogs too. The chemicals that are used in these products are tested on the animals if they are safe to be used on humans. In this process, their eyes and ears are burnt. The animal is kept caged and the chemicals are put on the sensitive part of their body. These chemicals can cause adverse effects and make them blind or deaf. Some companies don't encourage these tests and are known as cruelty-free companies. So, I decided to spread awareness on how to identify these companies to not be a part of this cruelty.

How do you promote such products?

I conduct workshops on and off, where I teach makeup and also give a list of cruelty-free brands and instructions on how to identify them. Besides, I call out companies that are cruel to animals. Also, usually, women are loyal to particular brands and prefer using only them. If they are using a brand that tests on animals, I request them to leave a message to the company to stop animal testing because it is not necessary.

Although I don't know the specifics, there are various other ways to test cosmetic products. Animal testing is a very old method of doing it. It's not even needed and there are a lot of scientific tests that can be done that don't involve humans or animals.

The main problem is that people are unaware of such things. Unless people are interested in these topics, it's very hard to find information about such topics. There's a lot of secrecy kept by such companies. That's why I believe in raising awareness among people. The same applies to other industries as well, be it the dairy or the meat industry. As long as people don't see themselves, they are okay consuming such products. I think living in denial is also not good and awareness is very important.

How can people identify if a cosmetic product is cruelty-free? Can you list some brands?

You can identify if a brand is cruelty-free by looking for a bunny logo on it that states Not tested on animals or says cruelty-free. However, some of them might not be vegan if they use any animal-derived products.

Some of the brands that do not test on animals (NOTE: They might contain animal-derived ingredients, so all of them aren't vegan. Please check while purchasing) easily available in India are :

Himalaya, Colorbar, Iba Halal Care, Nyx Professional Makeup, Nykaa Cosmetics, Miniso, Wet N Wild, Lotus Herbals, The Body Shop, Huda Beauty and Too Faced.

How is it in your family now after 8 years of being vegetarian and more than a year being vegan? How did your social life change?

My brother became a vegetarian after I did. I haven't propagated being vegetarian because I believe the best way is when people believe in their choice and let others get inspired by actions rather than force. I have seen that a lot of my cousins and relatives have cut down meat in their lifestyle. Just today, a cousin of mine messaged me telling me that she wants to go vegan. Also, I don’t think we need to choose our company based on whether they are non-vegetarian or vegan. You can be around any kind of person. Also, I think the energy is contagious and it inspires others also to become more compassionate.

How is it during festivals? In your family, there must be a lot of non-veg dishes on such occasions?

It becomes a little tricky. There might be instances when you feel a little displaced because you also want to be a part of the festival. In my case, I eat my vegan Biryani and they eat their non-vegetarian Biryani. We still sit together and enjoy the festival. I think they should respect your decision and you should respect theirs.

I don't support the notion of hating non-vegetarians just because you are a vegetarian or vegan and labelling them as cruel. I would like people to stop doing that because they are also humans and humans make mistakes. Such people should know that they were also a non-vegan at one point and everyone has a different time of realisation. We should just accept everyone, be it non-vegetarian or vegetarian and love will heal the situation. Love will transform everybody. I'm sure many of us turn vegan because of love: the love for animals. So I think it's very important to keep that love for our fellow beings too. It's very important to accept each other and not brutally force your beliefs, such as non-vegetarians forcing vegetarians to taste meat, or vegetarians forcing their beliefs onto non-vegetarians.

Would you like to mention anything else?

I believe what helped me in this journey is understanding myself better, my morals. I'm sure a lot of people have the love for animals in their heart but don't dare to make the switch. So I say, they should believe in themselves and just go for it. Whatever comes in their way, they will be able to face it.

Message for a non-vegetarian trying to go vegan…

If you're going vegan from non-veg, make a gradual shift, but not too slow. Research what veganism is and then make the switch. I got to know a lot about it when I did. And trust me, there are so many amazing things which we can eat apart from non-vegetarian food, a lot of which are healthy. You'll also get to know a lot of myths about vegan food which are not true. Listen to your heart and believe things based on your experience and not on what others say.

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