Astha Gupta is a graduate in Law. For the past three years, she has been vegan and an animal rights activist. She has been associated with an animal rights NGO, ‘Vegan Outreach’, for the past 2 years. Singing and playing synthesizer make her day great.
What made you go vegan?
I was a vegetarian since birth because of my love for animals and also because of my family. I used to call myself a proud vegetarian as I used to think that I am not killing any animal for my food. But when I came to know the truth about dairy, I was in shock and I thought that there was no use of me being a vegetarian as well. That very moment I went vegan. I have been living in Pune and am part of the Pune activism group. I joined an animal rights NGO, ‘Vegan Outreach’, 2 years ago. Since then, I have been a full-time activist.
How did your activism journey start?
Three years ago, I got to know that there is an event related to animals happening in Pune. I did not know about veganism before that. Because I have always been a huge animal lover since childhood, I just wanted to attend that event. There I met so many vegans from whom I got to know about the cruelty in the dairy industry and how it works. I used to be a proud vegetarian until I came to know about all this; and that very day, I decided that I am not going to consume dairy. On that day, I started doing activism as well. I started attending more such events, I started organising events too. Then, one year later, I got an opportunity to work with Vegan Outreach. Right now, I am doing independent activism along with Pune activists, and also as a part of ‘Vegan Outreach’.
Tell us more about your experience at ‘Vegan Outreach’.
The experience is really great. Earlier I used to volunteer with various activism groups like FIAPO or Pune group. After that, I joined ‘Vegan Outreach’ and I got a full-time platform for my activism. We do sessions in schools and colleges as well. Before that, I had never done such kind of activism. I had never done a session all alone in colleges before joining ‘Vegan Outreach’. It has been an amazing journey. I have learnt a lot of new things. During the journey of veganism, you keep learning new things. For the first few months, I was part of street activism and leafletting. For the past 1.5 years, I have also started giving lectures and presentations in colleges.
What is your approach during activism?
As an activist, our main goal is to make people aware as much as possible and not force anything upon them. We need to think from their perspective as well because, at one point, we were also in the same situation. Many times, people have genuine doubts that they want to clear. Whenever I am doing any kind of outreach, not just lectures or presentations, the first thing I tell them is about animal cruelty. We ask a few questions to them and from their answers, we get to know if they love animals or they care more about the environment or something else. First, I focus on animal cruelty because that is the core aspect of veganism.
If I feel that they don't care about animals at all, I try to move on to topics related to the environment. I tell them how much it affects the environment as well. If someone is into fitness and health, I tell them about that. However, if someone is an animal lover, I focus much more on that aspect. Personally, I would like to make them aware through the animal torture and cruelty outlook.
How do you deal with people who are against it?
In every outreach, at least one or more people are like that and we cannot blame them. It is the social conditioning they are trapped in and they don’t want to change. Even if they get to know the cruelty that animals endure, they tell themselves that it is their choice. What I do is inform them about each and every part, give them all the logic. If someone is against animal cruelty, I add the health and environment perspective too. We cannot force them to go vegan. However, we can inform them about all the facts. I don’t blame them for their unawareness or for contributing to the suffering. If we approach them in that way, it will turn them away from veganism.
I make sure that all their doubts are cleared. Maybe, they might not change now but in the future, at some point, they might think about it. Many times, people think about it themselves if it is in the back of their mind. It might also make them research more about it. Even if they are saying that they don't want to change, they are against it, I tell them that I can totally understand it because I was in your situation at one point in time. It is not that easy for people to hear anything against the food they have been consuming from their birth.
Are there any moments you cherish being an activist?
Definitely. First of all, going vegan was the best thing. You know that you are now causing the least harm and not supporting it directly. While doing outreach, we get to know so many people. We get to know their views and meet many inspiring people. There are so many activists who have turned vegan in the past few months and are doing a great job. I get to learn from them too. Sometimes I feel a little guilty that some activists in Pune have been doing activism for so long and how I couldn't get in touch with them earlier.
Now I feel really good that I turned vegan and have been able to be part of organising so many good events where people can learn more about veganism. We have done various types of events. Both as a part of ‘Vegan Outreach’ and Pune Activism group, I have been able to be part of such outreaches. The best part about veganism and my vegan journey is that I am able to help animals by making people aware of it. Now, people are changing and from our side what we can do is make more people aware of it.
How is the response of people in the outreach?
It is really good. I can say that, out of 100 people, hardly 10-15 people don't love animals. Rest of them are animal lovers or at least they love cats and dogs. This makes them connect with other animals as well when the facts are put forward. They don't get to see the blood and cruelty in their usual life. When we show them, they really get connected with it.
When we do outreaches in public places, there are so many people to reach out to. Most of them have not heard about veganism. They do say that they will think about it. Many of them even revert back to us. They appreciate the work we are doing and thank us for telling them about the info. It's good when people say this. Some of them even join us in activism as well.
How has been your experience in college lectures?
The response in colleges is very good. There are many people like me who had never heard about the term ‘vegan’. When I go to colleges and talk to students, they themselves say that this is something really bad that is happening around us. They come to us for more info and many of them go vegan. It's not their fault if people don't know about it because all these things happen behind the scenes.
You mentioned that during the transition, it was especially difficult dealing with friends and family. How did you overcome that?
As I said, I had been a vegetarian since birth. So my friends who were non-vegetarians always used to make fun of me. When I turned vegan, they started making even more fun of me because I stopped consuming dairy products. During the first few months, it was difficult for me. I used to clarify to them and tell my reason for going vegan. I can’t force my family and friends to go vegan but I definitely used to explain everything to them. Even though some of my friends are not vegan, they have stopped making fun of me and do respect my decision. When we go for hangouts, they make sure to check if vegan options are there or not. My family has also cut down dairy consumption.
What is the one message you would like to give all vegans?
Being vegan is not enough because if we went vegan for a reason, if we want to save the animals and environment, then we have to do more wherever possible. If we are glad that someone informed us of veganism that helped us transition, then we have to inform others as well.
If you are vegan, you should also try to do activism in some way or the other. There are so many forms of activism, everyone need not be full-time activists or do street activism. You can do it online as well, share good resources on your social media profiles or WhatsApp. I have seen that even putting WhatsApp status works. At least people in your contact would get to know.
For all the vegans and activists, I say keep fighting for the cause and don't get disappointed. People around us might be using animal products, and you might not feel motivated. If we keep doing activism and making people aware, the change will come!
And a message to non vegans...
The animals are on this planet to live happily and without any kind of fear. If you can't help them, please don't harm them. Please go vegan.