The Vegan Journey of Anusha Unni | Vegan Beings India #070

I was a non-vegetarian. I was an animal lover.

I used to feel bad about animals enslaved in circuses, zoos, rides, aquariums, birdcages, etc. I used to feel sad when any street dog or bird was mistreated and used to help as much as possible.

I used to avoid eating mutton because I love goats, and whenever I see mutton, I used to think of that baby white goat.

I used to admire animals and birds, and how they are such nice species and bad about how humans are making their lives hard. I have cats and kittens and used to have multiple pets.

BUT I used to love eating chicken, fish, egg, and all dairy products. I didn't know the complete truth. Although I love animals, I was conditioned to think of chicken and egg as food.

I used to not go to chicken shops because I felt sad seeing the hens' cages. But I still thought these were just food and hens were born for us to eat.

Once, when I was reading a book, I saw a quote "Consider your body as a temple, not as a graveyard." i.e. when it struck me that chicken and fish were dead bodies. I immediately stopped consuming. I was still not aware of the cruelty in the food industry.

Slowly, my younger brother (then 18) followed me and stopped consuming meat.

On one fine day, my brother, since he is also an animal lover, started going to dog rescues. And he met a vegan activist Ravi Keerthi from Vijayawada, and he got to know about veganism, came home, and told him his decision that he is going to be vegan.

I remember arguing with him and Ravi Keerthi, that veganism is just another cult, and asked multiple questions, not being ready to agree with the truth.

Two months down the line, I wanted to know if there was any truth. So on August 15, which was a holiday for me, I decided to research veganism and the truths behind egg and diary. I was shocked and was in tears. I didn't know so much was happening around. And even I was responsible for all the cruelty for all these years.

That day I became vegan. That Independence day is the day I became free of all the sins.

My family is fully supportive. My brother and I are vegans. I married a vegan, and we had vegan weddings.

 I started learning about a product before buying if it is cruelty-free or vegan. I started understanding the ingredients list in food products, and extended this to other utilities like makeup and clothing. I started choosing vegan products.

The major takeaway was that I can live without that favourite dish of mine or favourite skincare product which is non-vegan. I can't be in control of those products. But I have a choice. Whether to pay for cruelty or cruelty-free, I decided to always choose the latter. Over time, I came to know more about other broader concepts like sustainable living and ethical consumption.

And yes, I managed to pull off a vegan and eco-friendly engagement, marriage, and reception!💚🥳

These were small changes we made, which surely had a large impact.

1) We didn't use any banners to welcome our guests, instead used reusable boards and paper and cloth. A marriage banner was painted on cloth, by myself with the help of my family.

2) We never compromised on the taste of our lunch, which was purely vegan. We made raita and curd rice with peanut curd.

3) We chose vegan sweets like laddoo and jalebi (made from Vanaspati ghee) which are easily available in the market. We didn't include ghee in any of them.

4) We ordered a vegan cake, and whoever thought vegans don't have fun, they are wrong!!

5) We chose the hotel that provides fibre glasses and cutlery which are reusable rather than using one-time plastics.

6) We got beautiful synthetic sarees and dresses, rather than silk.

To anyone reading this:

Just be mindful of your actions. If an innocent victim is paying for your actions, then you have a choice to either continue or take the right path. Take a minute to be mindful of what you eat, wear and use.

We are all conditioned (culturally) and brought up as non-vegan, but that doesn't mean we continue to be so. And we all need change, a world with prosperity and peace, but are our actions in line with that?

The vegan world is not difficult. Are you ready to change? Because we are ready to welcome you.

Be the change.

Choose compassion.

____

Leading vegan life is normal for me now. I don't do anything extra for it. I know exactly what to avoid. I say no, if someone offers anything non-vegan. Being vegan is not expensive. I don't use those exotic things like cashew cheese, maple syrup, or soya milk daily.

I prefer black tea or lemon tea and occasionally have soya milk coffee. I don't have a compulsion to have curd in every meal. Sometimes, I make peanut curd. Ghee isn't mandatory for me anymore. I use coconut oil when needed.

I love icecreams, but I don't feel bad when I cannot eat them now. Because I know it costs an animal's life. Instead, I enjoy vegan ice creams. I go for fruit juices instead of milkshakes.

I don't choose expensive silk sarees, wool, or leather, rather go for synthetic. I celebrate birthdays with vegan cakes. I veganise all dishes or discard any dish which cannot be vegan at festivals. I never felt bad for it. My skincare, haircare, and makeup are vegan.

Life may not be completely the same as before, but I am sure, turning vegan could be the best decision ever.

Vegan is pure love. Love for animals, earth, and yourself.

I am guilt free, my body and soul are light. My carbon footprint is low. I know I am not supporting animal cruelty in any of my daily activities, and am one less person hurting the animals.

I try my best to spread this word and am always vocal about how easy it is to go vegan and why one should go vegan.

 

Hello everyone! I am Anusha Unni, a cloud developer by profession. I love my job because it's creative and I love providing solutions. Not just that, it also pays my bills, pays for my travelling, and gives me financial freedom.

I am vocal about gender equality, caste or colour discrimination, ethical consumption, saving water, reducing plastic usage, and being minimalistic.

I love learning. I am always into learning something which is why I have so many hobbies, 

I am a jack of all trades, but master of none. So I am into art, gardening, solving Rubix cube puzzles, cooking, Instagramming, dancing, and travelling.

And after being a vegan, I am into vegan activism and outreaches.

 

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The Vegan Journey of Anurag R | Vegan Beings India #068

I stopped eating meat at the age of four when I witnessed the slaughter of a chicken at my friend's house. I used to love chicken meat. But after that incident, I was horrified even at the thought of eating other animals. I had even stopped consuming cow milk for a brief period because I felt it was wrong to drink the milk of another animal. But, due to social conditioning and in the name of nutrition, I was forced to eat eggs and milk.

I first read about veganism in 2015 after I googled 'does vegetarian diet make you fat?'. My friends made fun of my size and blamed it on the vegetarian diet. They gave examples like tigers are so muscular and fast but elephants are fat and slow. I was surprised to know that there were people who didn't consume any animal products and were healthy, fit, and lean. I was not aware of the ethical reasons at that point.

In 2018, I saw Instagram posts showing the horrors of factory farming. That got me interested in Veganism. I started researching online which led me to the YouTube documentary 'Unholy Cattle of India'. I then decided to cut out all animal-based food which took me a while. I finally did it in 2019, but I was silent about it.

It was hard at first to give up dairy products and my mother was worried that I wouldn't get proper nutrition by cutting out dairy and eggs. I had to get active in the kitchen and make my plant milk since my mother was reluctant to give up on milk and ghee. Sometimes I had to cook for myself. Some of my friends and family have criticised and questioned me for cutting all animal products. But my motivation has always been the animals. The journey has been fantastic. The only regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner. I have become more aware of my choices and now know that I don't pay animals to suffer in my name.

In 2020, I started working for an agri-based company where I had to design machines for farmers. I had to frequently visit poultry and dairy farmers to get their reviews. There I witnessed firsthand how the animals were bred. They were considered as mere products rather than seeing them as living conscious beings.

These are the incidents that made me go Vegan and further strengthened my stand against animal exploitation. I also observed that the number of meat stalls near my house was also increasing. I was so fed up with all the mistreatment of animals that in 2021 I created a Facebook and Instagram Account called 'Vegans of Mysuru' in the hope of meeting other fellow vegans in my city. 

In November 2021, we did our first vegan outreach with the help of BBAL and Vegan India Movement. Now we are a team of 18, conducting outreaches frequently in Mysuru. During one of our outreaches, we met Dr. Khader Vali a.k.a Millet Man of India who was excited about what we were doing and offered to provide any support. He does not use or consume any animal products and educates people on the harmful impacts of animal products, rice, and wheat on the health of the planet.

Right from childhood, we are taught that meat, milk, and eggs are good foods and are essential for us. That some animals can be pets and some others can be eaten. Wake up! Remove the blindfolds and see them for who they are, not as products but as beings who deserve to live freely just like you and me. Given the state of the world we are living in today, it becomes our responsibility to make better choices. To live a life that is kind towards other species and the planet.

Hi, I'm Anurag. I'm from Mysuru. I'm a Product Engineer working for an Agri based company.

I'm also a freelance graphic artist. I like to play guitar and computer games in my free time. Nowadays, I create online content for the Vegans of Mysuru Instagram page.

 

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The Vegan Journey of Jayalaxmi Rai | Vegan Beings India #066

                                                            

I was a hardcore non-vegetarian. My brother Annand and a friend Melina had gone vegan and they were nagging me to watch Earthlings for a while. After stalling for some time, I finally relented and watched Earthlings. I was stunned as I watched it. I could not complete the documentary in one sitting. I was sobbing away as I watched it. I am not someone who would be moved to tears easily. But watching animals being abused like this was horrific, especially when I considered myself an animal lover. 

I gave up eating meat for a while but desensitised myself after a while and got back to consuming meat occasionally. After a few months, I had moved back to Dubai and attended a yoga & meditation course called SSY, where one of the interpreters spoke about the horrors in the dairy industry. They also spoke about the meat industry and one fast-food chain in particular which I used to love. He said that they were now producing headless and featherless chickens.

That was the turning point for me. I decided to give up meat that instant. I was also introduced to the concept of consuming raw foods at this institute. I had given up all dairy too except for cheese which took me a year to give up. I later learned that there was a reason I took so long to give up cheese (dairy) primarily because it has addictive properties. So on the 14th of September 2014, I finally went vegan and never looked back. It’s been more than seven years and as any vegan will tell you: I wish I was born Vegan. It is one of the best decisions of my life.

I have learned an incredible lot in the past 5 years and keep learning so much more each day. These have been valuable and fantastic years. I loved every moment of it! I feel super energetic after going vegan and keep getting better by the day. I also think if you incorporate a lot of raw foods and whole foods into your diet you will always be in your element. Walking for miles or being on my feet all day is not a task at all. So if you want to thrive rather than just survive try this lifestyle for yourself and see.

My journey after going vegan has been nothing short of fantastic. I researched for 3 years about all things vegan and experimented a lot. During this time I also decided to open a small little restaurant in Pune. I dedicated it to my grandmother and named it Granny's Bowl in 2016.

Granny's Bowl had an ever-changing menu with different days dedicated to different cuisines. I had got a lot of support from my own family, friends, and especially my lovely aunt Nirmala Shetty. It was financially a roller coaster. I had no experience at that time running a restaurant with no idea how much of an investment it would take. I also was crazy enough to cook, clean & run operations all on my own. I shut shop in 2 years & operated from home for 2 years. I had the energy to cook & cater for 100+ people too. However, it was financially difficult to operate. I shut down the cloud kitchen too. I got into Vegan Food Consultancy and Activism (The Save Movement).

I now work for The Save Movement ~ Health Save Chapter, called Pune Health Save, and share a lot of recipes, information and so much more. If you want us to do an outreach and vegan food tasting in your area in Pune, just DM us. We will make it happen.

To non-vegans I have this to say: I used to have eggs for breakfast, fish for lunch, and chicken for dinner. If I can go vegan, anyone can. Also, it's not a deprivation diet at all. Instead of dairy-based milk, you can have coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk, mung milk, millet milk, sesame milk. I can go on 😁. Also, instead of eating the flesh of sheep and goat, there are a vast array of vegan meats, mushrooms, yams, jackfruits and so much more. Vegan butter, cheese, yoghourt, ghee, and ice cream are all now available at our fingertips. So, go vegan! You will enjoy it and we are here to help you. Besides, it will give you abundant energy. You will be blessed by the animals at large and the planet.

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The Vegan Journey of Selvi Selvakumar | Vegan Beings India #064

I was always concerned about the cruel treatment meted out to other non-human animals. On my own, I had become a vegetarian from being a meat-eater, about five years ago. But I was not very happy about it because I thought that avoiding meat did not eliminate cruelty one bit. This happened a few times earlier too. I would become a vegetarian and then would revert. I was always researching humane ways to kill an animal, like maybe under anaesthesia? Anyways, I decided to stop eating meat five years ago. Eggs were on and off. Funnily, silk, leather, and honey were off for nearly two decades.

Then I came across this youtube post by Arvind Animal Activist. That made me go vegan and also become a vegan online activist overnight. Earlier, I used to write about the environment though my mind was on animal rights. I was always concerned about peer reaction and social stigma if I talked about animals and their rights. Then Arvind's video gave me clarity of mind. I realised that others like me were there. I am always grateful to social media for this support
.

After turning vegan, I got many negative reactions from friends and relatives. Some took it positively too. But as far as I am concerned this is one of the best decisions I took. I wish I had done it earlier.

Being an activist, I have printed pamphlets explaining cruelty to animals, and how to avoid this. Nowadays, I take them every time I step out of the house, talk for a minute or two to anyone whom I meet, and give it to them. I request them to read it and think about the content. I aim to make people think because our attitude towards animals is the basic reason for this callous behaviour. Once we stop seeing animals as commodities, the cruelty will change.

Most of us humans like to be just and fair in our dealings with others. So why are we not so towards animals? It is an age-old conditioning, and it remains on us to think about this. We need to accept the truth that they are just like us in all that matters. They have all the emotions of love, affection, mother-child bond, and grief on separation. Whenever we kill an animal or bird, it is not much different from killing a human being.

_________________

Hello everyone! I’m Selvi Selvakumar. I’m an ophthalmologist who took early retirement chiefly to voice for animal rights. I love watching movies and reading books in my free time. I turned vegan in September 2020. Whenever I went out for street outreach people have always listened to me which was surprising. Then I realised that it could be because I am a senior citizen and a doctor. 

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The Vegan Journey of Ahana Dasgupta | Vegan Beings India #062

 

Being someone in the locality who helps ailing dogs, I receive calls from multiple people. In 2017, one such call led me to an ailing calf. Unfortunately, I was late to arrive there. I kept thinking about this unusual incident because I had hardly seen a calf lying on the road. After a few days, I witnessed the most horrible incident of a cow crying and chasing a rickshaw. I could not figure out the reason. I was at a nearby shop when I saw that. Then I saw the rickshaw where that cow's calf was tied to the place where we generally keep our feet. Baffled at such an incident happening in broad daylight nearby a police station, I was left with many questions. Later, I found out that such is the procedure in many dairy farms. As a person who feels for animals, the agony of the mother cow kept bothering me. That is how I became vegan overnight.

I had heard about veganism in 2015, while participating in a march organised to protest against the use of glass-coated manja used for flying kites on a specific festival. I had used the same excuses a non-vegans give until 2017, when I decided to go vegan after the above incident.

Being born as a human is in itself a privilege. The power to reason and choose is what differentiates us from the rest of the species on the planet. As humans, we have come a long way, creating artificial intelligence to discover ways to combat deadly diseases. Having such powers necessitates helping those who cannot help themselves and animals are the most underprivileged of all. They depend on us for everything but unfortunately, we take everything from them. We often ask for justice for ourselves while being so horribly unjust to those species who have no evil intentions, no voice, and no choice. Instead of being saviors we torture and kill them.

Coming to activism, outreach doesn't always have to be planned. A vegan for whom the cause matters will take every opportunity to make others aware. However, in the past few years, awareness through street outreach and social media has made people aware of veganism to a greater extent. Making people feel what we felt while changing into a vegan requires them to be in the same position as we were. Engaging in constant dialogues, helping people by showing alternatives not just in the food sector but all such sectors which exploit animals, helps people understand the urgency of the cause without being hesitant. The factual discussion has a better impact than becoming emotional while speaking.

In my case, I have always tried to understand the thought process of the person I'm speaking to instead of just stating what I feel is right. Since the aim is to make people capable of establishing a connection with all animals, it is important to give primacy to how a person thinks over what I think, whether or not it's correct. And then gradually show facts and carry on with the debate. I believe the aim isn't to convert people into vegans but to make them feel for all animals equally. Then veganism becomes the most obvious outcome.

To anyone reading this, ask questions to yourself instead of asking vegans. Try to find the answers to those questions yourself without depending on vegans. Vegans can be flawed but the reason behind the cause isn't flawed. It only aims at saving lives.

Going vegan helped me in many other ways as well: 

It revealed people around me. 

It helped me recognise injustices beyond the cause and understand the importance of every individual human on this planet. 

I understood the importance of unlearning as much as learning.

It helped me to know myself better. Being an introvert, outreaches seemed impossible. But when something matters, no barrier is a barrier.

Hello everyone, I’m Ahana Dasgupta from Kolkata. I have been an animal lover for a long time. I have been involved in rescuing and helping street animals which further lead to veganism later on. I enjoy learning and gathering knowledge. I'm aspiring for various jobs and hence preparing for them. I'm a vegan since 2017.

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The Vegan Journey of Rupbrata Das | Vegan Beings India #061

 

I have always loved dogs and cats. However, I would take pride in my ability to eat chicken and pork in great amounts. I was a ferociously carnist. When I got to know that pigs are as intelligent as dogs, I was shocked. I started watching training videos and cuddling videos of pigs. My girlfriend said she can't eat pigs again after knowing and seeing these facts. At first, I did not understand why she would still eat other animals but not pigs. Then I started to notice my hypocrisy. I would love a dog but eat a pig. Soon I started searching "Why do we need meat" to look for reasons to continue eating meat. However, I bumped into videos of Ed Winter, Mic the Vegan, Plant-Based News, etc. Well, what can I say when the logic is too clear to unsee it.

Though I know many people find it difficult, I transitioned overnight. What helped me was my love for animals. I stopped eating meat and dairy. But there was milk hidden in many products from the grocery store. After I started omitting those products, I became sad as there was not much left to eat. Here came YouTube again and showed the power of vegan cooking. Being a Bengali also helped me, as my mom is a great cook. She made tasty vegetables for lunch and dinner. But sharing the dining table with my family became difficult, as they would eat non-vegan food almost every day. At first, I could not tolerate it because I would feel tempted. However, after a few months, I started to see dead animals on the table. That was very disturbing. So I started eating separately. Apart from food, my choice of media consumption also changed. I have started watching vegan documentaries, vegan cooks, etc.

After I turned vegan my rescue work became much more frequent. As I indulged more and more into rescuing, some things became very clear :

1) Laws for protecting animals are a joke in India. Anyone can kill an animal if they are not listed as protected wildlife of that state. 

2) Donations are not a great model for someone if they want to continue rescue work, as government grants are rare. Donations are too uncertain. 

3) We lack fundamental education that can make us compassionate towards others.

That is why this year, I have started a company that can donate all of its profits towards animal rescue. I believe @dandelion_connect will become successful. It will take time for sure, but it will certainly happen. Social entrepreneurship can only save animals in this country.

Non-vegans are not so different from vegans. I was also a non-vegan once. I know why they make fun of vegans. But that is just hatred for something that puts us out of our comfort zone, takes us against the stream. I don't know why they say that vegans impose their life choices. If removing euphemism from a certain thing makes you uncomfortable then it's time you should think about it more. "Meat is Murder" is not outrageous because it is wrong. It is outrageous because it does not hide the truth. Everyone knows dead animal flesh must come from a dead animal. As we are progressing into a world where the air is unbreathable, the earth is grey and water is poisoned, you must think twice about the life choices that took us here in the first place.

There are so many things that I keep discovering every day after being vegan. I have certainly become more sensitive towards my surroundings. People say vegans are easily triggered. I guess that is not the right way to frame it. I think vegans respond towards injustice more readily than others.

Hello everyone, I am Rupbrata Das. I work as a freelance content developer. My first and foremost hobby is taking care of my non-human sons and daughters. I do some rescue work whenever I can. I wish to become a social entrepreneur with a large sanctuary where rescued animals can thrive. I have been vegan for more than one and a half years.

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The Vegan Journey of Vaishnavi Dhumal | Vegan Beings India #059

 

I saw the slaughtering of chickens 4 years ago. Witnessing the way the poor animal was fighting for his life and struggling to not die for a momentary meal, made me feel sick. I instantly became vegetarian. I thought I was doing enough and now I wasn’t causing any harm to non-human animals.

I had heard of the term vegan but I was ignorant at that time. I did not understand why people go vegan in the first place. I thought it was extreme and that no cows are harmed for milk. Soon, I came across a post from an animal activist's account that was talking about the horrors that cows go through for milk. It also said to watch the documentary Dominion. I started doing my research and tried to watch the documentary. I couldn’t watch it completely, it was too rough to watch. To date, I haven’t seen it completely.

Shocked by all of this, I decided to go vegan. I started by cutting off dairy items from my daily consumption. But the wrong perception was that although I was doing it for ethical reasons, I still thought of it as a “diet”. This continued for a month, and then I started to realise it’s not a diet or my personal choice when there is a victim involved. 

So this one day when I was sitting in my canteen waiting for my oreo shake to come, it just hit me that I cannot keep expanding that I would take “small steps to cut off animal products from my diet” to adopt Veganism. Either way, the animal would still be abused while I was still making the baby steps. So, I went to the counter and cancelled my order, and turned vegan that day. 

Through these past 3 years, it has evolved me to learn more about animal rights, from thinking of veganism as a mere diet. I came to an understanding that this is a social justice movement for animal rights.

Also, the fact that animal rights activism is extremely important because I never went up and searched on the internet about veganism and Animal rights. I got educated about it through an animal activist's post. So I feel, being active for the animals is a key to keep educating people and speaking out for the animals.

Nobody is born a bad person, no sane person wants animals to be killed. I know you wouldn’t want to hurt animals. I know you also love your companion animal. You probably feed your community animals too, or do some other kind things in your life, which I acknowledge and make me feel that you are a compassionate person.

However, please understand that society has conditioned us into thinking of animals as a product and not as an individual. We grow up and unlearn so many things. It’s time we unlearn speciesism. We need you in this fight for animal rights. Please expand your compassion to all the non-human animals because I know you can.

My vegan journey has been great. On the positive side, I got to know so much about animal rights, got into activism, got out of my comfort zone, made connections with non-human animals, and looked at them as individuals, being more compassionate and understanding other beings.

On the negative experience, in the early months, I had lots of arguments with family and friends. I did not have the right approach to convey the message to them so it was stressful, but that only made me find the right approach, so I am glad.

In 2017, I came across this documentary called “The true cost” which showed me the horrors of the Fast Fashion industry and also the unethical treatment of their workers. Being a designer and a consumer of the fast fashion industry, it was a shocker. Sometimes there are so many things that we don’t question and things we don’t know, but I’m glad I saw that documentary and got to know about this.

That acted as a catalyst for me to learn more about sustainable fashion and I started working with natural dyes. I knew that I wanted to start my sustainable clothing brand sooner or later.

So when I graduated this year, I finally started up with my clothing brand by the name “Nyoro”, a sustainable, vegan, ethical, and slow fashion.

After going vegan I discovered a lot of new things. Getting educated about my choices, understanding how important the words we use are, I learned that most of the words we use are also speciesist and will objectify non-human animals, so I’m slowly unlearning it.

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The Vegan Journey of Chandan Mohapatra | Vegan Beings India #052

 

I rarely used to think about the ethics of eating meat. My concern was not for animals, but for myself. I thought that if eating animals is wrong, then I may get punished by karma. When I considered the ‘right or wrong’ of eating meat, I used to give myself silly excuses like “we kill and eat plants even though they have life”, “food chain” and “it’s okay to eat animals which are bred for the purpose of meat”. I considered these excuses as facts so that I can continue eating meat without any fear. Yes, I say fear because guilt was never in my mind as I never empathized with the animals whose flesh I used to eat.

Consumption of animal products was always the norm because of the upbringing in my family and due to society, which never encourages thinking about consuming animals’ meat, milk and other things which contribute to animal cruelty. 

When I came to know about Acharya Prashant, I started watching his educational videos like: how to focus on studies, how our mind works, etc. His videos provided me with so much clarity. Soon, I started following him regularly & watched his videos on various topics.

On the morning of 30th October 2020, one of his short videos popped up in my recommendations. That video was about meat and it was quite thought provoking. It opened my eyes because for the very first time in my life, I imagined myself in the position of the animals whom I used to eat. I considered it seriously. How would I feel in the place of the chickens, fish and goat?

Then, I realised the stupidity of the excuses I used to give myself. I came to know that plants are indeed living beings, but they are not sentient, as they don't have a central nervous system. So, they are unable to feel pain. When I thought about the food chain, it was not that difficult to realize that we are not part of the food chain anymore.

That day, I watched a lot of videos about impact on animals when we eat meat and realized that meat eating can never be justified, just like child abuse, rape and other injustices. That evening, I watched a 49 minutes speech about animal rights by Arvind, an animal rights activist. I watched it carefully and gained a lot of clarity and learned a new word: vegan.

Until then, I thought that only meat and leather were wrong. But, after listening to the speech, I came to know that dairy is equally cruel and I could not believe it. I was in complete shock. I decided to find out about dairy from other sources, so I searched and got a detailed video - Unholy Cattle of India. I could not believe it. 

To confirm whether everything in that video was true, I called one of my friends whose father has a dairy farm. He confirmed that it was true but told me to not get emotional and that it’s normal to artificially impregnate cows and buffaloes. He said that all the practices are compulsory to make the business profitable and that at the end of the day, it is about money. I cried so much after finding out that everything explained in the video was true. I felt very sad and disheartened because I was a part of the dairy and meat industry for 18 years of my life. I could not sleep that night because what I witnessed was so eye-opening. When I faced the truth, it did not take much time for the realization to set in. 

I told my younger sister and mother about this and showed them the videos. They too connected with the animals who are the victims. We realized that it does not make sense to love one animal, but eat another. We have a dog and we love her. We realized that the chickens, fish, goats, cows and other animals who are made to go through hell are as innocent as our dog, so we eradicated speciesism from our lives and decided to go vegan. 

Going vegan for me and my sister was not at all hard because we asked each other this question: Which one is easy:

 • To stop being a part of the animal Holocaust by going vegan and not taking things that did not belong to us or,

 • To let innocent voiceless beings suffer so much pain, suffering, lifetime in jail, continuous sexual abuse and finally, murder?

We were clear that now, whatever happens, we will never support this injustice. I promised myself that I will not only be a vegan, but also use my voice for the voiceless to raise awareness among people to make them understand how their daily choices are affecting an innocent voiceless being. I never had any transition phase.

After turning vegan, I found that one needs three things to go vegan: awareness, honesty and empathy. Since then, I have become more open minded and my ability to analyse things and situations critically has improved a lot. Now, I feel fitter and more energetic than ever. I feel I have become more friendly and honest.

My advice to non-vegans would be: Visit slaughterhouses and dairy farms, or watch the footage of what is happening there and honestly ask yourself: 

 • How would I feel if I were them? 

 • Do I really have to eat their dead body parts? 

 • If my taste is causing so much pain and suffering to an innocent animal who has done no harm to me, is it worth it? 

If you are against the injustice happening to cows in the dairy industry, and chickens and goats in the slaughterhouse, then it should be enough to go vegan.

To all the animal rights activists out there, remember, Veganism is a social justice movement just like our freedom struggle. Our freedom fighters fought for our human liberation. We activists are fighting for animal liberation. It’s an honour to be a part of this freedom struggle.

Hello everyone, I’m Chandan Mohapatra, a first year college student staying in Bangalore. I belong to an Odiya family. I love reading, watching videos about spirituality and I am into fitness activities like running, rope skipping, football and swimming. I do activism by making videos to raise awareness about animal rights. I have a younger sister and we both decided to go vegan together around a year back.

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The Vegan Journey of Sohag Poddar | Vegan Beings India #048

 

I would state my journey, in a word, as 'powerful'. In the beginning, it was slightly hard to deal with my family because they were not familiar with this lifestyle. It took some time, but we managed, and I never lost my way. I first went vegan for the animals, but as time went on, I found out about the many ways it positively impacts our environment, our health etc.  Going vegan felt like a huge weight being lifted from my chest. I physically made improvements, and everything got much better.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) inspired me to go vegan, particularly with their documentary 'The Horrors of the Dairy Industry'. I never really liked consuming animal products but was brainwashed by society into it. So, when I saw these documentaries and slaughterhouse footage, I became more and more disgusted and angered about how society is feeding us lies, and we are blindly accepting it. So, as I gradually got to know the facts, I felt stronger and could convince my parents to finally let me go vegan.

After turning vegan, I have been much healthier. I used to be very obese, but I lost some of that fat after going vegan, cutting down on bad cholesterol and unhealthy calories. Note that you can still get obese after going vegan, but not in my case because I reduced the consumption of excessive oils and other fatty foods.

I believe that the worst form of activism is not doing any activism. We should never get hyper whilst talking with a non-vegan about veganism. It's a very usual thing to happen, but unfortunately, it isn't the solution. The non-vegan will avoid the topic and continue consuming innocent animals. Instead, we should keep our calm, be patient (which I know is hard), and make them understand that their habits are badly affecting our home: Mother Nature.

Going vegan is not hard at all. It may seem like that because you are not familiar with that lifestyle, but you can save so many lives and resources once you go vegan! It's the best thing!

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Hello everyone, I am Sohag Poddar, I am 13 years old. I am an animal rights activist and I love baking. It’s been more than 1.5 years being vegan.

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