The Vegan Journey of Vaibhavi Lonkar | Vegan Beings India #063

I have had cats since my birth. So, it was easy for me to connect with other animals. I always rejected when I was offered meat. I knew that meat is nothing but a dead animal who wanted to live. But unfortunately, I didn't know about dairy. I turned vegan overnight. The moment I got to know what happens inside the dairy industry, I decided. I was a heavy dairy and dairy products consumer, but trust me, going vegan was easy for me. I wake up every morning with a smile because I know that I am living my life without harming any sentient being.

I believe that we can easily live without harming any sentient being. Moreover, there are vegan alternatives for animal products out there. Then why choose cruelty? Are our taste buds more important than the life of an animal? Is it okay to artificially inseminate a cow, take her baby away and consume her milk? All this for 2 minutes of pleasure on our tongue? Animals have a right to live as much as we have. They're individuals, just like us.

Before the pandemic, I used to participate in vegan activism events but I wasn't able to do that during the lockdown. I learned how to cook during the lockdown. This combination made me start my blog, Vguide. It has blog posts related to recipes, activism, vegan food reviews, and general veganism. Here’s the link to Vguide. Also, I was a national coordinator for the Vegan India Movement campaign.

After going vegan, I started losing friends. However, I knew that the universe has some good plans for me. Gradually, I met like-minded people. I think that's the reason why I lost my old friends and found new ones who are way way better. I am glad I found such amazing people. We go for treks, movies, vegan activism, and potlucks together. We even visit shelters and spend time with animals. I wouldn't have been able to do this with other friends. Going vegan was a turning point in my life. I made friends all over India. Whenever I visit any city, I always have friends there. This sense of belongingness is very beautiful.

I felt better both physically and mentally. I felt mentally better because I started living a guilt-free and cruelty-free lifestyle and made like-minded friends. I felt physically better because a plant-based diet is one of the healthiest diets on this planet provided you don't eat vegan junk food. I used to fall ill thrice a year but it all stopped. Now I hardly fall ill.

Hello! I am Vaibhavi. I have completed my post-graduation in management and currently, I'm working as a digital marketer in a small start-up. I love sketching, painting and cooking when it comes to veganising non-vegan recipes. I run a blog named Vguide which has blog posts related to veganism. Apart from that, I volunteer for vegan outreach events, animal adoption camps, and animal rescues.

I've been a vegan for seven years.

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The Vegan Journey of Shruti and Jayshree | Vegan Beings India #046

 

We're a Chartered Accountant-Digital Marketer duo who turned plant-based a year ago. As time passed, we became incredibly passionate about the cause. We wanted to spread awareness about the vegan lifestyle and the journey it took to get here to make it easy for other beginners and vegan-curious people to slowly make the shift. All these ideas culminated in the birth of Vee Villy Vegan, our personal blog on Instagram. We cover everything from plant-based food recipes, vegan skincare and beauty, to various tips to help people transition and sustain this lifestyle.

We were raised as vegetarians since birth. Interestingly, though we decided to go vegan around the same time, we had different reasons for doing so. 

Shruti has wanted to try a plant-based diet since her college days but found it difficult to transition, primarily due to a lack of resources at her hostel. On the other hand, Jayashree wanted to turn vegan in 2019 after watching a couple of videos on animal cruelty online and realising how similar a cow's eyes were to that of her own adopted dog's. 

In 2020, armed with adequate information and a proper game plan, we took the plunge towards veganism and have not looked back since. Ultimately, we realised our causes aligned towards a kinder, more sustainable lifestyle. We are grateful that we could be on this journey together. We've been vegan for over a year now.

We struggled with going vegan cold turkey, so we decided to phase out our journey and make a slow shift. We started with personal care and beauty products and slowly cut down dairy from our diet. This gradual transition allowed us not to get frustrated. It gave us adequate time to make the complete shift without it being too overwhelming. We were also really patient and not too hard on ourselves.

Eating out with friends has also become more difficult as there are not many vegan-friendly restaurants in town. But we are lucky to have supportive friends who don't mind eating at the same 4 restaurants and also try our vegan food recommendations from time to time.

Finally, we would like to say that every step you take towards a kinder lifestyle is a step for the better. As we said before, we need more imperfect vegans than just a few entirely perfect ones. So if you feel intimidated in the beginning, know that you can take your time and make small changes that still count. :)

To sum up: Vegan food is yummy, plants don't feel pain, and yes, we get enough protein! :)

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