The Vegan Journey of Ananya Jain | Vegan Beings India #065

 

Hello everyone! I am Ananya. I'm 15 years old and I love animals! Since childhood animals have been a major part of my life. I am an animal feeder, rescuer, and animal rights activist. I feed about 80 - 100 animals (mostly dogs) every day. 

Back then, I had just started using Instagram. Since I have always been keen on learning about animals, I used to scroll through animal-related pages. Suddenly, I landed upon a page where I saw how a cow is treated for me to have a glass of milk and other dairy products. I was just horribly shocked and did not know I was contributing to so much cruelty. As I scrolled more through the page, I got to know more about the cruelty that happens within the dairy industry. I wasn't able to admit the reality that as a vegetarian, I was contributing to animal cruelty. I was paying for those innocent animals to get tortured, abused, and slaughtered.

Hence, I went vegan in June 2020 after knowing this cruel reality of the dairy industry. To be honest, I feel my journey was a roller coaster. After knowing the cruel reality, I decided to go vegan but there was no one to guide me on how to go about things. I didn't know what plant-based milk was! So, it took me some days to research and know what I could use instead of dairy products. 

Today, I can proudly say that I have improved my athletic performance without killing or abusing animals. I have seen a drastic difference in my activity levels and my physical ability. I feel more strong & energetic.

When I told my parents about veganism, they didn't believe in it. I showed them everything and finally, a time came when my parents were supportive towards me being a vegan. But as I moved to talk to them about them transitioning to being a vegan... BOOM! I would get busted with so many myths, excuses and they argue with me. Then, I did not know how to answer them, but now I can have a debate with them.

I've come across a lot of people who hate animals for some reason. I don't know why! It's just that they are always behind hurting animals. While feeding specifically, many people come, oppose and mistreat stray animals such as dogs, puppies, or a cow! They would hit that innocent animal with a stick and that poor animal goes through a lot of pain. Please don't do that. They are too scared and traumatised. They just want some love and compassion. 

When I have no one with me, I have animals by my side who are always there to give you so much love, no matter what happens. And the fact is that in case you provide 1% love to them, they'll be there for life and provide 100% love back. And please step out for animals! Unless & until we don't, we are not going to make a change in the lives of animals.

I often have people saying to me "I can't be vegan because I love the taste of cheese, milk, or any other dairy products." I have one question for you all: How can you define anything above killing an animal & eating them? They are sentient beings just like you who can feel pain, suffering, misery. They are living beings just like you. 

"If your religion includes killing animals, It's not a religion. How can you justify killing an animal just for a religion?"

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ANIMAL ABUSE.

Apart from the above things, I have always been interested in contributing my part to our Earth by participating in community services which include waste segregation, environmental conservation organisations, animal organisations, etc. I also am passionate about photography, sketching, cooking, trekking and fitness, writing, and business. I am still exploring. :)

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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.

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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 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 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 Ajay Kiradiya | Vegan Beings India #060

Around three years ago I started feeding community dogs in my locality. Each time I’d feed them I empathise with them and eventually end up loving them. Thereafter, I started to love all the animals, from cows, dogs to pigs. I would feed them, care for them and empathise with them. I could see the pain in their eyes. I could feel their pain when I saw them suffering.

When I was shown the reality of dairy, at first, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it doesn’t happen in India. I did my research and got to know about various animal exploitation industries in India. I then decided to go vegan because I didn’t want to be the reason for their immense suffering, trauma, and exploitation. It took me a few months to transition and now I'm a vegan and an animal liberation activist.

My family has always been very supportive of my vegan and activism journey. After going vegan, I’ve got to know so much about the animal rights movement, and other social justice movements. I’ve made some amazing activist friends who help me sort out things. Apart from these, I feel so helpless that I can’t save all non-human animals. I can’t stop people from hurting animals, thus I can only try. 

I’ve been learning about anti-speciesism, effective activism, social change, and other important aspects of the AR movement. I’ve learned the importance of activism and why we should focus and invest our time in this. I’ve been doing offline activism since after two months I went vegan. I'm still learning effective ways of activism every day.

I document other animals’ suffering by witnessing them in butcher shops, live markets, dairy farms, pet shops, zoos, animal rides, and other unwanted uses. I’ve seen them in trauma and the torture that they have to go through. I tell people their stories by sharing them on my social media handles. I had also been a part of an online pressure campaign.

The problem is people are very disconnected from animals. All of us have been brainwashed by industries' advertisements. They don't show us the reality of what goes behind their end animal products. We are so bound by our culture to ignore the suffering of other sentient beings.

We all have been taught from childhood that animals are inferior to us. We can abuse them for our taste, pleasure, and greed. We should see beyond the culture and recognise their individuality, treat them with equal respect and dignity. Our habits, taste buds and convenience is nothing, compared to the pain and suffering other animals receive.

When it comes to the capacity to feel pain, fear, and love, we are all equal. We do not have to love animals to avoid abusing and killing them. Choose justice and equality, and be an anti-speciesist. And most importantly, be their allies.

Please get active for the animals. They are suffering and dying every day. They need us like never before. Use your privileges in ways that would help them, utilise the skills and knowledge you possess, and try to be effective in your actions. You do not have to master activism. Any action is better than no action, so keep trying it.

I've been learning about anti-speciesist language, animal-centric approach, effective activism, system change, and much more. I learned the importance of language that we use in our advocacy. It plays a huge role in the AR Movement. Because we all have been taught speciesist words and language by the society we live in and the system that normalises the exploitation of non-human animals.

I learned why we should always centre on the animals, not other factors while advocating for animal rights because they are the victims here. When we discuss health and the environment, we are not only objectifying animals but also letting people remain disconnected from animals. Eventually, they don't feel the plight of animals and keep coming up with other human-centric arguments. Yes, health and environmental factors are important but they are additional benefits. The root cause is speciesism and animal exploitation.

I learned why system change is equally important and should be emphasised as individual change and even more, because corporations, companies, industries, and governments continue to exploit animals to make money. They are the ones who operate the whole chain.

Hi, My name is Ajay Kiradiya. I'm an animal liberation activist from Indore and currently pursuing mass communication. I'm dedicated to animal rights activism.

I've been vegan for the last two years now.

 

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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 Radha G | Vegan Beings India #058

 

It has been 8 years since I've been vegan. Compassion for cows inspired me to go vegan. The movie Earthlings and Nandita Shah's Program, Peas vs pills made me more aware. All this led me to a lifestyle that avoids cruelty to other animals. Checking what my needs are and ensuring I don't meet them by "unfair means", at the cost of other sentient beings on earth became my motto.

Being a vegetarian from birth, I imagined that I was living a fairly compassionate life - causing minimal harm to other animals. As I was an avid baker, when I heard about the vegan cake the first time, I was positively scornful - about how folks could dream about replacing dairy products like butter, milk in an eggless cake!

It took a while to consider the perspective that the milk that is sold is often obtained by depriving calves of their mother's milk. Just as the (human) mother's milk is ideal for the baby, nature had intended cow's milk for the calf!  What hit hard was the realisation that my consumption of milk involved impregnating the female of another species and keeping her lactating for as long a time as possible during her life. 

Initially, family social gatherings were embarrassing as hosts would be confused about what to offer me. I would find it embarrassing to be a "fussy" guest. At times I would feel frustrated to find nothing vegan at all in the desserts section. 

However, turning vegan has made me more aware of what comes on my plate and what is the journey the food has made? Has it been made with zero pain to other earthlings? Am I consuming something that was not intended for me in the first place?

The journey has led to more awareness. It has made me pause whenever I have used something or eaten... to check in my mind how this product was made or sourced. Is there any cruelty involved?

My daughter turned vegan out of her own choice. She is 19 now and is into vegan activism. 

These 8 years have led to greater awareness and a sense of responsibility to make choices that don't harm other living beings on earth. I have had debates with colleagues who are from agrarian families saying cows are like their family members so there is no question of exploitation. They find the idea of veganism alien. However, I have felt lighter and my conscience feels clear about what I consume. Ahimsa life, at least as much as possible. 

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Hello everyone, I’m Radha G. I teach Chemistry in senior secondary school. I am also a past life regression therapist, breathwork therapist, and Life Coach. I play the sitar, enjoy reading, and being in nature.

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The Vegan Journey of Vishwa Mehta | Vegan Beings India #057

Hi, I'm Vishwa Mehta from Gujarat, and I'm in 12th grade. Leaving non-vegan food was easy when I thought about animals and also because I was vegetarian so I wasn't eating eggs or meat, I just had to leave milk, honey, wool, leather, fur, and some other things. But you have to tell your family too…

They didn't disagree at first, but they were like okay, don't drink milk, then you'll get sick and the doctor will tell you to drink milk then you will have to drink milk. It's annoying and sad that people you love don't care about animals and just their health benefits. However, they do it because they love me, they care that I might get some deficiencies although there are a lot of health problems from drinking or consuming milk products. 

And telling other people was easy as they don't ask where do you get your protein from 😂 Instead, some of them said it was a good thing and it is a good thing being vegan. But a few of them were anti-vegans so they are just annoying but I don't really care anymore.

After going vegan, my allergies have actually decreased. I had clearer skin, good hair/ scalp health. My mental health is at its best knowing that no animal was harmed/ killed or raped for the food that I'm having. I felt a little weak at first but now I have even more energy.

For anyone, only realising the cruel reality of animal agriculture (including all the animal abuse and slaughters or any kind of animal abuse, environmental problems, and health problems) is enough to go vegan and so was for me. Every living being is a beautiful creation of nature and we have no right to abuse them.

I've just been vegan for 5+ months (activist for less than five months) and I'm only 15 yet I have turned 3 people vegan. So yes, once you go vegan, you need to inspire others to be vegan for animal rights. It's okay if you don't wanna be a full-time activist, but you can still inspire people to be vegan by speaking for them wherever possible. Many people aren't vegan because they don't know the reality behind their food's taste. You just have to make them realise.

If you are vegan or want to go vegan, then take some supplements and analyze what you are eating. Eat beans, fruits, some grains, and vegetables every day for all the nutrients (apart from junk food) Take supplements for rare vitamins like B12 because I swear if you ever get deficiencies, everyone will blame it on veganism and you might also leave veganism because of health issues. 

 

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The Vegan Journey of Muthukumar Ramalingam | Vegan Beings India #056

After seeing my children go the vegan way, I did my research and went vegan- because that was the right thing to do. I was someone who used to eat curd with anything. Curd even with idli or dosa. Giving up that was a challenge- but not hard at all. If I, (someone who used to eat so much curd) could go vegan, anyone can.

 

We were always vegetarians. Initially I thought that the word vegan was short for vegetarian. It was later that I realized that vegetarianism is a diet and veganism is a moral stance against animal abuse/use. My daughter went vegan first. I was quite puzzled initially, but the facts are clear and if you understand them, going vegan is the right thing to do. We are breeding and killing 70 billion land animals every year. Animal agriculture is such a cruel and inefficient process. After reading about veganism, there was no reason not to be vegan and that's how I turned vegan.

After learning so many new facts about the meat and dairy industry and about veganism, I felt that all these facts were in different places and couldn't find them all in one place. That motivated me to write my first book 'Vegan or We're Gone', which covers everything I learnt about veganism- the why and the how, about the animals and the earth and what different religions have said about veganism. The book was released in the Global Vegan Business Expo 2020 virtually.

We are at a tipping point. We are running out of time. Billions of land animals and trillions of marine animals are killed every year for food and gains of humans, causing unimaginable violence and misery to animals, environment and earth. Food on our plates is the next nuclear bomb- but incorrectly labelled as meat and dairy. Is there a way to stop the explosion of this bomb? Yes, going vegan is definitely a key.

I read about different religions while writing my book. I was surprised to see that every religion had spoken about the values of veganism and compassion towards animals, and yet many humans use religion as an excuse to continue to participate in violence like meat/dairy and animal sacrifice.

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Hello everyone. I am Muthukumar Ramalingam. I live in Trichy. I am the CEO of HelloLeads.io and the author of  'Vegan or We're Gone'. I have given virtual talks at colleges and companies on veganism. I went vegan close to 3 years ago.

 

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The Vegan Journey of Sakshi Raheja | Vegan Beings India #055

 

This day, 3 years ago, I decided to adopt veganism immediately after realising what I was contributing to. I was 17 years old and I was told I was being naive and that it was just a phase. Three years later it has become a way of life and if a phase looks like this, we can call it that :D⁣

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In November 2018, I went to a restaurant where for the first time I read the word vegan. I used to drink more than half a litre of coffee, eat cheese, paneer, ghee almost every day back then. Three days later, it clicked to research why people went vegan. I got to know more about the dairy industry and the cruelty involved. During that time, I decided that I no longer want to contribute to this industry and should go vegan. I stopped consuming milk, paneer, and curd immediately.

It took me a few months to stop consuming cheese and ghee completely. I was struggling with ghee because in my house ghee is used quite a bit. I also started getting conscious of all my actions especially while purchasing anything. I started making an effort to be vegan in all other lifestyle products. Gradually, I also started following a minimalist lifestyle.⁣

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I believe if I can go vegan, so can you. It's all about making the connection. And life is too short to live without compassion and kindness. Life is too short to spend while contributing to the cruelty of the innocent. ⁣

My family earlier hadn't accepted veganism completely but they did passively support it. Also, there was a good coincidence. I was severely unwell when I was transitioning. I had PCOD which went for 3 years. When my symptoms got worse in 2018, it went really bad. I felt sick. It was by chance that I stopped consuming dairy during that time. After that, it helped me a lot. My intention was not to be vegan for health reasons, but my parents were quite satisfied seeing the change.⁣

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Today, my family's dairy consumption is negligible. And we have also started a vegan food delivery kitchen in Pune which completed one year recently. (Click here)

Coming to activism, my approach is NOT to go very extreme which includes blaming & shaming people who consume animal products. If you look at it from the perspective of others, they are not aware of it. There are two kinds of people: One who is not aware of the cruelty happening behind the products they are consuming and second the people who know but their mind cannot accept it. I focus on the people who don't know because it is not their fault. When you become an activist, it's our job to make sure that you are making people aware. There's a lot of blame game going on companies like Amul, McDonald's or Keventers. Many call such companies or slaughterhouse workers as devils, they are heartless, etc. To people who know and they're not going vegan, there's a perspective from their side too. Most of them have been socially conditioned for what they're doing. It would be weird if you go to someone and directly say: Go Vegan. When you're asking someone to go vegan, we're telling them to bring a huge change in their eating habit. This requires effort.

We need to be considerate and approachable when we're introducing the concept of veganism and should focus on educating them.

We need to make veganism look very convenient and easy to follow. We should not shame or blame people who're not 100% vegan. Sometimes, people want to but aren't able to be completely vegan. I think we should accept whatever level someone is vegan, but that definitely does not mean that you are okay with someone just cutting 1 cup of tea everyday. What I am intending is to respect them, taking their time to change and motivating them to not stop. Because neither of us went vegan in a snap.

I'm working on inspiring people to take any form of activism and to mobilise them. With social media, it has become so easy to share and reach out to people. Going vegan is just one step, but what is more important is to spread the word about it. So many people are going vegan but a very few people are taking up activism. Activism is not protesting or shouting slogans. Even when we're speaking to someone about why you are vegan and how animals are suffering, you are still doing activism. At the same time, providing resources to them is also activism. If 200-300 people see your story, it's possible that maybe 10 people might go through it. We never know who!

Veganism is a systematic change where we need to educate everyone including producers, consumers as well as government bodies too. The government knows what's happening, but in this change, producers have to gradually change their production methods, the consumers have to change their consumption habits and the government also has to bring change at the policy level. 

I agree that the whole world won't go vegan at one instant, however, there will be some economic impact on certain sectors. We need to consider the rehabilitation of people involved in such sectors.

I've not interacted directly with people involved in slaughterhouses. I want to do that. However, from my secondary interaction, I know that these people don't feel good about what they are doing. They don't want to separate the calves, they don't want to torture the animals but they are trapped. Most of their job roles are wage per hour, which is not stable. Being a psychology student, I know how they need to shut down their emotions to work in such situations. Eventually, one day this emotional constipation is going to burst out in some other form. It can be a mental health problem that we most of the time overlook. Imagine every morning they have to kill animals

One of my friends was researching this topic. What came out from his research was that most of the people are involved in slaughterhouses because of their social disability. It is their acquired status because their parents were also involved in the same profession. They don't have a stable job. Veganism is a sociopolitical issue and at the same time an economical issue.

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