From timesnownews.com
It is possible to make veganism sustainable for your health, the planet, the animal kingdom and your wallet
With each passing year, there are more and more converts to the vegan lifestyle. While some do it for the love of animals, others are sliding towards a sense of responsibility for the planet. And there are many more who do it for their own health or because their favourite celebrity is a vegan.
In fact, the pandemic could also have a role in this. Call it is a positive side-effect, but the scare of zoonotic diseases and pandemics like Covid-19 can very well be avoided if one were to go off the meat-diet grid. Data from Google shows that vegan-related searches shot up by 47 per cent in 2020. Further number-crunching shows that over the next five to seven years, the “smart” or plant-based protein market in India is projected to touch $1 billion.
For every person switching to a vegan lifestyle, nearly 200 animals are saved annually. The University of Oxford found that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual's carbon footprint from food by up to 73 per cent. Considering India alone contributes to about six per cent of the world's carbon emissions, we are talking big numbers here.
However, it is not easy to hold on to the lifestyle. On one hand, there are claims from certain quarters that it is an expensive lifestyle to follow, others find it difficult because there are fewer options when one is travelling or cannot cook and has to depend on prepared foods.
A research paper from the University of Bath in England states that expense, taste and convenience were the predominant factors for people moving away from veganism. And it is true to some extent. Veganism bears the stigma of being inevitably associated with elitism. A litre of almond milk indeed does cost Rs 300. What is not projected, however, is that there are cheaper options like peanut curd and soy milk. In fact, research shows that eating a diet that uses plant-based proteins instead of lean animal protein will save us an average of Rs 50,000 every year.
While vegan speciality foods, like prepared vegan burgers or other dishes, are indeed more expensive than their non-vegan counterparts, they aren’t the only options. Most Indian vegetarian food also falls in the subset of veganism if one were to not opt for paneer, curd or cheese. For instance, instead of a palak paneer, one was to opt for a dal palak at the restaurant, bingo! there is your vegan option. This should also address the question of availability. It is rather easy being a vegan in India than in most other countries.
If one is travelling outside the country, the options might be limited. But with a little bit of planning, this challenge can be easily overcome. Many hotels abroad offer access to kitchens, so one can rustle up a vegan meal on the go. In the age of connectivity and social media, there are plenty of options to connect with vegans in your destination, who could help with finding a vegan-friendly restaurant. And believe us, there are way more options than you think.
Another key concern is nutrition. Leading nutritionists say that a plant-based diet is rich in fibre and good for your gut as it improves your digestion. Those of us who consume a high non-vegetarian diet know the kind of difficulty we have in the morning trying to relieve ourselves. As far as the question of taste buds go, that is an acquired taste. But considering the benefits for health, the planet and the millions of animals that one saves, this seems like a small price to pay, no?
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