Veganism is gaining acceptance in Singapore mainly because a plant-based diet can help protect our environment by reducing environmental footprint.
By: Kavi Bharathi
Following a lifestyle with no animal-derived products can be hard, but for Ms Natrisha Kaur it was a must. Ms Kaur started her veganism journey after seeing a lot of graphic documentaries about the food industry on YouTube and Netflix. She says, “I became a vegan to make a difference and help the animals.” The most common way to practise veganism is to follow a plant-based diet.
Veganism is one of the most trending lifestyles in 2019 with people joining in due to numerous personal reasons. Many vegans like Ms Cat Yeo, a member of the animal allies organisation became a vegan for health and ethical reasons while another member Mr Akriti Pandey, changed his diet to reduce harm to the environment. The fact that veganism doesn’t just contribute to good health but also a safer environment is the main reason for its rise in 2019.
According to Ms Olivia Choong, the founder of Greendrinks Society, following a plant-based diet is the “most impactful thing that individuals can do to reverse the effects of climate change”. The United Nation’s 2018 climate report claims that our planet is heating up rapidly, and this makes veganism important, as climate change is becoming a very severe problem.
Ms Choong explained that the livestock industry accounts for a huge environmental footprint globally because of processes like land clearing, raising animals, growing animal feed and water usage. Raising cows alone produce 150 billion gallons of methane while about 1,500 gallons of water is used to grow one pound of beef. Ms Kaur also said that “eliminating meat and dairy from the diet can reduce about 73 per cent of carbon footprint”. Hence, with less environmental footprint, our planet will be able to reverse the effects of climate change. This will also further benefit Singapore as climate change reversal will reduce the overall increasing temperature of our city, and also help prevent a future with rising sea level.
These arguments have convinced many people to take up the vegan lifestyle. One of them, Ms Kaur, a vegan since secondary school, proclaimed that “if animals could survive on plants so could humans”. Unfortunately, many Singaporeans believe that veganism is not a practical lifestyle in an expensive country where meat is commonplace. Ms Kaur though also pointed out that there are many vegan alternatives for meat and that a little research on vegan nutrition could help a lot. She says, “Tofu and Green leafy vegetables can be supplemented for Vitamin B12 while beans, lentils and superfoods could provide endless amounts of protein.” Pricewise, Ms Banaseer Begam, another vegan, believes that if the food industry focuses less on meat production and more on growing plant-based food, then there will be an automatic reduction in the price of vegan foods.
Despite these reassurances, some citizens like Ms Isabel Yong, a non-vegan student, are still uncertain on whether a plant rich diet could sustain the human body. The lack of meat can make some vegans prone to deficiencies for nutrients like B12, Omega 3 and Iron. The simplest solution to prevent deficiencies is to take supplements. Ms Yeo, agreed and said, “B12 supplements are a must but other supplements depend on people.” After all, as Ms Kaur mentioned, “Making some difficult choices is worth it as it has many benefits like saving the planet.”
Additionally, Mr Pandey also said, “The vegan diet is more efficient in saving the environment than small changes like using metal straws.” He also points out that first-time vegans have much more help now then when he first started out, with many new local vegan businesses popping up like Souley Green, Greendot and Soulalife. Rookie vegans can download and read free vegan books from the animal allies website animalallies.sg and also join the numerous vegan WhatsApp support groups available.
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