Let me make this clear at the outset: I did not give up meat because I hated it. On the contrary, I enjoyed not just eating but cooking with meat too. But I gave up meat and fish and all other animal products, including dairy, eggs and honey, because I finally made the connection between animal cruelty and the food we so thoughtlessly put on our plates.
Of course, I knew all along that meat comes from animals. But like many others, I guess I chose to not think about the tough realities that lie behind the neat packages of meat that we toss into our grocery carts: about the terrible and short lives of the birds and animals raised to feed humans; about the cruelty of the ways in which their lives are terminated to turn them into "food"; and above all, about the needlessness of it all. Humans don't need to eat meat to survive: a vegetarian diet is not only more than adequate to fuel the body, but studies have time and again shown that it is healthier to eat a plant-based diet, compared to a meat-based one.
What's more, because it takes several pounds of grain to create a single pound of meat, an insistence on meat by a few of us means starvation for many, many others around the globe.
As someone who loves to cook, I have gained a lot by becoming a vegan. I've become more experimental in the kitchen, and I discover and eat new foods every day. While I still primarily cook Indian food- and believe me it is not at all difficult to cook great Indian vegan food- I also love trying out recipes from other parts of the world- and, of course, veganizing them!
I find that without exception, the vegan meals I make are far healthier than the meats I used to cook before. What's more, after the first few weeks had passed, I have never ever craved meat or even dairy products like cheese that I thought would be hard to live without. I now crave fresh, vibrant foods and look forward to experimenting with new finds every day.
My refusal to participate in cruelty against animals does not stop at food. As a vegan, I do not wear clothes or carry accessories made from animal products: no leather, silk, or wool. I do not use cosmetics or other products that are tested on animals or contain animal ingredients. And believe me, it is not only not difficult to do this, it makes life far simpler. All you need to do is read the labels, and in the process you also become a more aware consumer.
I became a vegan for ethical reasons, because I loved animals and I realized I couldn't be a hypocrite that loved some animals and thoughtlessly contributed to cruelty against others. But there have been many, many rewards. I feel healthier, I keep my weight under control more effortlessly, and I am mentally more focused than ever before. But the best reward of all has been this: I feel much better about myself, knowing that I am doing all I can to lead a conscious, non-violent life.
VegTomato says
Hi Vaishali,My name is Patrick and I am running a website, VegTomato, , dedicated to advocate veganism/vegetarianism among Chinese/Taiwanese community. Just found your blog and read your story which is so inspiring. I am wondering if I can have your permission to transalte it into Chinese and post in my website to inspire more people go vegan/veggie. I will link back and credit it to you.
Anonymous says
i just discovered this blog today, and i think its great! thank you! keep up the good work!
Vaishali says
Anja, Thanks, and good luck!
Anonymous, Welcome!
Anonymous says
i find your site very touchy. i am glad that some are seriously concern to live their lives with true kindness not only for humans but for all the things around them. i feel the same way, for i love to keep my dwelling place (earth), and everything around me beautiful, peaceful and good.
as for the killing of plants, plants needs pruning, they grow and produce more when prune. you don't stop life in them. plants are the intended food for human, this is their purpose for existence. when you kill an animal they no longer can produce.
Anonymous says
hello Vaishali, just want to thank you and want to leave congratulations to you and your site!! i´m vegan since a few weeks and landed here by looking for new inspirations, and its very inspiring, what i found here! looking forward trying many of your recepts, yumyum. many warm greetings from a now autumnly, sunny germany, lake constance. Anja
Vaishali says
Hi Deepti, sorry for the delay in replying. Thanks for your kind words about the blog. I am no expert in child nutrition, but is your son eating any veggies and beans yet? Vegetables from the cruciferous family, like broccoli, kale, cauliflower are great sources of calcium. So is spinach and lots of other veggies. Beans are also a good source of calcium. I just looked up the Almond Breeze website and their almond milk is fortified with 30 percent of the RDA of calcium-- as much as you'd get from a glass of milk.
You've probably already done so, but it would be a good idea to get your pediatrician's opinion on foods you can give your son to ensure his calcium needs are met.
Deepti (Sharan) Shukla says
Dear Vaishali,
Your replies to the comments are as enlightening at the original post itself. When I read your blog the 1st time, it shook me hard...it took me a couple of days and lots of consolidation from my FB friends with whom I shared pieces of these facts. Right now, the only thing I am doing is creating more awareness by word of mouth.
I also have a Q: My 21 month is having Almond Milk, because he has been diagnosed allergic to casein. He does not like rice or coconut milk and I have heard Soy is no longer the best alternative, since its highly processed, due to it being produces in such large volumes (due to its increasing demand)and it also interferes with hormones in humans that young. That leaves me with almond which does not have any calcium. Are tums / calcium tablets the only alternative I have to replenish his calcium needs? Or are you aware of any other sources?
Deepti
Vaishali says
Shankari, glad you liked the cupcakes 🙂 Thanks for the feedback.
Amanda, Thanks, and welcome to Holy Cow! Always great to meet a fellow vegan 🙂
Amanda says
I love your recipes and was happy to read your reasons for being vegan.
I was a vegetarian for 6 years. Started as a teenager. Then, after some travels I started eating meat again for about 5 years. However, it all disgusted me so much that I decided to become vegan recently and am so happy.
I like your response to the plant question, as my husband recently said the same thing.
I try too avoid too many soy products, too, so I like that a lot of your recipes don't have highly processed soy products.
Shankari says
I baked the cupcakes. They turned out amazing! Thanks for this, I am definitely baking this more often 🙂 Please check
Shankari says
Great effort Vaishali, both being vegan and this amazing blog! I hopped on here from Madhuram's blog and have been reading your blog for quite sometime now 🙂 Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes. I am going to bake the mango cupcakes today for my new neighbours!
Vaishali says
Hi Srividya, welcome, and it is good to hear from a fellow desi vegan. Early wishes for a happy new year, and hope you enjoy the kheer 🙂
Srividya says
Hi Vaishali,
Its so cool to see a fellow-desi vegan! I turned vegan about 3 months ago and am loving it. I feel as if I am reading my own words as I read your reasons for being vegan. As someone mentioned, its quite easy to be vegan in the US. I love almond milk and soy milk. I am hoping to make the almond milk kheer soon for Tamil New Year. Love your blog and keep up the good work!
Vaishali says
Hi Sharmila, Welcome! It seems obvious to us animal lovers that animals should have rights, but unfortunately we are still in a minority. Hopefully, that will change one day-- as they say, never underestimate the power of one. 🙂
Kudos to you for making the decision to give up dairy-- I for one felt much better after I did, and I've never missed it. And I thought I couldn't live without cheese!
Sharmila says
Hi Vaishali,
I am absolutely thrilled at finding your website. I am a vegetarian and a die hard animal lover. I have mostly found myself alone when defending animals and their rights, where I would finally end up in tears. It is very reassuring to see an outspoken anti-cruelty supporter. Organic yogurt and cheese were the only vegetarian things that I was hanging on to, but you blog has inspired me to go completely vegan.
Regards,
Sharmila
Anonymous says
Vaishali
I tried your method and the Soy Milk did not curdle rather my coffee had a frothy texture that a regular cow's milk would give.
Vaishali says
Hi Anonymous,
Thank you -- you are very kind! I am happy you've enjoyed reading the posts because I really love writing them. 🙂
About soymilk in tea, are you by any chance heating it on the stovetop? I put the soymilk in a mug and first zap it in the microwave for about 15 seconds and then pour the tea or coffee over it.
I am wondering if curdling might be a problem with some brands. I use Kirkland's vanilla soymilk which I buy from Costco. It doesn't curdle when I add it to tea or coffee.
Lastly, and I am sure you're already doing this, but do make sure that you refrigerate the opened pack of soymilk immediately because it does spoil just as milk does if left out at room temperature too long.
Hope that helps 🙂
Anonymous says
Dear Vaishali
Thank you for the reply. I usually combine milk, water; microwave it and then add coffee powder. You are right, for tea I combine everything in a vessel and heat it on a stove top. Unfortunately I do not have Costco nearby my home. I faced the same problem with different brands that I tried. But not I will try your method.
Thanks again
Anonymous says
Dear Vaishali
I never get bored even if I read your posts n number of times. I do take soy milk in my tea and coffee but soy milk curdles. Any suggestion?
Thanks
uma says
Thanks Vaishali!
Vaishali says
Uma, on the contrary. Most of the cows on earth today were bred specifically for food. These cows-- called livestock-- eat about 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States today.
Were we to give up meat, there would be no need to breed cows in large numbers, and the cow population would drop dramatically. What's more, most of the forest land cleared to produce grain for the cows could be reforested because we'd need far less land to grow food for humans who eat much less than cows do. And we could conquer world hunger--you have to feed a cow 16 pounds of grain for each pound of beef you get from it after it's slaughtered. A pound of beef might feed two or three people at a single meal, but think of how many people 16 pounds of grain would feed, and for how many days?
Going vegan is a win-win for us, the environment, and for the cows 🙂
uma says
Vaishali,
Thanks for replying back..
I have one more query.. if all humans turn vegan, will there be a negative effect on the ecological balance..to be precise will the cow population will increase or overgrazing will happen?.. am still reading about this..
waiting for your reply..
Vaishali says
Uma, Kudos for trying! Turning vegan may seem like a challenge, but it is much easier than it seems. Milk substitutes are easy to find almost anywhere in the world now, and it is possible to make even Indian sweets with these substitutes that taste just as good. You can find a few recipes for vegan sweets here, , and in my roundup of the Sweet Vegan event here:
Eating out is not much of a challenge either. I don't know where you are based, but here in the United States it is really easy to find vegan options at restaurants and there are some great, exclusively vegan restaurants in almost every city. Chefs will often make small adjustments if you ask for them. And in India, there is a plethora of choices with all the vegetarian restaurants.
I can tell you for a fact that I've been eating much better since I turned vegan 🙂
About wool, it is possibly the easiest of all non-vegan fabrics to substitute: sweaters made with acrylic or nylon fibers and other non-animal wool substitutes can be easily found anywhere, and are as comfortable. I wear them and stay warm even in Washington's really cold winters. Even vegan coats are easy to find online and are quite reasonably priced.
The idea that wool does not harm the sheep is just as full of holes as the idea that milk does not harm cows. Investigations by animal rights groups have found that sheep used for wool are horribly abused-- the wool is torn off their bodies in large patches and chunks of flesh from their rumps are torn off without giving them any sedatives or pain relievers. I have seen videos of sheep whose legs are being chopped off even as the sheep is still alive-- if everyone saw that, no one would want to go near wool again.
uma says
Hi Vaishali,
Turning vegan is difficult for me when it comes to milk in tea and milk based sweets... Also eating out becomes extremely difficult..
Perfumes, cosmetics are something which I quit using long back after reading about animal testing...Leather, last i used was in school .. shoes.. tell me what would you substitute wool with?
For now, i'll try to become a vegan...
Vaishali says
Casey, Thanks, and welcome! I have a few dosa recipes on the blog, but for a masala dosa I'd recommend these: . If you try it, do let me know how it turns out!
casey says
I suppose I'm about to join the legion of people who are just flat out stoked to find your blog! I am yet another "born" vegetarian, born and raised by a fantastic omni mom. I have been vegan for the last 5 years, after about a decade of failed attempts (cheese was always my downfall).
At any rate, I'm looking forward to reading your updates and I'm really looking forward to trying your dosa recipe this week. I have some great South Indian restaurants here in the bay area that are vegan friendly, but I'm excited to have a chance to make a giant veggie masala dosa at home!
have a great weekend!
Vaishali says
Rashmi, Lovely to hear from you, and I agree that it is fairly easy to get great vegan choices in traditional Indian cuisine. Thanks for sharing your story, and kudos to you for living your beliefs!
Voracious Vegan, Welcome. It's great to hear from a fellow food-lover who shares my views on ethical veganism. Thanks for your kind words.
The Voracious Vegan says
Another beautiful post! Your decision to go vegan is just like mine; I loved the taste of meat, just not the suffering behind it! To be a compassionate human being you must be vegan! Loving your blog...
Rashmi says
Hi Vaishali,
I have to say I really enjoyed reading your post and all the comments. I became vegetarian about 7 1/2 years back, when I was ten, because of a discussion in class that supported hunting. I remember you also mentioning somewhere that you had always loved animals but never wanted to think about the fact that meat came from them. So it was with me until 5th grade. I becamse very hardcore about it too, until I realized over the years that you can't hope to convert anyone by being orthodox and forcing your beliefs on others, no matter how noble you feel them to be. So for a while, I actually gave up believing that veganism/vegartianism is the natural human diet (thanks to beyondveg.com and other arugments about human paleontology that are hard to beat). Nevertheless, I am still a convinced veggie. But I am glad to read your posts and feel a sense of support that it really does make practical sense in many ways to lead a vegan lifestyle. I should definitely try going vegan again.
There is one thing that caught my attention. You mentioned how hard it is to be a vegan in India. This may be true if you are used to vegan food containing a lot of the dairy substitutes we get here in the US. But there is still quite a selection of dairy-free fare in Indian cuisine. My parents are from India, and most of our typical "odia khaanaa" does not have any milk products whatsoever. Or even foods from the south. Maybe if you're just talking about sweets, but I'm sure there a few sweets that can easily be made with oil instead of ghee, like jalebis for example. I'm trying to imagine, if I ever did live in India, if it really would be all that hard to eat vegan, since there is a wealth of plant-based dishes there anyway.I guess I was just a bit surprised to see other testimonies.
Anyway, I loved your site and will check back often!
ambrosia says
Hi Vaishali, thanks a ton for the important tips and for the lovely words and for visiting my space too 🙂 I have increasingly felt with every grey hair on my head that all one needs is the WILL to go for it, and all of our bodies will actually respond like a dream then. If people decide even before beginning that they "cannot do it" or live in suspicion and fear while at it that they will "never make it", they actually never will! 🙂 I think changing one's food habits to include less and less "violence" on one's plate can only be a progression of one's being, never a regression. In that I really really like something that you said here - "Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it"!
Since you say you like soy milk in tea, it has got me thinking - maybe I did not mix the milk with the water at the right time - I put it in boiling water!! Maybe soy milk in tea would taste differently and better if I make tea the English way. Let me try 🙂 I will be on the lookout for a non-dairy creamer however. I had been using a dairy creamer actually before I went vegan coz liquid cow's milk I never quite liked right from childhood.
And I never knew that almond milk is actually made and so many things can be done with it! I am currently on the lookout for vegan cookies as I love cookies. And will you believe it, there is not a single one stop store in this city for vegan items! It is challenging but an exciting and deeply educative challenge nevertheless 🙂