Veganism Is Bliss
By Advaita Shukla
Art: Stuti Rawat
Namaste!
Dear readers, with much pleasure and excitement I would like to introduce you all to something that has the potential to change your lives. The simple yet powerful lifestyle change that has the potential to prevent numerous diseases, protect the environment, prevent the mass extinction of thousands of species of flora and fauna and prevent the extreme destruction caused by climate change is, as you must have guessed from the title, Veganism.
Veganism, for those of you entirely new to the topic, by definition is, and I quote, “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose”. So Veganism is, unlike the usual belief of people, not a diet, it is a lifestyle and philosophy. Firstly, I would like to encourage you to keep aside all prejudices you might possess regarding Veganism and read the posts in this series with an open mind.
Namaste!
Dear readers, with much pleasure and excitement I would like to introduce you all to something that has the potential to change your lives. The simple yet powerful lifestyle change that has the potential to prevent numerous diseases, protect the environment, prevent the mass extinction of thousands of species of flora and fauna and prevent the extreme destruction caused by climate change is, as you must have guessed from the title, Veganism.
Veganism, for those of you entirely new to the topic, by definition is, and I quote, “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose”. So Veganism is, unlike the usual belief of people, not a diet, it is a lifestyle and philosophy. Firstly, I would like to encourage you to keep aside all prejudices you might possess regarding Veganism and read the posts in this series with an open mind.
I would like to get done with the part that describes my journey thus far very quickly as I would like this series to be about you, the animals and the planet, not about me. I am a person who is very concerned about the environment, the planet, climate change and its adverse effects on the earth, and basically everything, and so while researching the topic on the internet I came across the term Veganism which at the time was entirely new to me. I looked into the topic and dug deeper in the next few months. I researched a lot and finally after a few months of research and thinking I went vegan on 13th of August, 2018. I have been Vegan since and don’t plan to give up as long as I live.
I am planning to start a series on the class blog based on Veganism and the different aspects of it. The main motive behind this series is to encourage anyone who reads the posts to look into the matter with an unbiased lens and maybe even turn Vegan! Of course, I am in no way forcing this upon you, changing the way you live is a decision which is and will always remain in your own hands.
To make this series a success I will need you all to write any queries you have about Veganism, any concerns you might have about the lifestyle and how it is so beneficial, in the comments section. I will try my best to pick the most relevant and important topics from there and dedicate the next post to that topic and hopefully do justice to it. I will even try to clarify concerns that people usually have regarding veganism in case of a lack of comments (which I hope there won’t be :) )
With this I conclude the introduction to the series.
Thank you for reading.
it was really fascinating to read the article. wishing to help you in some or the other way :)
ReplyDeleteAaditya you do realize that being vegetarian and being vegan is different, right? vegetarians don't harm animals. We believe in the policy of 'live and let live'.
ReplyDeleteAnd you mentioned that you are vegan does that mean you don't drink milk or eat any milk products? Those are a primary source of calcium, complete protein source, vitamin D and potassium. Milk even has almost every nutrient. And the substitutes for cow milk, like soya milk, is NOT as good as cow milk.
I am a vegetarian and advocate for the same, but I don't feel vegan is the right choice. -Tarang Jain
Hey Tarang ! Glad to see you asked a question. Many people have a similar kind of doubt and this deserves a post on its own so hang on till the next post to find out the answers!
DeleteAdvaita, you have taken a very brave and selfless decision!! One question- Does Veganism also require preventing intake of all kinds of milk products?
ReplyDeleteThank You Priyansh ! And yes, Veganism is a lifestyle and philosophy which prohibits the use and exploitation of animals in any way or form as far as practical so we do not consume any meat, eggs or dairy.
DeleteVeganism does look good and all at the surface but it is quite different from that. As of animal torture and environmental damage, don't you think that is a fault in the way humans have developed this sector rather than the very nature of the thing like dairy products. People may say that the absence of enzymes like Rennin and Lactase in adults may render Casein(milk protein) and Lactose(milk sugar) useless for the body, but gastric juices are enough for the digestion of these nutrients. People who follow a vegan diet often are deficient in Iron, Zinc, Vitamin D, Omega-3 fatty acids and also develop a deficiency of Vitamin B-12 that, if untreated, can potentially cause neurological effects that are irreversible. Though veganism may lower the risks of heart diseases but it severely increases the risk of stroke, which is suggested by a major study.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Veganism is not as appealing as it looks, if we go in deeper into it.