It was in 1996 during graduation that I happened to come across the various atrocities committed on animals in the name of providing comfort / glamour to humans. I became associated with an organisation called "Beauty without Cruelty" - the Indian chapter being based out of Pune. They primarily focused on creating awareness on a cruelty free life style. It was an eye opener for me that shampoos and soaps, cosmetics, fragrances etc were all tested upon animals to make them safe for human use.
I was born in a vegetarian household but my mother used to make eggs for us as kids and I had no qualms about eating cakes, pastries etc until I got to actually see the conditions under which chicken are raised and how hens are forced to lay eggs by simulating an environment conducive to laying eggs.
I did not until then know that ice creams used gelatin as a binding agent.
I stopped eating bakery products containing eggs, ice creams etc and consciously started reading the contents of every item purchased to make it easier for me to lead a guilt free lifestyle.
I did come to know a few years later about the cruelty and artificial insemination of cows / buffalos to enhance the production of milk, hormonal treatments given etc which again questioned my core beliefs. I wanted to switch to a dairy free diet but somehow could not get around to doing it. I avoided dairy as far as possible but did not do away with it completely.
Fast forward to April'2014 - It has been close to 9 yrs since I moved to Mumbai and switched from a typical South Indian diet of rice and sambar and curds to a more North Indian diet (my husband being from Delhi). Also health concerns forced us to reduce our consumption of ghee, dairy, sweets etc and thereby reduce the carbohydrate content and increase our fibre rich plant based diet.
It was during this time that I realised my dependance on dairy (primarily curd) had reduced to almost negligible (except buttermilk during summer).
This is when I thought why not switch completely off diary and what better time to do than summer when I was most dependant on it!
Voila! It's been more than 6 months that I have been happily living a vegan lifestyle. It has in fact helped me to experiment more on my cooking (I was hardly into cooking); find vegan alternatives for regular run of the mill products and also helped me realise there are lots of people in India who lead a vegan life style successfully.
My biggest challenge is to convince relatives / friends on my abstinence from dairy when I visit their homes. They are forced to think of alternatives. I clearly tell them that I do not require anything special but a simple dal chawal / roti subzi is good enough. I am happy not to have sweets. I usually buy some sweet which is vegan so they do not feel guilty about not giving me anything sweet:)
I do not aim to convert anyone, but I definitely would like to create awareness and my choice of avoidance of dairy prompts people to ask me questions so I can explain to them my concept of leading a vegan life style.
I was born in a vegetarian household but my mother used to make eggs for us as kids and I had no qualms about eating cakes, pastries etc until I got to actually see the conditions under which chicken are raised and how hens are forced to lay eggs by simulating an environment conducive to laying eggs.
I did not until then know that ice creams used gelatin as a binding agent.
I stopped eating bakery products containing eggs, ice creams etc and consciously started reading the contents of every item purchased to make it easier for me to lead a guilt free lifestyle.
I did come to know a few years later about the cruelty and artificial insemination of cows / buffalos to enhance the production of milk, hormonal treatments given etc which again questioned my core beliefs. I wanted to switch to a dairy free diet but somehow could not get around to doing it. I avoided dairy as far as possible but did not do away with it completely.
Fast forward to April'2014 - It has been close to 9 yrs since I moved to Mumbai and switched from a typical South Indian diet of rice and sambar and curds to a more North Indian diet (my husband being from Delhi). Also health concerns forced us to reduce our consumption of ghee, dairy, sweets etc and thereby reduce the carbohydrate content and increase our fibre rich plant based diet.
It was during this time that I realised my dependance on dairy (primarily curd) had reduced to almost negligible (except buttermilk during summer).
This is when I thought why not switch completely off diary and what better time to do than summer when I was most dependant on it!
Voila! It's been more than 6 months that I have been happily living a vegan lifestyle. It has in fact helped me to experiment more on my cooking (I was hardly into cooking); find vegan alternatives for regular run of the mill products and also helped me realise there are lots of people in India who lead a vegan life style successfully.
My biggest challenge is to convince relatives / friends on my abstinence from dairy when I visit their homes. They are forced to think of alternatives. I clearly tell them that I do not require anything special but a simple dal chawal / roti subzi is good enough. I am happy not to have sweets. I usually buy some sweet which is vegan so they do not feel guilty about not giving me anything sweet:)
I do not aim to convert anyone, but I definitely would like to create awareness and my choice of avoidance of dairy prompts people to ask me questions so I can explain to them my concept of leading a vegan life style.
