Former meat-eaters who turned vegetarian tell us their life choice has made them better human beings: environmentally, ethically and health-wise
Published: Fri 9 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM
Last updated: Fri 9 Oct 2015, 11:14 AM
I've never been big on meat. Anything I had had to be perfectly boneless, and it was usually chicken (with the exception of the delicious beef gravy that my grandma would serve with hot chappatis every time we went over to India for the summer, and the [personally] inevitable pepperoni pizza toppings or Subway sandwich fillings). Of late, however, I've been developing an increasing distaste for meat, in general. It is, without a doubt, completely psychological - I can no longer stand the idea that creatures are being killed to satiate my palate - but it's very much real.
As a child, I was (happily) ignorant of how my food got to the table. Of course, I knew what animal supplied what meat - but that was about it. As I grew older - and was more exposed to the cooking process - I found it very difficult to swallow the idea that the piece of meat on my plate was once part of a living being. It all came to a head a few months back, and I decided to hop onto the veggie trail to see if it would help ease my conscience a bit. It didn't help that a few weeks into my self-imposed vegetarian exile, I happened to visit the butcher's and, most unfortunately, caught a glimpse of their cold storage unit, stocked from ceiling to floor - no exaggeration - with carcasses on hooks. I was done.
My transition, however, has not exactly been smooth - not because I still have cravings for meat (I don't, really) but because I've had to acclimatise to the idea that a pure veg diet can be delicious too.
Which is why I embarked on a mission to find out how other non-vegetarians who turned vegetarian (by choice) coped with this transition. And stumbled upon some very interesting nuggets. Vegetarian ones.
Sherry Bohlen
"It's nature at its best, on your plate"
An on-again-off-again vegetarian and vegan for the last 30 years, Sherry Bohlen says people go off meat for one of four reasons: ethics, animal rights, environmental concern and health. For her, it was a combination of most of the above. "My foray into vegetarianism was after attending a lecture by environmental and animal rights activist John Robbins (of Baskin Robbins fame)," the Dubai-based freelance consultant recalls. "He said it took 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat - and that really struck me. That meant whenever I indulged in eating meat, 16 other plant-based eaters were, in theory, not eating."
Later, Sherry admits she and her husband incorporated some meat into their diet again. Then, 10 years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. "My naturopath told me to go on an organic vegan diet to cleanse my body of the cancer-causing toxins. We went vegan for a while, then switched to vegetarianism. And, a few weeks ago, my husband and I watched Cowspiracy, a film that shows how the meat industry is the most environmentally destructive force on the planet."
The film made her start a Facebook page called The Conscious Vegan and get back to "a very clear vegan diet", with her husband. "Nobody who considers himself/herself to be an environmentalist can eat meat and still claim that," she asserts. "Did you know that a plant-based diet can reduce your carbon footprint by 50 per cent? Yet, the deforestation of our rainforests is happening at a rate of one to two acres every second. Rainforests are the lungs of the planet, but we're destroying them largely to create additional grazing space for animals."
Sherry is concerned about the state of the planet because of her seven grandchildren. "My aim is to be a conscious steward of the planet. I don't doubt that the planet will survive. What might not survive is human existence - or, at least, it won't survive in the way we now know it to. There is no way to sustain the kind of lifestyle we have right now, for them."
What's assuring, she says, is the huge shift towards vegetarianism the world is seeing today. "Traditional supermarkets are all beginning to carry organic produce. Where I live (Marina), I have already identified four restaurants offering vegan. Even Hard Rock Café is adapting their menu to offer vegetarian and vegan options, starting this month! I think that speaks greatly to the current demand."
What about the idea that vegetarian food is bland? "Food can be boring if you prepare it that way," she quips. "I'm a foodie; I even have a degree in food! To me, cooking food is an art form. I love working with the colours and flavours of vegetables - it's nature at its best, on your plate."
Evelin Novikova
"I took it a day at a time - and now I love my body"
Estonian expat Evelin Novikova, who runs the Raw Love Vegan food workshops in Dubai, grew up eating a lot of meat. "We're from the north, so I guess we consume as much meat as we do to stay warm," she muses. "We had barbecues three to four times a week, so you can imagine. But you don't really question it either, because you just grow up that way."
Five years back, however, her daughter stopped eating meat - and Evelin soon followed. It was only about one-and-a-half years back that she turned completely vegan. Does she not miss meat? "Not at all," she returns. "I just don't feel like eating it anymore." The best part was the health benefits that followed. "I have so much more energy now, my skin's become clearer, my digestion's better and I feel lighter."
Addressing the argument that you don't get enough protein from vegetables, she believes there's plenty to be found in organic soy products, nuts, green vegetables, almond or oat milk, quinoa and kale. You don't even have to give up your favourite treats, she insists: just substitute. "I don't use sugar, dairy or eggs in my cakes, for instance - but I substitute with natural products like agave syrup, maple syrup, apricots, nuts, nutritional yeast and coconut. And it tastes just as good - if not better!"
Everybody can do it, she maintains. "I never dreamt that I could give up eating fish and paneer and cream - all of which I used to be very fond of! But I'd made the whole transition process more complicated (in my head) than it actually was. I took it a day at a time - and now I love my body and how good I feel everyday."
Bindu Ganesh
"You don't have to kill something to satiate your appetite"
Considering vegetarianism is such a personal choice, it's almost inevitable that those who do take it up often face some form of conflict within their social circle when it comes to meal planning. As someone who's been the sole person at her dining table whose diet is stoically meat-free, social worker Bindu Ganesh understands this all too well. "I hated meat from a very young age, but was often forced to eat it as a toddler," says the 46-year-old. "One particular incident changed all of that for good. I was three, and we'd gone to a relative's place in Kerala, when he suddenly caught hold of a hen and slaughtered it in front of me for the evening curry. I cried so much that day my mother decided not to force me to eat meat anymore."
Since then, whether she's sat down to eat with her parents, siblings, husband or children - all non-vegetarians - she's been the odd one out. "My mother made my choice easy for me by always preparing a veg dish for every meal," she notes. "She'd also made sure that, wherever we went, they'd have something veg. My husband prefers vegetarian food, so that is a huge relief. The kids insist on meat though, so I make it for them, but each time I do feels like torture for me - and I doubt I'd do it for anyone else."
It's compassion for other life forms that drives Bindu. "You don't have to kill something to satiate your appetite," she feels. "A lot of people opt for vegetarianism - reluctantly - when their health goes south. Why wait till then? You might as well start now. and save a lot of lives in the process."
Monish B Shah
"I have reason to believe humans were born vegetarians"
While most people take time to transition, Dubai-based entrepreneur Monish B Shah (pictured left, with his wife) says the decision was a split-second one for him in 1982 - and he has not looked back since.
A "Gujarati from Goa", the 52-year-old says he used to be terribly fond of eating fish, chicken, beef, eggs and - his personal favourite - seafood. But that was before the day he heard a talk on compassion by a practising Jain, whose words struck him "like a gong on the head".
Says Monish: "All of a sudden, it all seemed so ruthless to me. For my selfish interest, was it really necessary to take away life? In the Far East, they say dogs are far tastier than chicken - an idea that horrified me, because we grew up with dogs as pets in our house. Also, growing up in Goa, we'd often hear neighbourhood animals squealing at certain times of the day - and we knew that's when they were being taken to the slaughterhouse. Just before that though, those animals would be fed very well, played with even. I really thought a lot about my life choices that day and told myself: never again."
And the businessman has stayed true to his word. Initially, his family thought he was joking. But a month later, his dad followed suit; and then his brother.
Monish even took it a step forward and delved into the science of it all: were human beings created vegetarians or otherwise? "If you look at the size of the human intestine, the length of our teeth, the texture of our tongue - everything shows that humans were born vegetarians," he says. "Animals have rough tongues; ours are smooth. They have large canine teeth; ours are rather small. And it goes on."
For those who cannot fathom the idea of giving up meat, he says, "The mind is an incredible thing - the unfortunate part is: we are slaves to it. The guilt of everything I've ever killed lies heavy within me to this day and I'm always seeking some sort of penance to ease it. I'm not saying everyone must turn vegetarian pronto. But try to value the lives of other beings as you do your own."
Patricia Jacobsen
"For those who really struggle, you now have 'fake meat'"
We know what you're thinking. Flip my eating habits upside down? What a hassle - there isn't enough variety! Yoga teacher and nutritionist Patricia Jacobsen says: you'll be surprised.
A vegetarian since 1996, the 48-year-old was raised on "all kinds of meat" before eventually becoming interested in a more holistic lifestyle. "You start reading things and occupying your mind with how animals are treated. The more I read, the less I liked meat. and, over the course of six months, I stopped eating meat entirely."
But while she struggled to find good options in 1996, she asserts that is no longer the case today. "When I made the switch, going out in the beginning was very difficult. Restaurants offered a salad. or you'd get frozen vegetables cooked in salt water. It was disgusting. It did affect my social life and friends declared you a little nutty. But things have changed a lot."
Indian cuisine offers many vegetarian dishes, she says. "As does Japanese. You can have spaghetti with pesto sauce, without the meat. Many feel vegetarian meals do not satiate hunger, but that's not true. All tofu dishes are very filling. The Mexicans have quesadillas with avocado and cream, while the Lebanese have moutabbel, hummus and falafel - all very satiating."
The switch may not be a cakewalk for all, she agrees. "For those who really struggle, you now have 'fake meat' that's actually made of soy, wheat and nuts, but which tastes just the same. You can also take it slow and give yourself a meat treat once a week. I don't believe in anything fanatic," she says, reasonably. "The more you tell yourself you must, the less it will work. It's like trying to cut out sugar or going on a diet. It's all down to why you're doing it. Doing it out of compassion, for instance, is easier than if you were doing it on doctor's orders."
The German mum-of-two also has some parenting advice for folks dealing with fussy eaters: "I was vegetarian during both pregnancies and both my kids are super healthy; they've never had to take an antibiotic. My daughter is a very picky eater, so I try to make the food look fun and colourful for her. As a mom, it might be difficult to make that extra effort - when it's far easier to make burgers and sausages - but I think it's worth the benefits."
Patricia makes vegetable soups and burgers, purées vegetables into smoothies or lightly fries highly organic potatoes in olive oil. "It's not the taste of vegetables they don't like so much as the idea of eating them," she says. "But once they like the taste of clean food, they'll automatically learn to appreciate it because their little bodies react so much better to it."
karen@khaleejtimes.com
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