“Isn’t it difficult to find food you can eat around Hong Kong?”
“A little bit of chicken or fish is ok. You should eat some…if not, you are not getting enough protein, right?”
“My husband loves meat and won’t go vegetarian. I don’t think I can do it by myself.”
The answers to the three questions above are wrong, Wrong and WRONG. Each answer can be expanded to a very long article, so I’ll save the explanation for future posts. People who went vegan or started eating a plant-based diet would look beyond these small obstacles because there are much bigger pictures in front of them to focus on.
Health
The term “diseases of the affluence” exist in both the Western and Chinese worlds. People in the past used to eat more vegetables and less processed food. Most developed countries are now fast food nations flooded with TV dinners, packaged food and chemical drinks that are high in fat and sugar with zero nutritional value. Cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases are some diseases of the affluence that could be reversed or prevented by a healthy diet and lifestyle. A number of my family and friends, including myself, are living billboards of how a plant-based diet have saved us from some life-threatening diseases. There are a number of M.D.s, nutritionists and researchers in plant-based diet who have been providing some insightful and life-changing information the last 50 years or so. As starters, I recommend reading (1) The China Study by Dr. Colin Campbell, (2) Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes by Dr. Neal Bernard and (3) Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. There are many more good books and documentary films out there and I’ll slowly introduce them to you all.
(Photo courtesy of PETA)
Animals
If you say you love animals or say you are pro life, you don’t torture, kill and eat them. This is pretty self-explanatory but it’s not quite the case if you look at the reality in the food, fashion, pet, entertainment and medical research industries. Take a look at documentaries such as Fowl Play or Earthlings and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’d like to say if you are a meat-eater, you can’t really label yourself as an animal lover. I was also asked once why people said they love dogs and cats and won’t eat them, but they will eat pigs, cows and chickens who are as intelligent and emotional beings, if not more. I had no answer to that but certainly a light bulb just went off in my head (I found out later that the answer is carnism after reading the book Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows by Dr Melanie Joy). I’m not going to be cynical as I was a meat-eater before too but someone helped me make that connection and removed me from the that’s-how-things-have-been-for-years-and-that’s-why-we-are-doing-it box. It took me half a life to figure that out.
Environment
The United States has the largest carbon footprint when compared to other countries, such as the United Kingdom, China, and India, according to World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2008. While the global average of carbon dioxide is 4 tonnes per person per year, the national average for the United States is 20. In 2006, the United Nations released a report that stated that rearing cattle produced more greenhouse gases than driving cars. WHO also stated that food production is a major contributor to global emissions and that reducing the total global consumption of animal products, which include meat and dairy foods, can reduce carbon dioxide emission and methane emission produced by animals. The operations and practices of giant livestock farms or animal farm factories cause particular concerns about contamination of air and drinking water supplies, killing of aquatic lives, and contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria because of the widespread use of antibiotics on livestock, among other threats to human health. In addition to the damage to the environment, factory farming is also using up valuable resources that could otherwise be more effectively distributed to populations in need. Trends in consumption, production, and environmental patterns are threatening the availability of fresh water in many parts of the world. Significant resources and inputs, such as labor, machinery, diesel, gasoline, water, electricity, and transportation, are required to produce crops. The crops produced could be used directly to feed the population, but some are being fed to the livestock in animal farming, before it is turned into food.
There are definitely lots of other excellent resources in each of the three main reasons I discussed and there are also more reasons to live a healthy, cruelty-free and green life. What’s your reason to go vegan?
[...] back to Hong Kong from the United States as a vegan has been a tough transition, for various reasons. “Veganism” doesn’t quite exist in the Chinese dictionary. Vegetarianism is what [...]