VARUN SHARMA ON VEGAN CUISINE

How long have you been adopting a vegan diet? What was the reason behind it? What is the level of awareness in India these days about adopting a vegan diet?

I became vegan six years ago primarily for environmental reasons after reading Dr. Richard Oppenlander’s “Comfortably Unaware.” I was helping out at the local SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), but I only wanted to care about dogs. One day, at the urging of a friend, I watched Peta India’s YouTube video “Horrors of the Indian Dairy Industry,” and I started going to local cow barns and dairy farms and began my journey as a farm animal rights activist. In the last six years, it has become much easier to eat a plant-based diet. The sheer amount of information online about ingredients, recipes, random vegan products and new affordable products has made it very easy. In addition, tons of restaurants now offer vegan-friendly options, especially in urban India. From vegan dairy alternatives like soy milk (and many other plant-based dairy products), vegan cheese, butter, yogurt, buttermilk, creams and ghee, to vegan egg alternatives and mock meat beans, to make veganism in India more convenient, affordable and accessible to the masses. The growth of this alternative industry is unmatched. The future is definitely plant-based. With the increasing options in the market, more and more people are adopting a vegan lifestyle for health and ethical reasons.

What are the limitations of a vegan diet? Is India ready for the change?

According to the United Nations environmental report Livestock’s Long Shadow, a global shift to a vegan diet is important to save the world from hunger, poverty and the worst effects of climate change. India is the world’s largest emitter of methane and nitrous oxide from animal agriculture. India is exposed to several environmental degradations because of the way we feed ourselves. Therefore, it is more important for Indians to understand the importance of plant-based diets. From a health perspective, a plant-based diet provides all the essential nutrients, many of which are not found in healthy amounts in animal foods. Fiber, the healthiest prebiotic, is not found in any animal foods, while all fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains are very high in fiber. Antioxidants, phytonutrients and other micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals are found in much higher amounts in plant foods. A whole food plant-based diet has also been shown to reverse obesity, eliminate heart disease and diabetes, and reverse cancer.

The only nutrients we may need for a healthy vegan diet are vitamin B12, DHA, vitamin D3, zinc and iodine, which can be purchased at very reasonable prices at a local pharmacy. Eating vegan is healthy, sustainable and most importantly ethical. Indians are slowly moving towards this trend. The market is skyrocketing with all sorts of new vegan products, and industry experts estimate that sales of healthy vegan products will skyrocket very quickly. Indian chefs are coming up with creative business ideas to make veganism affordable and accessible to us.