With growing concern for the environment and human impact on it, more and more people are turning to veganism. Most know of veganism as a dietary choice by which people stop consuming animal products.
But true veganism is much more than that - it’s committing to a lifestyle and philosophy that inflicts the least possible harm to those animals that share our planet. This also means being mindful of the clothes, cosmetics, or even the medicine you buy, or the entertainment you engage in!
Here’s why veganism is a healthy choice
Like we said, veganism is about minimising harm to the environment, but different actions affect animals and our planet in different ways
Using animals for food, for example, causes both animal cruelty and extreme ecological damage. It promotes harmful factory farming practices where animals are kept in cramped and filthy spaces, often mutilated, and exposed to many diseases. They’re forcefully fed, impregnated, and milked to ensure a steady supply of meat, eggs and dairy with little regard for their wellness.
It’s also extremely bad for the environment. In fact, a vegan diet is considered the “single biggest way” you can reduce your environmental impact. By cutting out meat and dairy, researchers estimate you can reduce the carbon footprint of your diet by up to 73%. They are inefficient and resource-intensive sources of nutrition, contributing to water scarcity and deforestation worldwide.
Animals are similarly factory-farmed for clothing and accessories. Products using leather, silk, fur, wool, cashmere, or feathers require the slaughter of billions of animals every year. They also have a huge ecological footprint, requiring a lot of water to process. Vegan alternatives like hemp and linen, on the other hand, are less resource-heavy and don’t require any animal cruelty in their production. For example, while a single leather jacket can take upwards of 30,000 litres of water to produce, just 6.4 litres are needed for a linen shirt.
For vegan cosmetics, there are two things to consider. As with clothes, they shouldn’t use ingredients derived from animals like collagen, beeswax, milk, honey, etc. Also, they also shouldn’t be tested on animals; these practices cause animals pain, distress, blindness, organ damage, and even birth defects. The Humane Society International estimates that between 100,000 to 200,000 animals suffer and die each year because of cosmetic testing.
Source: https://www.humanesociety.org/
How you can make the switch, one step at a time
It’s clear to see that going vegan will improve the health of our planet and the animals that inhabit it. And especially for an ecologically conscious person, it can be the one choice which has the most individual impact as well.
But going vegan is also easier said than done. If you’ve grown up consuming meat or dairy, are fond of certain cosmetics brands, or like wearing leather or silk clothes, giving it up in one go can seem daunting. Which is why you don’t need to do it all at once.
With your food, for example, you can start simply by cutting down the amount of meat and dairy you consume. The next time you go to a restaurant or order in, try something that’s plant-based. When you make your next cup of coffee, try having it black or go for oat, soy, or almond milk. Even if you do crave seekh kebabs once in a while, there’s good news for you! More and more brands are coming out with plant-based meat alternatives that taste just as good, but are much kinder to the planet. You can also snack on fruit gummies and cheese, washing them down with a healthy chocolate drink while being eco-friendly.
If you’re buying clothes or cosmetics, just remember - there’s no longer a trade-off between looking good and doing the right thing. You can find good looking slippers made from upcycled tyres, a stunning laptop bag made of apple leather, stylish cork wallkets, and a range of hemp, linen or bamboo clothing for a day out. Pair that with lip balm, blush, concealers, kajal, lipsticks, and eyeliners, and you’ve got everything you need to look and feel your best, ethically sourced.
Just remember, don’t get intimidated by the idea of an identity change. You don’t need to call yourself a vegan from day one. All you need to change is one choice at a time, and trust it will add up.
If you want the support when you do this, we’ve got good news for you. You can join lakhs of people around the world and start 2023 off right with the Veganuary challenge. For the month of January, in the company of other like-minded and ecologically conscious people, try to make the switch and see how you feel. Take our word, it’ll be worth it.
