Humans on Going Vegan

“I came across the word “vegano” in my Spanish class and learned that it referred to vegetarians who didn’t consume animal milk and dairy products. I remember thinking, “What extremists!”

“Later, one day, out of nowhere, I was reminded of the term and just randomly searched about it online. It was a shocking revelation about how animals are not only killed but subjected to unimaginable atrocities, how vegetarianism supports the meat industry, and I went vegan almost overnight. Slowly, I came to realize that veganism is so much more than just a diet. It is essentially a full-blown movement against animal exploitation. Now, I have been a vegan for almost 4.5 years …. The decision was overnight, but the shift has been gradual, and I feel that’s okay.”

– Akshita Kukreja

“Personally, as a dermatologist and a vegan for four years now, I would say it’s the best bet for fresh-looking, healthy skin.”

“I was always a sensitive child who grew up amongst animals. It was a regular sight to find me playing with a stray dog near school premises. When I joined medical school, the sight of dissection made me aware that the cruelty involved was so similar to the meat industry. Plus, the idea of having animals for food seemed similar to making the ones you love suffer horribly. From further research, I also found the different medical and health benefits of being a vegan!”

-Dr.Aishwarya R

“I have two beautiful dogs at home with me, whom I infinitely love, and they are my family. I asked myself, what have I been doing to the other animals up until now? Do they deserve less?”

“I remember watching a 30-minute-long slaughterhouse and animal abuse video which included the merciless bludgeoning of large animals, grinding of chicks who were alive, and a massacre of fish, with hundreds of them writhing. I think I can still hear all the screeching prayers that escaped from the mouths of the animals in that video. They didn’t want to die, but they did. It shook me, and I broke down, gravely! I could finally see myself and my folly over all those years and I knew in my head where I stood just a couple of hours back and where I would finally stand now. I feel very proud and humble at the same time, for I have understood that no life is above or below me. I respect my existence, and I respect the same in all the living beings on this planet. I am vegan for life. To give healing is to receive the same.”

-Kratika Ramesh

“As I understood more about veganism, I adopted it as a way of living.”

“I do not know what connection I made, but I turned vegetarian at 15 after having read an article on the Draize test by Maneka Gandhi. It was only five years back, when I was 49, that someone showed me an image on his phone of a slaughtered cow [and I went] onto the internet to look for more information on the dairy industry.

As is the case for most people, PETA India was the only organisation that came to mind. And as I went through the PETA India website, I realised that it was not just in the dairy industry but [that] cruelty existed in each and every use of animals, even in our land of ahimsa.

I quit milk and dairy products right then. My journey into veganism has not been lonely, because both my children and parents went vegan, too. Even my sister and her family are transitioning to a fully plant-based diet now!”

-Malvika Kalra

“Daal, chawal, roti and sabji are all vegan and it is so easy to be a vegan.”

“I gave up meat, eggs, leather, silk, and wool 25 years ago but continued to have dairy. My heart broke 10 years ago when I read that cows are forcibly impregnated repeatedly for four years, deprived … of their infants, and slaughtered when they are just 4 years old. No one deserves a life like this. Turning vegan was the best thing that happened to me, both psychologically and physiologically. I am much calmer and more peaceful, and I have reversed high cholesterol, hyper-acidity, and even psoriasis.”

-Manpreeth Singh

“Yulin happens everywhere – it’s just that the animals are cows, pigs, and chickens.”

“Last year in May, I talked to a guy in Taiwan who told me that. That was an eye-opening incident for me – I felt bad about all animals who are suffering, not just dogs. I joined the vegan community as a non-vegan, and there, I came to know about the amount of suffering I was inflicting on the animals in the dairy industry. I started transitioning, and with the help of my fellow animal rights activists, I am a proud vegan today.”

-Raghav Mishra

“We saw the eyes of our own adopted cat and dog in the scared, innocent eyes of hens, buffaloes, cows, goats, fish, and all other beings.”

“We were meat-eaters and dairy addicts. Then, about three and a half years back, my sons discovered and showed us the horrendous animal cruelty in milk, eggs, chicken, leather, wool, etc. We immediately connected with the unbearable pain in their cries. We were shocked and so guilty that we had never thought of it earlier. We freed ourselves from the chains of social conditioning that led us to believe animals are ours to exploit. My sons declared that we wouldn’t contribute to this barbaric injustice to innocent beings. We gladly embraced veganism. Now, we feel guilt-free because we no longer pay for their exploitation and murder. We are happy to lead [a] cruelty-free, affordable, ethical vegan lifestyle as a vegan family. We do not miss anything at all. We feel obliged to spread awareness about veganism to abolish this horrendous barbarism to animals and get them long-awaited justice.”

– Sandeepa Bhambri and Family (Sahil, Naman, and Bhupinder)