So, how is my vegan wagon of almost a month? This is a sequel to my last post.
I have an enthusiastic partner to try the vegan way, and that is my husband. Any initiative or undertaking is definitely much more sustainable when you have a partner who is equally enthusiastic and like-minded. Guess that's behind the "gym buddy" concept, huh?
That apart, our Vegan lifestyle changes:
We have decided to be domestic vegans. That is, no dairy consumption at home but we might relax this when socializing, if need be. Because, we don't want to create a fuss when we dine out with friends if there is no vegan food available. Being vegetarians already, when we dine out with friends, the places that don't have vegetarian choices are automatically out of question. If we place tighter constraints, it would be unfair to the people we go out with, and eventually going out might not be fun anymore with us. Man is a social animal, ain't he?
We don't buy dairy milk anymore. It's Soy milk and Rice milk instead.
We have stopped fermenting curds. Curd is an integral part of a south Indian meal. I thought that would be the most difficult thing to let go of, but surprisingly, it has not been difficult.
To substitute for the calcium cut, we have mandated green leafy vegetables regularly, for now its 2 times a week, thinking of making it daily. I was someone who hated green leaves for food. After learning about its health benefits and having grown out of the "picky-eating child"(this was the difficult part, believe me) syndrome, I am quite Ok to eat them now, and regularly, no less!
For those uninitiated, visit Health Benefits of Green Leafy Vegetables.
And, we have also increased the fruit consumption, at least one fruit a day and a glass of fruit juice. Just to not take chances!
Since our bodies have gotten used to dairy products for so long, and for so many centuries(for the mankind), we don't know if there would be any ill-effects out of rejecting it. But research points otherwise.
I stumbled upon an interesting concept of producing silk without killing the silk worms, called Ahimsa Silk. Quite interesting to read about the concept, technique of producing silk without killing the silkworms, and the patent. Do browse through the website. The downside of silk produced this way: it's less lustrous than the traditional silk, heck, less lustrous is a much better proposition than having 7500 silkworms killed for a single silk sari.
And that makes my journey into Vegan-ism much smoother, I may after all not be required to explain and re-explain to my resolute mother(who, by the way, thinks I am crazy to become a vegan) as to why I refuse to buy silk anymore.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
The Vegan Wagon
Last week I came across an article on milk, called the milk letter, written by a doctor, Robert M. Kradjian. This well written article tries to claim why cow's milk is not at all necessary for humans, and also about the ill effects of consuming dairy milk. The article is long, but worth a read.
Apart from the health reasons and justifications, I was more struck by the ethical part of it.
A cow's milk is for its calf, as much a human mother's milk is for her baby. How about depriving a baby of his/her mother's milk and using that milk to feed kittens and puppies?
Milk has been an important part of the diet all over the world for a long time. I heard some African tribes do not consume milk.
In India, or rather in India-of-the-olden-days, cattle were treated as a part of the family. While bulls worked in the agricultural fields, cows gave milk, after the calves had their share. Cows were revered as "Gomatha" or the 'mother cow'. The idea was that, after a baby weans from mother's milk, he/she starts drinking cow's milk, and this habit is to stay for life. So in this sense, the cow that provides milk becomes a mother of sorts, for life. The cattle were always treated respectfully, festivals were held in their honor, so on and so forth. You can still find this reverence and culture in rural parts of India.
Sadly, none of this is true in the modern dairy industry. The cows are continuously and artificially impregnated, they are injected with Bovine growth hormones(traces of which are excreted in the milk), if the calves are male, they are sent to slaughter houses, and when the cows had had their time in producing milk, and are no more useful, they are queued up to the slaughterhouse.
I have been a vegetarian for 9 years now. Getting educated on all this, it doesn't feel adequate at all.
Switching from vegetarianism to vegan-ism does not sound easy. "I wanna be a vegetarian" - many people understand that, but if you say, "I wanna become a vegan" - I doubt it.
I love butter, cheese, panneer, ghee, curd, ice creams, pizza, pasta, Gulab Jamun, Pal Payasam and many more food items that contain dairy products. I don't particularly like drinking milk or milk-coffee/tea, and I don't drink these regularly either.
Mayo Clinic has an article on its portal which discusses the vegetarian and vegan diets, and how to make up the diet to have required nutrients, et al. Thats one up in the hope ladder.
If the primary reason to give up dairy products is the cruelty meted out to the animals in the name of human consumption, I guess leather, silk and wool also will have to go.
Hmm, Sounds like a big social exercise. But I am ready for it. I am waiting to see how it goes.
Apart from the health reasons and justifications, I was more struck by the ethical part of it.
A cow's milk is for its calf, as much a human mother's milk is for her baby. How about depriving a baby of his/her mother's milk and using that milk to feed kittens and puppies?
Milk has been an important part of the diet all over the world for a long time. I heard some African tribes do not consume milk.
In India, or rather in India-of-the-olden-days, cattle were treated as a part of the family. While bulls worked in the agricultural fields, cows gave milk, after the calves had their share. Cows were revered as "Gomatha" or the 'mother cow'. The idea was that, after a baby weans from mother's milk, he/she starts drinking cow's milk, and this habit is to stay for life. So in this sense, the cow that provides milk becomes a mother of sorts, for life. The cattle were always treated respectfully, festivals were held in their honor, so on and so forth. You can still find this reverence and culture in rural parts of India.
Sadly, none of this is true in the modern dairy industry. The cows are continuously and artificially impregnated, they are injected with Bovine growth hormones(traces of which are excreted in the milk), if the calves are male, they are sent to slaughter houses, and when the cows had had their time in producing milk, and are no more useful, they are queued up to the slaughterhouse.
I have been a vegetarian for 9 years now. Getting educated on all this, it doesn't feel adequate at all.
Switching from vegetarianism to vegan-ism does not sound easy. "I wanna be a vegetarian" - many people understand that, but if you say, "I wanna become a vegan" - I doubt it.
I love butter, cheese, panneer, ghee, curd, ice creams, pizza, pasta, Gulab Jamun, Pal Payasam and many more food items that contain dairy products. I don't particularly like drinking milk or milk-coffee/tea, and I don't drink these regularly either.
Mayo Clinic has an article on its portal which discusses the vegetarian and vegan diets, and how to make up the diet to have required nutrients, et al. Thats one up in the hope ladder.
If the primary reason to give up dairy products is the cruelty meted out to the animals in the name of human consumption, I guess leather, silk and wool also will have to go.
Hmm, Sounds like a big social exercise. But I am ready for it. I am waiting to see how it goes.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Libraries in Singapore
One of the many things I fell in love with in Singapore is its library system.
I used to be a book-worm during school days. It was quite difficult for me to balance between various activities when I d a book at hand, I had to finish it! So, during times when I needed to devote my time to more important things, I would take care not to start reading new books.
When I was 7-15, I used to read mostly, magazines and newspapers, from 16-~20, it was predominantly fiction. And then, I guess there was a short break to my voracious reading habit. Thanks to the public libraries here in Singapore, I've again started back on reading, but now its moderated and my readings are diversified, I don't read only fiction these days.
Almost all neighborhoods in Singapore have a library, either public libraries, or bigger regional libraries. The national library at Bugis is the biggest one. The value the library adds to the life of the residents is quite remarkable. For citizens and Permanent residents, the library membership is free(with a small joining fee, though). You pay a yearly premium only if you opt for premium membership, with which you could borrow audio-visual material apart from books.
Apart from the fundamental idea of the libraries, i.e. borrowing from a huge collection of books, I find the atmosphere at the libraries itself to be quite a nice experience.
A typical scene at the library:
The floor at ground level would house the 'Kids' section, wherein you can see toddlers to primary school children in various levels of their "reading habits", some getting introduced to the whole amazing world of books, some having a parent reading aloud to them, some browsing through the colorful illustrations in the books, some listening to a voluntary story-teller. I would say that's a nice way for kids to start reading from a young age.
All across the library you could spot school kids doing their home-work, assignments, projects, with a pile of reference books in front of them, some on desks and some squatting on floors. Access to so much material is really a catalyst to independent reading and research.
Every library has one activity or the other going on all the time. The last time I went to Jurong East Regional Library, I saw this campaign to collect old spectacles, in order to donate to less fortunate people around the world who cannot afford spectacles. I've seen friends and relatives discard spectacles for switching to cooler frames or contact lenses, this sounds like a sensible way to put your old specs to use than stashing it away in an old drawer.
I've seen families coming to library, like some family outing. Being someone who loves books, all this seems quite enchanting.
One downside about libraries here(rather, any place in Singapore), they are way too cold. The aircon temperature is set very low, you definitely need a sweater or a jacket if you intend to stay longer.
To sum up, I love libraries in Singapore. For that matter, I would love libraries anywhere in the world, if they are well-maintained, well-stocked, and provide a stimulating environment to read.
I used to be a book-worm during school days. It was quite difficult for me to balance between various activities when I d a book at hand, I had to finish it! So, during times when I needed to devote my time to more important things, I would take care not to start reading new books.
When I was 7-15, I used to read mostly, magazines and newspapers, from 16-~20, it was predominantly fiction. And then, I guess there was a short break to my voracious reading habit. Thanks to the public libraries here in Singapore, I've again started back on reading, but now its moderated and my readings are diversified, I don't read only fiction these days.
Almost all neighborhoods in Singapore have a library, either public libraries, or bigger regional libraries. The national library at Bugis is the biggest one. The value the library adds to the life of the residents is quite remarkable. For citizens and Permanent residents, the library membership is free(with a small joining fee, though). You pay a yearly premium only if you opt for premium membership, with which you could borrow audio-visual material apart from books.
Apart from the fundamental idea of the libraries, i.e. borrowing from a huge collection of books, I find the atmosphere at the libraries itself to be quite a nice experience.
A typical scene at the library:
The floor at ground level would house the 'Kids' section, wherein you can see toddlers to primary school children in various levels of their "reading habits", some getting introduced to the whole amazing world of books, some having a parent reading aloud to them, some browsing through the colorful illustrations in the books, some listening to a voluntary story-teller. I would say that's a nice way for kids to start reading from a young age.
All across the library you could spot school kids doing their home-work, assignments, projects, with a pile of reference books in front of them, some on desks and some squatting on floors. Access to so much material is really a catalyst to independent reading and research.
Every library has one activity or the other going on all the time. The last time I went to Jurong East Regional Library, I saw this campaign to collect old spectacles, in order to donate to less fortunate people around the world who cannot afford spectacles. I've seen friends and relatives discard spectacles for switching to cooler frames or contact lenses, this sounds like a sensible way to put your old specs to use than stashing it away in an old drawer.
I've seen families coming to library, like some family outing. Being someone who loves books, all this seems quite enchanting.
One downside about libraries here(rather, any place in Singapore), they are way too cold. The aircon temperature is set very low, you definitely need a sweater or a jacket if you intend to stay longer.
To sum up, I love libraries in Singapore. For that matter, I would love libraries anywhere in the world, if they are well-maintained, well-stocked, and provide a stimulating environment to read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)