Vegetarianism has become an increasingly popular trend over the last few decades or so. It has gradually been adopted by many people throughout the world as an ethical way to live, especially after the advent of the internet and social media, which has allowed people to share their ideas and reach out to those for whom the idea of being vegetarian may be quite foreign.

Even international fast food chains such as McDonalds are planning to open up pure vegetarian restaurants in countries such as India, where Vegetarian diets are widely followed to meet the demands of its consumers.

My Journey

Being born in an Gujarati Indian family myself I was raised up as a vegetarian, or more specifically, a lacto/ovo vegetarian, as I did eat eggs in cakes and must have consumed gelatin indirectly a countless number of times when eating out and buying products from the supermarket (okay, so maybe that doesn’t even let me qualify as veggie!). After having been acquainted with a famous little book called the ‘Higher Taste’, which has been distributed widely throughout the world by the Hare Krishna movement and is often quoted as the first proper introduction to Vegetarianism that a university student receives, I was even further inspired by the idea of veganism, another popular trend for those in pursuit of an even more ethical diet.

Revelation

Strangely enough, my pride of having been a very non-strict vegetarian for most of my life was diminished within a few minutes of having discovered that there are many celebrities out there both from both Hollywood and Bollywood that are actually benefiting from a pure Vegan diet that is free from any sort of dairy or animal product- this includes avoiding milk, eggs and cheese!

Inspiration

Two amazing organizations I have recently been inspired by include PeTA- people for the ethical treatment of animals and the PCRM- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine based in Washington DC, managed by Neal D. Barnard, M.D, that is leading the amazing 21 Day Vegan Kickstart India programme that encourages registrants to adopt a nutritious and rewarding vegan diet. Those that aspire to adopt a diet that is completely free from any form of harm to animals yet are lacking a bit of motivation or don’t know how to begin their journey will be delighted to discover that the Kickstart India campaign manages to completely organize ones daily diet by providing ideas as to what can be prepared for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even including suggestions for those important snacks we make in between. A daily email provides inspiration for what to cook and a video link on how to prepare the recipe. The videos are led by a fully qualified doctor/nutritionist and they include very inspiring profiles of celebrities that are able to thrive on a vegan diet and actually show aspirants that a vegan diet can be one of the reasons behind their highly productive and successful lifestyles.

Conclusion

I, personally, am very much inspired by such famous celebrities such as Jacqueline Fernandez, Amrita Rao, Alicia Silverstone, Jackie Shroff  and many others being able to make veganism a part of their lifestyles, yet still being able to live with so much energy and zeal when carrying out their hectic activities such as acting, charity work and much more. Furthermore, with international organizations based in the United Kingdom (PeTA) and the United States of America (PRCM leading Kickstart India) taking active interest to get others to adopt such a diet, the vvegan diet truly does seem like an ideal destination that is easily and realistically achievable.

Take Action

http://kickstartindia.pcrm.org/messages/day5.cfm

http://www.peta.org/living/food/

http://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/how-go-vegan

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