“Walking the vegan path” is not at all as difficult as we think it will be when we first contemplate walking it. How can we think and act wisely to make the journey really easy?

Whatever your combination of reasons to become as vegan as possible, thinking through the details to close any implementation gaps will be critical so that you can maximize success with it over a lifetime. The longer the duration that you can be an intelligent vegan the more favourable will be the outcomes, and beyond simply those that you initially aspired to.

What I have to say today will help you on the practical journey, from where you stand now, along the lines of what you might know, in theory, to be a better path. It will also will help you if you have already been on the “becoming vegan” path and want ways to make it both easier in terms of process and better in terms of outcomes.

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Contents

2-Stage Thinking – first Binary, then Continuous
1234Stage-1 – Intellectual – Binary
1234Stage-2 – Practical – Continuous
Why be Vegan?
Don’t be Vegan
1234Is Puru a Vegan?
1234Don’t Chase an Olympic Medal
1234Arrogance Risk
1234Be Non-Binary
1234Charting a Continuous Status
Puru the Animal Eater
Risks in “Becoming Vegan” Today
1234Vegan does not Imply Healthy
1234The Amusing Downsides
1234B-12
Why you are NOT Vegan
1234Force #1 – Information
1234Force #2 – Environment & Infrastructure
1234Force #3 – Habit & Identity
1234Net-Force sets the Direction
BECOMING VEGAN WITH EASE
Societal Obstacles
1234Friends
1234Family
12341234Parenting
1234Faith
1234Eating Out
1234Being a Host
1234When You are Invited to Someone’s Home
PRACTICAL TIPS & TRICKS
1234Control your Environment
1234Set Periods for 100% Vegan Food
1234Plant-Based Alternatives
12341234The Burger-Sausage Mindset
1234The Coke-and-Fries Diet
1234Portfolio Effects
Managing Your Thoughts
1234Be Aware of the Big 3
1234Your Past Limits You (and you don’t notice it)
1234Famous Vegans
1234Connecting with your (Future) Identity
1234Bombard Yourself
1234Reminders and Mottos
Timeline Management
1234Don’t be in a Rush
1234Focus on Improvement not on Perfection
1234Fake it till you Make it
1234Consistency Conqueror
1234Momentum, Multiplication and Compounding
Parting Message

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2-Stage Thinking – first Binary, then Continuous [top]

There are 2 stages to thinking through the topic of being a dietary vegan. The first is intellectual and theoretical with a binary decision variable. The second is practical, recognizing that the real world’s forces prevent us from immediately being in an ideal state after an intellectual desire to be there has been recognized.

Stage-1 – Intellectual – Binary [top]

In a binary choice world of “be vegan” vs “consume animal products” using the large body of reliable research published out there, my firm intellectual choice and advice for you without a shadow of a doubt is “be vegan.”

Stage-2 – Practical – Continuous [top]

At a practical level, things are not all binary “red or green” and there is an element of grey. How does one traverse the path from being less red and more green? It is the practical, everyday host of decisions that we must make that I would like us all to master being better at.

Why be Vegan? [top]

Ten years ago, without the information that is easily available today, the importance of being as vegan as possible was not in my face, nor yours. The animal agriculture industry continues to push out lies, including via academics whose intellectual and moral integrity can be bought to publish studies with biased methodologies and incorrect conclusions. No matter where you live, I can guarantee you that your government works hand-in-glove with that industry!

Today, you either want to accept scientific facts and try to be as vegan as possible, or you want to continue to convince yourself that there exists justification for consuming animal products. Today’s conversation is not about my trying to convince you to be vegan – if you invest just a few solid hours on the internet and review the actual published scientific evidence, not bro science, you will get the answers.

Today, I will talk to you about becoming vegan with ease. Whatever your age, whether you are healthy, and especially if you are not, whether you have a sedentary lifestyle or are a professional athlete – this will be the right path for you.

Don’t be Vegan [top]

Is Puru a Vegan? [top]

I have yet to come across anyone who is 100% vegan. Without even approaching the strictest definition of shunning all animal products (e.g., leather shoes) and focusing on just a vegan diet, it is possible, in theory, but near-impossible in practice to be 100% vegan. So, when asked, “Puru, you are vegan, right?” I always reply with, “I try to be as vegan as possible.”

Don’t Chase an Olympic Medal [top]

You don’t get a medal for being 100% vegan. Also, you will not win the challenge of being 100% vegan for the rest of your life. If you bet that against me, you can win that bet only if you eat a salad now and then commit suicide, an act which probably cancels your name from the list of the vegan dead!

On the other hand, “becoming vegan” or “being as vegan as possible” is a state one can actually be in continuously.

The reason Olympic medal winners do not impress me much is that they were genetic outliers (nature) to start off with and then the system they could be a part of pooled a disproportionate fraction of available resources towards additional training (nurture) for them. I am more impressed by the redneck who grew up on a farm killing animals for fun and feast who then turns vegan with regards to food and drink. He truly went against many external and internal forces to make the world (and his own existence) better.

Arrogance Risk [top]

Even if you do not turn into a dangerous vegan extremist harassing customers at KFC, a tiny risk you carry if you cling to the “I am vegan” self-certification is the risk of becoming arrogant about it. It is a natural law of the universe that nothing stays constant and if you think you are vegan, i.e., 100% vegan, I can spend a few hours with you and prove you are not as strict a vegan as you claimed you were.

Neither be vain nor arrogant about your effort. Use your emotional energy to reduce your own risk of failure of being on a better path, and increase your chances of encouraging others to join it.

Be Non-Binary [top]

Situations with the potential for binary perspectives must always be handled with care. Be it in politics which affects the masses, or at the level of your individual life choices, we work towards a better future when we don’t obsess over a 0-or-1 choice that suggests imperfect-is-bad and perfect-is-sustainable.

Charting a Continuous Status [top]

You will do a lot more good for the future of so many living creatures, including yours now, and of others in the future by being in a state of 95% or even 55% of perfect than someone who religiously manages a 100% perfect state for 12 months or even 12 years and then bounces back to 5%!

Do the simple arithmetic with some representative numbers for your own life expectancy. Look at the case of all-or-nothing with a real risk of bailing out and consuming animal products willy-nilly. Compare it with the case of gradually becoming increasingly vegan and being on that path for life.

I have warned you about the risk of malicious moderation, be careful whenever you hear the word “moderation” being used in friendly suggestions. Use moderation actively to become increasingly vegan. Don’t use moderation maliciously – as an excuse to choose animal products when alternative choices clearly exist.

 

Puru the Animal Eater [top]

Until about 8 years ago i.e., for most of my life, animal products were a part of every meal I consumed. I was an indiscriminatory consumer. Be it worms, snakes, dogs, cows, ostrich, rabbits, or crocodiles, there was nothing I would say “no” to. From ultra-processed animal products to eating insects while they were still alive! If I saw that some other animal might have a reason to eat it, I would too. Extremely unevolved and far from wise.

Today, with that history behind me, while on a better path myself, I can claim credibility when I explain to others why they should move away from animal products and how to do so. I know what Pakistani mutton biryani, Japanese sashimi, Malaysian Beef Rendang, Bengali mustard fish, Singaporean pepper crab, and a greasy English Breakfast taste like. I used to love them, and I probably still do. I have not eaten them for years and I hope I never will again!

Today, I do enjoy jackfruit biryani, vegetarian sushi, Bengali mustard broccoli, and pepper in most things.  I and am still a huge fan of deep-fried food, especially samosas 😍

Risks in “Becoming Vegan” Today [top]

Vegan does not Imply Healthy [top]

Even if you can justify a label of “extremely vegan” it will not imply that you will be healthy. It might simply mean that you are avoiding the downside of consuming animal products. You might still have an unbalanced diet, not do enough exercise, not get sufficient sleep, or have a workday that provides you with more chronic stress than you can manage.

What this means in terms of real risk is that, just like someone who thinks they are healthy because they are slender, or fit just because they work out a lot, you must not allow the badge of “I am vegan” to provide you with the notion that you are healthy and will live long. To have a long Healthspan involves a lot more than just avoiding animal products.

I reiterate, to clarify, becoming vegan with respect to your nutritional choices is probably the most powerful thing you can do for your health – do it intelligently!

The Amusing Downsides [top]

When people hear that you are trying to be as vegan as possible, the most common response tends to be the following. They think binary and they think limited. If in a mean mood, I’d say – they don’t really think. You will get questions based on bro-science like, “Where do you get your protein from?” or “Aren’t you worried about osteoporosis if you aren’t consuming dairy for calcium?”

B-12 [top]

Vitamin B-12 comes from bacteria, not animals or plants. Although those who abstain from eating animal products can have lower levels of B-12, the risk of deficiency amongst those who eat large quantities of animal meat is not uncommon. [See this easy read for more background.]

I often see blood reports of regular meat eaters with B-12 levels lower than that of those who try to be as vegan as possible. The thing you need to do no matter what your nutritional status is to get your B-12 levels checked regularly enough and supplement only as much as is needed to keep your B-12 levels closer to the higher end of the range. Both deficiency and toxicity should be avoided.

Why you are NOT Vegan [top]

Before we look at ways to overcome the various obstacles that stand in your path of becoming vegan, let us look at why neither you nor I am 100% vegan today.

There are 3 forces that are constantly at play. With each of these 3 forces you have a choice to exert considerable control should you choose to. If you are proactive, you can control the path that each of these forces traverses and thus make them work for you or not. The net force will set the direction you will move in.

Force #1 – Information [top]

Information, or misinformation, continues to be fed to us, not just by people who do “bro science” but also by those who hold positions and titles suggesting they are real scientists. The animal agriculture industry is at the top of the evil pyramid and feeds into Big Food and Big Pharma along with the usual sickcare system that you’ve been told by your government is the healthcare system. How many physicians have told you to eliminate animal products from your diet? Does your gym trainer keep trying to sell you whey protein supplements?

Force #2 – Environment & Infrastructure [top]

Some of the environment you can control, and some of it you cannot. You can have significant control over what enters your own home or your kitchen. You can even choose what kinds of restaurants you want to avoid. If infrastructure was limited a few years ago and you were forced to go into only a set number of stores to buy consumer goods, now you have the power of Amazon shopping to source specific products that are aligned with the life principles you choose to live by.

Force #3 – Habit & Identity [top]

Your self-identity and your habits enable you to progress through the typical days and the unusual days without being paranoid about every little decision that you make. They thus lead to a certain set of lifestyle choices. Habits are not easy to break even though they exist visually – i.e. you can literally see them. Your self-identity formed by your habits and which reinforces your habits is very much non-visible and so does not get addressed by you automatically on a routine basis.

Net-Force sets the Direction [top]

Each of these 3 forces impacts the other two. For example, your habit of going to a restaurant that does not have many vegan-friendly options affects the environment you place yourself in for a meal. The menu there then feeds information into your brain about how it’s OK to consume meat in a dish that has been described exquisitely, often with fancy French words, and often with a price tag so high that you are forced to feel proud that you are choosing to eat it instead of using it to pay for a week’s fruit and vegetables for an underprivileged family.

It is not easy to battle these 3 forces if they’re all aligned against your greater good. You also have your perpetual battle with the Unholy Trinity. If you are willing, you have considerable power to take control over the information you receive and how you process it, the environment you place yourself in, and your ingrained habits. It’s up to you to wield the power you have for good, not evil. All this together will set up your Internal Culture.

BECOMING VEGAN WITH EASE

Societal Obstacles [top]

Even those of us with a strong will can feel the pressure of society’s expectations from us to do things we know are instinctively wrong. How you deal with that pressure is what will make the difference between being a leader rather than a follower.

Friends [top]

They’re obviously not really your friends if they are making you eat or drink things you know are wrong. Don’t stop being their friends, simply hold your own ground. Even if you give in and have that slice of cake that is not eggless, forgive yourself, and God will forgive them because they know not that what they are doing is wrong.

When you get to influence where your friends meet you or what they order to eat or drink, use your influence well. See Practical Tips & Tricks.

Family [top]

Beyond yourself, it is your family that you should be able to have a significant impact on with regard to becoming vegan. In theory! In practice, familiarity breeds contempt, and those closest to you may suffer the most from ignoring your well-meaning, scientific advice that comes coupled with teaching by example.

When you get to influence where your family eats or what they consume, use your influence well. See Practical Tips & Tricks.

Parenting [top]

Parenthood is a wonderful opportunity to teach by example along with making improvements to one’s own life because we know that children may not do what we tell them to do but they will learn to do what they see us do. The simplest way to start is to stop feeding your child dairy – even a cow does not drink milk!

Faith [top]

Even those whose faith seems to not have explicitly advised against eating dead animal flesh are consuming much more of it than their mythological Gods or messengers of God were consuming. As you can see that there is no need to harm another of God’s creatures just so that you can enjoy a milkshake or a kebab. You should stick to the best path possible beyond what your spiritual leaders seem to prescribe as permitted or forbidden. Not only will you enjoy living longer, but you will also realize over time what it is that your faith is truly about – compassion for all forms of life!

Eating Out [top]

I do not enjoy eating out like I once used to. In fact, the meals outside that I get most excited about are often not ones that get written about on social media. When eating out with friends, depending on the city you’re in, its traditional restaurant culture and any modernization (i.e. vegan options) you are very likely to be able to have a nutritious meal that is close to 100% vegan. You just need to engage your brain a little bit when you go through the menu. Sometimes it might mean asking for a separate vegetarian menu or clarifying that you do not want feta cheese in your Greek salad.

Don’t forget the big picture – you are trying to be as vegan as possible. There is neither a reason to sermonize to those sitting at your table, nor a reason to stray too far from your living principles.

Focus on your own plate!

Being a Host [top]

When you have others over for a meal, it’s a golden opportunity to provide your guests with an experience that helps them want to execute a different future path for themselves for many years after that meal. Use your creativity and the power of the internet to amaze your guests with vegan fare that keeps them wanting to come back for more!

If you were once an omnivore and are having thoughts of providing animal products for your guests, think about the following. Someone who has always been a vegetarian does not think even once about having meat on the menu, so why should you have second thoughts about providing only vegan fare?

When You are Invited to Someone’s Home [top]

It is normal to be asked what your dietary preferences or restrictions are when you are an invited guest. Often people panic when they hear that you are vegan and it is important that you put their minds at ease by saying that you are a vegetarian who would also like to avoid dairy. Unfortunately, in a place like India, vegetarians eat a large quantity of dairy – often missing the point that paneer ki sabzi is an oxymoron!

It is possible for anyone to produce a lavish feast that is vegan, but as a guest, perhaps all you might say is, “Don’t worry about me, just make sure there are some legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas etc.) and a salad. If you can provide green leaves and some other vegetables, that’s great, but don’t stress about it please.”

What this translates to for Indians is “Please make some daal or rajma or chhole, and if you can throw some palak in it, great – a salad on the side would be awesome and if you make any other sabzi, that would be great too but it’s not essential.”

Practical Tips & Tricks [top]

Control your Environment [top]

At times you can control what environment you will be in. For example, avoid a steakhouse or a burger joint. At other times you can control what enters your environment e.g. if you pay for what is being brought into your home or kitchen, it is your right (and duty) to say NO to requests from your children for non-vegan food entering the family home.

Set Periods for 100% Vegan Food [top]

Causing less harm is always a choice. We might not always be as strong as we’d like to be, but we can still have short periods when we plan to be less harmful to creatures all around us. You can have rules for yourself like:

• my morning breakfasts will be vegan
• my dinners will be light and will have salad, nuts, seeds, and fruit
• on 2^nd October, Gandhi’s birthday, I will be 100% vegan
• this year’s family Christmas lunch is my responsibility and I will make it vegan
• when I have a meal choice on flights, I will request vegan
• on the days I have yoga class, I will be 100% vegan
• I will respect all mothers on Mother’s Day and avoid dairy
• I will respect all children on Children’s Day and avoid egg

Plant-Based Alternatives [top]

There has been an exponential growth in plant-based alternatives to many of the animal products and ingredients used in the food and drink that you and I have liked to consume. Some of the alternatives are not inventions but simply creative ways of using existing plant products to replace animal ones. All you need to do is take your finger off your lazy button and Google search for an alternative to the ingredients that you were planning to cook with.

The Burger-Sausage Mindset [top]

When you eat a plant-based burger as a transition towards getting off meat, that’s great. Just a generation or so ago, a burger was not part of 90% of the world’s food list. If you could get the word “burger” out of your head you won’t relapse to a meat-based burger when a plant-based burger is not available. Do the same with the word “pizza”.

The Coke-and-Fries Diet [top]

Although Coke and Fries are usually vegan, they’re not healthy for you. That does not mean you should order Vodka or place a side order of cheese nachos instead. Avoiding the unhealthy is important, especially so if your unhealthy eating also included the death or torture of animals. Just like you were lied to about alcohol, there is an implicit sad lie when your Happy Meal includes animal products.

Portfolio Effects [top]

Being vegan and gentler on the planet is not just about avoiding animal products. What you do at other times makes a difference too. Because your thoughts and actions are all interconnected you should take advantage of that interconnectedness to make your entire day one with a smaller footprint. Give some thought to how you travel from A to B and whether the purchase of that new product is essential, or whether the device that you want to switch on has a manual alternative. You don’t have to use an elevator just because it exists when there is almost always a set of stairs that does the same job. Are you still driving to the park to go for a walk??

Your thoughts affect your actions and your actions affect your thoughts.

Managing Your Thoughts [top]

All of your success and failure, including so much of what you attribute to luck is a by-product of your thought processes. So, it naturally follows that the ease with which you walk the “becoming vegan” path will also be a function of how you manage your thoughts.

Be Aware of the Big 3 [top]

Though each of us might start on the path of becoming vegan for a different reason, it is worthwhile always remembering the 3 biggest reasons for all of us to be on that path.

1. Improve your own health – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
2. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
3. Eliminate cruelty to animals

All 3 of these branches are gigantic on their own, with a dense network of sub-branches below them.

Your Past Limits You (and you don’t notice it) [top]

We’re all very attached to our cultural identity, our family identity and our individual identity. These attachments help give structure to your days but also limit you from making improvements to your life. If you come from a family where dairy has been consumed in large amounts for a few generations, it’s not easy for you to break away from that pattern. The easiest way I find to break away from such patterns is to simply say to myself, something along the lines of, “If this amazing person from another part of the world can live without fish, why am I so attached to something that is clearly harmful, not just to me, but also to the animal that is tortured for my pleasure?”

Famous Vegans [top]

Look up a list of famous vegans like this one and you will not feel alienated even if surrounded by friends and family who cannot make an informed distinction between right and wrong. You are part of a bigger family we call humankind. Be human, be kind!

Connecting with your (Future) Identity [top]

Brain scans show that our brains don’t have an emotional attachment to our future identities. However, we can form and strengthen that attachment by visualizing that future self on a frequent basis. If that future self is living a more honest and fulfilling life, the daily mental gymnastics will be worthwhile and soon produce a real you that is transformed for the better and will not be ashamed to meet the future you.

Bombard Yourself [top]

Feeding yourself with what you believe are correct messages through all the media that you’re connected to will help shape your decision-making and help you fight the forces that prevent you from making the right choices. Whether it’s subscribing to email newsletters or YouTube channels – connect yourself to the exploding universe of vegan activists, scientists and chefs.

Reminders and Mottos [top]

If veganism was the family religion you were born into, you’d be cruising now. Like me, you were probably not. We all need reminders and often having mottos for life help us make a better life.

A compassionate one could be:

If I must pleasure my tiny taste buds, let it not be at the cost of harm to another living creature. (Puru 2023)

A selfish one could be:

If it is actually the plants – herbs, spices, garnishing – that make the slowly rotting flesh of animals palatable to me, why then must I eat dead animals when life-enhancing plants abound? (Puru 2023)

Timeline Management [top]

The only resource you have that lives outside you and you cannot control – time – can be managed well. If you manage your thoughts and actions around the passage of time, you can be successful on the path to becoming vegan. You even build the opportunity to slow down ageing and do time travel!

Don’t be in a Rush [top]

Impatience rarely gets anyone success. Don’t allow yourself to procrastinate beyond what is often natural and acceptable, always keep moving, but without feeling hurried. Remember, this path is for life.

Focus on Improvement not on Perfection [top]

Like we said earlier, focusing on a journey where you get to set the landscape you view is what will get you an amazing life journey. The small milestones of improvement are what you should look for, not on some finish line you call perfection – that finish line does not exist.

Fake it till you Make it [top]

No one else really knows how imperfect your path is, but what matters is that you keep the good effort going with extra attention until that additional focus is no longer needed and you are cruising along a better path. Fake it till you make it!

Consistency Conqueror [top]

If you set simple rules and small process targets for yourself and don’t break promises to yourself, you will become a Consistency Conqueror. Then, never mind becoming vegan, just about anything you want to achieve will be a real possibility. A logical and obvious component of being a Consistency Conqueror is never stopping or giving up. That’s a guaranteed way to not be on a chosen path!

Momentum, Multiplication and Compounding [top]

In everything we do there is some momentum. If you are pointed in the right direction, the multiplicative effect and compounding will automatically generate returns of the right quality. So, point yourself in the right direction first and then let time do its thing. Before you know it, things will be so easy, you will wonder what the fuss around becoming vegan was about!

Parting Message [top]

When we cannot see in our human timescale the damage that we are doing to ourselves, to the planet, or to other creatures, we go down the usual path of least resistance, and instead of mastering the Unholy Trinity, we help fill the pockets of those who do not care about the 3 types of extensive damage we contribute to when we pick an option that involves the torture or killing of animals in our names.

If you can cross the small internal hurdle of your taste buds for the massive internal and external benefits that follow, you will thank yourself as will the rest of the universe. I repeat now that, before you know it, things will be so easy, you will wonder what the fuss around becoming vegan was about!

If everything you do is consistent with your core beliefs and desires, then a long and healthy life of joy is pretty much guaranteed to be yours. If you want to be guided in detail, you know how to reach me, and if you found this useful, please do share it with others.

Puru

Dr Purnendu Nath spends his waking hours focusing on helping individuals and organizations reach their goals, to make the world a better place. He speaks, writes and advises on topics such as finance, investment management, discipline, education, self-improvement, exercise, nutrition, health and fitness, leadership and parenting.