Transitioning to a vegetarian or vegan diet has increased in recent years. This is mostly because of the health benefits of having a balanced vegan diet versus an ordinary diet as well as the impact of veganism to ethical consumption and sustainability.
What is veganism?
Veganism is the lifestyle that aims to eliminate as much exploitation as possible of animals for consumption. This can include food, clothing, or anything else. Simply speaking, veganism abstains from the consumption and use of any product from any animal or insect. This includes eggs, milk, even honey.
A balanced vegan diet has many benefits, including the increased intake of fiber, antioxidants, iron, potassium, and other nutrients. It can also help with weight management, regulation of blood sugar, and lower the risk of heart disease. But it should be noted that the approach to veganism should be holistic and intentional. This is to ensure that the diet provides sufficient amounts of the required nutrients.
Is it hard to be a vegan in the Philippines?
Somewhat. This is because we love pork and our usual dishes have pork. We also have an abundant amount of seafood, being surrounded by bodies of water. Since the movement is continuously increasing in popularity, there are more and more stores that would have vegan dishes or accommodate the request to remove any animal product or by-product from their food. However, these options are still not always available or accessible (especially since most of these options are expensive). Gaps in information can also compromise the lifestyle with some food providers interchanging vegetarian and vegan and serving food possibly with dairy products, honey, or other similar ingredients from animal products.
Apart from these challenges, a recent study found that the transition also involves the struggle of being unable to convince family members to do the same, thus needing separate meals or dishes which, can be an additional expense and hassle.
