THE BEGINNING

I turned vegan 10 years ago. I was born in a family that ate vegetarian food at home. I experimented with meat in college and then turned vegan in 2009.

THE TURNING POINT

From being a vegetarian and then a meat eater, I gave up eating animals altogether a few years later, as a New Year’s resolution. When I learnt about the cruelty in the dairy industry along with all the other ways animals are exploited for human wants, I turned vegan overnight—it was a light bulb moment for me. I haven’t looked back since.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

The biggest and toughest part of turning vegan, especially during the initial stages, is the dietary aspect. We are slaves to our taste buds. There are two ways to go about it. One is to cut out all the foods that do not fit in this category, overnight. The other is to drop one ingredient at a time. I think whichever path you choose, doing a little bit of research before you embark on this journey is important. You can make a list of the different substitutes available for the foods you normally consume and keep trying different ways to incorporate them until you find what you like. For instance, experiment with your tea or coffee by substituting cow’s milk with almond, cashew or coconut milk.