“WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN FROM?”
“No meat, no fish, no eggs, and no dairy. Can you even survive?!!”
Well, here I am, and look at my thriving four-year-old child.
However, to be very honest, I do eat dairy and eggs, and sometimes even seafood when I really have to. That makes up about 1% of my total food consumption. Now I only call myself a “vegan” when I’m feeling really mischievous.
Too many people have asked me the same question (regarding protein intake) since I became vocal about veganism. At first, I got annoyed simply because there are so many reliable sources available (yes, even the Singaporean government is promoting the plant-based diet to its citizens!) on the internet for one to refer to. Until today, I welcome this question with open arms and a smiley face.
“I’m so glad you asked!”
My abrupt change of attitude happened a few months ago when a Ph.D. friend questioned me intensely about the “safety” of the plant-based diet. It was only then that I realized that if it was challenging for a Ph.D. graduate in the research field to fully grasp the concept of plant-based nutrition facts, how could I expect it to be fair and realistic for people who aren’t familiar with medical or science-related knowledge to merely read a few articles or watch a documentary on Netflix and then completely change their minds?
In our life experience, nearly everyone around us, as well as the seemingly unadvertised advertisements online, promotes the benefits of consuming meat and other animal products. Under such a strong influence, it’s only natural for people to reject the idea of not consuming animals at all for the sake of their health.
I began to wonder why I am open to adopting veganism while others are not. Interestingly, this realization occurred before my breast cancer diagnosis (it is quite common to see people adopt a healthier diet when facing or recovering from a serious illness).
It seems like I have always been somewhat of an outlier, even since I was a toddler. I vividly remember an incident from when I was a four-year-old girl in kindergarten. A baby bird fell from a tree, chirping helplessly and loudly. A boy went to kick the bird, but I quickly ran to pick it up, holding the baby bird with both hands tightly against my chest to protect it from harm.
The other kids around either stood and watched, or they didn’t pay much attention to what was happening at all and continued with their play.
I can’t remember what happened after that. The class teacher probably took the baby bird away from me, but I remember myself crying. There was also another time when I was a pre-teen; I found a still-warm egg under a tree and decided to bring it home, hoping that it would hatch. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
“Maybe I was born to be an animal lover, a.k.a. ‘vegan,’ after all?” I can’t help but wonder.
Having said that, I truly enjoyed all the meat dishes before the change. It was so pleasurable to indulge in tasty foods like Bak Kut Teh, Yakitori, grilled fish with sambal, roasted pork, etc.! I even invited my devout Buddhist Tinder date to join me for Japanese BBQ beef, to be precise; we went to Gyukaku. Those were the days…
But when I found out I could actually become healthier by not consuming animals, all while addressing the climate crisis and improving human well-being and animal welfare, I felt extremely happy and blessed. It was like gaining a superpower all of a sudden, quite easily. Well, it was fairly easy for me back then, but it has become more challenging nowadays. (You can read more about why I’m no longer a vegan here.)
Back to the subject, there are indeed many plant-based sources to obtain sufficient protein for maintaining good health. (See here for the plant-based sources of protein recommended by the American Heart Association.) It’s important to note that having too much protein can be harmful to an individual’s health. (See this article published by the Harvard Medical School for more information on this topic.) According to the UK’s National Health Service,
“With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs.”
So, yes, I can get high-quality protein adequately by eating only plants. However, I do acknowledge that this requires careful planning, effort, and dedication, and may include financial commitments and social exclusion. Personally, I do think those who are able to afford to eat a fully plant-based diet are the privileged ones, not just financially, but also socially and emotionally.
At the end of the day, it is up to the individual to what kind of protein they want to consume, whether it’s animal-based or plant-based. However, there are people out there, including myself, who want to consume solely plant-based protein but are unable to due to various reasons. I hope this predicament can be overcome in the near future with the help of policy and societal changes.
Like my article? I would greatly appreciate your support in fundraising for the causes below! Thank you!
Ireland: Irish Cancer Society, Arc Cancer Support Centre
Singapore: Singapore Cancer Society
Personal: Raine’s Trip to Japan
