The world of Tzu Chi June 2020 (Vol.123)

TZU CHI 123 55 returned to his doctor for a follow-up screening. Both he and his doctor were surprised by the encouraging outcome – his cholesterol and uric acid levels were back to normal and his health had improved significantly. His doctor was even more astonished when he disclosed that he had been skipping his medications. In hindsight, he acknowledged that his vegan diet might have played a role in restoring his health. Beyond race and religion Fauzi is committed to a vegan lifestyle and his motives for pursuing it. To reinforce his conviction, he scoured the internet for information on veganism and participated in online meeting groups to exchange tips on vegan cooking and resources for vegan ingredients with fellow vegans. After interacting with the vegan community on social media, he found support for his decision to venture into veganism. He progressively eased into the vegan lifestyle, a process guided by a sound understanding of the philosophy behind the concept and a willingness to adapt during the transitional phase. “Life itself is challenging and difficult. If it’s easy, your journey of life wouldn’t be that meaningful. For me, going vegan is just another step. It’s just taking away a small part of my daily life, so it’s not that difficult of a journey for me,” he mused. Fauzi constantly reflects on his reasons for embracing veganism. As an animal lover, the core principle behind vegetarianism or veganism, that of compassion towards all beings, prompted him to ponder upon his inner dilemma: “Why do I eat one kind of animal while taking care of another?” He realized that practising veganism allowed him the opportunity to align his values with his consumption habits, besides honing his compassion towards all sentient beings. Fauzi learnt that Hindus and Buddhists observe a vegetarian diet on stipulated occasions for religious reasons. However, he noted that such a practice is unheard of among the Malay community. His mother once recounted to him that in her childhood, meat was not served as staple dishes daily, but only on special occasions. Their averagemeal consistedmainlyof vegetables and legumes. His mother used to bring tempeh to school for lunch. Instead of viewing meat as an integral element of Malay cuisine, Fauzi considers the abundance of meat-based dishes in Malay food culture to be the result of dietary preferences that have evolved over time. Since becoming vegan, Fauzi’s family and friends have been concerned about the choices of food available to him, particularly during festive gatherings. Hence, he would not request for others to make special accommodations for him. Nevertheless, Fauzi stressed that the focus of social gatherings is not on the food served, but the quality time spent bonding with his loved ones. He has also received questions from those around him regarding concerns over insufficient protein intake from a vegan diet. To this, he assured budding vegans that a plant-based diet is equally capable of supplying the amount of protein necessary to meet our daily needs, which commonly registers at approximately 0.8 g of protein for every kilogramme of our body weight. He noted that protein is obtained from various food sources, citing the instance of a nasi campur lunch comprising lentil or chickpea curry on rice with sides of potatoes or sweet potatoes, broccoli, tempeh and tofu. Each of the components of the meal contains protein, totalling a combined protein content of about 48 g. Hence, he surmised, vegans are able to maintain an adequate nutrient intake by including a variety of plant-based sources of protein in their diet.