The world of Tzu Chi April 2021 (Vol.133)

TZU CHI 133 59 Ng Hui Ling A nutritionist with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Sports Science. She had served with the Singapore Heart Foundation before becoming a self-employed dietary consultant to vegetarians and a contributor for a health magazine. one leaves to the younger generation. Nevertheless, when it comes to the daily meal-time, most people are indecisive on the choice between meat and beans—it seems to be harder than deciding to go skiing in Japan or Europe. Perhaps due to this reason, the taxi driver shared his failed experience in being a vegetarian. He sighed and said, “I am not a saint, it is hard.” I understand it is not easy to change the mindset of the “no meat no nutrition” ideology. Usually, I would not go on and explain that “meatless meals can be nutritious” by citing the examples of celebrities who are vegetarians. Frankly speaking, a celebrity’s decision to be a vegetarian does not have much meaning to a non-fan like me, does it? Instead, I would further emphasize the health benefits of plant-based food and point out that many people’s daily diet lacks a diverse range of plant-based food. Protein- rich legumes, which consume less water in their production, are also a good source of minerals and dietary fibre needed by the human body. Its fat content is also lower than that of meat. Hence, it is beneficial to human health and friendly to the environment. Sustainable diets advocated by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization refer to diets with low environmental impact that contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. When I suggest to some people to replace meat with legumes, they would often mention that they have no experience in preparing legume dishes. Some said, “I only learnt how to cook black bean soup from my mother, but I don’t know how to cook any other legumes.” I cannot just promote the concept of “having more plant-based food to save the Earth” to a person and leave him, and proceed to look for the next person to talk to. This is likened to giving a first aid kit instruction manual to a person with knee injury but not the antiseptic and cotton balls; there is no practical value. Recommending recipes or teaching simple legume dishes to those who are unfamiliar with cooking is what I will do after promoting vegetarianism. I will also help them to formulate a feasible and short- term plant-based diet goal. I am not a saint; I am just a mother. Like other mothers, I hope to do my best to create a better and abundant environment for all the children. To achieve this, I start with “improving oneself”. I hope I will do better next year than I have this year. Let us encourage one another.