An activist's journey– Aparna Saxena Growth (Stem)
There comes a time in your life when you know it is the right time to tell your story or at least a part of it. For me, I believe the time has come.
Born into a middle class family, youngest child of a banker and a scientist, both of whom were public servants, allowed me the benefit of living in a lush-green township (Anushakti Nagar) run by Govt. of India, while still being part of the hustling-bustling megapolis and city of dreams for many, Mumbai.
Being surrounded with open spaces and greenery, led to a deep love of nature and all nature’s creations in general. One of my earliest childhood memories is picking up a lost mongrel pup that was shivering in rain, under a shelter close to my apartment, and bringing her home. I didn’t get to keep the pup inside our home, as our lifestyles did not allow it (working parents, day care etc.) and me being maybe 3.5 years old and not ready to take responsibility for another being. I ended up fostering the pup within the apartment premises till the time she figured she could live on her own.
At a fairly young age, I joined a nature club, which would organize walks and hikes around our township and around Mumbai, and I got exposed to the diverse Flora and Fauna that existed all around us even though concrete jungle was slowly creeping in on its vast spaces. As far as I can remember, basic concepts of social justice, feminism, and a love for nature were seeded in me during my childhood and have since been harnessed and solidified in my beliefs and life choices.
I developed a sense of doing what was the right thing to do or if I believed it was right as long as it was not damaging someone else intentionally or willfully. I believe the same principle still stays integral to my values. Either you leave a place or situation better than what it was before or at the very least you don’t make it worse. I have applied that to my personal and professional life as much as possible when I chose different careers, roles, took up new hobbies, and moved across countries. The desire to make things around me better, make people around me feel better and in that journey, improve myself has been a constant driver of my life.
The concept of road less travelled, or following your path was also instilled sometime in my childhood. As long as you live your choices and take responsibility for it, you move on with them. Of course, through that course there have been many mistakes, errors of judgment as one might call them(smile), but eventually they have shaped me to who I am now and what I stand for.
Therefore, as I am now nearing mid-life as they call it (thankfully not really a crisis for me) the question I keep asking myself periodically to do a reality check on myself, is “what is the legacy I would like to live by and also leave behind”.
Having been vegetarian all my life, I switched to being vegan overnight around 6.5 years ago, after watching “The Ghosts in Our Machine” as part of a documentary festival at Arts House in Singapore. This is not one of the popular ones amongst the plant-based community, however it was hitting enough for me. I was under the impression, that being vegetarian, I was making all the right choices towards a better planet for the present generation and our progeny. I had stopped using leather before I hit my teens, so for me it seemed that I was on the right track. Well, I couldn’t have been more off the mark. And the documentary hit me hard. Watching the unravelling of the Dairy industry, along with the Meat and the Fur farming, the yoghurt, and paneer-loving me, decided to make a stop immediately. I didn’t want to be part of the problem, that I had just been shown.
I started reading more on plant-based diets and lifestyles (buying only vegan/plant-based) products and transitioned more and more towards it. It was not easy. Plant-based diets and living were not mainstream and while it is gaining momentum now, there is still a lot of ground to cover. They were viewed with the same cynicism or mysticism as spirituality is regarded by most. I started seeking people who knew more about this, looking up organizations that supported it and worked on advocacy for plants and animals. I was lucky to find Animal Allies Singapore (now a part of Centre for Responsible Future). While volunteering with them, I realised life was coming a full circle. Through resources provided by them, and HSI (Humane Society International), I uncovered how interconnected environmental degradation, large scale animal farming, gender inequalities were globally and how our life choices impacted these irrespective of whichever part of the world we are located in.
The amateur environmentalist and vocal feminist in me realised that you cannot work towards environmental advocacy and gender equality while being on one side of the fence on the other factors. It is all interwoven. Our actions are not in isolation and every single choice we make, matters and impacts at a certain scale. And hence, I had to walk-the-talk.
Also, during this past decade, enough and more has been shared across media, in articles, scientific research journals, peer reviews (I have inserted some references in the footnotes) etc. on the looming reality of fast-paced environmental destruction we are all facing as humankind if we do not take corrective measures soon. There is no Planet-B and of course not everyone is going to get a seat in Elon Musk’s Mars shuttle. Be it The Paris Accord3 or the UNSDGs4, plant-based living has been proposed as a viable and accessible option to minimise the negative impact that we as human society have caused to the world already. What we choose to eat and how we choose to live, is one of the most significant factors towards the impact we have on the environment. .Transitioning to a diet, based on whole grains, fruits and vegetables reduces water and land use, lowers pollution, slows deforestation and reduces destruction of topsoil, among other benefits . Government organizations are beginning to catch on to the advantages of plant foods not only for personal and environmental health, but also for international security.
So, in my professional and personal life, my choices and beliefs stood out in a very obvious manner. At my work and at home, I worked towards reducing single-use plastics, buying less, consuming less. Being known as a nag and a bit of an outlier is sort of second skin to me now.
However, what did this mean at a larger scale. How could I maximise impact beyond my circles of influence? How would it tie to my legacy? These are existential questions, indeed. I guess that’s where serendipity stepped in.
Prerna, who is a childhood friend, one of those people that you stay connected with, irrespective of wherever life takes you because there is something that binds you together (I believe others would call it a streak of stubbornness and self-assuredness that we both display). Over our travels and catch-ups these past years, she saw me living as a vegan while she was gluten-free due to health reasons(as she will explain in her story). She also possibly saw me as someone who was living her choices, like she was too.
Shubhra, (her elder sister, vegan, animal lover and a well-known Doctor in India) and I were anyway connected through our facebook posts on animal welfare, vegan-living and some of our projects related to animal welfare in India. Despite the physical distance, we ended up bonding virtually over common issues.
Over innumerable Zoom calls, we brainstormed, and the three of us came together realising, that we want to be part of something that paves the way for future generations to live sustainably. We want our money to be where our mouth is, and where our beliefs take ground. We want to combine each of our strengths and experiences to see what we can do to support making plant-based living mainstream. And what could be a better place than our motherland, India!
With the Covid-19 pandemic, the plant-based movement has gained steam and traction globally and more people are realising that plant-based living is a viable option and was always part of our lifestyles historically. Even naysayers are now looking up with raised eyebrows. The business opportunity is indisputable and I don’t need to state the obvious facts here.
Whether one agrees or not, on the issues I mentioned above, is besides the point. Whatever might be your hook (health, environment, animal welfare or pure business prudence), plant-based living is the future and is here to stay.
And therefore, “Vriksh Impact Partners” happened for us. The future is calling! Are you in for the ride with us?
Sources
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
Baroni, L., Cenci, L., Tettemanti, M. and Berati, M. 2006. Evaluating the environmental impact of various dietary patterns combined with different food production systems. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1-8: https://www.nature.com/articles/1602522
White, T. 2000. Diet and the distribution of environmental impact. Ecological Economics. 34, 145-153 and the United States. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Global Water Security. 2012. Web.
Other recommended reading
Ed Ayres, "Will We Still Eat Meat?" Time, 8 Nov. 1999:http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,992523,00.html
"Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms." NRDC: The Earth's Best Defense. Natural Resources Defense Council, 1/13/2011. Web. 2 Apr 2012.
“Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns,” UN News Center, Nov. 29, 2006. https://news.un.org/en/story/2006/11/201222-rearing-cattle-produces-more
Jalava M, Kummu M, Porkka M, Siebert S, and Varis O (2014). Diet Change–a solution to reduce water use? Environ. Res. lett. 9(7):1-14.
Beckett, J. L., and J. W. Oltjen. (1993) Estimation of the water requirement for beef production in the United States. J. Anim. Sci. 71: 818-826
United Nations (2016). First Global Integrated marine Assessment (First World Ocean Assessment). Oceans and Law of the Sea, an integrated Report.
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