Transcriber: Sara Cipparrone Reviewer: Mujtaba Abdelwhab
I was 14 years old when my best friend and I were going to tennis camp together.
We were so excited
It was one of the first times going away without our parents.
And I remember after the first full day of activities, we are heading to dinner.
I woke up into the room and I see this big buffet with lots of meat and fish
and me being the only vegetarian in the room.
“No worries!”
One of the crew members says,
“We’re going to improvise and we’re going to make you a veggie meal.
Just have a little patience.”
And while I wait and wait,
I see my friends already going for a third round of food.
After waiting for over 30 minutes and asking several times,
I think they must have forgotten me.
I decide to not make a fuss, walk up to the buffet and get a plate of food,
so I sit down. I take a bite of my meat dish
and on that very exact same moment
One of the crew members walks in and says,
“We finally got the vegetarian meal for Lisa. Where is she?”
The whole room goes quiet. Everyone looks at me and I don't know where to look.
I will never forget this moment.
This setting was over 16 years ago, and I wonder, did something change
When we’re talking about food these days
meat and other animal products are still the standard,
the default.
And we all know that one vegetarian or vegan friend
who always needs to jump through hoops to even request something different.
Most of the times end up with a slightly disappointing meal.
Weird if you ask me, since we know that the way we currently eat is anything
but future proof, our global food system is unequal, unsustainable,
unhealthy and destabilizing.
And when we specifically zoom in on animal agriculture we see that
it’s one of the biggest contributors to our current climate crisis.
It's causing large scale deforestation, severe pollution,
biodiversity loss and so much more.
Well, we'll look into the ethical part.
We slaughter around 70 billion animals per year worldwide
or individuals just like us with unique personalities
who can be shy and playful
and can also experience pain, fear and stress.
And on top of that, and they're still farming,
is a big threat to our collective and individual health.
And, you know, without a doubt, you've all heard many of these statistics before.
You may feel overwhelmed or you may be thinking “Oh no”
“Another preaching vegan”, and I get that.
But when we talk about this subject, eating less meat and more plants,
it's always about what it will cost us and what we have to give up.
And today I want to talk to you about what it will bring us
when we collectively shift towards a more plant based diet.
So my journey started a while ago.
I've been vegan now for over nine years,
and people frequently ask me about that one specific moment that made me decide
to go vegan. Well, to be honest, there wasn’t one moment
because funny enough,
I didn't plan to become vegan at all.
In fact, I couldn’t imagine a life without meat, as you can see.
But it all started with a small step that in the end was the beginning of
a long process that made more and more sense over the years.
I just started with eating less meat,
experimenting with more plant based dishes,
replacing dairy and eggs, watching documentaries,
reading books and learning from others. And I still do learn every day.
If you ask me, were there bumps along the way? Absolutely.
But the more and more I discovered how rich and varied and flavorful
the plant based kitchen is, the easier and more fun it got.
And when I work with restaurants and caterers and in my cookbooks,
I always try to focus on how can we make the next step easier for ourselves.
How can we make it easier for ourselves? My suggestion?
How about switching a default from animal based to plant based
and now give people the choice
to opt in for meals with animal products
in this way the freedom of choice will remain,
but now you have to make extra efforts to choose
a meal with animal products instead of the other way around, like now.
You may be expecting something like this
But what if the default can look like this?
With a huge amount of possibilities.
Working towards a future where plant based food is the default
Can bring us better health, can reduce animal suffering,
promotes food justice, can contribute to a cleaner environment,
can include a larger audience, saves us time and willpower
and most importantly,
We’ll all be able to enjoy it because plant based food is delicious.
It helps us also reshape what we think of as a normal meal.
Last summer, I attended the barbecue.
Yeah, I do go to barbecues, and obviously as the vegan that I am,
I brought some vegan burgers with me.
And at the end of the night,
I spoke to someone who by coincidence tried one of them.
And he said to me “Wow, that was so tasty. It didn’t taste vegan at all.”
I think what he meant was didn't taste like cardboard, but
I think it was a it’s a huge compliment
because he said to me that it changed his view on vegan food.
And he reassured me that the next barbecue,
he will definitely be choosing that vegan burger again and share with his friends.
This is such a nice example of a small and effective win.
And it shows you don’t have to be vegan to be able to enjoy plant based food.
The more likely you're going to try it and have positive experiences,
the more likely you’re going to share it with your friends
and cook for your family
and also make it easier for others to choose it again.
And whether you more into all food plan based ingredients like veggies, fruits,
whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds,
or you more into dishes with the taste and texture of meat,
the best thing you can do both. There’s something for everyone’s taste.
My experience it is
it starts with the smallest step you can incorporate in your daily life.
And that’s why now I want you to take a moment.
And think of three people in your life whom you often eat together with.
Where do you usually meet and what’s do you usually eat.
Think for a moment where there might be room to give a little push
in the plan based direction.
I'm going to give you five examples.
We at the restaurant ask and pick the plan based option on the menu.
When you're at home, cook your favorite dish,
but then create a plant based version.
Were you walking out having lunch with colleagues?
Be the one that suggests a plant friendly takeaway.
When you're walking through the supermarket,
think of an easy to replace ingredients and take home the vegan version instead.
For instance, butter. And finally, with the holidays coming up,
you're probably thinking of what to bring to your next get together with family
and friends. And maybe you are the one that always brings the cheese butter.
Challenge yourself and see how you can make your your treats more plant based.
And although these small actions seem negligible, and obviously,
I believe that industries should take their responsibility too.
But I also believe that for this shift, we need everyone in their own way.
And I believe your actions, your individual actions
leads to collective actions, which plays an important role,
when we’re talking about systematic change and can bring us one step closer
to a future where plants are to default.
And this is not my story
It’s our story
The story of everyone who’s alive now
That's why I would like to invite you to start today.
Don’t wait for your friend
Don’t wait for your colleague, don’t wait for the government,
take the next step and I'm confident that sooner rather than later,
we all be enjoying food where plants are the center of attention.