New Delhi: The Ahimsa Trust launched a digital not-for-profit campaign called ‘Plants Are Power’ (www.plantsarepower.in) on World Environment Day, to educate people on the multiple benefits of a plant based (vegetarian/vegan) diet and to switch to plant-based living.
The initiative aims to inspire them to make a switch for a healthier, more sustainable and ethical living especially with the focus on environment due to the Covid-19 The star powered campaign features Bollywood celebrities, business leaders and sports stars to lend a helping hand. Kick-starting the movement are Lisa Haydon, Neha Dhupia, Kris Srikkanth, Naveen Jindal and Sunil Munjal who will soon be seen taking part in a series of interesting social media activities to encourage people’s participation.
Speaking from the heart, Lisa Hayden says, “If you agree that it is our responsibility as keepers of the Earth to protect our planet, then we must accept that waste, greed and over consumption are habits we can no longer indulge in. I believe my children deserve a healthy planet and so do yours. There is something we can do about this, right now – be more conscious in our consumption of animal products.”
Drawing attention to the urgent need of this campaign, the co-founders of Ahimsa Trust, Sethu Vaidyanathan and Parag Agarwal say: “The current health crisis due to Covid-19 is a stark reminder to us that we need to change our food habits. There are many myths around the food we eat. Most people believe that a plant-based diet does not provide adequate nutrients like protein and vitamins; there is also a mis-conception that we need to eat meat to build muscles and become stronger to do well in sports or to be healthy. This is untrue – some of the top sportspeople (and the world’s strongest person!) do not consume any animal products. People are not stupid, but these myths have been around for so long that we have started believing in them! This needs to change. Therefore, we have launched ‘Plants Are Power’ – a movement to remind all of us that plants have a power that other foods simply don’t have. This is to inspire Indians to change to a healthier lifestyle, and to help us realise that in doing so we make an immediate impact on the planet and the animals.”
Consumption of meat and other animal products is damaging our health slowly, and also the planet! Apart from raining unspeakable cruelty on the animals. By now, it is common knowledge that if we could see what happens in slaughterhouses, we would stop eating non-vegetarian food – it is cruel and unhealthy. Providing people with a promising solution, this campaign is here to bring the goodness of plant-based diet in the spotlight and debunk myths associated with consumption of animal products. It advocates the benefits of a plant-based diet for human health and its cascading effect on animal and environmental health. Emphasizing on this very notion the campaign goes by #ForYourBodyForEverybody.
To facilitate the switch to a plant-based diet, ‘Plants Are Power’ brings a 21-day Challenge, backed by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO), which urges people to sign up for a plant-based diet for 21 days. Participants can either go for their own dishes or can use the recipes provided on the campaign website and through emailers. This simple challenge can be the first step towards a healthier lifestyle, with a positive impact on our planet as well.
Do You Know?
70 percent of new infectious diseases are said to be zoonotic in origin. WHO has spoken about the potential for ‘spillover’ of viruses into human populations if people continue to eat meat.
People who primarily eat plant based diets tend to have lower rates of obesity, cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes than those who eat meat.
It takes 322 litres of water to produce 1 kilogram of vegetables – but it takes 1,020 litres of water to produce one litre of cow’s milk, 3,265 litres of water to produce a kilogram of eggs, and 15,415 litres of water to produce one kilogram of beef
Every year worldwide 72 billion land animals and 1.2 trillion aquatic animals are killed for animal food, i.e considering a stable population of 7 billion, over an average lifespan of 70 years – each person is responsible for the killing of nearly 12,600 animals!
