Food Safety Conversation: The World of Vegan Foods

Increasing numbers of people are moving toward vegan diets due to health, animal welfare, or environmental concerns. The objective of the November Food Safety Conversation was to provide insights on the safety aspect of the vegan diet, as well as its benefits for your health and the environment. To talk about this, we had Mr. Vishwesh Nair, the Founder and Managing Director of Milkin Oats, Dr. Achyutan Eswar, Co-founder of Sampoorna Ahara and PHC Lifestyle Clinic & NutritionScience.in, and Ms. Palak Mehta who is Founder and CEO of Vegan First and Founder of Vegan India Conference. She also represents the Indian chapter of the World Vegan Organization (WVO). The conversation was moderated by Surabhi Soral, Consultant at Food Safety Works.

Talking about the trend in the world of Vegan foods, Vishwesh shared that about 0.1% of the global population has turned vegan. In India too, from 2019 till now, the vegan population has almost doubled. A lot of it is due to the innovation around plant-based products. He was positive that sooner or later the Indian government will make the policies to support this industry. According to him, people will switch from dairy to plant-based dairy alternatives because of increasing self-awareness about the health impacts. Globally the industry will reach 63.9 million dollars by 2024. Talking about the environmental impact, he stated that about 14.5% of the entire global warming is attributed to livestock farming. To make 200 ml of a glass of milk, approximately 125 L of water is utilized while for that of oat milk, it’s only 9.6 L water. Shifting to plant-based alternatives will have a huge positive impact on the environment and sustainability. He wrapped the session by suggesting the viewers take start taking smaller steps and the change will happen eventually.

Talking about the roots of dairy in Indian culture Dr. Achyutan agreed that people find it difficult to give up on dairy products initially but eventually they see the benefits and start consuming plant-based alternatives. Mentioning the Vegan-friendly laws of different countries like Portugal and Brazil Dr. Achyutan agreed that India too needs similar programs. Raising awareness among people about the benefits of the plant-based food diet is crucial and that is exactly what he and his organization is trying to do. As per him, the world will turn vegan when that is the default option available. On the question about how one can turn into a Vegan, he suggested a 3-step process for the transition. He even shared the contents of the typical meal box they send out to their customers. He also shared several examples of how a whole food plant-based diet can help in preventing, treating, and reversing several lifestyle diseases and disorders.

Palak started the session by emphasizing an individual’s contribution as well the resonation of collective conscience in bringing changes in society. The same is true for the Vegan movement too. She shared her thoughts on how shifting to plant-based foods can help in solving the world hunger crises as well as help in balancing the environment and biodiversity. She also mentioned that India can become one of the largest exporters of plant-based products. The requirement is to look for different opportunities for this industry to thrive in India. There are several options of plant-based alternatives available in the market that does not contain allergens like soy and nuts. She also highlighted the importance of the vegan logo being introduced by the FSSAI which will help consumers to differentiate a vegan product from non-vegan one. She too suggested the viewers take one step at a time as veganism is a lifestyle and the journey to embrace it might take time. It is important to enjoy the process. While the conversation was planned for 90min, the free-flowing discussion almost hit the 2 hours mark and that speaks volumes on the interest in the topic. We covered many compelling questions from our viewers who were watching us live. If you missed the live session, you can watch the playback on our YouTube channel.