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Ms. Flansburg and Mr. Ulhaq enjoy vegan food together in Thailand. Image from Flansburg
The vegan, vegetarian, or plant-based diet has only recently been accepted in mainstream society, due to rising concerns about the environment and animal rights. But in China, this isn’t always the case.
As a culture with a palate deeply rooted in hearty, salty, and meaty flavors, it’s hard to find Chinese food without ingredients derived from animals. AISG Science Teacher Habib Ulhaq is a vegan and said, “China is still new to the concept of veganism; most waiters don’t know what it means and it is hard to explain it clearly. It’s also harder to make requests at restaurants here because a lot of the broths are premade with animal products.”
Yet, many students and teachers here at AISG still persevere in following this diet. There are many reasons behind this, with one of the most common ones being an awareness of animal cruelty that comes with factory-farmed meats.
For Darcie Flansburg, an AISG Secondary English Language and Literature teacher who has been vegan for 5 years, it all started with a book: Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation written by Peter Albert David Singer. But after a while, she returned to eating meat. Everyone around her ate meat, and she also under the impression that her body “needed meat”.
But things changed when she moved to China, where she found herself repulsive towards meat. “The texture was starting to disgust me”, she said. Around that time, Flansburg was introduced to a pro-vegan documentary.
“We were told about the documentary Dominion, which statistically causes more people to become vegan than any other. I had seen Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, and others, but this documentary made me 100 percent sure that I wanted nothing to do with the pain caused by factory farming”
Ulhaq had a similar realization, where he recalled, “I was made aware of how my food is made. It was very emotionally distressing. Factory farming is not only incredibly cruel, it is terrible for the environment. Once it was clear to me, I made an ethical choice.”
Even though Dr. Anne Fielder, AISG Chemistry and Biology teacher, didn’t have as deep of an understanding of the animal ethics of factory farming, just learning the simple fact that eating meat can violate animal ethics made her stop eating meat at a young age. “I first went vegetarian when I was 15 because I decided I didn’t want to kill animals just to eat them. I thought it was cruel, though I didn’t really know too much about it at the time.”
Another reason why people who are plant-based/vegetarian/vegan are usually able to maintain this diet for a long time, and even for their whole life, is because of the health benefits it has brought to them.
“Since going vegan I have not gotten as sick as often as I did before. Myself, my husband, and my vegan friends were some of the last people in our community to get Covid. I do not get the colds and flus that my students often have,“ said Flansburg. She also added, “I have even been warned by doctors in the past that if I do not ‘eat proper protein’ I would not heal as fast from surgery. But then they were surprised when I healed as quickly as I did (faster than expected), and I maintained my vegan diet and lifestyle. “
And for some people, a plant-based diet is something they grew up with. For instance, Grade 12 student Shivansh D. said: “I was a vegetarian due to my upbringing, my family has been vegetarian for generations, my grandparents refused to eat eggs, although my parents do eat eggs.
According to the Oxford Languages dictionary, the official definition of vegan is “a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal products.”
However, in real life, the vegan diet is not that rigid. Some may choose to occasionally eat certain animal products, like Fielder, who “still eat[s] eggs, so [she’s] not quite vegan, but pretty close!”
Nevertheless, many still tend to question if going plant-based is really worth the sacrifice. Indeed, many followers of this diet acknowledge the hardships of it, especially when living in China. For example, Shivansh said that “I had a lot of struggles finding vegetarian food in China, although it had become easier to find vegetarian food, variety is limited, due to Chinese cuisines that surround around meat.”
Additionally, Sara Grozanick, a Secondary English Language and Literature teacher at AISG that has been vegan for 15 years, reflected on her experience with being vegan in the past: “when I went back to my [home] in rural Pennsylvania it was hard to find tofu; vegan options at most restaurants were non-existent (French fries and salad without dressing) unless you were in a city. I never asked if something was vegan because chances were the server wouldn’t know what it was–I would ask about ingredients like I had a food allergy,” she said.
She also notes the social difficulties that come with being vegan. She said: “my family had trouble understanding my choice at first. I think the social side of eating is the biggest difficulty, especially in China where you often order dishes for the table and eat family-style at restaurants.”
On a similar note, Flansburg and Ulhaq also talk about the social disadvantage of being vegan. Flansburg said, “the hardest part is eating in a social setting. I feel like I am being difficult when I ask the school for vegan food options at events, or when I am invited out with friends only to find that there are no food options for me.”
Ulhaq expressed his own experience by saying: “sometimes you eat before a dinner so you can at least meet with people. Food is a very social thing, it’s hard to have restrictions and so many things I was used to eating were no longer possible.”
Facing a similar problem, Fielder said: “Sometimes, I’ll order what I think is a vegetarian meal (in China), and it comes with bits of meat sprinkled on top. It’s awkward when people don’t realize I can’t just pick out the meat and eat the rest.”
However, they have all learned to overcome these obstacles by simply adapting their way of life for this diet.
A lifestyle change that Flansburg has made was to cook more at home: “living in China, I cook a lot at home. There are vegan restaurants in China, but I find a lot of the food to be very oily, or not very balanced. When I cook, I ensure that my husband and I get proper macros so that we are satisfied but not too full or sleepy after we eat,” she said.
Another way Flansburg has adapted to this diet was learning from health advocates who are also vegan. “ I think what also helped my husband and I is that we worked with a vegan fitness coach (that we found on IG) who provided workout plans and meal plans for us,” Flansburg added.
Flansburg admits that the vegan diet can be tricky, if you aren’t careful with what you eat: “honestly you don’t get enough protein eating only beans and nuts. It was also too much fiber for our systems.”
However, she found a way to combat this challenge. She said, “our fitness coach gave us meal plans that targeted the macros we needed based on our activity levels and BMIs and I became the fittest I have ever been in my life (and I used to do triathlons and Crossfit).”
Fielder talked about the ways she keeps up with her nutritional requirements, and said “One common argument is that vegan diets might not provide all the essential nutrients, but I manage by taking a B12 supplement—especially here in China, where it’s harder to find B12 fortified foods. With a bit of care, I’m able to get a balanced diet, and I make sure I’m getting all the essential amino acids (something my G11 Biology students would appreciate!).”
But of course, the ethical standpoint towards veganism is still a very influential factor in their choices.
When Grozanick looked back at when she first became vegan, she said: “I read more about factory farming practices, and animal rights philosophy, and the more I learned, the more I began to feel that veganism was the most ethical choice for animals and the environment.”
Even though many are set in their decision to remove all animal products from their diet, some still criticize this diet.
Grade 11 student Alfred P. counteracted the idea of veganism by saying: “I simply don’t get the point. Some vegans say how animals are being killed and tortured just so humans could have delicious meals, but some of the most commonly seen products in a vegan diet (ex. almonds, avocados, etc.) kill about billions of bees in the production phase.”
He also said: “The addition of the meat element on a diet gives the meal better texture as well as over taste. This exact reasoning is why some people are creating ‘mock meat’ also known as ‘plant-based meat’…Why not just use meat if some vegans really want the taste of it so bad that they are creating ‘fake meat’ to fulfill their desires without breaking their morals?”
Flansburg countered the argument by stating that fake meats are made to help people transition to veganism. “What people really want when they eat meat is a vehicle for sauce and seasoning.”
Ms. Flansburg enjoys a vegan meal at a restaurant. Image from Flansburg
Despite the skepticism this diet may face, many highly recommend it to others.
“It’s a healthy way of living, and it’s also the single most significant step someone can take to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Fielder.
Flansburg gave encouragement when she said, “I know there are some countries where this diet might be challenging, but anyone living in a modern, international city has access to all of the vegan supplies they need to be healthy.”
Ulhaq also strongly encourages others to follow this diet. He said, “[the carnivore diet] is destructive to the planet, it lacks compassion and it is arguably making us less healthy. The last point is something I believe, but it isn’t why I recommend not eating animal products. I just believe it is more ethical not to.”
Even though living in China with a plant-based/vegetarian/vegan diet unfortunately can be difficult, people who follow this diet never let this come in the way of devoting themselves to their diets, and most are willing to follow it for life.
Flansburg said: “Well, I was set on it “for life” in my early 20s, and changed my mind…but I am much more knowledgeable and experienced now, I know how to cook, and my husband is adamant that he will never eat meat again. So unless something major happens, I don’t think I will be changing my mind. “
[DF1]factory-farmed meats
[DF2]It started with a book…. the documentary was when I returned to veganism
[DF3]need transition/intro for this quote
[DF4]explain this first — the quote is missing context
[DF5]Flansburg countered the argument by stating that fake meats are made to help people transition to veganism. “What people really want when they eat meat is a vehicle for sauce and seasoning.”
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