Becoming plant-based is what led me to all these beautiful things that now make me a more resilient and kind earthling

Jessie is from Taiwan. She is a recent university graduate passionate about environmentalism and the well-being of all living beings.

Meatless Movement recently had the opportunity to chat with her. She told Meatless Movement that becoming plant based was the first step which led her into a more positive and wholesome life.

Please tell us more about yourself

All life deserves dignity
Jessie🌼

Hello everyone, I’m Jessie🌼. As my family always says, I was designed in Mexico 🇲🇽, made in the US 🇺🇸, and delivered to Taiwan 🇹🇼 haha, just their fancy way of saying I was born in the states and spent most of my life in Mexico. I recently finished an undergraduate degree in Taipei and will relocate back to Mexico soon!✨

I’ve been a vegetarian since high school, and the story of how I became plant based is pretty random and different from everyone else’s.

I would always do monthly challenges with a friend that sat next to me, like: this month we drink 2L of water every day, or this month we exercise everyday, and so on.

What happened this particular month was that we had totally forgotten about setting a monthly challenge, and as I was eating my breakfast I noticed it didn’t have meat! (For reference, I had a peanut butter jelly sandwich instead of my usual: cheese and ham.)

So at that moment my gut instinct was to be a vegetarian for a month, and so I did! It was so easy because in my mind I would tell myself, “this is only for a month”.

The funny thing is that the transition was so smooth and I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing anything, that when the time was up, I just continued to be a vegetarian.

That is literally the story haha, and in recent years I try my best to be vegan✨.

We need so little to be so happy
Jessie🌼

I always say that becoming plant based was the best decision I ever made, and what steered my life into a bright and wonderful path.

I became a vegetarian with no big purpose like most of my admirable friends. But by being a vegetarian, I actually realized the huuuuge impact our diet has on the environment, and the more I researched about it, the more passionate I became about protecting our home! So now being eco-conscious and low waste is a big part of my interests, life, and even identity.

Collaboration with Greanpeace and NCCU Green 24: Free Vegan Food Truck – Jessie🌼

Did you know a vegan diet saves approx 1,100 gallons of water a day? Maybe we could start our week 1,100 gallons lighter 👩🏽‍🌾🌻✨
Jessie🌼

So then, I was plant-based and eco-friendly. From there I just simply realized that the less I consumed the kinder I was to the environment, which just naturally eliminated most of my material desires. It’s funny to think about now, but I used to be so materialistic, superficial, and most importantly, insecure: always thinking about what to buy next and how I “appeared” to others. It’s such a liberating feeling to live without those concerns, knowing that my choices are helping the world become a kinder place for all sentient beings, even if I am not “in style” or “repeat outfits”. This also helped me become more of a minimalist feel content, simply own only what I need and love what I own.

Finally, although this step took me longer than I would’ve liked, I was able to meet people in the vegan community, which really inspired me. Because now, being plant based was not only about the environment, but also about being the voice for the voiceless. This is why I choose to be vegan, although definitely not perfectly and with loads of room for improvement.

I read a while ago that “all truly good things come hand in hand”, and for me, all good things — a plant based lifestyle, psychological well-being, minimalism, philosophy and Buddhism, and dignity for all— truly come hand in hand ❤️.

Becoming plant-based is what led me to all these beautiful things that now make me a more resilient and kind earthling.

We as humans, can continue exploiting our home and fellow earthlings, or we can finally live up to our responsibility and protect them
Jessie🌼

Personally, I think that the main challenges are getting your family on board and learning to eat the right way.

My parents were really against me eliminating animal products because they were concerned about my nutrition, and were constantly trying to sneak in animal products into my meals 🤣. But after a while they saw that I was still alive and had no difficulty exercising, so they didn’t have much else to say haha. Also, I was cooking many plant-based meals for them, or sharing how a plant based diet is approved by many health associations and actually decreases the risk of many chronic diseases. Slowly they respected my decision.

Regarding nutrition, I think that you definitely need to identify the plant based sources of protein that are available to you, depending on where you live and your budget. We know that a vegan diet is completely sufficient, but you can’t just eat how you used to minus all the animal products (that was my mistake lol). This is an amazing page to get you started https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/how-go-vegan/meal-planning. Also I just try to make sure I’m getting at least 3 portions of protein every meal (so like a box of tofu) and I try to eat the rainbow 🌈 hehe, so as many whole food colors as possible.

🌱Plants= panacea🌱
Jessie🌼

Go for it! 💚 It’s so empowering to know that an individual’s decision can have such a big impact on the environment and society as a whole.

Remember to do your research on how to have a healthy diet and find your community! I’m part of the NCCU Green24 sustainability club. It’s amazing the things you can do when you’re surrounded by likeminded peers: when I headed the plant-based promotion project, we were able to bring in a free vegan food truck and hand out 250 free vegan & 0 waste meals with GreenPeace!

Finally, it’s completely fine if you make mistakes along the way! 🥳 What matters is that you do what you know is right, and try to do better next time ((:

I’ve been trying to be fully vegan for the past 3 years and I still stumble (a lot) along the way, but hey, I’m still trying and I will continue to because I know in my heart that it’s the right thing to do.

🐝🌼Constantly astonished by the different forms in which life expresses itself🌼🐝
Jessie🌼

As Tolstoy mentioned, “As long as there are slaughter houses there will always be battlefields”. One cannot build happiness on another’s misery, the same way we exploit animals and the earth thinking it will bring us happiness, but it won’t.

I’m not sure if anyone saw Demon Slayer lol, but anyway, there’s this beautiful part where Rengoku’s mom tells him: “It is the obligation of those born strong to defend the weak.” (Ikr, tears😭😂) I think we as humans, the “born strong”, can continue exploiting our home and fellow earthlings, or we can finally live up to our responsibility and protect them and ultimately ourselves. ✨

Thank you for reading my story, being a part of the community, and feel free to reach out! Always choose to be kind ❤️