How Hui Lin Found Balance in Nutrition, Career, and Values as a Vegan

Three years ago, Hui Lin shared her inspiring journey of embracing veganism in her first article, “Veganism is a way of living that benefits humans, animals, and the environment.” Since then, she has continued to champion the vegan lifestyle, combining her love for storytelling with her exploration of vegan dishes in Singapore and abroad.

Meatless Movement recently reconnected with Hui Lin to learn about the progress she has made, the challenges she has faced, and how her journey continues to evolve.

Read her first interview article

Veganism is a way of living that benefits humans, animals and the environment

Reecting on Your Continued Journey:

It has been 3 years since we last spoke. Along the way, I made new vegan friends, adjusting my lifestyle, and made a career shift to be more in alignment with my values

Navigating Nutrition and Health + Diverse Culinary Adventures:

For me, the simplest way is to ensure variety in my meal. Just like any diet, when there is a lack of variety, there will be an imbalance in the nutrition intake. Nowadays I cook less due to work.

In a typical meal, my mom cooks stir-fried vegetables with mushrooms and carrots, a side dish of small indulgence (like fishless finger, and vegan dumplings!), and a nutritious chinese herbal soup with a generous portion of chinese herbs. We also explore youtube channels that share great vegan recipes, one of which is 野菜鹿鹿Veggie Deer from Taiwan! When dining out, I will explore different vegan places that serve affordable delicious vegan food too.

I observed that there are instances where people switch back to a non-vegan diet because they took on a very restricted vegan diet, such as purely being on a raw food vegan diet, and they came to a conclusion that vegan diet is not for them. For such instances, I would encourage to go for cooked balanced vegan meals instead of jumping to a conclusion that veganism is not a suitable diet. Nowadays, in my context living in Singapore, there are many vegan options, be it dining out or cooking at home.

There are many online resources available to check out how we can take on a more balanced vegan diet, one of which is https://nutritionfacts.org/ by Dr Greger and his book, How Not to Die. I also have the advice from the vegan community that we can take a blood test to check for any deficiency in our body so we can take the right food and supplement to ensure we have all the nutrition intake.

Inspiring Others Through Challenges:

One of the challenges I am facing is how I can continue to stay in alignment with my values as a vegan in my career. I made a career switch to graphic design last year and I realised there is a high chance I will be designing for clients that clash with my values if I join an agency.

Hence, I decided that going freelance is a better route for me. I recently completed a logo and brand design project for a nature themed film festival that promotes sustainability and wildlife conservation. This project blossomed after I met the client during an event, and the client gave me this opportunity after knowing what I do and my values. The successful completion of this project is an important milestone, reminding me that it is possible to build a career that aligns with my values and continuing what I do.

Empowering Lifestyle Choices:

One of the main reasons I resonate with veganism is that it is not just a diet. Veganism aligns with my values to minimise our impact on animal sufferings, the environment, and health. For beauty or skincare products, there are websites such as PETA (https://crueltyfree.peta.org/) and Cruelty-Free Kitty (https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/) that provide well-researched information on which brands are vegan and cruelty free. These are the resources I go to when buying a beauty or skincare product.

As for environmental practices, it can be as simple as tearing my tissue into half when using it after a meal to having a recycling habit. I am actively looking for places to donate or recycle my used items. In Singapore, there are many environmental organisations and initiatives that make living an environmentally friendly lifestyle easier. There are so many of them that there is a Recyclopedia (https://recyclopedia.sg/) that consolidates all the different environmental initiatives to cater to different recycling needs!

For textile recycling, there are 450 recycling bins for textile by Cloop (https://cloop.sg/) around Singapore where they accept used or new textile in any clean and dry condition. There is one bin near my home where I can recycle my old and used clothes, bags, and shoes.

For pen recycling, there is Save That Pen, where reliable and still usable pens are given a new life with refills and passed on to underprivileged students in Singapore and the region (https://www.savethatpen.org/). There are 9 bin locations in Singapore and I will accumulate my used pens before making a trip down.

I also trade in my old books and gently used clothes to Thryft (https://thryft.asia/ ), and I can get credits to buy their second hand books. They have a wide selection of second hand books, clothes, and vinyl records to choose from.

Over the years, I also accumulate recycling bags, many of which I do not use. There are dedicated places in libraries and supermarkets around Singapore for us to donate these recycling bags for others to put their borrowed books or groceries.

With these initiatives, I find myself able to recycle or donate almost all my items without the need to throw away things that are recyclable or usable. I will also highly encourage people to reduce taking items for the sake that they are freebies, or think for a moment if we really need the items before taking, so as to reduce the amount of items we contribute to the landfill.

Advocacy and Education:

As an introvert, I find ways to send messages about veganism while conserving my social energy. I approach sharing my vegan journey thoughtfully, prioritizing meaningful connections over constant advocacy. As much as I felt the importance for others to learn about veganism, most people are not on the same page. I listen more than I speak, and ask questions to learn more about the other parties. When I speak, I do so intentionally, ensuring my words are genuine.

In the process, I learn from others’ perspectives why they are not vegan, and respond appropriately. In this way, people take me more seriously and are more open to see from my perspective why I took on a vegan diet.

I feel that we don’t have to be discouraged when our friends and family members are not vegan. I was once an omnivore, and looking back on my vegan journey, it is not an immediate process to becoming a vegan. In the same way, I cannot expect others to take on a vegan or plant-based diet after sharing the importance of veganism once or twice. Rather, we can water the seeds of veganism in their hearts in ways we can.

Currently, I am thankful to have most of my friends passionately looking for vegan or vegetarian places, or letting me make the decision on the place to eat whenever there is a meetup. Having close connections with my friends, I see more opportunities to share about veganism in future meetups.

Lastly, I feel that we can also set a good example as a vegan by eating healthily, and working on meaningful projects that carry important messages related to veganism. By having a healthy body and appearance, we can show people that a vegan diet is not scary or malnutritious. By working on meaningful projects, whether big or small (like doing art or writing a short poem), we can use the opportunity to share important messages about veganism through these projects, when words fail us.

__Hui_lin

📍Singapore
A team of 🌱 mom and daughter. My mom cooks and I shoot. 📸😎
Documenting our passion for 💚🌱 food, recipes and lifestyle, one at a time.

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all images courtesy of __Hui_lin