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, blending her love for storytelling and cooking to share recipes inspired by her mother. 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 shless nger, 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 dierent vegan places that serve aordable 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 deciency 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 lm 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 suerings, 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 dierent environmental
initiatives to cater to dierent 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 rellable and still usable pens are given a new
life with rells 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 nd 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 landll.

Advocacy and Education:

As an introvert, I nd 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.

all images courtesy of __Hui_lin