Geraldine is a 42-year-old woman living in Switzerland who has a corporate job but also has a strong passion for animals, fitness, and nutrition. She has been a vegetarian since childhood but only became vegan about 5 years ago. Her decision to go vegan was triggered by a shocking realization of the dairy industry’s cruel practices when she saw a baby calf confined in a small white box.
Living in the Gruyeres area of Switzerland, famous for its cheese, fondue, and chocolate, being a vegan was initially challenging for her. However, her love for animals and the conviction that she could not support animal slavery anymore made it clear that veganism was the right choice for her.
Despite the challenges of being a vegan in a meat and cheese-loving country, she has never looked back and has found ways to enjoy plant-based meals while staying true to her values.
Meatless Movement recently had a chance to chat with her.
Tell us more about yourself, please
My name is Geraldine, I ‘m 42 years old and live in Switzerland.
I have a Corporate job during the day, but my true passions are animals, fitness and nutrition.
I have been a vegetarian since I was a child. It was so wrong to me to “eat my friends”. However this is only about 5 years ago that I became vegan.
I remember the day I saw a baby calf in one of this tiny white box, so tiny he could hardly move. That day I finally became aware of the dairy industry, and what it takes to get milk and dairies, and all the suffering behind it.
I live in the Gruyeres area of Switzerland, where Gruyere cheese, cheese fondue, double cream and chocolate ( The Cailler chocolate factory being nearby) are famous and a must for everyone visiting that part of the country.
Therefore being a vegan here is really challenging. But It was clear to me that I could not pretend not to know anymore what it takes to cows to produce dairy, and it was impossible to support this slavery anymore. I have always loved animals, not just cats and dogs but absolutely all animals, and I could never consciously hurt any of them.
At the beginning, it was hard to say no to a cheese fondue, mostly because this looks weird here, and also because in the mountains lodges around here, there are not many meals options beside meat or cheese, so I basically used to end up with salad and potatoes! But everytime I was facing this kind of situation, I was thinking of this baby calf. It became a habit very quickly actually and I never felt that I was missing out something.
My biggest satisfaction is that as least I respect all living creatures and I don’t want any of them to die or suffer because of me. The only regret I have, is that I didn t start earlier this vegan lifestyle. I am vegan firstly for the animals, and for the planet. If you can eat yummy food, be healthy and in a good shape without hurting or killing someone, why wouldn t you do it?
I’m living with my partner, our cat and our 3 rescued dogs. My partner is not vegan but was respecting my lifestyle. At the beginining he was eating quite a lot of meat and dairies. Now he is cutting out dairies for health reasons, and he is not eating meat everyday anymore.
He actually likes the vegan dishes I am preparing for lunch and prefer the vegan desserts. I don’t think he will ever become a vegan, and we never argue about it but I strongly keep my position and with time he is starting to see animals differently and understand more why their lives truly matter.
Challenges I face:
Unfortunately in Switzerland there are not so many vegan restaurants, outside big cities. If you are lucky you will find a special dish but otherwise you may end up with pasta all’arrabiata, and salad. That said, usually if you call in advance, the chef will prepare somehting special for you. However, if you are visiting Zurich , make sure to stop at the Hiltl Restaurant (@hiltl), which is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world (opened in 1868). This is a heaven for vegans and vegetarians!.
Since a couple of years, we can nonetheless find more and more vegan food in supermarkets. This is also a trend and, as for any other food, not everything is healthy. But this is great to have more choices at least. I personnally usually stick to mostly non – processed food such as tofu, seitan, tempeh to get my proteins. I also switched traditional pasta for chickpeas or lentils pasta. I keep the real stuff for when i go to eat out.
When I am invited at friends’ house, I usually offer to bring dessert. I love to try new recipes and this is also a good way to show people that vegan food can be tasty, healthy and easy to prepare. I like sharing recipes on my IG account (@the_green_girl) and I am always happy to help people navigate in the vegan world. My goal is to inspire people about a healthy vegan lifestyle.
The most difficult part of being a vegan, is to have to justify your food choices, and having people to look at you like you are “extreme”. I get so many comments like, I couldn’t do it, this is hard isn’t it?, or “human have always eaten meat..”, I try to keep calm and explain why I believe this is wrong, but deep inside I cannot understand that I actually have to explain why slavery, suffering and murder of living creatures is wrong and why abusing animals is still so common
Misconception about a vegan lifestyle: You can never build muscles as a Vegan!
The Green Girl
A couple of years ago I decided to get back into shape and make sure I was given to my body what he needed. I had a hard time finding a vegan fitness coach in Switzerland and I was feeling pretty much alone and desesperate. I finally found a great coach in the US with whom I could train online.
This was a massive change for me, I have learnt so much about nutrition, how to eat to feel great, healthy and not having any deficiency. I had to make some adjustements in my diet, and get a better structure. Changes are always challenging but if this is right for you, you will find a way.
I understand that people willing to switch to a vegan diet can feel overwhelmed and afraid at the beginning. This is why I decided to become myself a Nutrition coach and WeightLost Specialist certified by NASM (National Academy of Sport Medicine). My goal is to prove that we can build muscles, be strong and healthy on a plant based diet. I want to help people to get to the best version of themselves. I am in the process to open my own vegan nutrition Coach business, dedicated to vegans and to people in transition.
Advice to someone who would like to make the switch:
I have found motivation, inspiration, and many advice on vegan IG Accounts. If your family and friends are not supporting you, IG or other social medias can be very supportive and you won’t feel alone. You will also find plenty of easy, healthy recipes to try. Don’t listen too much to people who will try to discourage you. If this sounds right for you, go for it.
If you feel you need some support, look for a vegan coach who can guide you and support you. I like to say that I have found a “IG family”, this is just a few people but people i can relate to and with the same way of thinking about the animals and the planet. One of them is running a business of fitness gear. This is real quality stuff, and 100% profit go to animal charities.
I am so happy I can buy my fitness stuff and at the same time helping animals. And the owner Brent is such a helpful and good human being. Make sure to check his account, they deliver worldwide:-)@onetosavemany.
To be healthy as a vegan, you also need to follow the same rules as for any other diet. Try to stick mostly to non processed food, avoid added sugar whenever possible. Don’t think it is healthy because it is labelled as vegan.
Educate yourself, learn to read the food labels, choose food with high percentage of protein, stick to natural food as much as possible and keep the treats for special occasion. You want to be vegan, but a healthy vegan 🙂
There are several sanctuaries for animals considered as “livestock”, in Switzerland. I am visiting one of them every now and then. You can check its IG account @asso_coexister.
They are hosting different events during the year, which are open to everyone. Meeting the animals really has a much deeper impact than discussions and arguments about veganism. When people meet pigs, chicken or cows, each being treated as an individual and respected as such, they start opening their eyes and heart.. The Sanctuary is also helping farmers to transitionate to a new life. This is how I had the chance to meet an exceptional couple, Stephane and Valerie who owned a farm for years until they decided they couldn’t do it anymore.
After having brought their last cows to the Sanctuary to offer them their best life, they have launched their vegan Bakery @auxpainsanspeines ( IG). Their products are absolutely amazing and I would recommand anyone to try them!
The Green Girl
🌱 To inspire people about a vegan and healthy lifestyle
🏋🏽♀️NASM Nutrition coach certified
👩🎓NASM Weight Loss Specialist certified
🇨🇭🌱Switzerland
all images courtesy of The Green Girl