Medical professionals are waking up to the benefits of a healthy and humane plant-based lifestyle. Dr. Sharang Wartikar, Retinal Surgeon, turned vegan when he saw documentaries about animal agriculture and shocked to learn about the hidden truth. And since he experienced amazing fitness benefits, there has been no looking back.
Formally a non-vegetarian, he turned vegan in 2018 for ethical and environmental reasons. He said, “As a child, you don’t think much, you assume whatever is kept on your plate is normal.” He realized the level of hypocrisy in perception of cruelty in everyday life. “We don’t see the actual killing in front of us. We just see the well prepared chicken dishes, but nobody will want to actually kill the chicken.” He gave up non-veg initially, though he continued eating eggs for a while.
One day, he saw a video that showed the reality behind the dairy and poultry industries. He was shocked with the revelations and turned vegan the very next day. “The industry ensures that the reality behind the abattoirs and slaughterhouses is never brought out. For me, it was very simple, I can’t be a part of this kind of cruelty, and that’s it. And incidentally, I happened to give up on 1 November, which was World Vegan Day!”
He continued, “And I realised that there were other benefits as well. The environmental benefits struck me quite a lot. Animal agriculture is a criminal waste of resources. And I am thinking about what kind of world will I be leaving behind for the next generation. And certainly, going vegan is one of the best things you can do for the planet.”
There are immense personal benefits as well, stated Dr Sharang, but they were secondary for him. “My fitness level had increased. Also, my mother who is now 73 years, has turned vegan after noticing improvements in my health. My children are aspiring to be vegan as well. Being vegan has turned me adventurous as well, and I have now started cooking.”
“On the fitness front as well, during the lockdown, I have climbed 156 floors (in one stretch) by climbing up and down my building stairwell.
I am not a foodie, but for my children I have shifted to making desserts without sugar and food with no oil. Today, many people mistake me to be a decade younger than my age,” he signed off with a laugh.
