It’s not JUST Veganuary! Activist shares tips & tricks to help you adopt a sustainable lifestyle
Jurgen Farrugia first heard of the benefits of a vegan diet when he was 16 years old, and became convinced of it after reading a study: “If I truly love animals I should love them all, not just cats and dogs,” he explains. Despite his conviction, his transition to a vegan diet came almost 15 years later. “At that time, the Maltese market was not as open to it as it is now, so I turned vegetarian instead,” Jurgen says.
While a vegetarian diet is basically your regular diet without meat or fish, a vegan diet is plant-based, meaning any product originating in any way from animals is strictly off the menu. That includes milk, eggs, cheese, honey and ice-cream – key components of all the standard comfort foods, but thankfully, vegan alternatives are now readily available in most leading supermarket chains in Malta.
Getting your daily dose of protein can now be achieved hassle-free: “There are more than 15 different food items that are high in protein, such as spirulina, tofu, natural yeast, peas, chickpeas and black-bean pasta,” Jurgen says. While sourcing plant-based food for home cooking has become easier, dining out is not always a smooth experience: “ There are restaurants that know about vegan dishes and go all out to impress, but sometimes I’m left speechless when a chef doesn’t know about vegan dishes,” Jurgen confesses.
Living a sustainable lifestyle is not just done through a vegan diet but also by eliminating plastic use in everyday life. One such solution is using bamboo toothbrushes: “They take less than five years to decompose as opposed to plastic tooth brushes, which take 400 years to decompose…if they do,” says Jurgen. Replacing plastic bags for cloth ones, plastic containers for glass jars and disposable cutlery with biodegradable ones are just a few easy swaps which one can incorporate in their everyday life.
Jurgen acknowledges that the situation in Malta is improving but more needs to be done: “if the current government would implement a ban on single use plastic... it would be a bigger step ahead!”
And what about parents with young children who want to make the big change? Preparing separate dishes every day can prove chaotic, but Jurgen believes it's all worth it: “Parents should support their choices irrespective of their age… in fact they should be proud they made this decision as it means their child is more conscious of the harm we're doing to Earth.” Jurgen admits that the biggest threat to a sustainable lifestyle can be the lack of knowledge: “When I first told my family and friends, they asked a lot of questions because they were not fully aware of what it meant to live sustainably,” he explains, adding that based off of his experience, they too are also eager to make the necessary changes.
While Jurgen’s loved ones turn to him for advice, he stresses the importance of carrying out your own research: “You can either research which foods best suit you or you can go to a nutritionist,” he explains. Jurgen believes that Mother Earth cares for everyone: “Anyone can do it from babies to the elderly!” he says. Ultimately, a sustainable lifestyle is not just another trend: “Living sustainably is not a lifestyle, it is something that has to be done as soon as possible for the good of all,” he concludes.
Follow Jurgen on his Insta account @jugi_v to keep up to date with recipes and more tips to see you through Veganuary!