Duration | 2:19
Organisation | Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore)
A volunteer discovers how better health starts with a vegetarian diet
After trying out delicious vegetarian food during the annual Tzu Chi International Medical Association conference in Taiwan in 2012, Tzu Chi volunteer Liang Min started having more vegetarian meals after returning to Singapore. After witnessing how going meatless has changed her health for the better, she decided to become a permanent vegetarian. She has been wanting to share about the benefits of vegetarianism with others but found it difficult to start. However, an unprecedented pandemic has unexpectedly given her the opportunity to do so.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Liang Min：
I am particular about the combination of food with five colours, and also protein intake. People are more willing to continue going meatless if it makes them healthy.
For more than a year, Liang Min has been bringing vegetarian lunch bento for two of her colleagues every day. Liang Min is a nurse. After trying out delicious vegetarian food at the annual TIMA conference in Taiwan in 2012, she became a vegetarian.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Liang Min：
I vowed to go meatless because I had health issues. I benefitted from becoming a vegetarian, and that is regaining health. So, I hope that everyone can have a simple, delicious and easy-to-make vegetarian diet.
However, Liang Min had encountered several hurdles in her effort to promote vegetarianism.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Liang Min：
They would say that I should just become a vegetarian myself, and don’t expect them to do the same.
In 2020, Tzu Chi volunteers launched a 10-week campaign to deliver vegetarian meals for healthcare workers as a form of motivation. This had unexpectedly opened up her opportunity to promote vegetarianism in the hospital.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Liang Min：
They were surprised that vegetarian food can be so delicious. I’m thankful to the Tzu Chi volunteer who initiated this, he has allowed me to promote vegetarianism to my colleagues.
Lee Pui See is a colleague of Liang Min. After eating the bento prepared by Liang Min for more than a year, having vegetarian food is now her daily habit. She would invite friends to go for vegetarian food occasionally too.
Liang Min’s colleague, Lee Pui See：
I feel healthier after going meatless. My stomach feels better. So, I hope to share the benefits of vegetarianism with others. The next thing I want do is to slowly increase my vegetarian meals from one meal per day to more than that.
The intention to adopt a meatless diet has begun to sprout. It is hoped that more people will choose to adopt a vegetarian diet for better health.
