Actress’s veganism doesn’t apply to lifestyle choices; will commit to ethical veganism later
Melissa D’Costa D’Silva (DNA; June 11, 2015)

Kangana Ranaut was once a hardcore non-vegetarian, then turned vegetarian and then vegan. She explains the gradual shift. “When I decided to become a vegetarian, I realised that consuming dairy products was not agreeing with me and was giving me acidity. Hence, I switched to being a vegan and this has made a lot of difference in my life. I am very happy now.”

Ethical vegan, someday!
Kangana adds, “While I would love to fully commit to being an ethical vegan at some point, I can’t do that right now. My profession demands fluidity in our lifestyle. I have to look my best at all times. I can’t always carry my own make-up. Also, I travel a lot because of work, and there are times when you are travelling on domestic airlines, where even vegetarian food is not available on board. What do you do in that situation? You may have to opt for a non-vegetarian sandwich, remove the meats and eat it as you are hungry and can’t starve. While I cannot make that switch from a dietary vegan to an ethical vegan at this point. I would be happy to do that at some point.”

Challenges of being vegan
Recently, actress Nargis Fakhri spoke about the challenges of being vegan. She said, “I was vegan for six months. It was an interesting phase and I never felt as good as I did during that time. I would love to go back to being a full-time vegan, but it’s a bit hard here in India. The products are not available in restaurants that cater to vegans.”

However, Kangana disagrees, “Veganism as a way of life is deeply rooted in the Indian ethos. Whether it’s a puja or any spiritual occasion we always consume vegan food in keeping with the scriptures. Indians were the first ones to endorse veganisim as a way of life. If you look at South Indian cuisine, almond milk and coconut milk are an intricate part of the cuisine served down south. It’s not that difficult to find the ingredients to follow a vegan diet. You can have fruits, nuts, homemade tofu and a lot of nut shakes like me. I use nut milk to make all my smoothies.”