Staying green during Raya

“RENDANG, serunding, masak lemak, satay, asam pedas, laksa. Not to mention all the cakes and cookies with butter and eggs. How can I stay plant-based during festivities? It’s impossible. I’ll be missing out on so much food.”

A valid concern that we, and a whole lot of other people, have when we are deciding to follow a vegan, vegetarian or predominantly plant-based diet.

But let’s take a step back, and ask ourselves:

Why should we follow a plant-based diet? Mankind has been eating animal meat since as far back as recorded history – we were hunters and gatherers. So why should we change now?

Do you live on planet earth? Are you seeing or feeling the effects of climate change such as the flash floods that are happening more frequently throughout Malaysia?

Do you want to do your part in the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, whereby there is a universal call-to-action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then you should already be eating a predominantly plant-based diet.

World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) calls this the planet-based diet: “There is something we can do several times a day to improve our health and our planet’s health. The food system must nourish people without damaging our planet, but right now it’s failing on both fronts. Nearly 700 million are hungry, nearly two billion are obese or overweight and we’re losing nature at a catastrophic rate.

“Plant-based diets will ensure everyone on the planet has healthy and nutritious food, and will help bend the curve from the negative impacts of the food system.”

According to the WWF Food Impact Calculator, if everyone in Malaysia ate a vegan diet of about 2,500 calories a day (which is a lot), we would be able to reduce the country’s mortality rate by 23.35%, compared with our current diet now.

So what are we eating now? What would we be eating during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities? Is our current diet predominantly animal-based or plant-based? Are fruits, vegetables and grains our main dish or just garnishing and sides?

Does going plant-based mean that we need to give up all our favourite Raya foods? Not exactly.

We do not have to give up our favourite foods, we just need to get creative and use the abundance of plant sources that are readily available around us.

How? Firstly, let’s identify the dishes that are already plant-based. Ketupat, lemang, lontong, kuah kacang, masak lodeh and many more. All are plant-based.

Now, how about rendang? We seem to have rendang of all sorts of animal products. But have you tried rendang with plant sources?

There is Rendang Mushroom (and the different types of mushrooms with different textures), Rendang Tofu, Rendang Tempeh, Rendang Nangka Muda, Rendang Isi Kelapa, Rendang Jantung Pisang. The options are endless.

Is it the same with masak lemak, satay, asam pedas, laksa, serunding and all the other Raya goodies? Yes.

There are already plant-based versions of mostly every food you can think of.

Social media queens Aisya J Way from Mushroom Lah and Elliz Azhar from “The Kampung Vegan” are just two of Malaysia’s home-grown viral vegan food content creators.

They turn all our favourite Ramadan and Raya foods (and other Malaysian dishes) into plant-based masterpieces.

And there is a whole list of other certified chefs, home chefs, restaurant owners, celebrities and influencers who have been spearheading the plant-based movement, right here in Malaysia.

Is it hard to find plant-based foods in your area? Demand and supply, when we as the consumer can show more clearly that:

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We want foods that are sustainable;

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We want foods that are planet-friendly; and

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We want foods that are plant-based.

Only then will we see the supply of vegan or plant-based foods mushrooming everywhere.

Just like what is happening now in the Klang Valley, George Town, Ipoh, Johor Baru and other cities throughout Malaysia.

It is up to us to demand for these options to be made available.

Google reports that “vegan food near me” registered as a breakthrough search in 2021, which means the term saw a more than 5,000% increase in searches.

So, send your feedback to Grab and Foodpanda, and other food delivery platforms.

Use apps like Happy Cow, KindMeal.my,

Go Meat-Free and Go Veggie Malaysia to do your searches of vegan, vegetarian and plantbased foods near you.

And you can even use the newly launched one-stop veggie-related ordering platform called Veg-Hub.

Hari Raya has started and everyone will be eating all the foods that we are culturally familiar with. So, how do you stay green during the festivities? Would you like to be the agent of change?

Here are some tips from the plant-based community:

1. Know your “why” and stand your ground. You decide how strict or flexible you want your diet to be. You decide what you eat, while being mindful of the impact of your food choices on your health and the planet’s health;

2. Remember that it is about progress, not perfection. It is not all or nothing. Do the best you can, whenever you can. But at least you try your best! Every portion counts to the greater good;

3. When visiting family and friends, bring along a plant-based version of a traditional dish that everyone else can enjoy. It will ensure that you will have at least that dish to eat, without worry, on top of any other plantbased options, if any. Your dish can also be a conversation starter on why we should all be more planet-conscious too;

4. When eating out with friends, try suggesting a plant-based eatery or at least a restaurant that would have plant-based options. Proceed to order some plant-based dishes that everyone else can enjoy too;

5. When hosting a function, (this is a nobrainer) serve the foods that you know are sustainable and plant-based. We do not need to cater for what others want to eat. It is your function. Use this opportunity to showcase the plethora of plant-based options and how equally delicious it can be while being kind to the planet, your health, and your guests’ health too;

6. Keep it simple. The healthiest foods are the least processed. And minimal processing means lower carbon footprint too; and

7. Aim for L-O-V-E, i.e Local, Organic, Vegan Eating. Love yourself, love your family and friends, love your planet; it is the only one we have got.

Just an added tip: join a plant-based community, where you can get endless support, references, guidance and even more advice from others, who most likely have gone through similar experiences like what you are going through now too.

A well-respected Muslim scholar, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, discussed this topic in detail in a Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention on “Fair Trade Commerce for a Better World”.

He said that this issue of meatconsumption is often misunderstood and misinterpreted by many Muslims.

These are some of the points that Shaykh Hamza highlighted in his lecture:

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We have (simply) forgotten how to eat. Don’t think that vegetarians didn’t come from Islam;

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Sayyidina Umar even prohibited the act of eating meat every single day during his caliphate, where he said, “Beware of meat, because it has an addiction like the addiction of wine.” And now we have Muslims eating meat three times a day and they are wondering why they have gout and why they have all sorts of diseases. Start cutting that out;

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We need to transform our food and eat healthy food. We need to eat food that is locally grown. But if you are going to eat meat, you should not eat meat more than once a week; and

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It is absolutely imperative that you change your diet. Eat fresh healthy foods that are halal and Tayyib. Make your food a source of nutrition. Don’t eat empty food. And don’t eat too much food.

In a separate lecture on Spirituality of Food, Shaykh Hamza added about health, well-being and the purpose of the food: “It is good that food is enjoyable. But that is not the actual reason why you are eating it. We need to eat for health. In our culture now, we are literally killing ourselves with the food we eat.”

Akin to the age-old saying, “We should eat to live, and not live to eat.”

Many Muslims have made this connection and are eating more ethically and plantbased, as is seen in the growing number of Muslim vegetarians and vegans around the world.

Even in Malaysia, there has been an increase of engagements and interests from local Muslim communities and organisations with the Malaysian Vegetarian Society.

More and more Muslim scholars are also seen addressing this topic and bringing light and understanding to others.

So as we celebrate Eid al-Fitr, Fitr meaning pure and natural, it is a timely reminder for us to also “Invest in Our Planet”, in theme for Earth Day 2022.

We are in the middle of a climate crisis. As caliphs and good stewards of the earth, we have a responsibility to keep our earth and every living thing on it sustainably alive.

We need to stop its destruction and allow our earth to finally heal and let it return to its pure and natural state. Let us stay green during these festivities and beyond. Let us save our planet, one green meal at a time.