THE BETTER NORMAL

During our fight against coronavirus, a healthy diet has been prescribed to boost our immune system. On their websites, both Unicef and the World Health Organization recommended increased consumption of plant-based food (fresh vegetables, fruits, and fiber) while reducing the intake of fat, commonly found in animal meat sources.

In pursuit of better health, environmental protection, and upholding animal rights, more and more individuals are seeing themselves thriving on a plant-based diet. In the United Kingdom, for example, the demand for animal meat-free food increased by an impressive 987% in 2017 alone, according to The Vegan Society.

But we don’t have to go far to look at how animal-free diets have enjoyed more popularity: In the Philippines, the

Facebook group Manila Vegans has 43,999 members as of writing and continues to grow.

In fact, veganism has been receiving mainstream media attention in the Philippines. The latter’s Environmental Protection Bureau recently started campaigning for a plant-based diet.

In the United States, influential people, such as Bill Gates, Jay-z, Serena Williams, will.i.am, Katy Perry, and many others are investing in plantbased food, as written by Kat Smith in a 2019 article for Live Kindly.

Removing animals from our plates stops the pandemic from its source. And if there will be an outbreak, a well-balanced, plant-based diet will give our bodies a better chance to thrive.