Trading tumblr era smoothie bowls for homemade Dal Bhat

By Kamana Rai

I grew up watching and following the lifestyle advice of vegan YouTubers such as Essena O’Neill and Stella Rae. I watched short documentaries such as Earthlings and Cowspiracy; I emailed animal rights activists such as Gary Yourofsky.

I even attempted to eat 10 bananas at once as advocated by controversial vegan blogger, Leanne Ratcliffe (popularly known as Freelee the banana girl). However, I didn’t realise I was favouring a Eurocentric perception of veganism all along.

While I was trying out Tumblr’s favourite banana ‘nicecream’, smoothie bowls, raw salad recipes and expensive “superfoods” such as chia seeds, hemp seeds and goji berries, I was ignoring the fact that I was already eating traditional Nepali plant-based meals cooked by my family at home.

I began to find Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) content creators advocating plant-based eating through their cultural dishes which framed a diverse perspective on what it means to be vegan, challenging the narrative of veganism as a white, western ‘phenomenon’.

Trading tumblr era smoothie bowls for homemade Dal Bhat

By Kamana Rai