✹ Meet Savannah
Hey everyone, my name is Savannah and I have been vegan for six years. I am originally from a tiny town in KwaZulu-Natal called Estcourt. I am a Physical Geography lecturer at the University of Johannesburg and a young academic with research interests in pro-environmental practices such as sustainable diets and sustainable fashion.
✹ What are three values that you live by?
Three values I live by would be authenticity – be who you really are, compassion – be kind to all kinds, and lastly gratitude – for everything we are blessed to have in our lives.
✹ What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge I experienced when I became vegan was work functions etc, if friends do not respect your vegan lifestyle you can move on. But you are stuck with colleagues or work lunches where there are limited or no food options.
When I transitioned to veganism I was a student at UJ and the single food option available on campus was slap chips. At least now they have plant milk cappuccinos available but the options are still slim to none for food. I overcame this by ensuring I prepared properly for the day with vegan meals to carry with me or at least snacks to tie me over until I got home.
Even now when I am told that a work event will cater to my dietary needs, I still come prepared with something, because odds are they have confused a vegan meal for a vegetarian one! It’s cliche but failing to plan is planning to fail.
✹ What helps you to stay vegan?
It really is no challenge for me to stay vegan! I actually have the word ‘vegan’ tattooed on my arm and people always ask what will I do with it if I decide to no longer be vegan. But I could not imagine a world where I am not vegan. Neither can anyone who knows me haha, I have asked! What I can say, is the ever-evolving and growing market of vegan products, eateries, and markets, make this lifestyle easier and more accessible.
✹ What advice do you have for going vegan?
I would also advise to try new foods, and then try them again. Sometimes your taste buds will take a while to acclimatize to new textures and flavours (this goes for your stomach as well!), so you may try tofu and hate it at first like I did, try it again a few weeks later and you may end up in love with it. We are living in such an incredible time where there are so many vegan food options, so definitely explore!
