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Vision of Equality for a Greener Earth - VEGE, 10 College Ave West, Singapore (2026)

29/01/2024

Hi y’all! NUS VEGE is having our first potluck of the semester next Friday (2 Feb)! 👀

Join us and meet others interested in plant-based diets and/or moving NUS away from animal products! Just bring a small vegan bite for everyone to share. :)

We will be holding the potluck in the Saga Buttery of NUS College/Yale-NUS, from 6-8 PM.

You can signup at the link in bio!! 🐿

We (the new exco) are super excited to meet everyone!! ✨✨

28/01/2024

The gang at the .sg bootcamp this weekend! 🌱✨️

This year, the exco has 2 main, interconnected goals: to build a sustainable plant-based community and to advocate for policy changes in NUS regarding our consumption of animal products

We can't wait to see all of you very soon, we have some great events coming up, check out our linktree for our tele channel and event sign ups. Also, drop a comment for anything you'd particularly like to see!

We are here for anyone at all looking to reduce their animal product consumption or move NUS away from animal products - here's to a greener, kinder future! 🌏💕

20/08/2022

We are still looking for EXCO members! DM us if you are interested xx

15/08/2022

If you are interested in leading/contributing to the plant-based movement in NUS, there is some great news! VEGE is recruiting EXCO members!!

We would love to have y’all on board on this amazing journey:) DM us for more info🫶🏼

24/05/2022

“Everything was in place for me. We’d bring home stray animals and were a vegetarian family. So it was easy to follow whatever I was interested in, which was studying environmental management in Singapore. If I had the chance, I would push for food and sustainability modules in NUS environment programs. I believe that anything about the environment cannot be serving meat. Which was why the first thing that clicked about ACRES, out of all the wildlife groups, was that the founder was vegetarian and had a vegetarian policy for events. Then, I started volunteering and joined full-time to help Louis set up the rescue center.
•
I thought that reptiles should be very easy - they’re going to eat and p**p like mammals right? Wrong! (laughs) Because we are all speciesist in some ways, we make assumptions about different animals. For reptiles, there’s nothing much you can sense from their face and they’ll just be lying there. But they are much more complex and have personalities. I learnt that each species has their own needs, which you have to study to observe and identify. Up till today, every day remains a learning experience from my fellow colleagues or animals.
•
For me, animals in food have been a focus. Not to say that wildlife in SG don’t suffer, but the number of farm animals who suffer is huge in comparison. Many think ACRES is a wildlife group, but we try to correct that - we are an animal welfare group. Some people have this preference for endangered species like pangolins too, and express confusion at ACRES rescuing “pests” like pigeons. But every animal matters, whether it’s an injured pigeon or eagle. If we recognise that wildlife’s welfare is important, it’s the same for food animals, companion animals, and other animals.
•
I would ask people to be more humble about living on this planet. Most of us don’t realise that we’re sharing it with other animals. Which means we have to do things like close our windows when monkeys come in order to coexist. Sometimes, people get carried away thinking it’s the government’s responsibility, or that WWF should save the world. We can start with our own response and role we can play.”

— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱

11/03/2022

“As animal activists, we’ve been campaigning on the welfare side. But I don’t think there will be a shift in Parliament anytime soon. Since people don’t really care about it, you have to change the strategy according to what they want. The campaign strategy has to focus on what will give you some success. Like catching onto how it’s fashionable to eat plant-based meat now. Even climate change has surpassed animal welfare concerns, but if it still serves the purpose, why not? As long as at the end of the day, less animals are slaughtered.
•
Still, we were very aggressive in the early days of ACRES. I think I’m the only MP that has done protests on the streets and speaker’s corner. But in 2008, we sat the team down and realised we had lots of publicity but little policy changes. Afterwards, Minister Shanmugam showed me another way, to try and work from within as an MP. For example, rather than criticise the police for shooting at wildlife, we told them: Since there is no crime, why don’t you just call ACRES? It’s a win-win. Both public concerns and animal welfare concerns are addressed. It’s evolved to collaborating rather than naming and shaming in the style of Western activism.
•
Now, I push aggressively in Parliament, but I’m pushing solutions. I sit in a unique position where I’ve been on both sides. I believe an MP should be an activist, making speeches to fight for change. It’s not that activism is dead, you just have to be creative. They also told me not to just speak on animals, so I speak on everything instead (laughs). I don’t choose the issues, they just come to me. Listening is my most important job.
•
I would say that nothing is impossible - miracles take time. I’m very stubborn. The establishment of ACRES has shown that nothing is impossible. When I first went to the government to say I wanted to build a rescue centre, the civil servant told me: Louis, if you can get this place going, pigs will fly. Truly, why would I think that the government would give me land in land-scarce Singapore for something with no economic value? That’s why I bought the flying pig to hang up at the reception during the opening ceremony.”

— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱

21/02/2022

“At 14, I wanted to be just like Dian Fossey when I grew up, after watching the wildlife documentary Secrets in the Mist. I also remember watching how people were saving turtles, but here I was devouring my favourite turtle soup. That was the first meat item I gave up. Then I gave up shark’s fin soup. It was a little bit of an uproar in those days because this little boy didn’t want to eat shark’s fin soup at those dinners (laughs). Almost every year, I took off one item, and I finally gave up all meat items when I was 21.

The other turning point was meeting Ramba at the Singapore Zoo’s chimp photography sessions. Unfortunately for them, I was the first volunteer allowed in. I found out they were punching the chimps behind the scenes. Since nobody in SG wanted to speak up, I went on to establish ACRES. Our focus on cruelty-free living came from the start. As long as you’re wearing the ACRES uniform, you’re not allowed to eat meat. At all our events, we only serve vegan food. Otherwise, it’s a bit contrary.

My dad’s this big carnivore. He’s probably the reason why I’m a vegetarian that hardly eats vegetables. I’m the worst (laughs). At international meetings, I’ll order vegetarian food, but put “allergic to vegetables”. I was never fussy about food either - I ate rice and soup during NS. But those times were difficult. I mean, now we have it easy right? For lunch today, I had JUST egg and Omnimeat. The variety is so amazing now, it’s like my dream come true. We like the chain Zi Zai, and my kids love Leaf Corner at Sembawang. I love my chicken rice too - 33 Vegetarian at Teck Ghee market has the best. Without a doubt, accessibility is what will push the movement along.

All of my family is vegetarian. My wife even became vegetarian when she was 12. From young, we’ve also taught our kids why we were doing this. It’s like how I used to bring my oldest everywhere to teach her why I do what I do. Children don’t have any lens of discrimination. Just this afternoon, Poppy rescued a caterpillar. She put it on a plant and said muah! I never taught them to do this, but they know and that’s why I think they will keep to it.”

— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱 (Part 1)

14/02/2022

“In high school, I volunteered for GreenPeace society where everyone was either vegetarian or vegan (laughs). I felt like the odd-one-out, like I wasn’t doing enough. Their company and mindset influenced me greatly. I ended up having this positive peer pressure - I’m the kind of person that needs people to push me. At the same time, I knew that it’s the right thing to do deep down. It’s one of the ultimate individual actions you can take. So the environment ended up being my first motivation for going vegetarian.
•
I became vegan for the animals only after joining . With so many people being plant-based, I had new motivation and inspiration. I also had more access to information on factory farming. Until I watched the documentary Dominion, I never cried so badly. I even had to break it up because I couldn’t finish it in one sitting. Before, I was scared to encounter egg or dairy farms because I wasn’t vegan yet. I probably wanted to escape the fact that I was responsible for their suffering. Actually, I used to have this mindset where if you cannot save every single animal, it doesn’t matter. But it’s not the best - if you can save some, it’s still better than nothing.
•
Being q***r, it’s important for me to recognise that animals are being oppressed in a similar way to other minorities. Like women, LGBTQ, black and trans folk. Intersectionality is important because I want my values to be consistent. I know a lot of people think it’s inappropriate and will ask, “Why are you comparing animals to human beings?” But we’re all being oppressed by this entire stupid system which is intertwined. We just need to care for each other.
•
Give it a shot. When I was non-vegan, I thought it was going to be one of the most difficult things on earth, but it’s actually not that bad. It’s not easy, but it’s easier than you think it is. If you’re going for a more extreme diet like gluten free, keto, raw, or to eat really healthy, then there’s more of a learning curve. But if you just want to avoid animal products, I don’t think it’s that hard.”

— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱

28/01/2022

“It all started during National Service when I had a lot of time on my hands. Without knowing what animal welfare was, I started reading more. “Animal Matters” changed my whole point of view, asking provocative questions like - Why are we eating animals? If animals can suffer, and we don’t need to eat animals to survive, why are we causing this unnecessary suffering? I decided to turn vegan only when I ORD-ed a year later, since I wasn’t allowed to change my meal plan.
•
I’m very lucky that I stay right next to Fortune Centre. Finding food after I transitioned wasn’t hard at all. The hardest part was actually explaining to family members. After being introduced to something so radical, I thought - oh god, society needs to change immediately. So I’ve had lots of failed talks with my friends and family. Chinese New Year reunion dinners were also a little difficult. I was quite shocked when some relatives started difficult conversations about how they didn’t believe that animals can suffer. Personally, I try not to do so anymore because of the potential backlash. Anyway, I just ate the vegetables cooked in the same steamboat during CNY. Now, my family still eats steamboat, but I get to have my own with my own ingredients. I brought some Omnimeat for them to try last year too, and they liked it.
•
In terms of animal liberation in Singapore, I don’t think we’ve made much changes. But there’s a lot more conversation about veganism for the environment, compared to six years ago. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. At least most people here believe in climate change (laughs). I believe you should do what you can. Don’t get too hung up over failures. Maybe you forgot to say you don’t want eggs or something. I mean, we live in a very non-vegan world. If you’re too hard on yourself, people get turned off too.
•
At the end of the day, vegans are the ones who have nothing to earn. If you think about it, we have less motive for trying to deceive you or to change your consumption habits, than big agricultural firms who are actually earning your money. So I would encourage people to be more open to the conversation on veganism.”
•
— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱

17/01/2022

“I chanced upon a few factory farming videos and just kept watching and watching out of horror. It was so gruesome, but I wanted to find out more about how each animal was treated. Overnight, I stopped eating meat. What shocked me the most was how the egg industry grinded male chicks alive because the meat wasn’t suitable for consumption. I also didn’t want to be hypocritical. People usually say they love animals, but they actually love pets. I didn’t want to say that I loved animals as a whole, but still kill pigs or cows for food.
•
The transition went smoothly because I did my research. I also already knew how to bake and cook. Through Google and Pinterest, I got exposed to unique ingredients. Since eggs, milk and butter couldn’t be used, I experimented with alternatives like flax egg. Most of the time, the result’s quite similar. We’re wired to think that we need non-vegan ingredients to make our usual baked goods. One of my favourite foods was salmon, but konyaku has a similar texture. I’ve also made oyster omelette before using tofu scramble with mushroom instead. So I don’t miss the taste or texture of non-vegan food.
•
I used to be quite passive-aggressive in telling others that meat wasn’t good. Now, I try to inspire others to try vegan food through my vegan recipe Tiktok and Instagram bakery instead. If I can prepare good food and show them that the usual meat-based foods can be veganised, I think they would be more open-minded. At the same time, I created the bakery for those who want to try vegan foods but don’t have the time to bake themselves. The response has been quite positive. Most of my followers, who aren’t vegan, say that the food looks good and that they want to try it out. People save or share the videos and I’m happy that my content reaches more people. After I graduate, I hope maybe even open an actual vegan bakery.
•
Everyone can afford to be more open-minded. What you think is not always true - for me, I realised that not only meat could give you protein among others. And there are so many different reasons actually for choosing a plant-based lifestyle. I would encourage everyone to find out more.”
•
— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱

12/01/2022

Veganuary is an annual event to encourage people to incorporate vegan meals and products into their lifestyles!

Therefore, we will be having multiple socials🤩🤩 DM us to sign up🤘🏼

26/12/2021

“I come from a meat and potatoes background in Belgium. I relished it, and was far from being a vegetarian. In 2007, things changed when I moved to the US to pursue my PhD. Being in the land of factory farming, I couldn’t deny the cruelty anymore. I also didn’t have to sacrifice eating good food by eating quinoa and granola like a hippie (laughs). The last decisive factor was meeting my wife who was vegetarian. I cooked vegetarian meals for her, but grilled sausages on the side. Eventually, I asked myself, why make the sausage at all?
•
When my mother found out, she cried. It must’ve seemed like I was becoming unrecognisable - the person who ate lots of lamb chops was now eating chickpeas? It made me realise that food is not just something you eat. Rather, it’s rooted in culture and belonging with other people. One such traditional Belgian dish is beef stew with fries which I’ve had some success recreating.
•
I’ve stopped trying to recreate dishes though, because the best thing is to get food from vegetarian cultures. Pre-COVID, I enjoyed the challenge of structuring my travel itinerary around food. People go to Korea and eat BBQ, but I’d try 5 different preparations of root vegetables in some back alley. Or a monastery in China that the average tourist would never set foot in. I wouldn’t say I’m a foodie, but I’m pretty obsessed about food.
•
I would say I’m mostly vegan now. The compromise I’ve made my peace with is that I’ll eat vegetarian when I eat out or when others cook for me. My goal isn’t to be personally perfect, but to make a good contribution without making things unnecessarily difficult for myself. To me, it’s good enough to be vegan most of the time. Besides, it’s easier for people to keep it up by finding joy rather than the burden.
•
Ask your vegetarian friends to take you somewhere and surprise you! You can just try more kinds of vegetarian food. The best argument to convince people is to make them some good food. Many think that they have to decide first that they’re going to become vegetarian, but you should just see what you like and see where that will go.”
•
— Plant-Based People of NUS 🌱

Vision of Equality for a Greener Earth - VEGE

29/01/2024

28/01/2024

20/08/2022

15/08/2022

24/05/2022

11/03/2022

21/02/2022

14/02/2022

28/01/2022

17/01/2022

12/01/2022

26/12/2021

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