Malavika Malaviya, who is better known by her Instagram handle @malagoesgreen, has been sharing her veganism journey on social media since 2020 and uses her platform to educate others about the ins and outs of the lifestyle. She regularly shares easy vegan recipes, vlogs, routines and mythbusting reels.
Her latest reel on Instagram directly addresses a prominent myth surrounding veganism. Many detractors and critics of veganism propound the belief that a vegan diet is unfulfilling and lacking in nutrients. This myth affects vegans and non-vegans alike. On one hand many non-vegans start to believe that vegan alternatives will not meet their dietary needs, and then choose not to give up their non-vegan lifestyle. And on the other hand, health issues being faced by vegans are dismissed on grounds of their diet and if they pass away, their death is sensationalised to forward the anti-vegan agenda.
The recent passing of vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova (@rawveganfoodchef on Instagram), has been subject to similar sensationalism. Press coverage and conversations about her death seem to point the finger at her lifestyle. These speculations overlook the fact that Samsonova had been practising veganism and a strict raw fruit diet for an entire decade before her untimely death, and that her mother has described the cause of her death to be a “cholera-like infection”.
Malavika Malaviya took to Instagram on 31 July 2023 to share her thoughts on the unempathetic press and public reaction to the story. She expressed her condolences regarding Samsonova’s passing and took a critical look at the story. She posed a thought provoking question, asking why the deaths of vegans are attributed to their diet when there is scientific evidence to show that a plant-based diet is healthy and actually lowers the chances of getting cancer, high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. She asked why Samsonova’s death was being used as a strawman to detract people from veganism even though there is no evidence yet, that points to Samsonova’s diet being the cause of death.
She also pointed out that meat consumption can cause not only individual health problems but is also behind many epidemics and pandemics. In the reel she shared dozens of headlines about deaths caused by meat consumption and how meat consumption continues despite such risks.
Malavika expressed her frustration about these double standards and urged her fellow vegans to combat such misinformation and do their bit in correcting such false narratives.
