No premium vegan meat can tempt this aspiring whole-foods plant-based firebrand dietitian!

Emily Yeo

“It’s great that Singapore is becoming more open to a plant-based diet and lifestyle. Plant-based meats are great for meat eaters who want to cut down on meat and are looking for plant-based protein alternatives. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of them mainly because they are processed foods which are not healthy like whole-foods plant-based diet. Many people opt for plant-based meats for multiple reasons but they should rethink their reasoning if it’s for their health.”

Consuming processed proteins need not necessarily help you to stay full and last throughout the day. But well-planned whole-foods plant-based meals with fibre, protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates that include tofu, fruits, beans, nut butters, vegetables, avocado, oats, potatoes and quinoa definitely can, according to Emily Yeo, a 24-year-old Singaporean social media content creator with over 50,000 followers on Instagram.

A recent Guardian article labelled Singapore as the only country where “all three pillars of alternative proteins” – plant-based, fermentation-enabled and cultivated – are sold commercially. Despite all the varieties of processed alternative meat options provided here, Emily never gets tempted by any of them. A whole-foods plant-based diet is known to lower the risk of heart diseases, cancer, diabetes and many other health issues. She chose a whole-foods plant-based diet for health reasons and remains steadfast in her beliefs. 

“It’s great that Singapore is becoming more open to a plant-based diet and lifestyle. Plant-based meats are great for meat eaters who want to cut down on meat and are looking for plant-based protein alternatives. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of them mainly because they are processed foods which are not healthy like whole-foods plant-based diet. Many people opt for plant-based meats for multiple reasons but they should rethink their reasoning if it’s for their health,” she warns.

Despite being brought up in a family that emphasizes healthy eating, Emily hated her veggies growing up! All that changed when she turned 15 and nurtured a passion in nutritional studies and healthy living. She started researching and experimenting with food and decided to go vegan cold turkey overnight. The Masters of Nutrition & Dietetics student admitted that it was initially challenging but she has no regrets to date. She started to like most vegetables as she currently pursues a career as dietitian. 

Data from a study by Green Queen shows that a majority of vegans chose the lifestyle for ethical animal welfare reasons. Ethical vegans also remain so for a much longer lifespan, usually all their lives, as compared to vegans who became so for health or for the environment. While Emily belongs to this minority, she does not believe the cause for an individual to go vegan dramatically alters the effect in the larger scheme of things.

“Not all vegans have the same goal and that is totally fine. If someone became a vegan for health or the environmental and live the same lifestyle as an ethical vegan for the animals, the end result is still the same - fewer animal-based products are purchased contributing to less animal suffering. The goals of each individual might be different and the reasons they chose the vegan lifestyle might vary but it’s safe to say that the animals appreciate those choices regardless of the factors that motivated the change in the first place.”