Nadine Lustre, who is extremely deliberate about using exclusively cruelty-free fashion products, has been living a vegan lifestyle since 2022, alongside her boyfriend, Christophe Bariou. In a recent interview with PEP.ph, Nadine, at Vision Express' Summer Solstice party, elaborated on her new lifestyle choices, shedding light on her decision to lead a leather-free life, driven primarily by her staunch advocacy against animal cruelty.
READ: Nadine Lustre Reveals Why She Decided to Transition to Veganism
The 30-year-old actress said, "Well, really, it's just because when I wanted to transition to plant-based, and more on a vegan lifestyle... parang, doon ko kasi na-realize how leather is made."
"Pretty much how animals are being farmed, animal agriculture... but there lots of different aspects to it, kasi there's fashion, there's food, there's pets? So, yun talaga, e, once you, kind of, start opening yourself up to that world, parang that's when you start to realize na, 'A, okay, Like, 'I'm actually not down to it.'"
"So, that's when I started realizing na, 'Okay, if I really want to change, or if I really care about the animals, it has to kind of ripple to everything that I do,' so it involves fashion as well."
Nadine clarified that her transition to a vegan lifestyle was gradual and not an overnight decision. She initiated her shift towards a plant-based diet in mid-2022, ultimately completing her transition to a fully-vegan lifestyle the following year.
Nadine recalled, "I switched to a plant-based diet in August 2022. Tapos, parang mga 2023, everything just started to follow na lang. I mean, it's not an overnight thing, you know? It can take months, years."
Nadine noted that transitioning to a vegan lifestyle wasn't as daunting as many had expected. The only hurdle she faced was determining which foods to incorporate into her diet. She said, "It wasn't difficult. I think, I would say in the first few weeks of it was very challenging, just because parang inaaral mo pa, e. Where to buy your food, what meals you can cook, especially for someone like me who's always out and about, who's always on the go. I have to prep my food sometimes."
She added, "There's a lot of different, I guess, services. Like, food delivery services naman that cater to plant-based or vegan diet. Yun lang talaga, kailangan mo lang talaga masanay."
Nadine expressed her wish to challenge stereotypes surrounding vegans, particularly the misconception about them being pushy about their lifestyle and dietary choices. She said that when asked about her veganism and what led her to embrace it, she would respond in the spirit of sharing information without imposing her beliefs on others.
She stressed, "Ako, I'm very respectful with people's choices. But, just the same, you know, when people ask me about why I'm vegan, I tell them the reason. Hindi naman ako natatakot na sabihin sa kanila yung reason, and the kind of like, in a way, give them more information."
She continued, "Kasi, even I didn't know how it was, how animal agriculture was. People want to get informed din naman, so when they ask me, I don't hesitate to tell them. Pero ako kasi, I'm very respectful with choices. I was also consuming animal products back then so, I'm not the type of person to judge. I'm just very respectful din naman."
PEP.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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