Being Vegan, Is Good For Us, Planet And Animals, Says World's First Vegan Man To Climb Mt Everest

Meet Kuntal Joisher, who is the World's first vegan to climb Mt Everest not once but twice. Joining at the NDTV-India Animal Fund #FreedomForAll telethon, he talks about his diet and achievements. Talking about his diet and what made him switch to veganism, he said,

I was born and brought up in a vegetarian family. Consequently, I never ate any meat or eggs, but I still ended up drinking milk and wearing leather and eating cheese and those sorts of things, and I never questioned those choices; not until late 2002 when I started connecting the dots that there is really no difference between a piece of meat, a glass of milk, or for that matter, the leather belt I was wearing. And above all, these things came from abused and slaughtered animals. This was one of the biggest reasons why I went vegan 20 years ago, to stand up for the animals.

Further talking about climbing Mt Everest being a vegan and the challenges that came with it, Mr Joisher said,

In October of 2010, I discovered the biggest dream of my life, which was climbing to the top of Mount Everest. I still remember announcing to my family, my friends, to the mountaineering community, that I was going to climb Everest as a vegan. I remember there being an instant pushback. They said, Kuntal, it is impossible. No vegan has ever climbed to the top of Mount Everest before. And I always question, why is it impossible? As someone with a scientific-oriented mindset, I knew that a well-balanced and plant vegan diet would supply me with all of those nutrients required to not only survive but thrive while climbing these big mountains. That is why I promised myself that I was going to climb Everest as a vegan, or not do it at all. Now, as I reflect upon the last 12 years of my journey, I have been to the top of Mount Everest twice already, both from the Nepal side and the China side. I have climbed to the top of the tallest mountain in southern America, the tallest mountain in northern America, and I have been part of many, many tough and difficult expeditions across the world.

Mr Joisher further underlined the benefits of being a vegan and said that there is no difference between a plant-based diet compared to an omnivorous diet and added,

As someone who works as a nutrition and fitness coach and an expert today, I can tell you that veganism is going mainstream. A plant-based diet is going mainstream, and there is a lot of research that has been coming out in the last few years demonstrating that there's no difference between a plant-based diet compared to an omnivorous diet when it comes to building muscle, when it comes to building stamina, when it comes to building endurance, and which is why I stand here and say that we don't have any excuse today to not be a vegan, to not adopt a plant-based diet. Because not only is it good for us, not only is it good for the animals, but it is good for the planet and is good in every aspect.