‘Spinach lady’ out to make Kenya vegan

When Michelle Odhiambo stepped onto the small traffic island along Nairobi’s Kenyatta Avenue draped in nothing but spinach leaves, she attracted the attention of the public and the media.

A former student at Kent Institute of Art and Design in the UK, Michelle is part of a growing army of animal rights activists who also promote vegetarianism.

Like any other aspiring youth, eager to pursue a career in art, Michelle joined the UK college soon after high school at Brookhouse Senior School in 2002.

However her dream of becoming a renowned artist was cut short when she was forced to terminate her studies due to a family related issue which saw her return home.

To Michelle this was the opening of a more fulfilling life as a campaigner for animal rights and vegetarianism.

“Though I love the arts, I work in my mother’s business and do volunteer campaigns for vegetarianism,” she explained when we caught up with her.

Defend animal rights

Her passion to defend animal rights is making her stand out.

She began her journey into the world of activism in 2007 when she joined PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), a global US-based organisation that has been defending animal rights for the last 30 years.

It is at that point that she elevated her vegetarianism (which she had embraced in 2002) to a fully vegan lifestyle.

Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle whose adherents seek to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.

Vegans endeavour not to use or consume animal products of any kind.

Of particular concern to many vegans are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources for animal farming.

“I switched to vegetarianism in 2002 because of the information on the subject that I acquired from friends and through my own research. Then three years ago I decided to become vegan when I joined the PETA activist network,” she adds.

Through such campaigns, Michelle hopes to sell the idea of vegetarianism to as many people as possible.

She spearheaded one such campaign a fortnight ago in the streets of Nairobi, dressed up in nothing but spinach leaves, while spreading the message that people should cut back their reliance on animal products.

“I really enjoyed my experience on the streets. Kenyans are keen on information. It was interesting to see people deliberating amongst themselves, peacefully agreeing to disagree and sharing information,” she said.

Such campaigns have been carried out in Asia specifically in India, Korea, China and Japan which are the leading animal slaughterhouses, either for food or raw materials.

According to Michelle, PETA operates on a volunteer basis.

But locally, the organisation has no permanent office which according to Michelle, makes it hard to plan frequent campaigns since the whole continent has to keep relying on the Asian offices for coordination.

So what’s the distinction between being a vegetarian and a vegan?

According to Michelle, a vegetarian sticks to a vegetable based diet and occasionally adds some foods derived from animals, but such foods have to be acquired through harmless methods.

On the other hand, being vegan requires one to completely do away with animal products.

Selling such a way of life comes with its challenges especially locally, where the socio-cultural set-ups largely influence the eating habits.

While some communities appreciate the role of vegetables in their diet, others largely depend on animal products both as their staple food and for commercial use.

A successful campaign for the withdrawal of animal products from diets implies such campaigners lay a strategy to address the various eating habits and beliefs found in Kenya’s various communities.

According to Jean Banda a local nutritionist and executive director of Kenya Kidney and Lupus Foundation, vegetarians experience more health benefits compared to non-vegetarians.

“Vegetarians benefit more because their diet is high in fibre and contains low fats which are often the main cause of diet related ailments. The various studies carried out especially in developed states show that vegetarians have a longer life-span,” she says.

Total reliance

However, total reliance on vegetables in itself does not guarantee a healthy lifestyle.

“Even those who rely on vegetable proteins should ensure that they combine a list of such proteins to cater for the missing nutrients found in animal proteins,” she says.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund, there is lower risk of cancer among people who are vegetarian.

Studies on the relationship between cancer and diet indicate that there is a lower risk of getting cancer (20 per cent) among regular consumers of whole grain compared to people largely depending on animal products in their diet (50 per cent).

Nutritionists advise that at least 3-5 servings of fruit and vegetable per day should be incorporated in the diet for a healthy lifestyle.