A virtual forum titled Life As A Vegan organised by Green Brunei was held on Sunday afternoon, 27th February 2022, with more than 50 participants via Zoom.
The talk involved various speakers with different backgrounds discussing their views on veganism in Brunei Darussalam, Nur Adriana Fathiah Mohd Al-Fatah, Siddharthan Pari, and Siti Zubaidah Haji Nor Hisham, shared their journey, thoughts, and experiences in going vegan and helping the event come together as a success.
The forum included an opening speech for the ceremony by the Guest of Honour, Yang Berhormat Dayang Khairunnisa binti Awang Haji Asha’ari, the Co-Founder of Green Brunei. In her speech, she acknowledges that the vegan lifestyle is uncommon and a new concept, especially to Bruneians. “As we all know, Brunei’s population is primarily made up of non-vegans, whose diets typically consist of animal-based products high in cholesterol. The heavy consumption of high-cholesterol food may be one of the many factors contributing to this country’s health problems, including obesity and other cardiovascular diseases. Adopting a vegan lifestyle can be one of the many ways to avoid these health issues. This little-known way of living has proven to keep its followers healthy and cause a positive impact on the environment.”
The virtual forum focuses on three major aspects, which includes the impacts of veganism on the environment, the impacts of veganism on health, and leading a vegan lifestyle in a country like Brunei.
The main objective of the forum was to promote the messages being carried by various vegan advocates in Brunei, in allowing the participants to better understand the reasons behind their journey of veganism and their opinions on being a vegan in Brunei. Green Brunei hopes that by hosting this virtual forum, it will be able to spread awareness and knowledge about veganism in the Brunei context, as well as sharing tips on how to adopt a vegan lifestyle, particularly for those who are interested or is new to this lifestyle, and create a collective community around Veganism