For a 15-year vegan, veganism is more than just a lifestyle.
Nancy Siy, 45, believes veganism is a rights movement, akin to feminism and anti-racism.
“[T]he intention of veganism is to uphold the rights of animals,” she added. “To uphold their rights not to be used as property or machines.”
Siy, a yoga instructor in Makati City, recalled reading an article in November 2009 about the transportation of animals from farms to slaughterhouses.
Learning that animals were transported in trucks for over 24 hours without access to water, Siy was reminded of a childhood experience at the mall.
“I wanted to get something to drink. I was with my sister and she was like, ‘Oh, you know you can wait until we go home, it’s like 20 minutes lang.’” the yoga instructor said.
“And at that time, I felt it was unbearable not to drink water. So I thought, what more these animals na 24 hours or more pa?” she added.
After reading the article, Siy watched videos about the animal use industries, which use animals in food, clothing, and experiments.
That same day, she went to a fast food chain and ordered chicken.
The yoga instructor said she couldn’t finish the meal.
“I couldn’t see the chicken in front of me the same way anymore, because I understood that this piece of leg was someone’s body,” she added.
By December 2009, Siy had fully embraced veganism.
Despite growing up with dogs, she didn’t consider herself an ‘animal lover’ before making the change.
Reflecting on her past choices as a non-vegan, she realized she had violated animal rights, which left her feeling both guilty and angry.
“I felt like I was deceived. Your family, as well-meaning as they are, are also conditioned to think that this is normal,” the yoga instructor added.
“You don’t really get to see [the slaughterhouses] when you go to the grocery. When you buy animal products, they show you labels with happy animals, so it’s really meant to deceive you.”
Veganism a ‘liberatory stance’
Thinking of veganism merely as a diet is an incomplete understanding, as, for Siy, veganism represents a liberatory stance.
“[I]t’s not just that we change what we eat, but it also ultimately changes how we see animals,” she added. “It comes from the understanding that no one owns anyone’s life, freedom, or dignity.”
The yoga instructor said being vegan is decolonizing one’s mind.
“All of the biases and discrimination we have learned in our society that upholds patriarchy, capitalism, [and] heterosexual norms, we have to unlearn these,” she added. “So we have to go to the level of the mind first and then the actions will follow.”
Recognizing the need for like-minded individuals to connect, Siy founded The Manila Vegans, a Facebook group created in 2014.
Now with 53,000 members, the group primarily engages online but also offers support to fellow vegans and animal rights activists.
The most recent event they participated in was the Animal Rights March – Philippines, held on December 7 at Rizal Park.
“It’s important that we unpack the harmful behaviors we’ve been conditioned to think of as “normal” through dialogue, conversation, and sometimes even debate,” she said.
“After all, learning from each other and through external resources [is] how we dismantle oppressive thinking.”