Although Malavika Malaviya is a practising vegetarian for almost a decade now, her journey as an aspiring vegan began during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. “During that time, I had ample scope to get back to reading and I came across some enlightening articles, which led me down a rabbit hole (comprising books, documentaries, and videos) to find the truth behind the meat and dairy industry. If I wanted my morals to be in line with my actions, knowing what I knew, I had to go vegan,” explains the spunky young activist.
But Malavika hasn’t just stopped there and has taken it upon herself to make the earth a greener and better place by creating @malagoesgreen—an Instagram handle through which she talks about and promotes all things green, eco-friendly, and sustainable. Fast gaining an organic followership among the young and conscious, her handle now commands over 10.2K followers and is making Malavika think of innovative ways to spread the ‘green’ word. We talk to the enterprising and beautiful Malavika about the same and more. Excerpts from the chat:
Your eco-consciousness and love for animals led to @malagoesgreen?
As someone new to veganism and eco-friendly living, I flung myself into researching the options available to me in India. I realised that while resources were available, there was no single platform to get all this information. Even on Instagram, the vegan pages I was following were all based outside India and therefore, not always relevant. That is primarily what motivated me to start @malagoesgreen, as I thought it would be helpful to share what I discover for other people like me out there, looking to go vegan or adopt greener options in their daily lifestyle.
What kind of products do you endorse and look out for?
I am constantly on the hunt for more eco-friendly products, so, whenever I come across something I really love, I post about it. If a brand approaches me and the product falls in the eco-friendly/vegan category, I first try it out and only if I feel it is something I would love to use, I post about it. As my goal is to help others who are interested in exploring this lifestyle, I am very conscious of the products I endorse. I am also actively looking to promote smaller homegrown brands and those that offer more affordable prices to their customers — it is important to make veganism more inclusive!
Tell us how you are managing this initiative and your job?
It is challenging, of course, to balance a full-time job with @malagoesgreen. But, when you are passionate about something you find a way to manage your time efficiently. I usually spend my evenings and weekends on @malagoesgreen.
What are your future plans?
My long-term goal is to build a centre (starting in Delhi, and eventually expanding it to the other cities in India) that caters to the vegan and eco-conscious community. This will have a vegan restaurant, provide a platform to green brands looking for visibility and growth, and centralise the resources that a vegan in the city may otherwise find difficult to procure, among other things. I hope to create a far more vegan-friendly and most importantly, accessible ecosystem in India.
What kind of interactions or queries do you get from followers?
I get various queries including what a vegan diet means, nutrition-related facts, about my personal journey into veganism, how to go about finding useful resources, and last, but most significantly, about the functioning of the dairy and meat industry.
How do you try to spread awareness among friends and family?
I am always ready to engage in and initiate conversations around veganism and the various myths that have been propagated over the years—but, I don’t have these conversations with the expectation that they will go vegan overnight. My goal is to plant the seed of this thought, and hope it evolves over time and turns them vegan. I have had success with a lot of my family members, friends, and many people who contacted me on Instagram with similar questions!
Your icon in the eco-consciousness movement?
My vegan icon is Ed Winters (@earthlinged on Instagram), but there are a lot of people out there who post inspirational and educational content that I am a huge fan of.