In the latest installment of our series of reports on the vegetarian movement in Taiwan, we introduce you to the founder of the Meat Free Monday campaign - Mr. Su Xiaohan(蘇小歡). Formerly a newspaper editor, and then a novelist, around a dozen years ago he moved to the mountains to get away from it all, and switched to a vegetarian diet for health reasons. After seeing the benefits, he decided to found the Meat Free Monday organization, and rapidly found himself thrust reluctantly into the limelight.
今天蔬食綠生活要介紹大家一位周一無肉日的發起人之一的蘇小歡，他曾是媒體工作者，也是作家，十多年前搬到山區生活，為了健康他也開始吃素，體會到茹素的好處後，蘇小歡發起「周一無肉日」活動，拋磚引玉，號召許多民眾一起參與。
( Modern hermit turns activist )
" How long does it take to light the fire? "
" It looks like it should only take 5 minutes to light."
" Sometimes I put in yams and they cook.:"
Meat Free Monday founder, Su Xiaohuan:" I'm not the kind of person who likes to tell other people what to do. I never thought one day I would be telling people to do this or that."
What was it that made a modern day hermit come out of his shell?
( Health benefits )
Former newspaper editor and author Su Xiaohuan, is now a vegetarian activist, and one of the founders of Meat Free Monday.
Meat Free Monday founder, Su Xiaohuan:" By eating vegetarian I avoid a lot of things, for example, artery problems and even cancer. I think I have a much greater chance of avoiding them than most. "
( Good for the goose )
Su Xiaohuan's family pet is a year-old goose, which was a guest of honor at a Meat Free Monday event last year.
Su Xiaohan's wife, Long Minjun:" In the end, it didn't take part in the event, but afterwards we had to deal with it. We didn't want to send it back, because it would be slaughtered, so we kept it, and it became a member of the family."
Su Xiaohuan and his kindhearted wife are of the same mind.
( Vegetarian family see the benefits )
A dozen years ago, they both stopped eating meat, and their two sons have been vegetarians since childhood.
Meat Free Monday founder, Su Xiaohuan:" I'm 174-175cm tall. My wife is 164cm. We both have a medium build. We're not very tall. But for our two children: one is 180cm and the other is 182cm. Since they were little, they rarely got ill."
The family enjoy the advantages of vegetarian food. Su Xiaohan decided to share that benefit, and form the Meat Free Monday platform to encourage the public to eat vegetarian at least once a week.
Meat Free Monday founder, Su Xiaohuan:" The human race takes things from nature that go beyond nature's capacity - way beyond. For these problems, if no one stands up and says something, without knowing it, they will continue to get worse. "
( Meat makes food more expensive )
But does eating meat really put a burden on the environment? According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, from 1969-1971, over 870 million people suffered from malnutrition. By 2010, that figure had risen by over 60 million. In other words, for every seven people in the world, one does not have enough to eat. One reason is the high price of grain.
Meat Free Monday founder, Su Xiaohuan:" If you take beans or grain, not all, but, for example, if you stopped feeding one-third to animals, and gave it directly to people - distributed it, the price of grain would go down by over half, and a lot less people would go to bed hungry. "
( Turning the tables )
Although still unaccustomed to the limelight, Su Xiaohuan feels he is doing the right thing. Meat Free Monday is now working towards encouraging people to eat vegetarian on a daily basis, to help turn the tables on the food crisis.
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