Rise Of The 70% Vegan

Tofu, beans and, er, lamb chops... Welcome to the world of the rebel vegans.

- Catriona Innes

"Do you have anything vegan?” It’s Friday night and Rhea’s in a pop-up pizza joint. She’s shunned fish, meat and dairy all week—even bringing in almond milk to work to add to her coffee, and marking ‘Rhea’ on it in bold letters to ensure her colleagues on a health kick don’t steal any. But when the waitress points out a couple of sad-looking salads on the menu, Rhea simply hands her back the menu and says: “F*ck it, I’ll have the pepperoni pizza.”

Rhea, 26, hasn’t suddenly broken all her own rules after years of self-deprivation. She’s a rebel vegan—and she’ll go right back to scrambled tofu and lentil bolognese tomorrow. But for now, well, she’s had some wine an d sh e jus t wa nts to have fun. “I’m 70% vegan,” the architect from Mumbai says. “About a year ago, spurred on by all the blogs out there, I turned full-time vegan for three months. But it proved too difficult. This way, I am doing some good, but when I want to indulge, I can.”

Veganism is definitely having a ‘moment.’ Jacqueline Fernandez and Kangana Ranaut are adopters, and it’s the diet of choice for the honed and toned Victoria’s Secret Angels. Three of the current New York Times bestselling cookbooks are 100% vegan, Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward is the first plan-based offering that achieved the highest first week sales for a debut cookbook in history. On Instagram #vegan has over 24 million posts, on the accounts of glowing men and women who portray veganism as not just a diet, but a way of life.