W
hether you’re a vegan or not, if you’re a
student in south India, you’ve probably heard
of Arvind. Arvind Kannan, vegan since 2014,
is an avid animal rights activist who is inspired by
Gary Yourofsky and his drive. Arvind has followed
in Yourofsky’s footprints by spreading the message
of veganism among the common people. He went
vegan after stumbling upon Gary Yourofsky’s “The
best speech you’ll ever hear” on Youtube. For those of
you unaware of Gary Yourofsky, he is an animal rights
activist who has given more than 2000 lectures for over
60,000 people. Gary has also been arrested 13 times
for acts of his activism and he has also been banned
from entering Canada and the United Kingdom.
“Gary Yourofsky has been my greatest inspiration ever
since till today. I admire his passion, brutal honesty,
and self-confidence. He has truly left behind a legacy
so many of us can follow in order to make this world a
better place.” said Arvind.
Arvind, in addition to giving lectures in schools and
colleges, has a Facebook page run by him and his
girlfriend Arshvani, which has attracted over 1.5
million views. He also enjoys a good mock ham
sandwich with tons of veggies and vegan mayo.
Arvind plans to give lectures in Tamil Nadu,
Bangalore, and Hyderabad; he has also been
invited give a talk on veganism to 1,000 students at
a school in Tuticorin. Arvind also said that he has
plans to launch a number of videos that relate other
social justice movements with veganism and the
environment. He added that getting permission to hold
lectures and finding a good spot for street activism are
the challenges he has to face. He said he’s received
varied responses to his page, from people accusing
him of being a PETA worker trying to kill native breeds
to people appreciating him for opening their eyes to the
horrific practices in the meat, egg, and dairy industries.
To new vegan activists, he says, “Be focused and
understand whom you’re fighting for. There are 60
billion animals dying every year. The activism we are
doing now is happening on a minuscule scale and we
activists need to start doing more. Doesn’t matter what
you do as long as you do something.”When we asked him if he believes the world will go
vegan, he said that the world will go vegan eventually,
but until that happens we need to reduce the number
of animals that are being killed. He also said that one
should not worry if one’s family or friends don’t take
you seriously, because they are more likely to believe
a stranger who tells them the same thing. He even
stated that the number of activists trying to promote
veganism to the majority is like a candle in front of
the sun, and that we need more activists on the street
fighting for the cause.Living amidst over a billion people, the story of this guy
going vegan and inspiring thousands to do the same is
worthy of appreciation..Arvind Kannan, the birth of an activist
How he went from eating meat to advocating for veganism.
- Janardhan Pokala