Genelia D’Souza has often spoken candidly about the personal choices that have made her life better, and her food journey is also among them. Recently, the actress revealed her experience of transitioning from being a meat-eater to a vegan, and it was deeply personal.
Why Genelia D’Souza gave up meat
During a January 2 podcast hosted by Soha Ali Khan on her YouTube channel, D’Souza opened up about how her relationship with food evolved. The actor revealed that she stopped eating meat on January 1, 2017, but at the time, dairy, cheese, and eggs were still part of her diet.
“I gave up meat in 2017; that was the time I turned vegetarian and not plant-based. My first step toward being vegan was selfish because I thought this kind of living would be better for my health,” she said. “For me, vegetarian food meant peas, potatoes, and paneer.”
D’Souza further said that as she began cutting down on meat, she was able to find a wider range of vegetarian dishes that helped her to improve digestion, and she became more disciplined in her daily routine.
Motherhood changed her perspective
She also revealed in the podcast that motherhood played a vital role in bringing awareness about food and compassion. “I am an animal lover, but I used to enjoy my meat as well. On the way to becoming a vegan, I realised it is connected to a zillion things. One of them was having babies; I didn’t want anything to hurt them.”
D’Souza turned vegan during the pandemic
D’Souza turned vegan in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she credited her husband, Riteish Deshmukh, for influencing the final step. She revealed Deshmukh had already become a vegetarian in 2016 as it no longer felt right to him. But the duo was still eating eggs and dairy for years, until the pandemic.
“When Covid hit and everyone was scared, Riteish suggested we try eliminating all animal products,” Genelia shared. As they spent more time at home, the couple began experimenting with going fully plant-based and quickly noticed the changes. “Living life a certain way, you never realise how the things you eat every day affect your body,” she added. “I didn’t do everything right in my first year, and I’m still not perfect, but I learn every day.”
Though the journey has not been perfect for D’Souza, she has got a deeper understanding of health-focused choices and environmental responsibility.