The VSS Team
George Jacobs became a vegetarian in 1980.
His main influences were a vegetarian cousin and the book Diet for a Small Planet. The main idea of that book is that eating meat is wasting food, because we have to feed many kgs of plant food to other animals to produce just one kg of meat.
In recent years, George has switched to a vegan diet.
George has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and works with schools and universities around Singapore and beyond. Born in the U.S. in 1952, he has lived in Singapore since 1993 and is a permanent resident.
In his free time, George enjoys racquet sports, bicycling, children’s literature, and hanging out with his wife, niece and nephew. Mangoes are among his favourite veg foods.
Born after the War into a typical Singapore home where meat/seafood consumption increased with rising family income, Lily was an unlikely candidate for vegetarianism.
But the death of her father from colon cancer in 1980, followed later by her mother’s struggle with the same disease stirred in her an interest in the link between the disease and diet. Her move away from meat began with her reading books like ‘Why Vegan –The Ethics of Eating and the Need for Change’ (Clements, 1985), which also exposed to her the horrible living conditions of animals and the inhumane and unhealthy farming methods and practices in modern farms.
In 2007, after attending an Animal Welfare Symposium which featured, among other things, the decimation of fish stocks and other marine life, she dropped fish also from her diet and became vegetarian.
Lily holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and teaches Communication Skills
Pauline was convinced that the vegetarian diet is the way to go, whether it is from the health, scientific, environmental or animal rights perspective and became a vegetarian in 1994. She then became a vegan in 2008.
Soon after becoming a vegetarian, Pauline experienced improved health, immunity and energy levels. Becoming a vegan posed no problems with regular blood and apheresis donations either. Pauline wishes some day soon, healthy vegetarian choices will be easily available to everyone, especially in schools and hawker centres.
During her spare time, Pauline enjoys trying out new vegan recipes, swimming, drawing and painting. She holds a degree in Mass Communication and has over 17 years secretarial experience.
Pauline feels she's benefited so much from the vegetarian diet and would like to help others enjoy the benefits that a vegetarian diet can do for one’s health and well-being.
Fang Qi has been an 'animal lover' since young. Like most pet owners, she loved her four-legged friends to bits but never thought more about their farmed counterparts until she chanced upon a newspaper article when she was 15, which made her question whether she would still eat meat if she had to kill the animals herself.
After being vegetarian for 7 years, her new year resolution in 2009 is to go vegan.
Today, she thinks turning vegetarian is one of the best decisions she's made in her life & is happy to have found life long friends within the community for support.
She enjoys social gatherings, watching movies, drinking smoothies & her job in the real estate business.
Amelia became a vegetarian in 1998 as a way to show filial piety, to bring to life her love for nature, to contribute to universal peace and to live a more spiritually-based lifestyle.
She has more than 20 years experience in accounting and finance. In her job, as well as her volunteer efforts with VSS and in life generally, Amelia finds that persistence and patience are the keys to success.
In her spare time, Amelia enjoys gardening and outdoor games.
Two quotes that Amelia would like to share reflect the role that vegetarianism can play in protecting our environment:
When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves. – David Orr
Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology. – Alan M. Eddison
Nava is a native of Ceylon who enjoys living in Singapore. He has worked in the finance and legal industries in Asia, as well as in the Middle East.
Nava is attracted to vegetarianism because it allows him to live in accordance with his belief in “ahimsa” (non-violence).
Nava considers honesty and simplicity as his strengths and the reluctance to say “no” as his weakness.
Someday, he plans to return to Ceylon. In the meantime, Nava looks forward to recognising the best in Singapore as a model of how people can co-exist to build a better world.
Kheng's interest in a healthy diet first got her to stop eating her 4 & 2 legged friends. After 6 mths, she realized that seafood shouldn't be on her menu either and discovered the many delicious, creative ways to go vegetarian.
The book Diet for a New America also roused her compassion for animals and opened her eyes to how diet affects the environment. She has been vegetarian since 1994.
Kheng’s work is a personal journey of her passion and interests; she organizes seminars in complementary health and Feng Shui.
Yoga, dance, meditation and gardening are some of her favourite activities.
As Social Activities Facilitator of VSS, Kheng hopes to bring people together to enjoy working (and playing) towards a worthy cause.
Yeow made a u-turn in life when he decided to pursue a humanitarian role rather than a career in architecture to help build a better world.
Underlying this was his awed respect for the Earth's unique design and all the strange and wonderful life-forms that proliferate here. He is happy to spend his life protecting and speaking for this intricate beauty that is our planet.
Currently the education officer of VSS, Yeow is devoted to the promotion of vegetarianism – seeing this as fundamental to the betterment of life.
A graduate of NUS Architectural Studies, this ex-heavy meat-eater has been a vegetarian since 1987. He now thrives on a largely raw fruitarian diet which he knows can be good fuel for triathlons – races that are familiar to him.
Wen Jin used to be an animal lover - he loved the taste of animal flesh. But he decided not to be an 'animal lover' after all when he was 14.
Among other places, he has given talks at schools and army camp units on the need to eat less meat. He considers it a success if someone realises during his talks that he isn't actually speaking German.
With his work in advocacy, he believes that VSS will be able to light up that unfortunately missing spark of activism in many Singaporeans.
Wen Jin plays the violin and pretends to be able to play the viola and compose as well. He hopes to play the piano.
Young, energetic and passionate, Amar is trained in law and is also a self-employed chef. A strong believer in social entrepreneurship, Amar has combined his interest in business and vegetarian cooking to set up a vegetarian food stall in a school canteen.
Once a quiet and shy individual, Amar did extensive research on Mahatma Gandhi which changed his perspective on many issues including sparking a fiery interest for the cause of vegetarianism.
Amar's dream is to connect with all social entrepreneurs and to one day see the end of world poverty.
He counts an inquisitive mind and humility among his strengths. He firmly believes in the adage “Be the change you want to see in the world” and seeks to do his bit for the planet. For now, he derives immense satisfaction from his advocacy for vegetarianism and other social work.
Tara is a director of the Jay Gee Melwani group that represents a portfolio of International lifestyle, apparel, shoes and accessories brands.
Since 2004, she has been organizing His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s public talks in Bangalore and Mumbai, India on behalf of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT Inc) and a three-day teaching event in Dharamsala (2007) for the people of South East Asia. FPMT Inc is headquartered in Portland, USA and Tara serves as a board director.
Tara runs the M.B. Melwani family Trust which provides education for disadvantaged Sindhi refugee children from 13 slum areas in India and corresponds with prisoners in USA who are interested in exploring, studying and practicing Buddhism.
Tara became a vegetarian in 2001; she is a vegan at home and a vegetarian outside of her home. She enjoys experimenting and creating gourmet vegan cuisine. Bikram yoga, meditation and reading are some of her interests.
When I was 10 years old, I wondered why everyone should eat the same food! My first attempt to try a different diet and to give up eating meat was when I was 11 years old and my pet rooster was killed to be eaten. However, I went back to eating meat when my family members told me, "If you do not eat meat, you can't be growing healthy."
I began to question the wisdom of meat eating when, in my early twenties, I would experience stomach flu almost once a month. I started to wonder if meat might not be so healthy and if it might be part of the reason for my health problems. After much research and reflection, I began eating less meat and seafood, and finally became fully vegetarian in 2000. Gradually, my health improved and I began to enjoy life more.
Presently, I work as a TCM physician. I also am interested in other forms of alternative medicine. Going vegetarian was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I urge my patients to consider whether they might also want to move away from eating animals.
