How Tanya Williams stays vibrant through plant-based eating
Social justice consultant Tanya Williams became a vegetarian in 1998 with her best friend in an effort to reduce harmful impact on the environment. Tanya loved it and stuck with it. Her friend…had a moment with chicken and never returned.
But no matter!
Tanya wholeheartedly respects her family and friends’—and even her partner’s—decisions to eat meat. It’s just that she feels so much better since she’s been living a plant-based lifestyle. Almost 20 years ago, Tanya embarked on a journey that has had a significant impact on her health and has changed her perspective on life.
In this interview, Tanya and I spoke about her killer tofu salad, why she doesn’t identify as an animal activist, and whether or not it’s okay to kill that pesky fly.
Where are you originally from?
Houston, Texas.
Oh wow. The land of the BBQ.
Haha. Exactly. I won’t say I’m an anomaly because there are a lot of vegans in Texas. I think people are shocked because they are like, “Wait, you gave up BBQ and fried chicken?” Believe me I ate a lot of that when I was young.
But you’re in NYC now which is a very vegan friendly city. Speaking of which, what is the tastiest vegan meal that you’ve had?
Oh man that’s hard. I love cooking and being vegetarian and vegan taught me how to cook. It showed me the vast variety of meals that I could make. When I go out to eat though, I want to give a shout out to Ms. Brenda and Mr. Aaron at Seasoned Vegan in Harlem. They have crawfish and cheese grits that are so good! My partner and I go there almost every time we are in town on a weekend. It’s delicious.
What’s your signature dish?
There are two: There’s a fried tofu miso salad that’s the hit of every party that we have. And then there is a vegetable peanut sauce that I put on cauliflower rice that my partner keeps requesting. Those are my claims to fame, but I will try any recipe. Pinterest is my best friend.
So besides the delicious food, what really made you stick to a plant-based lifestyle?
I did some reading five years ago about what happens at slaughterhouses and the ways in which animals are treated. It really had me thinking. I didn’t think that I was an animal activist then—and I still don’t now—but I was thinking about the people who are mostly poor and low-income folks working in rural areas in these slaughterhouses who have to take all of this death into their spirit. I was not okay with someone murdering on my behalf and then having to take that in. And then to have that death to be a part of what I was ingesting…It just didn’t feel right.
What is the difference between being a vegan and an animal rights activist?
I love animals, but maybe I don’t want to align myself with what people see of emotionally and physically sometimes violent around their protection of animals. I see animals as beings that should be respected and honored just like humans. But I’m not going to pour fake blood on somebody or rip their fur off of them.
My family and friends will sometimes apologize for eating meat in front of me, but I know that I have made this decision for my life. My partner eats meat so I’m not pushing her into my lifestyle or anything like that. I don’t need to push my values on other people. If other people make the decisions to change their values based on my modeling, that’s cool.
That’s awesome that you have that peace of mind about your life choices vs. others’ life choices because I feel like that can be a challenging thing to do when you hold on to strong convictions.
Yeah. When people tell me they feel bad to eat meat around me, I say, “Don’t feel bad!” There’s a reason you might feel bad. It’s not me, though.
What health benefits have you experienced from eating plant-based?
When I stopped doing dairy and ice cream, I figured out I was lactose intolerant. I was wondering why I felt bloated all of the time and when I stopped eating dairy, I was like “Oh, I get it now.”
There are genetic things that I think I might have avoided because of plant-based eating, as well. Most people in my family have had to take high blood pressure medicine, and I have avoided that medication. And everyone who uses it in my family usually starts taking it around 40. I’m 45. My mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor. I got a mammogram recently and I’m still clear.
And it’s not a horrible thing for people to say, “Wow, you don’t look 45!” But that may be about me being black haha…
So since you value honoring all sentient beings, what do you do when there is a pesky fly in the house?
Insects and I don’t always get along. I’m not a catcher, and if I try, I don’t want to risk destroying something. My partner and I, we open our windows in the summer and sometimes we have a little family of flies come in at the same time. We will either shoo them or trust that they will leave or trust that they will find a corner and die. One time, some wasps came in and all I could do was sit on one side of the room and wait until they ended up dying.
Well kudos to you, I probably would have freaked out and killed them. I’m afraid of bees.
I will have to say, I don’t know if I would do well with roaches haha.
What do you hope we all get out of 30 Day PBA?
On the top of my list is connection and community. I want people to feel support in their life and support around eating and the choices that they make. And I would love for people to learn more about eating this kind of way. It really can be transformative for individuals, our community and our world. Let’s see how food can heal us.
