We Indians tend to feel quite strongly about our food preferences. Non-vegetarians who love their meat will say that a veg diet lacks taste, variety and proper nutrition. On the other hand, vegetarians will say that their diet is superior, cruelty-free and nutritionally ideal. So when one of India’s most beloved cricketers, Virat Kohli announced that he had turned vegetarian, there were reactions from both sides of the diet divide.
According to his Twitter post, Kohli turned vegetarian; after watching Game Changers a Netflix documentary that helped dispel a lot of diet myths for him. He also said that he had never felt better in his life.
A lot of people, including vegan organisations such as this one, lauded the choice Kohli made to give up not only meat but also dairy products and eggs.
“It is ‘horse’ power, not ‘lion’ power,” pointed out another tweet. (Of course the terminology is most likely derived from the fact that horses have been used as modes of transport while lions never have, but never mind that.)
Many posted details about the benefits of vegetarianism, such as disease prevention, weight management and so on.
People wondered about the reason behind the change. However, according to reports, wife Anushka Sharma became veg about the same time as her husband.
A lot of the tweeple felt that Kohli's food choices could impact the food choices of many others.
Some also pointed out the association many Indians make between a vegetarian diet and purity and the fact that a vegetarian diet has often been the symptom of caste hegemony.
While proponents of vegetarianism/veganism put forward the examples of bovines and elephants to demonstrate that creatures don’t need to be meat-eaters to be strong, others pointed this out. “Tyrannosaurus rex: Am I a joke to you,” joked another Twitter user.
Kohli’s vegetarian diet is guided by some top nutritionists and optimised for fitness. It includes soya, protein shakes and more; as such it is very different from the regular Indian veg diet.
The tweeple also pointed out how research can be skewed by who is conducting and funding it; that it can be conducted in a way that will produce wanted results.
Fans of Virat Kohli pointed out that his on-field aggression remained unchanged by the altered food choices. He may have gone vegetarian but he eats bowlers for breakfast, they pointed out.
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