Why this vegan musician fell in love with Vancouver's food scene

This story is part of CBC The Early Edition's series 'Easy Being Green', a look at how people in British Columbia are incorporating more plants into their diet.

While it can be costly, there are many reasons people may want to incorporate more plants into their diet.

One is health: multiple studies indicate that increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat can help prevent many types of cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Then there's the environment. Meat production is increasingly being scrutinized for its impact on the planet, taking up to 20 times more land and emitting up to 20 times more greenhouse gases than common plant proteins, such as beans. 

And then there are those who say it just tastes — and feels — better to have more plants in their body.

Among them is Rian Peters, a Vancouver-based recording artist who goes by the moniker IAMTHELIVING. The Juno-nominated singer is originally from South Peckham in London, England but now calls Vancouver home.

Peters says the city, with a wide variety of vegetable-based restaurants, is the perfect place for him to pursue a vegan diet, which he promotes on his Instagram page, livingplanetfoods, along with some of his favourite juice and smoothie recipes.

He also says the transition to being vegan was about more than his diet — it was about a full lifestyle change.

He spoke with CBC's Lisa Christiansen.

I always imagine that with people who are vegans, there's a moment that says to them: This is what I'm going to do now. 

Well, my moment for me was from a few videos that I saw. One was a lecture from a guy called Gary Yourofsky, an animal rights activist. And yeah, it really just struck a nerve with me. Plus I've always been into health and wellness.

And was it hard for you when you made that adjustment? 

It wasn't that hard. I went step by step. You know, some people can go cold turkey. But for me, it was like just starting out by just eliminating certain foods that I was eating. 

Was there an adjustment with people you knew when it came to going out for dinner?

Not necessarily. I feel like if I transitioned to becoming vegan, probably 15, maybe 10, 15 years ago, then for sure [it would've been hard]. But again, it was like 2016. 

At the time, I spent a lot of time in L.A., which made it a lot easier. You know, a lot more of the restaurants are vegan-friendly. And when I came over to Vancouver, I just fell in love with the city because so many restaurants and places were vegan-friendly. So it made it a lot easier for me, especially like socializing and going out with friends.

When you think about being vegan, you look for a substitute for something. But ultimately, has it just changed the way you eat and you don't really think that way anymore?

For me, it was like it was more so to do with my lifestyle. You know, it wasn't a diet change. It wasn't like, I'm going to try this for a while. 

I knew that I had to completely just change my lifestyle when it came to what I was eating. 

Do you have to shop every day? 

Well, it really depends. I usually do a big weekly shop. I love going down to the farmer's market and supporting the markets there. And I love coming to independent stores like the one that we're in today. 

I think people that aren't vegans feel like you really have to plan. And in all honesty, it's exactly the same as how I used to eat back in the day. For me, it's actually a lot easier.

It's really easy because I eat very simple food anyway. I predominantly eat a raw vegan diet, so I know that I'm going to go into a store and I'm going to go and buy my essentials, which are green leafy veggies. 

And you know, you get your tomatoes and your cucumbers, bell peppers. And then I'll go and buy my fruits, especially foods that are in season. So right now, the citrus fruits are in season; then some pears and the apples — it's easy. I don't have to think about it too much. 

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.