Dawn Ressel is a 43-year-old business consultant at her company Next Leap. She is also an energy healer, meditation coach, and the mom of two cats. I had the great pleasure of sitting down and learning more about Dawn’s story.
When did you adopt a plant-based diet and why did you do it?
I adopted a plant-based vegan diet in January 2001, about 18 years ago. I was already vegetarian. At the age of 4, I made the connection. I was eating a piece of fish and found a bone and realized that I was eating an animal and to me, animals were friends. I grew up in the Southeast. There weren’t vegetarian options – so my food preferences were an ongoing battle between me and my parents. However, when I got to college, I went vegetarian. I had more control and could cook my own food. It was my own inner sense of what was right and wrong that motivated me. In 2000, I moved to Chicago and I met some people who were vegan and they gave me more information about the animal cruelty in the dairy and egg industries. During that same time, I started getting sick and the allergist told me I was allergic to dairy. I knew I wanted to go vegan, so the diagnoses caused me to go vegan overnight. Once I eliminated dairy, I felt so much better in about two weeks.
You are truly a remarkable woman – I don’t think I ever personally met someone who made the connection at such a young age. Why do you think this is?
Children have an innate sense of right and wrong and see the connection between all living beings, but society conditions it out. Spiritually, I think I may have been brought here to help the animals and help humans – given what is happening with the planet and factory farming. A plant-based vegan diet is good for the animals, environment and our personal health. Our fate as a human species is dependent on whether we stop factory farming because it’s the top reason for destruction of our planet. But the message is getting out. In fact, my mom has been following a plant-based diet for almost a year now – she’s seen dramatic improvements to her health, and she is now advocating for the animals too.
What does your typical diet entail?
When time is short, breakfast is usually oatmeal with fruit and nuts. On days I have more time, I like making a tofu scramble with whatever vegetables I have on hand. Adding Indian black salt gives it a more eggy-flavor. I season with both tamari and black salt. I also like avocado toast for breakfast.
Lunch is usually a veggie chili or veggie burger or black bean tacos with avocado.
Dinner is often comfort foods like vegan mac and cheese with broccoli or air fried tofu with veggies like cauliflower or a nice salad. I usually at tofu once a day.
When I eat snacks its usually nuts, seeds, crackers with vegan cheese or fruit.
You’ve been vegan for a long time, what has changed in the last 18 years?
When I first went vegan, almond milk had just come out. Soymilk was out, but not available everywhere. A few years after I went vegan, Walmart announced it was carrying soymilk. It was such a big deal at that time. Now you go into any grocery store, the milk section has changed drastically. It’s a harbinger to where the future is going. The selection of plant-based milks (coconut, flax, oat, soy, almond, hemp) is far greater than cow’s milk. There is vanilla, chocolate, sweetened or unsweetened varieties, etc.
I moved to San Diego five years ago, and there were hardly any vegan restaurants here – maybe 2 or 3. Today, there are over 25, and almost 50 if you include food trucks and pop-ups. Southern California is a hotbed for vegan food.
I’ve also noticed that the attitude about veganism has changed as well in San Diego. It used to be more antagonistic, and now even people who are not vegan are more accepting of it and even encouraging. They appreciate, understand, support and often aspire to eating more vegan. The attitude has shifted completely. When I travel to other places not as progressive, it’s kind of like time travel to where things were 10 years ago.
Social media has done so much to open people’s eyes to factory farming. People are more aware of what’s happening. There is still some distortion that eating organic means the animals are treated better, but animals are still harmed regardless of whether it’s organic or not.
But overall, the social acceptability of veganism has increased exponentially over the last 3 to 4 years.
What surprised you the most as you were transitioning to a plant-based vegan diet?
I thought there would be such a sacrifice and that I would have cravings, but that wasn’t the case. What also surprised me was the value and importance of forming social bonds with the vegan community. I learned tips, hacks and insider tricks to help me stay on focus. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Social dynamics change after you go vegan – so you need that community. It’s a safe space because you don’t have to justify why you’re eating vegan.
Tell me more about your company, Next Leap, and how you integrate your plant-based vegan message with organizations.
My background has been in helping people understand the people they serve so they can create better products and services and messaging that resonates. My focus is on vegan or cruelty-free companies. For startups, I help them define their value proposition – what they talk about. What their business model is – options for making money. How to figure out the best options for them. How they can test out different ways to get information from the market before investing too much. For example, if they want to start a restaurant, I often recommend setting up at the farmer’s market or pop-ups to get feedback and build a fan base before investing a couple hundred thousand dollars in a brick and mortar building. I work with nonprofits, oftentimes on animal advocacy organizations to help them test different ways to approach funding and outreach strategies before investing a lot of money. I also work with larger companies that want to serve new markets and how to go about it, such as how to grow their plant-based offerings.
What advice do you have for someone looking to adopt a plant-based vegan diet?
Find other vegans who are further along in the journey. Having that social support is critical. Staying connected to your why is important – whether it’s health, the animals, or the environment. There will be moments where it’s challenging. If you can remind yourself everyday as to why its important to you and the world – then it helps you to stay on track. Finally, make yummy food – you don’t have to only eat steamed kale. Get new cookbooks and try out recipes. Be adventurous and try different ethnic cuisines – Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Indian – they are all delicious. Go beyond the iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad. There is so much variety and opportunity to expand your horizons in the produce section of the grocery store.