Introducing you to thriving vegans across New Zealand.

Since early 2020 news anchor Mike McRoberts has been living a vegan lifestyle.

Mike took up endurance sports in his mid-40s — marathons and Ironman Triathlons kept him active and healthy, until a serious knee injury threatened to derail his athletic avocation. It was veganism to the rescue,  for no amount of treatment options helped his ailment.

He was competing in the Dancing with the Stars TV show at the time and had to do so in one-legged fashion. It wasn’t until he travelled to Japan to cover the 2019 Rugby World Cup that things started to change.

“About two weeks into that trip,  I realised that I didn’t have any pain in my leg,” he recalls. Filtering through the possible reasons for the improvement, Mike deduced that the low dairy content in Japanese cuisine might be the answer — back home he was essentially on a pescatarian diet [vegetarian with the addition of seafood] but consumed a lot of dairy.

A quick bit of research led to him deciding to give veganism a try. “The results were almost immediate. I still had a bit of knee pain, but I was back to being active, running every day.”

A boon not only for his physical fitness, but his mental health too, as the busy journalist relies on exercise to help him unwind after hectic days in the newsroom.  After ditching the dairy,  Aotearoa’s top news anchor was back in fighting form.

“It’s been quite a journey, I’ve loved it. I really enjoy cooking and for me it has been like starting all over again, learning what to cook. It has been very good for me.”

Bouncing back

Since going vegan, it’s not just the injured knee that has improved. He now finds his body recovers much more quickly from whatever stresses he puts it through and this year Mike, along with his partner Heidi, has embarked on a training schedule he previously thought impossible; running every day.

“I just found my recovery was so much quicker, and when you’re in your 50s that means everything.”

He has also found the change to veganism has improved his mental alertness, which is a big benefit when under the demands of a particularly frantic news cycle.

While the initial impetus for trying veganism was health-related, the underlying social and environmental issues around food choice are not lost on the newsman. Having visited some of the most conflicted regions of the world, Mike is well aware of life’s harsh realities. He values the way in which veganism feeds into improving both the environment and the plight of animals.  

“I’ve always had concerns around animal welfare and exploitation, and while that wasn’t the push that got me into it, it is certainly something that I have thought about deeply since going vegan. And I just can’t even imagine going back to not being plant-based.”

His strategy is to aim for the stomach; feed people good vegan food and the converts are sure to follow. To hear Mike talk about the meals he enjoys preparing, it’s clear he derives immense satisfaction from cooking and feeding others, and that’s the kind of affection that can’t help but be contagious.

He has picked up loads of new culinary skills now that he’s preparing vegan food. Lentils, grains, and pulses now feature prominently as key ingredients of comfort food, and he’s more cognizant of not creating waste. No more discarding broccoli stems, for example; they get frozen to later be grated into a stew.

“It’s not a diet, it’s not something I’m sacrificing anything for; it’s the way of life I have chosen. To me, it’s the way of the future, I’m sure it’s something more and more people will find their way to.”