Interview with Georges Hayek on hospitals and veganism
This interview was conducted in Lebanese Arabic and translated to English
On December 10th, 2022, The Middle East Vegan Society interviewed Mr. Georges Hayek, Owner and Founder of the “Lebanese Vegans NGO” and the General Manager of Hayek Hospital, the first vegan hospital in the world, at the Vegan Christmas Market event.
What are the reason and target behind this exhibition?
As part of our annual Vegan Christmas Market, we are spreading awareness about veganism. This is to show others around us that there is another way to live. As well as being less harmful to animals, it is also less harmful to our health, and surely, it is less harmful to the environment.
WHAT PUSHED YOU TO GO VEGAN, AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SPREAD VEGANISM AND INCLUDE IT IN YOUR WORKPLACE?
I believe that change can happen within the person himself. As people, we are keen to say, "We want change, and we want this or that", but we don't begin to act on the change we desire! That alone is a terrible way to think. Changing ourselves first allows us to be able to change those around us. We should lead by example. It is not right to only speak of change and not practice what we preach!
I went vegan because of a video a friend of mine shared and I came across it by mistake. The video was about a cow being slaughtered, which really and deeply annoyed me. I remember getting back home and looking at my dogs and thinking to myself how wrong it is to feel compassion for one animal species and not the other. How selfish we are to believe that one species is allowed to be cared for, and the other is allowed to be killed. This led me to question my way of living and made me think about how wrong my actions were and it led me to go vegan. A video made me completely change way of living.
From there I wanted to take this step further and spread awareness among those around me. Through my social media platforms "Lebanese Vegans", through this event at the hub as well, and most certainly through my work line.
I happen to be the general manager of Hayek Hospital. I wanted to include this lifestyle in my workplace for the simple reason that I cannot work against my beliefs. Furthermore, I conducted a study and deepened my knowledge of the matter.
We must provide our patients with the highest quality care for their health. This research was conducted not only for animal welfare, but also for medical reasons.
In the course of my research, I found that killing animals for food is not the only harmful practice for the environment. However, it is also extremely detrimental to the human body.
There was a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015 that showed that processed meat is carcinogenic. "Jambon", "Charcuterie" and bacon, as well as other types of processed meat, have been classified as category 1A carcinogens, alongside cigarettes. Red meat is classified as 2A, meaning that it can also contribute to cancer. This being said and as a hospital owner, I do not accept providing our patients with foods that are linked to cancer. These foods were designated as such by WHO, an organization that I belong to. Mind you, if tomorrow the WHO claims that for instance hummus causes cancer, I will surely be the first one to stop serving it. However, as far as I know, today, it is meat that causes cancer. It was also proven that cheese and dairy products are factors for Breast and Prostate cancer. This should also be forbidden in hospitals.
Let us not forget the time when cigarettes were offered to patients in hospitals, as well as being sold in their cafeterias. This practice existed until it was proven to be a big cancer factor. How possible is it to still offer meat in hospitals when meat and cigarettes are as harmful as each other and they were put in the same category of carcinogenic?
A study found that fish, being loaded with mercury and like a sponge that soaks up ocean dirt - and we all know how dirty the ocean is - are as unhealthy as what I have mentioned before.
For all those reasons, and out of morality for animals in addition to medical reasons, I have decided to ban anything that could and would be harmful to the health of our patients to be provided in the hospital. I can assure you that Mjadra, Hummus, and vine leaves have never caused high blood pressure, nor have they blocked an artery or they have caused kidney failures.
Every hospital should lead by example and should provide its patients with the most accurate care. For my part, if a patient with a blocked artery comes to us, we have to treat this person as he should. Also, we have to explain to him why this happened to him and what he can do to avoid it again.