Hi, my name is Greg Willybiro, Co-Founder of Turfue Straws (Biodegradable, Vegan & Edible Straws) and I've been vegan for about a year now. It all started with my girlfriend. She became vegan about two years ago and I got introduced to it progressively. The biggest hurdles that kept me from going vegan back then were simply the typical false fears: “Vegan food is not tasty", "Where am i going to get my protein?" "I don't wanna just eat kale salads for the rest of my life" etc…Those fears were easily broken as I realized that: 1. I could still eat delicious foods. In particular, vegan fast foods changed my life :) 2. It is incredibly simple to get enough protein with a well balanced vegan diet, and 3. I just felt so much better overall! So i went for it.
My friends and family were confused, yet supportive (though I would occasionally be on the receiving end of jokes). I'm from an African family so veganism is considered as "That thing white people do". My girlfriend is white so they initially thought I was doing it just for her. My greatest joy was slowly tricking each family member into discovering how delicious vegan food was. I would make them burgers, tacos, and pasta dishes with meat and dairy alternatives and then not tell them about it. They would absolutely love it and I would proudly make my big reveal! They're much more understanding now. I even got my father who is an old-school die-hard African man to do a 1-month vegan challenge. He's now slowly transitioning to a full vegan diet and loving it.
Being vegan also made me so much more aware of the environment and our impact on it. That's what led me and my friend Thomas Montaron to create Turfue Straws. We discovered that 100 million animals die each year from ingesting plastic and that plastic straws take up to 500 years to decompose. So, we came up with straws that are ultra biodegradable, compostable, vegan, edible and animal safe. Lastly, I just wanted to say thanks so much to Aph and Black Vegans Rock! It is so important for people in our community (who often suffering from diet-related diseases) to see that people just like them are vegan and thriving!
Social Media
Instagram: @turfuestraws
Website: turfue.com
