Hello and welcome to  Voices from Other Lands on China Radio International. I'm your host Zhou Jing.

Plant-based diets are the newest trend in Beijing. Some become vegetarians to be fashionable, eating Japanese tonight, vegetarian tomorrow, and Sichuanese the day after. Others consume less meat for health reasons. Few become vegetarians for ethical reasons. But there is now a growing concern for animal rights and the environment, as Pat Sommer from the United States finds out. Having traveled to China periodically during the past decade and living in Beijing for the past year, Sommer says she has noticed China's transition to a more vegetarian-friendly society.

My conversation with Pat Sommer started at the Beijing Vegan Social Club, which she joined a year ago. The Vegan Social Club organizes networking events to promote a healthy, ecologically-responsible lifestyle.

You are listening to  Voices from Other Lands. I'm Zhou Jing. My guest today is Pat Sommer, a woman from the United States who stopped eating meat in her teens and became a vegan twenty years ago. After a short break, we'll be right back with one of Sommer's mouth-watering vegan recipes.

Welcome back. You are listening to  Voices from Other Lands on China Radio International. I'm your host, Zhou Jing.

Think a vegan diet lacks nutrients and variety? Coming up next in the program, Pat Sommer will share her secrets to keeping her vegan diet varied, nutritious and delicious.

That was Pat Sommer sharing her stories of veganism. If you're interested in making a dietary change for a healthier and more Earth-friendly lifestyle, you can drop in on one of the Vegan Thursday dinners organized by the Vegan Social Club.

With that, we come to the end of this week's  Voices from Other Lands. If you have any comments or suggestions, drop us an email at voices@cri.com.cn. From Beijing, I'm Zhou Jing. Hope you can join me again at the same time next week for another edition. Goodbye!