Leona Lewis: I am more aware of the environment now I have a daughter

Leona Lewis has said she has become more aware of the environment since having her daughter.

The singer, 38, had her first child, Carmel, last July with her husband, the producer and cinematographer Dennis Jaunch.

The family have lived in Los Angeles for the past six years.

She said: “For me and my husband, we have become a bit more aware now we have Carmel.

“I am aware of what she is eating. Pesticides and making sure her fruit and vegetables are clean.

“We have started planting our own vegetables. We are doing that because of her. We are just being a bit more conscious now and hopefully she will take that on herself.”

However, Lewis - who is a vegan and follows a plant-based diet - said she would leave whether or not her daughter consumes animal products up to Carmel.

“The thing is, this [Veganism] is my personal choice. I don’t wish anything on anyone,” she said.

“This is how I cook in my house and she is going to eat the food that I make.

“I am aware of being as healthy as possible for her and ensuring her diet is very balanced. But she is going to grow up and do whatever she wants to do. I’m not going to tell her: ‘You need to do this and you need to do that’. I hope that she will choose the veggie burger, but she is going to make her own choices.”

Lewis also spoke about working after having her daughter - suggesting she is far pickier with what projects she takes on following Carmel’s birth last summer.

Lewis said: “I literally don’t have time anymore. I feel like I used to say yes to a lot, I wanted to be doing everything, even if it wasn’t something I was passionate about.

“Having her has slowed me down in a good way. The things I get involved with are really important and mean something to me. When you have a kid, you have so much focus and energy in your child… your energy that you are putting into other things, it has to be worth it.”

One of Lewis’s latest projects was narrating short animation It’s Up to Us: A Children’s Terra Carta for Nature, People and Planet.

The project, which debuted on the Ecoflix Channel this month, is an adaptation of the children’s book of the same name by Christopher Lloyd.

The animation, which was backed by King Charles — with the monarch writing a foreword — aims to educate young people on the impact humans are having on the planet and what they can do to help.