With inputs from Vandana Mohandas end-of Tags: veganism, food. "I am the biggest product tester and we don’t release anything in the market that can’t be tested on ourselves and our families,” assures Shankar. "Though I am from a Sikh family, I gave up non-vegetarian food around 20 years ago and milk two years ago after I saw the way cows get exploited.The vegan pet food that we import has been tried and tested by animal nutritionists. In a state where I am making choices, I need to make ethical choices for both the animals,” says Sneha. For him, veganism is a chance to re-imagine what the world could look like, "I want to align my actions with my belief.For 25-year-old Raghav Venkatesh, the sight of a fisherman pulling out an eel and cutting its body with a scalpel after it was used as fish bait, deeply moved him, "That moment just got me thinking of how we treat animals in general and we share this planet with eight billion other species and yet we live as the only superior species,” he rues. Raghav is the former Mumbai head of The Vegan India movement, a community of young enthusiasts and change makers that come together from various cities across the country to contribute to this effort.Mumbaikar Shammi Sethi is another agent of change who runs Rare Earth, which, he claims is India’s first 100 percent cruelty-free store. Itan irreversible process and one thatgenuine and permanent,” he says. But then I started noticing this discrimination and bias. So vegan food is good for animal skin. No dairy, no beef and no wheat. "Before being vegan, I was an animal rescuer. In a natural state, it’s fine if an animal eats an animal, but I don’t get to decide who gets to live and who gets to die. We even have non-vegetarian customers who buy these products from us because ita hypoallergenic product, she says. It’s about putting our ‘eco’ above our ‘ego’. It’s about defying years of cultural programming and doing what each one of us, in our heart, knows is right. They all have the capacity for suffering just as we do. Once your needs are met, you start thinking about the needs of others in the hierarchy. But the food is nutritionally complete and it’s in fact easily digestible and pro-biotic. All hierarchies are bad and it’s the same here. Going vegan is really about paying respect to all the creatures that come from nature says Subah Jain, a vegan and health educator, "It’s about realising that animals feel afraid, cold, unhappy and hungry, just like we do. These three are the most allergens that dogs get.Vinita ContractorBut beauty comes and goes with fashion cycles and veganism might well be a fad in the beauty industry. If you do it right, veganism is not a limitation in any way; it’s an expansion of your love, and your belief in justice for all. It’s cultural conditioning. We are not 100 per cent natural, we do use synthetics in our products and it’s there on the pack for all to see and they are life-friendly ingredients,” says Shankar.Raghav VenkateshSneha PoojaryWhile veganism is credited with health, weight loss, glowing skin and shiny hair. If you make an olive-based conditioner you don’t start with the thought that it might irritate people. On one hand, we are compassionate to dogs and cats but not so much to a chicken. While earlier taurine, which is an essential amino acid in cats had to be extracted from bovines, today taurine is made in laboratories and is vegan, "So people say cats will not get taurine from plants, but as of mooncake Machine today they do and most of the taurine is vegan. It’s about seeing our stomach as a garden, not a graveyard. "We want people to start asking questions, they have become too comfortable with the way things are,” he says. So it’s a planned diet,” says Sneha.Shammi SethiVeganish vs speciesismAnother word for discrimination among animals is called Speciesism and is used a lot in the vegan circles informs Raghav, "It basically means discrimination on the basis of species, with the belief that the human species is the most superior. They also set up VR sets in college festivals to actually help people see from the animalperspective. She started Aistra, a vegan pet food website that supplies top-quality imported pet food across India.Vegan skincare is naturally good for the skin since it’s derived from clean, modern ingredients, "What naturally happens when you start thinking vegan formulations and skin care, you don’t have to worry about the source. We need to create a new world. In terms of social change and being inclusive of all species of the planet and not just human beings. "Veganism is newer than traditional consumption, but I don’t

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