About the founder

I became a vegetarian at the age of six when I saw a documentary about a slaughterhouse on TV. I had a lot of fights with my parents because of my new vegetarian diet but my willpower has always been strong.

In my 30s I moved with my horse to a vegetarian ranch community with sheep, goats, chicken, other horses, cats, and dogs. I wanted to fulfill my dream of living in peace with farm animals while humanely using their milk and wool. I learned how to milk animals and felt great as a farmer in the beginning but after a few seasons, I realized that we always had one problem in spring and another one in autumn.

In the spring we had to separate the mother sheep and goats from their babies or else they would drink all the milk. The babies and mothers were screaming after each other all day long.

Before winter we had to get rid of the grown-ups and “useless” male sheep and goats. It was very difficult to find a place so that they would not get slaughtered. Often we “dumped” our animals in sanctuaries.

I realized that this is not sustainable. My demand for their milk caused a lot of suffering to them and Vegetarianism does not help farm animals at all and even is the cause for their suffering. As a result of this realization, I gradually reduced my consumption of all animal products. In 2010, I became fully vegan.

I grew into an animal rights activist, a speaker in India in schools and organizations, a vegan writer (my book is in progress) and a YouTuber. I volunteered four times at “Animal Aid Unlimited” in India, an animal hospital where I worked in the cow hospital area with rescued dairy calves and street cows. Many survived and many died.

I documented for my YouTube channel in dairy farms in India. I visited dairy farms in Indore, Mumbai, and Pune. The most terrible things in my life I have seen there. It is exactly how I imagine hell on earth: Endless torture, exploitation, darkness, suffering, smell, flies, feces, neglect and dead male calf bodies in the filth. India is not the land of the holy cow!

By the end of 2018, I quit my job as a graphic designer in the marketing department of a big political organization and moved to Los Angeles to be with my vegan husband.

My website is a gift to the world where I volunteer my time by creating a database for vegan businesses and sanctuaries and thereby shape a vegan future.

If you want to follow my journey then click on this link https://www.youtube.com/whatisvegan.

Love for all!

Dharmada