From 2008 to 2013, my father and I created and ran Guangzhou, China’s Best Indian restaurant (as voted in a local magazine for three years) – Vaastu, a date with India. As I learned about social justice issues, like food insecurity and climate change, I moved to Mumbai, India and began working on climate change mitigation in 2015 with cBalance Solutions. In 2016, I turned vegan after watching Cowspiracy, and discussions with my vegan partner, Noura. In 2019, through Project Drawdown, I realized how deep, and vast, the connection is between food and climate change – 8 of the top 20 solutions relate to the food system. I subsequently watched the documentaries ‘Forks Over Knives’, ‘The C Word’, ‘What the Health’, and ‘Plant Pure Nation’. I then learned about SHARAN, based in Mumbai, who focus on the prevention and reversal of diabetes, and other lifestyle-related chronic diseases. I took two cooking classes with them, and began to learn how to cook from my mom, aunt, and grandmother. I then clearly saw the strong link between personal health, planetary health, and animal health. I realized that by learning cooking, I was empowering myself to make tasty and healthy (whole-foods plant-based) meals to avoid relying on corporations to choose what I eat (when I buy packaged “factory-made” food). My journey continues as I learn the science behind whole-foods plant-based nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate. 

Personal Motivation

Several family members have developed lifestyle-related chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, cancer, and hypertension. Without an intervention, I am sure that many more family members, and friends, are at risk to get such diseases due to their lifestyle.  

– Dhruv Gupta