This ain't just for the vegans on the ship. Everyone who is good and holy at least cares about animals and systematic cruelty (see what I did there?) So, If going vegan is not in your life cards, then supporting some vegan places should be. Here's why.
(i) The more local vegan business boom, the more options we vegans have, the more 'normal' it becomes to appreciate animal-free products
(ii) You let people live their dreams
(iii) Only some vegan business are aware they are actually making a vegan movement, for example we have coffee here which everyone drinks ( we totally advocate caffeine, we're not going to argue about that )- and another one here started because the entrepreneur's son was allergic to dairy and soy. But the deal is, if businesses also understand they are catering to ethical foods, they get to understand their market value in new way. This is good for the economy. I think.
So let's get to these Bangalore sweetspots shall we?
(1) Black Baza Coffee
Holy shit, if coffee wasn't vegan I would have a very potent problem. Black Baza Coffee was founded by Arishiya Bose, and she is really into her shit. I mean she can talk about biodiversity farming for more than an hour (that's long time in bio diversity time). In their own words: Our first four years were spent speaking to over 300 growers – documenting shade trees, coffee yields, value chains and simply understanding the challenges of farming sustainably.We found that although India has one of the most sustainable production systems in the world, our coffee was moving rapidly from shade to sun grown
So we started selling coffee in 2015 to support coffee growers to follow biodiversity-friendly farming, which we define as coffee grown under the shade of indigenous forest trees, without chemical pesticides and with active re-forestation of wildlife-use areas on farms.
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| Black Baza on The Shelf |
Hipster Coffee is Serious Coffee
(2) Veganarke
Flying Unicorn Shit! The founder is Abhay Rangan, and get this, he's flipping 19 years old. I wasn't making any kind of world impact at 19. I am not going to even tell you what I was doing at 19, so that I can maintain some for of social respectability. Anyway, I digress, so Abhay here is a very dedicated animal activist, and is specifically devoting most of his life to animal rights. What's more is his vision. He's ditched them rose-tinted glasses. In the young lad's words: I believe veganism should be accessible to everyone. Most vegan businesses today overprice their offerings, and this ensures that only privileged, cash rich people are able to afford them. We want to ensure that everyone, regardless of economic status, can buy high quality vegan products.
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| Peanut Curd by Veganarke |
So 19, with a firm understanding of trickle down economics, and the pitfalls of elitism- I give you folks, a very cool dude. This is why you need to support this. You can get vegan peanut curd delivered to your house every week- and let me tell you this curd/yogurt is the bomb, you can make raita, buttermilk curries or make facial masques out of them- whatever floats your boat. His vision his big, so they are expanding into Cashew, almond, soy, and peanut mylks! Bonus Points? His rock is his mother, who is head of operations and makes all this from scratch at home. Check out Veganarke Here and give a shoutout to our boy Abhay on FB- he's a popular kid.
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| Abhay and his Momma! The heart of Veganarke |
(3) Jus'Amazin
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| That, my friend, is some dairy-free cheese! |
Shilpa Mogilishetty has a masters in Social Anthropology, and if she could demand an imaginary life, she would lock herself up in a library and be a total geek. She also has a cute-button of a son who is allergic to dairy and soy. The Momma bear that she is wouldn't let her son go without yummy, nutritious treats. She made the kitchen her lab and soon she had made some delicious treats that everyone wanted. I personally am in love with her Salted Cashew Carmel Spread. But she makes nut mozzarella, feta, and sun-dried tomato plant-based cheese spreads too! Oh also, a seed butter to die for. What are you waiting for? Order her lovely little treats by emailing her : shilpa@jusamazin.com or call : 7899737378
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| Seed butter, chocolate almond spread, and salted cashew caramel spread. Slurp. |
So there you have it cubs! Yummy, ethical treats for everyone. Connect with these fine people, make a new friend, share your new food, and if you don't share your coffee, I'll understand.
Soon.
