(highlight:: The Rise of Veganism in India: The Influence of Celebrities and Streaming Platforms
Summary:
Veganism has seen significant growth in India, with a 300% increase in the past 10 years.
Thanks to platforms like Netflix and Amazon, veganism is becoming more mainstream and celebrities are endorsing it for animal welfare and health. The perception of veganism in India has become more positive and people are becoming more aware of the concept.
Transcript:
Speaker 2
And has veganism had like a similar trajectory to what I feel like it has in Europe and maybe the US where just over the last few years it has really expanded. Do you have any figures or understanding of the kind of general population approach or numbers to do with veganism?
Speaker 1
There's this recent news article which I was reading because about the story, which said that 67% of Indians are more likely to have vegan products. In fact, there is another one and it is a news article that I can think of, which said that in the past 10 years veganism has grown 300% in India. So and as I said, I've been in the moment, I'm seeing this the rise of veganism in India, a lot of, so earlier when I used to go to schools and colleges, like veganism was such an Indian concept, Like people would not, it's like often confusing India because India, India, India, you have like predominantly vegetarian people, so they would be like, okay, vegan question is The same. But I have seen this leadership happening in people's understanding. Also, thanks to companies like Netflix and other OTT platforms, those who are coming in, that it's also kind of some of the cities that I watch, it talks about, like, oh, I'm vegan, I'm Vegan, cured and dead, they mentioned the term veganism and all the youngsters in India watching Netflix or Amazon trying video or some other OTT platform, which I would say has also Helped in creating a perception, positive perception around veganism in India.
Speaker 2
Yeah, it's just integrating it into the mainstream, isn't it? And then it seemed it's just normalizing it across the board.
Speaker 1
Absolutely. In fact, in about 10 years ago, we did not have many Indian film industry actors who are vegan, but now it's so easy to find vegan celebrities in India and some of those who are also associated With MFA. And in some of the popular PE programs also, these celebrities have come forward and said that the reason why they have done vegan for, of course, for animal welfare and for their own Health. So it's now becoming more streamlined and I would say people are being more aware of the concept of being some than it was 10 years ago.)
- Time 0:14:40
-

(highlight:: Tips for Successful International Organizational Expansion: Context, Collaboration, & Infrastructure
Key takeaways:
• Ensure the team leading the work in an international expansion is from that country and understands the social context.
• Allow autonomy in the decision-making process in the countries being expanded into, while maintaining alignment with organizational values and goals.
• Collaborate with local organizations to demonstrate support and achieve success in international expansions.
Transcript:
Speaker 2
And if you have to kind of provide some tips on the organizations that do expand internationally, what do you think are the top tips on how they should do this well or what they should not Do, basically?
Speaker 1
Well, to start with, I'm no expert on this, but I'm happy to have some of that. I can say that make sure the team leading the work is from that work in the country. And at MFA, we believe a recipe for failure is when decisions are made in a country by people who do not understand the social context. So that would be my first advice. The second advice would be to ensure that there is autonomy in the decision-making process in the countries you are expanding at same time, ensure they make decisions with the values And goals principles of the organizations and also to ensure that they set good goals and they have a good accountability process. That's the second tip from my side. And the third tip from my side would be to ensure that you're highly collaborative with the local organizations and generally demonstrate the desire to support and how well needed. In India, we are, MFA's one of the core values is being collaborative. So in India, we are collaborating with all the local organizations, whether big or small. We have the intent to collaborate with all the organizations. We are not able to collaborate, I would say, with all the organizations, but most of the organizations. And that's also one of the reasons why in just a very short span of three years, MFA in India has been able to achieve what they've put. And I would completely give the credit of this to collaborating with local organizations. I don't think you would have achieved what we have achieved today without the support of local organizations. And yeah, I think last tip would be to provide the necessary infrastructure from the Google report of including financial systems, resources, support teams, etc.
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's got to be such a such a benefit to just have all of that set up already and not need to worry about, you know, infrastructure and dealing with different processes and procedures, If that's already just taken care of, of the bat, I think that, yeah, that's got to be a huge advantage.)
- Time 0:23:48
-

(highlight:: Challenges and Opportunities of Animal Advocacy in India
Key takeaways:
• The organization faces unique challenges in India due to the informal market and difficulties in procurement and implementation of policies.
• The rise of the supermarket culture in metro cities presents an opportunity for easier procurement and implementation.
• Implementation of policies remains a challenge, and the organization must ensure enforcement officers monitor farms for compliance.
• Building capacities of law enforcement officers is a strategy to improve policy implementation.
• Despite challenges, there are plenty of opportunities to work for animal welfare in India, particularly in the nascent plant-based and cultivated meat sectors.
Transcript:
Speaker 2
In terms of that India specificity then, what are the unique challenges that you face as an organization working in India?
Speaker 1
Yeah, there are many actually and I can actually start with the first one which which a lot of colleagues in the movement also resonate with which is that the market is informal which Makes it very unique in terms of having the policy free and implemented. For example, unlike the US and many other countries where people buy from supermarkets, one commitment from old foods that are Walmart and procure a cage for the exchange entirely. In India the people like to buy food from small shops, open wet markets which makes it very difficult to first procure and then have the government implemented. But I also see an opportunity here that at least in the most metro cities in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, we see the rise in the supermarket culture and I see it as an opportunity To start taking talking to these supermarkets and start procuring commitments like how probably government is a little bit more secure. So, marketing in form of this major media challenge, another challenge is again a lot of animal rights activists in the movement resonated with me is that of implementation of a policy. So, we have some of the best laws in India, but challenge remains on is that of all round implementation. So, for example, now that we have just issued creates ban, we as an organization with very less resources, we will only have to ensure that the ban is implemented. It's not that it goes on in autopilot mode that, oh, a ban has come into place, the thought is we take care of it now. We just got to shut the campaign and just focus on something else, but that's not it. We may have to hire enforcement officers. So, we're going to put each of these states look at farms whether the ban is implemented or not. So, yeah, having the policy and having the policy implemented are two different things in India, which is also a major challenge. But the groups are working to resolve this by, as I said, pointing on ground offices to ensure implementation. And we are also trying to build capacities of the law enforcement officers on ground to ensure that they understand the law and implement it. So, these are about challenges. In terms of opportunity, I say that I see there is plenty of opportunities working for animals in India. And I think the plant-based sector is still at its nascent stage. Contributed meat has not been explored. And having seen India leading the world in some of the best policies for animals, including banning the test for cosmetics on animals. So, I think that there are plenty of opportunities that lie ahead of the movement. And one thing that I would really like to see in the focusing on would be cultivated meat.)
- Time 0:29:33
-

(highlight:: Recommended Podcast and Books: J-Shappee Podcast, No Roots, Can't Hurt Me
Transcript:
Speaker 1
And it's kind of, I like him. I don't know, but I like him. I just like to listen to him. He's just very practical and talks a complete sense. It's like when I'm working out and I listen to him, I think that's really good. The other recommendation I'm also book those and not a very podcast person, this J-Shappee podcast is something that I just started with but I'm more of a book person and so I can recommend Two books.
Speaker 2
One is No Roots, Netflix and the Culture of Green Mention.
Speaker 1
And this book talks about the culture of feedback and how important feedback is in an office environment or even with colleagues, even with any of our family, how important it is to give And receive feedback. And it also talks about the art of giving feedback and also the art of receiving feedback. So I really enjoyed reading this book. And there's another book that I just got from Amazon, I think last week.
Speaker 2
I haven't had the chance to read it, but it's a book that a friend and a colleague has recommended to me.
Speaker 1
It's titled as Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. And I hear very much about this book. So yeah, I'm going to recommend that as well to the listeners.
Speaker 2
What's the premise of that one?
Speaker 1
I think, and I don't know much about it, but what I know about this book)
- Time 0:54:59
-

(highlight:: Book Recommendation: No Rules Rules - Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
Key takeaways:
• No Roots, Netflix and the Culture of Green Mention is a recommended book.
• The book emphasizes the importance of feedback in various contexts.
• It discusses the art of giving and receiving feedback.
Transcript:
Speaker 1
I can recommend two books.
Speaker 2
One is No Roots, Netflix and the Culture of Green Mention.
Speaker 1
And this book talks about the culture of feedback and how important feedback is in an office environment or even with colleagues, even with any of our family, how important it is to give And receive feedback. And it also talks about the art of giving feedback and also the art of receiving feedback.)
- Time 0:55:26
-