With the crisis in India worsening daily, international NGO Million Dollar Vegan has pledged to donate at least 100,000 plant-based meals to support those directly affected by the pandemic. The initiative is supported by actors Joanna Lumley, Sunny Leone and Digangana Suryavanshi, singer songwriters Bryan Adams, Neha Bhasin and Sadaa, and British Indian businessmanRaj Kundra. Over the coming weeks, the NGO will donate 100,000 meals across nine cities to frontline medical workers, migrant workers, shelters, slum-dwelling families, and other underserved communities. Says Sunny Leone: “In difficult times like this one of our biggest worries is, ‘how am I going to feed my family or children?’ I am proud to be associated with Million Dollar Vegan to feed thousands of men, women, and children across India. We are doing the best we can with regards to the current situation so helping people feel the warmth of a full belly, love, and compassion goes a long way. Let’s heal together with one love for humanity.”Says Raj Kundra: “I am proud to support Million Dollar Vegan to feed the most affected communities in India with over 100,000 plant-based meals for migrant workers, homeless and front-line workers. Three-quarters of all pandemics stem from farmed animals, highlighting the importance of choosing plant-based where possible and reducing animal agriculture, which is destroying our planet and risking our lives.”
Says Joanna Lumley: “Million Dollar Vegan is preparing and delivering a two-pronged miracle: bringing delicious and nourishing food to those who need it so desperately, and introducing the idea that plant-based nourishment is the way forward for the planet and its people. I commend and applaud every part of Food Aid For India’s excellent and compassionate campaign.” A year ago, with the seriousness of the pandemic clear, Million Dollar Vegan paused its usual campaigns to focus on supporting those in need. To date, they have launched food aid initiatives in 65 cities in 18 countries, including supporting homeless people, refugees, migrant shelters, underserved communities, hospitals and care homes, food banks, and frontline medical care workers. Working with a Maasai community leader, the NGO supported Kenyan villages left without income after tourism ended, and also worked with volunteers on the ground to help those displaced by the explosion in Beirut. Now, with the desperate situation in many parts of India, the NGO has pledged to act once again. Says Million Dollar Vegan India Manager Darshana Muzumdar: “With the tragedy in India growing daily, we felt compelled to do everything in our power to help those most affected. And while this is a humanitarian priority for us, we are also seeking to remind people all around the world that three quarters of the emerging infectious diseases in people, including Covid-19, come from our treatment of animals. If we are wise enough to learn lessons, we can prevent future pandemics simply by making different food choices.” Alongside their food aid program, Million Dollar Vegan’s team members work to educate people about the dangers of farming and eating animals, including animal agriculture’s role in climate breakdown, deforestation, biodiversity loss, pollution, antibiotic resistance, many serious lifestyle diseases, and the zoonotic pathogens that pose a global pandemic risk. Says Million Dollar Vegan CEO Naomi Hallum: “Not only has our treatment of animals led to this terrible global situation, but the serious lifestyle diseases associated with eating animals – including heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes – reduce our ability to cope with the virus should we catch it. It’s clear that when we harm the natural world, we do serious harm to ourselves, too. So, for the sake of our own health and the planet, and to show compassion to other species, we are encouraging all those who have a choice to choose plant-based foods.” Million Dollar Vegan’s food aid and educational work has been supported by many well-known names including: actors Rakul Preet, Shilpa Shetty, Mallika Sherawat, Alicia Silverstone, Evanna Lynch, Luisa Mell, Alan Cumming, and Connie Isla; and singers Mýa, Anitta, and Paloma Faith.
