Hello! My name is Ishan and I am a first-year college student at Stanford University. Here’s the story of how this site started.

One day at preschool I saw all the other children eating their lunch and saw that their food was different from mine. I began asking questions about food, and I learned that our family had been lacto-vegetarian for many generations. I learned that our family had been practicing ahimsa or nonviolence for spiritual and health reasons. A few months later something interesting happened. I was eating my breakfast when I noticed a picture of a gorilla on my cereal box. I asked my mom to read what was written on the box. She told me that people were destroying the forests where the gorillas lived. The company making the cereal was donating funds and raising awareness to restore the habitat for the gorillas. I asked my mom what I could do and she suggested donating the money from my birthday gifts to support the well-being of one gorilla for one entire year. I continued my support for many years.

Fast forward to fourth grade where I learned about obesity, starvation, and other health issues during a unit on nutrition. This introduced me to some of the many problems in our world related to the food we eat. Later in sixth grade when given the choice for a project, I decided to research the food chain with a focus on soil conservation and methods to create healthier crops. I encountered many more issues like climate change, wastage of water, species extinction on land and in water, and wildlife destruction while I was researching. Once again, the food we eat was at the heart of these issues. This sixth-grade project was an eye-opening experience for me. Then, in seventh grade, I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma for my Honors Biology class. The book was about how our food is made and how it gets to us. This was yet another time I got to study the impact of the food we eat. I became intrigued by this topic.

This curiosity led me to do intense research throughout 8th and 9th grade. I hit the web like a mad scientist and researched for every bit of information I could find. During this time, I also began noticing my older relatives talking about diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and many other health problems and the pills they would have to take to manage these conditions. I discovered doctors, nutritionists, athletes, environmentalists, and others on the web, who had found solutions to these issues much earlier than me. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that a whole food plant based diet was a solution for all these issues. I started inspecting my own diet and found that even though I was lacto-vegetarian I was still consuming some milk products. Then, I started eliminating most of them and have now become plant-based for the most part, although rarely milk products do slip in.

Eating a mostly whole food plant diet based has helped me grow physically, intellectually, and emotionally. This wholesome diet helped me improve my focus. As a result, I perform better in any subject I put my mind and efforts to. Not to boast, but I earned a perfect score of 36/36 on my ACT in ninth grade and have an unweighted cumulative GPA of 4.0/4.0. I take many Honors and Advanced Placement classes and began taking high school classes in the sixth grade.

In addition to growing intellectually and increasing my focus, eating plant-based has helped me become physically strong. I have not had to visit the doctor other than my yearly physical checkups. My nutritionally balanced diet helps me to recover faster even if I am down with a cough or cold. I am also physically active, and I am involved in many activities. I have a Second Degree Black Belt in Martial Arts and have played many sports including soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. I was fortunate to partake in a 12-day, 100+ mile trek, with a summit of 12,441 feet at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, during the summer of 2017. Many fellow crew members thought I would struggle because of my diet, but it helped me perform better. Over the past several years, I camped out for a total of over 40 nights and attained the rank of Eagle Scout while keeping my vegetarian and mostly whole food plant based diet.

After having changed my life over the past few years and feeling its tremendous positive impact I began talking about a whole food plant based diet with my friends and family. This was when I realized that many people were not aware of this amazing plant based diet. I felt that it was unfair that this information was being hidden from many of us. This inspired me to act and do something to educate others around me who care for their health, environment, and social issues. In efforts of reaching out to youth, I created a website, Plant Powered Youth. Here, one can find all the information needed to take action and be in charge of one’s life for the better. I hope you will benefit from this website. Please do not forget to send in your feedback at plantpoweredyouth.org/contact-us.