Sustainable Tea with Shreya

How Top Athletes Thrive on a 100% Plant-Based Diet | Ft. Saurabh Netravalkar

Saurabh Netravalkar joins Sustainability with Shreya for a conversation that flips the usual script on fitness, masculinity, and what it actually means to be strong. A fast left arm bowler and international cricketer for Team USA, he also codes full time as a software engineer at Oracle, and he does it all powered by a whole food plant based lifestyle. Instead of giving generic motivation, Saurabh breaks down the real system behind his balance: complete focus when it is time to perform, clean context switching when it is time to work, and the kind of disciplined routine that makes consistency feel inevitable rather than heroic.The episode goes deeper than diet tips. Saurabh shares how his shift started with health and performance, then became rooted in yoga, ahimsa, and a brutally honest look at personal hypocrisy. He talks about the early transition phase most people hide, the mock meat phase, the awkward social questions, and the moment the “why” finally locks in. From there, the discussion expands into the psychology behind resistance to veganism and why people defend what they already know, even when something inside them senses it is wrong. The result is not a moral lecture, it is a model for how clarity changes behavior.Practicality stays front and center: what he eats, how he trains, how he travels, how he handles B12 and D3, and how he approaches plant based parenting with his wife and their young daughter. The conversation also widens into the less obvious parts of the supply chain, from sports equipment to everyday products, and why cruelty is often hidden in plain sight. By the end, Saurabh connects sustainability to dharma, not as a belief, but as a way of living in harmony with nature, seeing the self in everything, and letting right action follow naturally. This is for athletes, busy professionals, and anyone who wants performance and peace without outsourcing ethics to convenience.Timestamps-0:00 Cricketer and software engineer dual life1:30 Vegan diet and athletic performance3:00 Managing cricket with a full time tech job5:10 Daily routine of an elite athlete8:15 Why I switched to a vegan diet12:10 High performance plant based diet26:15 Fitness, recovery, and stamina results1:01:30 Sustainability, dharma, and life philosophyWhere bold ideas meet brewed conversations. ☕ Sustainable Tea with Shreya is India’s biggest sustainability podcast, hosted by climate communicator and plant based lifestyle advocate Shreya Ghodawat. In each episode, we sit down with change makers across the globe, think climate scientists, clean-tech innovators, chefs, ethical fashion founders, indigenous leaders, and more, talking about everything that matters in a bid to live better. This is a space for curious minds and conscious conversations. For people who care, question, and want to understand what sustainability looks like in the real world, from policy to personal choices. If you're done with surface-level conversations and want to hear us spill the tea on how everyday choices connect to change the impact. Pull up a chair, sip on your favourite brew, and explore insights that move the needle.

Humane World’s Mission To Protect And Care For Animals | Ft. Shreya Swaminath

In this episode, Shreya sits down with another Shreya from Human World for Animals to answer one question: what does real transformation in India actually look like when it is not just individual choices, but institutions changing at scale. The conversation hits a nerve fast, calling out the story India tells itself about being naturally kind to animals, and the reality of how cruelty has been normalized in everyday life, from food systems to what society accepts on the street. It also challenges the comfort myth that dairy and “local, ethical” consumption is harmless, and pulls the curtain back on what industrial scale really means.This is not a good chat about “small swaps.” It is a systems conversation about why cruelty is profitable, why higher welfare is still not cruelty free, and why the biggest wins come from changing procurement and policy inside universities, hospitals, corporate cafeterias, and government frameworks. There is a hard take on Indian vegetarianism too: lower meat consumption does not equal lower harm when most eggs and animal products are coming from intensive confinement systems, and when labels carry social baggage that pushes people away from the actual goal. The core theme stays consistent: facts, science, and empathy, without hiding behind tradition.Then it gets practical. Shreya shares how Human World for Animals works with institutions end to end, how they measure impact, and why climate and health messaging often opens doors faster than ethical arguments. She also talks about their Humane Entrepreneurship Program, built to help founders replace animals in food, materials, and testing, and drops a simple rule that every startup needs: Shipping Fridays, ship something every week, test it on the ground, and let real feedback guide the product instead of hype. If building a future where animals, people, and the planet are part of the same story matters, this episode will leave no room for denial, and give a real map for what change can look like in India.Timestamps- (0:00 - 3:50) Humane World for Animal’s Mission (3:50 - 6:33) Individual Suffering Explained(6:33 - 10:58) Profit Makes Cruelty Normal(10:58 - 18:44) Institutions Drive Real Change(18:44 - 23:52) Vegetarianism And Indian Reality(23:52 - 32:29) Messaging Science Over Belief(32:29 - 37:54) Cultural Blindness To Cruelty(37:54 - 41:32) Humane Entrepreneurship Solutions(41:32 - 51:39) Policy Ethics And ActionWhere bold ideas meet brewed conversations. ☕ Sustainable Tea with Shreya is India’s biggest sustainability podcast, hosted by climate communicator and plant based lifestyle advocate Shreya Ghodawat. In each episode, we sit down with change makers across the globe, think climate scientists, clean-tech innovators, chefs, ethical fashion founders, indigenous leaders, and more, talking about everything that matters in a bid to live better. This is a space for curious minds and conscious conversations. For people who care, question, and want to understand what sustainability looks like in the real world, from policy to personal choices. If you're done with surface-level conversations and want to hear us spill the tea on how everyday choices connect to change the impact. Pull up a chair, sip on your favourite brew, and explore insights that move the needle

Amitabh Bachchan Was Not Ready For This Truth About Dairy | Ft. Siddharth Sharma

Siddharth Sharma joins Sustainable Tea with Shreya, India’s leading sustainability podcast. He confronts the hidden violence behind the dairy and meat industries and the cultural conditioning that keeps us blind to it. From the KBC moment that went viral nationwide to the uncomfortable truth that dairy is the foundation of beef, leather and overall animal exploitation, Siddharth breaks down how animals are artificially impregnated, separated from their calves, and treated as commodities, despite being called “mother.” This conversation forces us to examine why empathy disappears the moment an animal becomes a product, and why vegetarianism is not free from cruelty just because it avoids meat.Blending philosophy, religion, and climate science, Siddharth exposes how our scriptures have always aligned with compassion, whether through the Ahimsa of Jainism, the principles of the Vedas, or the Buddhist doctrine of non-violence, and yet society now uses religion to justify mass exploitation. He explains why “ethical dairy” cannot exist, how social conditioning shapes food choices from childhood, why corporations profit from disconnecting people from the source of their food, and how animal agriculture drives deforestation, water scarcity, greenhouse gas emissions and global hunger. This episode makes one thing clear: sustainability without veganism is a contradiction.More than a discussion about diet, this is a conversation about justice, freedom and the ethical responsibility of the most powerful species on the planet. Siddharth shares how philosophy shaped his decision, why small steps matter, why children are naturally compassionate before the world trains them out of it, and why the future generation will question factory farming the same way we now question slavery. Whether you come from culture, religion, environmentalism, fitness, parenting or activism, this episode will challenge your identity, not your taste buds. If Amitabh Bachchan could reconsider compassion at 83, every one of us can rethink the impact of our choices until every animal is free from suffering.Timestamps- (00:00 - 1:17) Start of The Podcast (1:17 - 04:32) The KBC Moment That Sparked Debate(04:33 - 08:55) When a Mother Cow Cried(08:56 - 12:40) First Encounters With Dairy Cruelty(12:41 - 17:18) How the Dairy System Actually Works(17:19 - 21:50) The Myth of “Vegetarian” Milk(21:51 - 26:12) Ahimsa and Dairy’s Contradiction(26:13 - 30:48) The Harsh Lifecycle of Cows(30:49 - 35:10) Leather: Dairy’s Hidden Profit Engine(35:11 - 39:25) Animal Farming and Climate Damage(39:26 - 43:04) The 86% Emissions Argument(43:05 - 47:00) The Truth About “Ethical Dairy”(47:01 - 50:12) Will Cows Go Extinct Without Dairy?(50:13 - 54:03) Raising Vegan Kids in India(54:04 - 56:52) Debunking “Weak Vegan” Myths(56:53 - 1:00:35) Why Siddharth Speaks for AnimalsWhere bold ideas meet brewed conversations. ☕ Sustainable Tea with Shreya is India’s biggest sustainability podcast, hosted by climate communicator and plant based lifestyle advocate Shreya Ghodawat. In each episode, we sit down with changemakers across the globe, think climate scientists, clean-tech innovators, chefs, ethical fashion founders, indigenous leaders, and more, talking about everything that matters in a bid to live better. This is a space for curious minds and conscious conversations. For people who care, question, and want to understand what sustainability looks like in the real world, from policy to personal choices. If you're done with surface-level conversations and want to hear us spill the tea on how everyday choices connect to change the impact. Pull up a chair, sip on your favourite brew, and explore insights that move the needle.

Feminism and Animal Exploitation | How Female Bodies Are Used in the Dairy Industry Ft. Kiss Nuka

Location Courtesy: Cat Cafe Studio - https://www.instagram.com/catcafestudio?igsh=MWRybGxla2dyZTZkMQ==Singer, composer, producer and animal ally Kiss nuka joins Sustainable Tea with Shreya from a cat café, surrounded by rescue cats, to unpack what happens when art stops being just “beautiful” and becomes a weapon of truth. From her early days singing commercial heartbreak hits as Anushka Manchanda to burning it all down and rebirthing herself as Kiss nuka, she shares how silence during the pandemic forced her to confront the question, “Why am I here?” and turn her gifts towards justice. Art becomes protest, music becomes mirror and aesthetic becomes strategy as she chooses honesty over industry comfort and money.This conversation dives straight into the uncomfortable intersections of feminism, animal agriculture, language and spirituality. Kiss nuka lays bare the reality of dairy as systemic exploitation of the female body, the cognitive dissonance of loving pets while eating other animals and the way industrial culture trains society to value control over compassion. She links patriarchy, factory farming and environmental collapse, arguing that real feminism cannot ignore the bodies of cows, hens and other non-human females whose reproductive systems are treated as machines. From reprogramming everyday phrases that normalise cruelty to transforming anger into creative action, she explores how frequency, energy and spiritual integrity demand that what we consume, wear and fund is free from violence.Kiss nuka also challenges the script of motherhood and womanhood itself, reframing mothering as creation, care and nourishment rather than compulsory reproduction on a schedule dictated by “biological clock” panic and social pressure. Sustainability, for her, is a radical responsibility, a daily practice of asking “What am I giving back?” and choosing to reduce harm to animals, the environment and other people in every way possible. Filmed at The Cat Café, this episode is a love letter to rescue animals, adopt dont shop culture and all the rebels reimagining what feminism, spirituality and activism can look like. For anyone who has ever felt the dissonance between values and habits, this is a call to raise personal frequency and turn compassion into a way of life.Timestamps- (00:00 - 1:29) Start of the podcast(1:29 - 04:58) Awakening through silence and identity(04:58 - 09:52) Art becoming protest against injustice(09:52 - 14:46) Feminism and interconnected exploitation(14:46 - 18:57) Styles of activism and impact(18:57 - 24:10) Discovering dairy industry truth(24:10 - 28:19) Privilege, empathy and awareness(28:19 - 34:11) Forced pregnancy and dairy brutality(34:11 - 38:57) Energy, spirituality and consumption(38:57 - 43:08) Plants argument and vegan propaganda(43:08 - 47:19) Language shaping power and oppression(47:19 - 50:48) Communicating activism with emotion(50:48 - 54:06) Redefining motherhood beyond reproduction(54:06 - 57:52) Judgment, choices and societal pressure(57:52 - 1:01:25) Sustainability, karma and responsibility(1:01:25 - 1:04:11) Gratitude, collaboration and adoption messageWhere bold ideas meet brewed conversations. ☕ Sustainable Tea with Shreya is India’s biggest sustainability podcast, hosted by climate communicator and plant based lifestyle advocate Shreya Ghodawat. In each episode, we sit down with changemakers across the globe, think climate scientists, clean-tech innovators, chefs, ethical fashion founders, indigenous leaders, and more, talking about everything that matters in a bid to live better. This is a space for curious minds and conscious conversations. For people who care, question, and want to understand what sustainability looks like in the real world, from policy to personal choices. If you're done with surface-level conversations and want to hear us spill the tea on how everyday choices connect to change the impact.

Why Your Milk Isn’t Vegetarian: The Hidden Violence of Dairy | Ft. Animal Rights Activist Shivam Nandi

Animal rights educator Shivam Nandi (Voice of Vegans) joins Sustainable Tea with Shreya for an unfiltered deep dive into ethics, culture, and power. He traces a blunt journey from “hardcore non-veg” to vegan after confronting his own cognitive dissonance, then dismantles the comforting myths around “ethical” dairy and eggs: forced breeding, calf-mother separation, mass disposal of male chicks, and supply-chain links between dairy, beef, and leather. A feminist lens runs through the conversation about body autonomy, exploitation of female reproductive systems, and why compassion that excludes animals is just selective empathy. Religion and ritual aren’t spared either: when sacred narratives are used to justify harm, that’s not devotion, that’s convenience.And from there the discussion further widens into food politics in India, caste, festivals, and performative activism and why animal liberation must be a political project, not just a personal diet. Shivam calls out bad-faith arguments head-on: the protein panic is about awareness, not meat; “veganism is elitist” is a dishonest shield used by the privileged; and fitness influencer culture routinely sells whey while hiding the exploitation behind it. He lays out a pragmatic path: start with the “why” think from the victim’s perspective, then learn the “how,” because plant-based nutrition is achievable when knowledge replaces habit. If dogs deserve empathy, so do hens, goats, cows, and fishes; species don't grant moral permission.Watch, reflect, and if the “why” lands, let the “how” follow.In this Episode00:00 - Start of the Podcast 02:02 - The Awakening: From Habit to Ethics08:01 - Unmasking the Dairy Illusion15:01 - Feminism and Animal Exploitation20:01 - Religion, Ritual, and Moral Dissonance27:01 - Food, Caste, and Cultural Power33:01 - Veganism as Political Resistance39:01 - Protein Myths and Fitness Culture45:01 - Elitism and Accessibility in Diet52:01 - Why Vegan, Then How Vegan1:00:00 - Egg Industry and Hidden Cruelty1:04:01 - Selective Compassion and Conditioning1:09:01 - From Awareness to Action1:13:01 - Activism, Discomfort, and Courage1:17:01 - Bollywood, Influence, and Hypocrisy1:21:01 - Hope, Change, and Moral Agency1:23:25 - End of the Podcast Where bold ideas meet brewed conversations. ☕ Sustainable Tea with Shreya is India’s biggest sustainability podcast, hosted by climate communicator and plant based lifestyle advocate Shreya Ghodawat. In each episode, we sit down with changemakers across the globe, think climate scientists, clean-tech innovators, chefs, ethical fashion founders, indigenous leaders, and more, talking about everything that matters in a bid to live better. This is a space for curious minds and conscious conversations. For people who care, question, and want to understand what sustainability looks like in the real world, from policy to personal choices. If you're done with surface-level conversations and want to hear us spill the tea on how everyday choices connect to change the impact. Pull up a chair, sip on your favourite brew, and explore insights that move the needle.Sustainable Tea with Shreya, Sustainability, Vegan, Veganism , Non-vegetarian, Animal exploitation, Animal husbandry, Protein myths, Animal leather, Eggs, Vegan diet, Plant diet, Plant protein, Dark side of dairy, Cruelty, Dairy free, Lactose intolerance, Lactose free milk, Dairy free diet, STWS