I don't have time, give me a summary: I love animals and find animal cruelty heart-breaking. My intention isn't to force people into veganism (I am not a vegan myself), but rather to inspire people to educate themselves on how our habits may lead to cruelty and how we can take small, easy steps to limit it and spread love to our furry intelligent friends. I support PETA who does educating work. To earn your money on this occassion, I am conquering my long-standing fear of heights by taking the UK's tallest bungee jump of 400ft in Wales on 29th July 2017. I'm absolutely terrified! Your support is appreciated.

This will not be an easy sell; your money is hard earned and valuable to you, and the cause isn't universally accepted. Let's see how this goes:

Who are you? My name is Vaibhav Negi. I am 29. I was born in New Delhi, India and grew up internationally until I fell in love with London and decided to stay. I like doing charitable projects and activities and support 5 causes: 

1. Children's care
2. Womens' prosperity
3. Mens' health
4. Animals' safety
5. Planet's sustainability
   

This fundraise is to do with #4.

What's with the animals? I was born into a meat-eating family and I loooove the taste of meat. I had my first chicken nugget ever in a McDonald's in Singapore. I think that was my first love - chicken nuggets. I grew up eating a variety of animals (we weren't religious so I didn't discriminate against/for certain ones that go Moooo or Oink Oink). But as a city child, I didn't appreciate the source of my meats or leather products until I spent time in zoos, safaris and nature when I was much older. As I appreciated these furry, smelly, even creepy magical beings; I fell in love again, and this time with real, living, breathing animals.

You have no idea how difficult it was for a meat-LOVER (and I put lover in caps for a reason) to turn vegetarian, but I did just that at the age of 16. That's 13 years of no meat for a meat-loving, non-religious, wannabe bodybuilder - imagine that. However, I felt the following benefits:

1. Moral ground - animals look so lovely alive and kicking.
2. Economics - it's cheaper to feed the world on a veggie diet and we have a hunger crisis in several countries.
3. Health benefits - most studies conclude that vegetarians have a lower chance of several diseases, maintain lower weight and live longer (though I agree this is arguable, as careful meat eaters can maintain muscle more easily, smartly limit red meats, eat in balance and focus on fitness to live equally long).

However, I think for me the difference-maker was point 1. Animals are simply not our assets to eat, wear or experiment on.

I don't buy your argument: You don't have to. I'm on the fence myself and will happily debate on related topics to learn more. There will be certain parts we will agree more on e.g. most people are against dog meat as they are prettier, more intelligent animals. As a non-vegan, who drives a car with leather seats, uses creams probably tested on animals - I'm no saint. However, I am on a journey where I constantly educate myself on the costs of sacrifices and benefits and then make conscious choices. Here's my personal journey so far:

• 13 years ago I turned lacto-ovo vegetarian (veggie + dairy + eggs)
• 10 years ago I stopped buying leather clothing/accessories
• 5 years ago I stopped eating eggs from caged hens as I was horrified to learn what happens to small male chicks!
• 3 years ago I replaced dairy milk with almond milk (it's actually tastier).
• This year, I decided to make the leap from free-range to organic eggs. 

Each time I made a leap, I had doubts initially, but found the leap was super-easy (except the initial turn to vegetarianism - that's a killer 13 years later too).

There must be other, equally easy leaps out there that help us sustain our lives, nutrition and comforts but reduce harm to our wild friends - things like quorn (artificial meat, which is now incredibly precise), artificial leather, organic means of production etc. Why not explore these?

What's with the bungee? To raise awareness for this cause and inspire myself to continue this journey of small leaps, I decided to take another, rather physical leap. I have a fear of heights; I don't even like standing close to the balcony in a high-rise and look down - I feel dizzy! So I figured I'd conquer this fear by taking the UK's tallest bungee jump. It's 400 feet down, from the very top of a crane into a deep pit with water below in Wales (just look at the pictures!)

If you support me, I will appreciate it and update you with pictures from my jump afterwards!

Vai