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Our purpose is to make healthy food easy to find and more accessible. Founded in 1999, HappyCow was created as a public service to assist travelers and people everywhere find vegan, vegetarian, and healthy food. Today, our online community has grown to include members from around the world who are passionate about the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle as a healthy, compassionate, and environmentally sustainable way of living. More than a restaurant and health food store guide, HappyCow is a constant work-in-progress toward becoming the one-stop resource for everything VEG. |
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Meet the team
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Eric Brent, Founder and Director The idea of HappyCow started in 1997 when I first learned that the only world guide to vegetarian restaurants and vegan restaurants on the internet at that time (now defunct) was no longer being updated. However, I had put the idea on hold until November 1999. I was living in India at that time, and although I wasn't sure exactly how a project like this could be managed, I felt compelled to take it on. As a world traveler who's lived, worked, and visited more than 50 countries, I had encountered much difficulty looking for "safe" food each time I arrived at a new town or city. So, I taught myself html, paid for web hosting, and HappyCow was born. As a 20+ year vegan, having this resource has made eating vegan simple. |
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Diana Hsieh, Editor Prior to meeting Eric, I had come across the HappyCow site once while searching the internet for a vegetarian restaurant recommendation. Then in 2005 I began to volunteer just a few hours a week to help manage the growing popularity and demand for this service. Through volunteering I've learned some fundamental skills in web management and witnessed what goes on behind the scenes (a whole lot). Presently I assist the team in tasks like editing web content, responding to visitor emails, and producing our monthly vegin' out e-newsletter, MooZine. Playing with children and watching plants grow are my joie d'vivre. |
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Stephen Calnan - Senior Software Engineer Stephen joined team HappyCow in Fall of 2011. With his expertise in software programming he is helping to create a more efficient and user-friendly website. In his spare time, Stephen volunteers at the farmed animal right organization, FARM. |
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Evelyn Hays, Listings Editor Evelyn became a vegetarian in 1987 and evolved to veganism in 1997. She brings to HappyCow a desire to make the world a healthier place and how fitting it is that she is adding restaurants and stores worldwide to our directory. She also bakes vegan, gluten free, and organic desserts in a professional capacity. Massage therapy was her full time occupation for 20 years and now is a part time venture. We are happy to have her working with us; she is a true asset. |
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Ken Spector, Sales - Marketing and Ideas Man Ken is a fountain of knowledge who is interested in everything life has to offer, from the psychology of business marketing to organic gardening to website/graphic design. He has consulted for or worked in upper management for numerous companies including Microsoft, Hollywood.com, Eco Vision Packaging, and LivingECO.com. He is dedicated to living a vegan, holistic, sustainable lifestyle. You may have seen him zooming through the streets of Los Angeles on his bicycle. |
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Peter Chen, Senior Design Consultant, Designer A Sydney based, life long vegetarian, now vegan - Digital Design Director with experiences of working on major international brands such as Volkswagen, 20th Century Fox, Cadbury, Nissan, RaboBank and Sydney Opera House. Pete is committed to using design for good and with that in mind, he is dedicated in helping out with HappyCow's website design refresh. |
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Ashwin Navin, Advisor A friend to HappyCow, Ashwin is presently the co-founder and CEO of Flingo and a founding partner of I/O Ventures; formerly co-founder and president of BitTorrent, where he commercialized the technology, struck monetization and licensing relationships with advertising, media and hardware companies. |
HappyCow has also benefited from dedicated members and volunteers, like Irene A., John E., Kenneth B., Lex, Longina, Stevie, and many others.
HappyCow is a free-to-use site, non profit in nature but not 501-c status, and our manpower and resources are, at times, limited. Yet each day, the HappyCow site grows and evolves with continuous flow of positive feedback and contributions from our visitors and members. Together with members, partners, and volunteers worldwide, we have new ideas for the future of this site.
Feel free to read more about us in our interview with Earth Balance (Dec 2010) and with VegParadise (July 2007).
If you would like to be involved, please email us.
We welcome investors and financial support, guest writers and bloggers, sponsors, programmers and graphic artists, and volunteers to help distribute flyers.
Join our team | Support this project
Spread the word. Please link to HappyCow from your websites, blogs, twitter, and facebook.
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