I created Budi to transform how people consume and perceive food, nutrition, and health.

The initial idea was to build a platform for sharing what and how you cook at home with friends. In doing so, I'd create a place to find inspiration for some of the most important choices we make every day—what we eat—from people we know and trust.

Budi is named after an orangutan rescued by the International Animal Rescue after being illegally kept as a pet for the first year of his life. Thanks to the IAR, Budi recovered and has since been released into the wild. 

Orangutans are critically endangered—the primary threat is large-scale deforestation. Global demand for palm oil drives deforestation, and ultra-processed foods require industrially-produced crops, including palm oil, grown at a massive scale. By cooking with whole ingredients, you naturally reduce your consumption of ultra-processed foods—and the ingredients and supply chains that harm orangutans.