Four Restaurants in the UK Certify Vegan with BeVeg – VEGWORLD Magazine

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Uk vegan Restaurants Seeds for the Soul, Peppercorn, The Place to VE, and Excalibur Certify Vegan and Join the Global BeVeg Vegan Only Establishments!

BeVeg international is a vegan certification firm with standards managed by lawyers. As the only law firm in the world to specialize in vegan certification, regulation, and advocacy, BeVeg is paving a path forward for veganism that is clearly defined and trusted.

While BeVeg focuses on vegan product certification, the restaurant vegan certification process is a service for the consumer who is searching for vegan only establishments, rather than places with just vegan friendly options. That means a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options will not be considered for BeVeg vegan restaurant certification. That also means a restaurant with a shared kitchen, which chances cross-contamination will also not be considered.

The purpose behind the global vegan network and free consumer restaurant app is to encourage vegans to patronize other vegan establishments to drive a vegan economy, which will ultimately drive the kind of change vegans wish to see in the world.

BeVeg exists to raise the standard for consumer transparency and is on a shared mission to make this world more compassionate and kind through legal advocacy and analysis. BeVeg demands honest information and only licenses use of its logo to conscious companies in alignment with the set out BeVeg vegan standards, as outlined at http://www.beveg.com.

BeVeg continues to be mentioned as the GOLD STANDARD for vegan certification in well- known news outlets like Forbes, California Winery Advisor, PETA, CBS, NBC, Social Life Magazine, LiveKindly, and the MinnesotaGrowler, VegNews, to name a few. In addition, BeVeg is used by celebrity supermodel, Christie Brinkley, and vegan icon from What The Health documentary, KipAnderson.

Likewise, our Founder and CEO is a former professional ballet dancer, turned super lawyer, TV legal eagle and vegan from birth and has been featured in many publications for her efforts in developing laws around veganism. Apart from her book: Vegan Law Know Your Rights, Carissa is also co-authoring a Vegan Law book with another vegan legal expert in Europe who is working with BeVeg, PETA, the ISO, and other organizations to develop a legally binding vegan standard.

You can download the BeVeg vegan restaurant app online. For more information about BeVeg International vegan certification and its free consumer app, visit http://www.beveg.com.

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Four Restaurants in the UK Certify Vegan with BeVeg - VEGWORLD Magazine

Increasing Vegan and Vegetarian Population to Boost Cashew Milk Sales – VEGWORLD Magazine

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A market report published by Transparency Market Research onthe cashew milk market includes the global industry analysis and opportunityassessment for2019-2029.Revenue generated from the globalcashew milkmarketwas estimated to be valued at~US$ 91 Mnin2019, which is projected to rise at aCAGR of7%, to reach ~US$ 193 Mnby2029.

Cashew milk is a non-dairy beveragemanufactured from whole cashew nut and water. The cashew milk has a creamy andrich consistency. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and otherbeneficial plant compounds. Cashew milk is available in regular and flavoredvarieties and can replace cows milk in most recipes. It also helps in boostingimmunity and improves heart, eye, and skin health.

ConcernsRegarding Food Safety Making Consumers Drift Toward Cashew Milk

Consumers are opting for safer plant-based beverages due tothe rising food safety concerns associated with the usage of hormones andantibiotics in dairy-based products.

According to a report by The Humane Society of the UnitedStates (HSUS), there is a growing demand for animal-based products without anytrace of antibiotics or hormones. The increasing use of antibiotics andhormones may adversely affect human and animal health. Thus, several leadingfood companies are implementing policies to eradicate or lessen the use intheir supply chains. For instance, popular brands such as Starbucks, PaneraBread, Chipotle, and McDonalds, are switching to plant-based alternatives.

Consumers are turning toward a healthier lifestyle and areinclining towards vegan or vegetarian diets. People mention one or more ofthree key reasons for going vegan or vegetarian personal health, animalwelfare, and environmental concerns. This is accompanied by a never-endingarray of new business startups, YouTube channels, popular events, anddocumentaries, all in some way or the other promoting the health benefits ofplant-based alternatives.

In2018,Just Eat, an international delivery service said that veganism tops theconsumer trend, due to a94%risein healthy food ordered.

According to research commissioned by the Vegan Society andVegan Life magazine in the year2016,the number of people who follow a vegan diet in the U.K. increased to350%as compared to the past 10years. Owing to these factors, the cashew milk market is expected to witnesspositive growth over the forecast period.

Major PlayersInvesting in Smaller Plant-Based Brands and Companies

Several consumers continue to be interested in morenutritious and healthy food offerings. Across the globe, buyers areincreasingly demanding natural and nutritious products. Consumers are cuttingback on certain foods that are typically high in sugar, fat, or sodium.Consumers are accepting basic mind-set, concentrating on simple ingredients andless processed foods. More than half of the consumers say that they areavoiding artificial ingredients, antibiotics or hormones, bisphenol A (BPA), andgenetically modified organisms (GMOs).

To know more about this research report, pleasevisit our latest research report on https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cashew-milk-market.html

About Transparency Market Research

TransparencyMarket Research is a global market intelligence company, providing globalbusiness information reports and services. Their exclusive blend ofquantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insightfor thousands of decision-makers. Their experienced team of Analysts,Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various toolsand techniques to gather and analyze information.

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Cadbury set to launch vegan chocolate bar, as trend steals the show at ISM2020 – ConfectioneryNews.com

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The future is plant-based read the sign above the Katjes' booth at this years ProSweets/ISM conference in Cologne, perfectly illustrating the main trend at the sweets and snacks fair and also capturing the wider zeitgeist of a worldwide consumer movement in confectionery.

Irina Beule, insights & innovation manager at Innova Market Insights, told ConfectioneryNews it is describing the trend as the plant-based revolution.

Plant-based is already here, but now it is really taking off, consumers are preferring plant-based, but vegan is growing as fast, especially with younger consumers who want a more healthy lifestyle, but also with a lot of other generations, who want to do something good for the planet, she said.

Katjes, a German sugar confectionery firm, made its debut in 2019 in the chocolate category with the launch of Katjes Chocjes, a vegan chocolate bar in two flavours (Original and Hazelnut) made from oat milk instead of cows milk.

At ISM 2020, it launched four new vegan flavours and attracted thousands of visitors to its booth a clear indication that vegan chocolate is on the rise.

Alex Cramer, brand manager at Katjes, said the new category had been a great development for the company and that plant-based is the future and that chocolate also tastes good without cows milk theres lots of dairy alternatives and we have chosen oatmilk because it is the most sustainable alternative.

Commenting on the launch of its vegan chocolate, Katjes CEO Tobias Bachmuller said: With the expansion of our product line through the launch of Chocjes, we are strengthening our commitment to create great things. Obviously Katjes is an expert at vegetarian fruit jelly sweets. But with Chocjes, we are also catering to a growing consumer audience that is seeking out alternatives to cows milk.

The latest major brand to jump on the vegan bandwagon is Cadbury, announcing it is launching a new plant-based version of its Dairy Milk chocolate bar.

Although owner Mondelz International has not yet confirmed a launch date, ConfectioneryNews understands it has spent two years developing the bar.

We are very aware of the rise in consumer interest towards vegan products. We have a brilliant R&D team who are focused entirely on new products and innovation to enable us to offer more great-tasting choices to consumers. We only launch products when we have achieved the best taste and texture that consumers expect from Cadbury, and there are lots of exciting developments in the pipeline, a spokesperson said.

The ISM trade fair was held at beginning of February, a month after Veganuary, a global organisation encouraging people to adopt a vegan lifestyle in January and beyond. Organisers said this years response has been astounding and over 400,000 people signed-up, compared to 250,000 in 2019, far exceeding the groups 2020 target of 350,000.

In his Oscar-winning acceptance speech, A-list actor Joaquin Phoenix championed veganism and also highlighted the movement at The Golden Globes. February was also the month that Ben & Jerrys launched a trio of new vegan ice creams, while along came RAR from passionate challenger brand Froneri, who also introduced a brand new plant-based ice cream suitable for vegans.

Tiia Morsky, an ingredients research team leader at market analysts Campden BRI, told ConfectioneryNews: The rise in veganism and flexitarian diets requires products to be free from animal-based ingredients. The food industry is responding by seeking to develop or reformulate products with plant-based protein ingredients, but this is no easy task. Manufacturers can become confused about which plant-based proteins are available to them, which are most suitable for their product and how they will function during new product development.

Cocoa and chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut also chose ISM2020 to launch its new 'Plant Craft' range that spans chocolate, cocoa, nut products, fillings and decorations to cater for dairy-free and vegan trends.

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Cadbury set to launch vegan chocolate bar, as trend steals the show at ISM2020 - ConfectioneryNews.com

Lord Sugar hopes bakerys vegan expansion will bring in the dough – Yahoo Finance UK

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Lord Sugar is pinning his latest hopes for business success on vegan pastries sold in a bakery in a railway arch in south London.

The Apprentice star said he hopes to tap into the rapidly expanding vegan market, after backing 30-year-old bakery owner Carina Lepore in last years series of the reality show.

However, the Amstrad founder said he has no plans to go vegan himself anytime soon, as Ms Lepores Dough Bakehouse launched its new vegan range.

Lord Sugar said he wants Carina Lepores bakery business to challenge Greggs (Dough/PA)

Although Dough currently has one site in Herne Hill, south London, Lord Sugar said the new range is part of its attempts to compete with high street giant Greggs, as it eyes a nationwide expansion.

Shes promised me that shes going to open 100 stores and were going to give Greggs a run for their money, the TV personality said.

And what I can see so far, I think shes got a good chance. Theyre doing excellent stuff, and the food quality, the cakes and the patisseries are excellent.

Ms Lepore received 250,000 investment from Lord Sugar after winning the show in 2019, which she said will be pumped into the bakery she opened with her parents in 2018.

She said a second Dough site is set to open in Beckenham in April, with the company lining up more openings in 2020.

It comes amid stiff competition in the bakery sector, as rivals such as Gails open more London sites.

Ms Lepore said she will prioritise keeping prices low as the bakery cafe chain continues to grow.

Carina Lepore secured 250,000 from Lord Sugar (Dough/PA)

She said: There is definitely space in the market to grow. With veganism, that is one of the big trends, and for us, it is just key that we are always ahead of the curve.

In the past year, rival Greggs grew its portfolio by 97 stores, as it was boosted by the popularity of its vegan sausage rolls.

Lord Sugar said the vegan trend provided a strong business opportunity, even if he will not be changing his own diet soon.

He said: No, Im certainly not going vegan. Im happy with my diet but I dont have a lot of meat.

Im very impressed with the new vegan range, because obviously this vegan stuff is becoming more and more popular as time goes by, especially with young people.

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Unwrapping the Greggs vegan sausage roll – The Mancunion

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Having my card declined whilst attempting to make the modest purchase of another 1 vegan sausage roll was a blaring sign from the universe/Halifax to stop.

To stop and think about my decisions and addictions, financial or otherwise. Perhaps it was also an indication to stop and think about what on earth that sweet gristly fake meat is made of. Upon looking this up, I am more confused than ever as to why on earth fungi fermented in a giant metal vat in Darlington and engineered to taste like a dead pig is so delicious.

Regardless, it is, and we will continue to give Greggs a considerable amount of our money, particularly when its raining.

The unrelenting pace of a Greggs lunchtime queue needs no explanation. If we could carry this rolling forward momentum into all other aspects of life (think the self-checkouts at Lidl/ Ryanair airport security/ womens toilets in clubs), we could be living in a radically different society.

In the midst of this chaos and a flurry of contactless payment, the weak or indecisive can fall behind. I was both that day in a moment of delusional hesitation even considering the vegan steak bake as a viable option.

I had made a foolishly premature exit, a crisp parcel of goodness in hand. Yet the paper hadnt even begun to leave its signature greasy sheen on my hand when the woman from behind the till was forced to run out after me and onto the cruel streets of East Didsbury. At this point, I would like to formally apologise to this woman for making her run out and shout at a literal stranger. It is surprisingly hard to get somebodys attention when you dont know their name and they are in the midst of an oil-induced daze. Fortunately, a dear friend and her Monzo account were at hand to resolve the flaky situation.

But the incident got me thinking. What was it about the vegan sausage roll that keeps us coming back for more? There is the excess of oil and salt of course, which when combined with garlic comes together to form a holy trinity and the basis of all vegan student cooking. The sausage roll provides a quick fix, an instant dopamine hit, buttery and addictive in an age of instant coffee and Instagram, binge drinking and binge-worthy shows.

Of course, theres a valid argument against ever going into Greggs as a vegan, and financially supporting a business that continues to profit directly off of the meat and dairy industry (despite the owner of Greggs himself being vegan). On principle, we should all be aiming to be more mindful consumers. But in reality, every person; vegan or not, will have lazy days.

For the lazy vegan, the sausage roll is the ultimate comfort food. The crumbling pastry that flakes everywhere should be stressful but is in fact endlessly comforting in its familiarity, harking back to a time before veganism was the mainstream and before we acknowledged how dangerously warm the planet was. It hails back to a time of childish innocence when the words pineapple and leather had never sat next to each other in my mind.

The vegan sausage roll is a hug, wrapped in a sleeping bag. Its what we turn to for comfort, the dietary equivalent of calling a friend for advice and simply wanting excessive sympathy, not a practical solution. A good friend would tell us to go to Lidl, buy some butter beans, and meal prep your way through the week like a real and functioning human being. But a better friend would give you a warm hug, an awkward pat on the back, and ask all too-knowingly: Shall we go and get a vegan sausage roll?

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Unwrapping the Greggs vegan sausage roll - The Mancunion

Pro-Vegan Joaquin Phoenix Accused Of Harming The Mental Health Of Farmers – Raise Vegan

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(Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock.com)

by Alix Coe | February 27, 2020

In the wake of his recent viral Oscars acceptance speech, Joaquin Phoenix has been criticised for impacting the mental health of farmers.

President of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Minette Batters claims that Phoenix and other celebrity vegans are causing enormous damage to the wellbeing of those in the livestock industry.

Celebrities have to be carefulthere are real-life consequences for others, said Batters.

Joaquin Phoenix, hes had a really challenging life, and you really feel for him and a lot of the things he was saying, but he has to remember there are people at the end of this, there are small family farms and they get hurt too.

Veganism is something of an easy target at the moment, said a spokesperson for the Vegan Society.

There are many causes of mental health issues and stress in farming and I havent seen evidence, a piece of research, showing that veganism is one of them.

PETA responded to the NFU claims to point out that animals are the ones who are truly suffering.

We cant turn a blind eye to the visible fear and distress shown by animals raised for their flesh, milk and eggs, said Dawn Carr, the director of vegan corporate projects at PETA.

They have no choice, but farmers do: instead of sending sentient animals to slaughter, they can sow oats or soya beans or grow vegetables, grains, nuts or fruits instead, depending on the quality of their land.

In his Oscars acceptance speech, Phoenix spoke of how humans go into the natural world and plunder it for its resources.

We feel entitled toartificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, he said, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakeable.

Then we take her milk thats intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.

Do you think vegans should be held accountable for the emotional wellbeing of farmers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Plant-Based Versus Vegan: Whats The Difference? – Green Queen Media

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With so much buzz around plant-based and vegan diets, thanks to campaigns such as Veganuary, documentaries like The Game Changers and the significant uptick in consumers avoiding meat and dairy products for the planet, its easy to get the two terms mixed up. If youre caught up in the confusion and wondering what the difference is between being vegan and being plant-based, youre probably not alone. But not to worry: below is Green Queens comprehensive yet digestible overview of the actual differences between these two popular terms to set the record straight.

In 1944, the term veganism was officially coined by Donald Watson, a former leader of a branch of the Vegetarian Society, who alongside several colleagues felt the need to distinguish between simply meat-free and those who ditched all products with animal derived ingredients and formed The Vegan Society.

Veganism is therefore different from vegetarianism, whose adherents exclude animal meat and seafood from their diet. In addition to ditching meat products, vegans avoid consuming all animal by-products such as eggs, dairy and honey in their diets, and also advocate to exclude as much as possible all animal-derived or animal cruelty associated products, which include things like consumer goods that have undergone animal testing or leather in fashion.

For many decades, veganism was thought of as a hardcore or radical lifestyle reserved for extremists. Today, were seeing veganism on a serious uptick as scientists reveal the negative health and environmental impact associated with excess consumption of meat and dairy.

Amid the rise in eco consciousness across the world, especially from younger generations, more people are not only choosing a vegan lifestyle because of animal concerns, but because of environmental and health-related worries too. Nowadays, the concept of ditching all meat and animal by-products from diet to fashion and homeware is becoming more popular than ever before.

Plant-based, on the other hand, refer to diets that consist of plant ingredients. The term first appeared in 1980, when Dr T. Colin Campbell at the National Institutes of Health was researching the potential benefits of a vegetable-based diet on cancer and sought a term to encompass this eating pattern without invoking ethical issues. His book The China Study helped to put the term on the map.

While some users of the term understand plant-based as allowing a small percentage of animal products, most users today agree that plant-based diets are free of all animal meat products and by-products. Because plant-based diets are divorced from ethical associations, such as animal welfare considerations, and refer to only ones dietary habits, it does not encompass any exclusion of products in other aspects of ones lifestyle, such as animal-based fashion, beauty or other consumer goods.

Recently, with many celebrities choosing a plant-based diet and the record-smashing movie The Game Changers promoting the physiological and mental benefits of eating plant-based, weve also seen a rise in the term whole-food plant-based, specifically whole food plant-based diets.

This diet, which can be broadly defined as the kind of diet most health practitioners recommend, is one that is centred on whole, unrefined or minimally refined plant ingredients and foods and eschews meat, dairy and other highly processed foods, such as white sugar, hulled grains and hydrogenated oils.

In this case, even some vegan products that are overly processed, such as refined vegan biscuits or some plant-based meat alternatives, would be avoided. Those who adopt a whole-food plant-based diet will therefore be eating primarily fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers, whole grains, nuts and seeds and legumes in their whole form.

Basically, veganism is more than a diet it emcompasses ones lifestyle habits and choices, and is likely motivated by ethical considerations such as animal welfare and environmental concerns.

Vegans therefore not only eliminate all animal meats and by-products, but all other products that may contain animal-derived ingredients or involve any form of animal exploitation and cruelty, for example silk and fur.

By contrast, plant-based is simply a kind of diet that excludes all forms of animal meat and by-products, but does not include restrictions in other aspects of ones lifestyle, and usually promotes choosing whole plant ingredients over overly processed foods.

Therefore, a plant-based meal may by definition be a vegan-friendly meal, but a person who follows a plant-based diet may not necessary be following veganism. Plant-based diet followers may, for instance, wear and use products that have animal derivatives or have undergone some form of animal testing.

At the end of the day, there are serious benefits to be had with both veganism and plant-based (and whole-food) diets, and it all comes down to individual choice and preferences.

Given the wide ranging research that has revealed the plethora of advantages of reducing meat and dairy consumption, from offering a health boost to significantly cutting our carbon and environmental footprint on the planet and promoting a more sustainable global food system, what is clear is that both vegan lifestyles and plant-based diets can drive positive change.

No matter what our individual motivations are, our dying planet needs our help and all the little changes we make to reduce our impact can make a difference to bring about a kinder, healthier and more sustainable world.

Lead image courtesy of Adobe Stock Images.

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Local Herbivores share resources and information about veganism – Argonaut

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One year ago, Kaylee Carr attended herfirst Local Herbivores meeting. At the time she was not vegan or vegetarian. However, after listening to what people in club had to say, she eventually became vegan.

The Local Herbivores (TLH) is a club at the University of Idaho with the goalin mind to promote veganism and spread awareness about it. This month TLH turns two years old.

Two years ago, UI students Danielle Solberg and Josef Foote decided to start a vegan club that would spread awareness about veganism to those who are curious about it, and thats how TLH was started.

According to their website, TLH has grown into a community for vegan and veg-curious individuals. This club is tied to the University of Idaho to focus on events and meetings around the student and faculty community in Moscow.

Carr, a UI second year student studying environmental science, decided to become involved in the club because her friends asked her to come with them to a meeting, and she wanted to try something new.

I never really thought about veganism before that, but then hearing a lot of stuff in the club about the environmental impacts and the ethical concerns (about eating meat), I decided to give it a try, Carr said.

After former TLH president and founder Solberg graduated from UI, she trained Carr to take over for her. The club currently focuses on events and meetings in order to discuss and raise awareness about veganism.

Carr said the club is open to everyone regardless if they are vegan, vegetarian or otherwise. TLH Vice President Nicolas Toryanski agrees that having the club open to everyone is important.

I think its very important to have dialogue with people, Toryanski said. Like friendly conversations with people, and get to know what they believeand communicate with them what I believe and find common ground there and actually find what your beliefs are actually based upon and talk about why you do what you do.

Toryanski, a UI student studying philosophy, said he is an ethical veganand has been for the last two years. An ethical vegan means that someone is veganfor ethical reasons. This means they find it ethically wrong to consume animal products, rather than being vegan for environmental or health reasons.

Carr said this semester the club has many ideas for events, such as an event about veganism and its effects on health, an event raising awareness about spaying and neutering cats and dogs, vigils, tabling and other events.

Carr hopes that students who do fall into that veg-curious category come to their meetings.

Were a really open community and we have a lot of information and resources that we can give students who are really curious, Carr said.

On the TLH website there are resources for those who are just starting out or for those who want to learn more information.

TLH meet every Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Integrated Research and Innovation Center in room 105.

The club is full of friendly people, we always love when people who arent vegan or vegetarian or people who just to even have completely opposing viewpoints to come to our meetingsand talk with us, and we find it veryproductive when people come and listen to what we have to say, and we listen to what they have to say, Toryanski said.

Nicole Hindberg can be reached atarg-life@uidaho.eduor on Twitter @HindbergNicole.

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Local Herbivores share resources and information about veganism - Argonaut

This Is The Real Reason Colleges Are Going Vegan – Forbes

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New Haven, and Jovan Bloise, student ambassador for Sodexo at The University of New Haven. They are part of a trend of college campuses going vegan.

Sodexo

Like a lot of her classmates, Kirsten Gersbeck prefers a plant-based diet. But until recently, the sophomore at the University of New Haven had few vegan options on campus.

For me, I see it as a healthy food option so when its available, I choose to eat it, says Gersbeck, a criminal justice major.

But then Jovan Bloise, a liaison between the students and the universitys food service provider, Sodexo, got involved and helped persuade the college to go vegan.

I was hearing that we didnt have a lot of options for people who follow a vegan diet, he said. Students said they felt like an afterthought and not a main priority.

The University of New Haven is at the vanguard of a national trend. The latest PETA Vegan Report Card, which grades schools on plant-based dining options, found the number of vegan-friendly college campuses is at an all-time high. The number of schools that earned an A or B grade peaked at 709, compared to just 189 when the report card debuted in 2013, according to the organization.

Standouts on PETAs Deans List include MIT, the University of Florida, and the University of Colorado Denver. The animal rights organization lauded those colleges for offering diverse entrees such as vegan ravioli, mac and cheese, and waffles.

The increasing trend in plant-based foods can be seen in restaurants and food markets across the country, says Sara Patton, a clinical dietician at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center. Some of the biggest drivers for this trend include health, environmental and ethical concerns. Plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity.

College students have their own reasons for adopting a vegan diet, from health concerns to recent news about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Sodexo and the University of New Haven, for example, conducted a comprehensive review of their menu before adding more plant-based food choices. But there are challenges and rewards ahead.

New Haven. Colleges are going vegan and the campus is part of a national trend.

Sodexo

Why college students are going vegan

Veganism is on the rise in the general population. The number of American consumers identifying as vegan grew from 1% to 6% between 2014 and 2017, according to GlobalData. Thats a 600% increase. A quarter of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 say they are vegans or vegetarians according to The Economist, which declared 2019 the year of the vegan.

Theres an unprecedented level of awareness around both the ethical and environmental implications of our dietary choices, says Esther Ardagh-Ptolomey, founder of Kindred Traveller, a business specializing in vegan and ethical travel.

Recent documentaries such as Game Changers, have also changed perceptions of the plant-based diet, particularly among college students.

Theyve challenged the stereotype of vegans as hemp wearing, tree-hugging hippies, instead representing the wide demographic veganism encompasses, she adds.

campus is one of hundreds in the United States that are going vegan.

Sodexo

How Sodexo helped one college go vegan

Bloise approached Sodexo about redoing its menu. It already offered vegan lunch options for one of its cafeteria stations. The choices, which rotate daily, rotate daily, range from Indian-style curries and Asian stir-frys to Mexican and Caribbean style dishes. Students could choose from a selection of plant-based meat alternatives, including seitan crumbles, tofu, beans, and legumes.

But going vegan at the university meant a full rethink of the menus. It started with breakfast, where Bloise asked Sodexo to offer omelettes made with an egg substitute.

We also added vegan bacon and sausages so vegans could have a hot, old fashioned breakfast, he says.

Sodexo also added vegan mayo and vegan cheeses to its lunch lineup, allowing students to make fully vegan sandwiches. Vegan cookie dough found its way on the dessert menu. And, of course, there were vegan chicken nuggets.

The vegans were really pleased with our changes, says Bloise, who became a vegan himself during the project . They thanked us for going above and beyond to make sure they felt heard and attended to like everyone else.

Gersbeck noticed the changes immediately. The vegan chicken nuggets were a standout.

They are definitely a fan favorite. Even people who arent vegan like them, she said.

colleges are going vegan in response to demand by students.

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Students see a positive impact of a plant-based diet

Gersbeck is in good company. Bree Sheree became a vegan two years ago while she was a college student. Shed been inspired by documentaries like What the Health and Forks Over Knives, and she saw veganism as a way to improve her health. But at college, the only options for her were the salad bar an easy but boring choice with little protein.

I ended up feeling better and was able to drop 10 pounds in 3 months, she recalls. It was difficult to adjust to new foods at first, but over time my taste buds adjusted and I cant see myself ever going back to eating animal products.

Sheree also started a food blog called Brees Vegan Life, which publishes plant-based recipes.

I now see the positive impact being vegan can make on the environment, and I also consider the lives of animals. I realized that I can eat everything I want and need without causing harm to any sentient beings, she adds.

Its not as easy as it looks

At some schools, keeping a strict plant-based diet can be difficult, if not impossible. Many colleges still have traditional animal-based food offerings. And high schools are practically vegan food deserts.

At least thats the impression of Laurice Wardini, a 21-year-old writer who has been a vegan for the last three years. Shed wanted to become a vegan at 16, but found it difficult because she was surrounded by omnivores.

Her college offered few choices, she adds.

There werent many options at all, she says. It was even worse when I had tried to go vegan in high school. I absolutely think there needs to be more vegetarian and vegan options in schools.

going vegan good for customer service?

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Vegan food is good customer service and more

It turns out that adding more plant-based meals makes sense at least from a customer service perspective. A recent Nielsen study found that 39% of Americans are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods. But theyre not going for traditional plant-based options like tofu or rice. Innovation is booming in the plant-based food space, with an array of alternatives. (Did you catch the vegan pork announcement at CES this week?)

And you cant just cart in a tray of brown rice. It has to be carefully planned and implemented. A lot like what happened at the University of New Haven.

Bloise, the culinary liaison, says he didnt realize the significance of creating more vegan food choices until the University of New Haven recognized his efforts. But the best part about his college going vegan was the reaction from students, he says.

They would stop me in the halls to thank me, he says. They said Id showed them things that they never knew about being vegan.

Serving your customers plant-based foods may have other benefits beyond happier customers. If a vegan diet improves their health, then theyll be there for you in the future. And for companies and colleges that could leave a lasting legacy.

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12 surprising things that aren’t vegan – Inhabitat

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Its hard to stick to a vegan lifestyle. It can be easy to be foiled by ingredients that just slip right by you, and these arent just in food. A surprising number of non-food items also contain animal-derived ingredients. Whats a wannabe vegan to do? Remember that drastically cutting down on animal consumption is good for the planet, even if you fall short of 100 percent. If you want to be as close to completely vegan as possible, heres a list of some surprising foods and other items that arent necessarily vegan.

The sugar industry uses bone char from slaughtered cattle to remove the color from sugar so it becomes a lovely, bright white. What about using brown sugar? Unfortunately, thats made of white sugar with molasses added to it. If you want to avoid bone char-processed sugar, buy organic, unrefined, beet or coconut sugar. You can also consult PETAs list of manufacturers that forego the bones.

Many condom manufacturers use the milk derivative casein for a smooth feel. If you can do without that texture, check out vegan-friendly brands.

Would you like some tendons with your fresh breath? Yep, those ubiquitous mints contain gelatin. Time for a Tic Tac instead, or opt for the Altoids labeled sugar-free smalls, which do not contain gelatin.

Related: 10 vegan myths, debunked

Charcoal can be made from plant or animal origins. But many of the black dyes used in tattooing are made with charcoal derived from animal bones. Other non-vegan ingredients in tattoo ink are glycerin (from animal fat), gelatin and shellac (made from crushed beetles). If vegan ink is important to you, consult this international list of vegan-friendly tattoo artists.

Now, its time for something really gross. Some companies use isinglass, or fish bladders, to clarify their apple juice.

Animal tendons and sinews find their way into a lot of food and non-food products. The outer layers of paintball capsules are usually made of gelatin.

Dryer sheets are designed to fight static electricity and make clothes soft and lint-resistant. But what keeps the sheets from drying out? In some cases, animal fat. Urban Vegan assembled a list of vegan alternatives, if you happen to use dryer sheets. Alternatively, you can also reduce your waste by opting to use wool dryer balls.

Artists and anybody who uses makeup might wonder, where did the hairs in my brush come from? They might be synthetic, or they might be from some poor pig, squirrel, sable or Siberian weasel. Artists, consult this list of cruelty-free brushes, and heres a list of vegan makeup brushes.

Related: The pros and cons of going vegan

In other art supply news, crayons contain stearic acid. This ingredient occurs naturally in plants and animals. But its often animal-derived, a slaughterhouse byproduct. Crayons are one of many products that contain stearic acid, including soaps, cosmetics, candles, lubricants, chewing gum and hairspray. If you prefer your crayons vegan, check out these triangular ones made by Melissa and Doug.

Newer vegans might not have realized this yet, but traditional Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. Instead, make your own or buy this vegan, organic Worcestershire sauce from trusted brand, Annies.

If youre vegan, you probably already know that many regular cheeses arent even vegetarian, because they contain rennet, enzymes produced in bovine stomachs that help cheese curdle. But did you know many soy cheeses arent vegan? They often contain casein, which seems really weird, because why would you even want soy cheese if you werent vegan?

Vegans who live in or are visiting Britain arent thrilled to handle the 5 notes, which contain tallow, an animal fat derivative. It is used to make the bills anti-static and less slippery. British vegans and vegetarians have been protesting since the new notes were introduced in 2016. This month, a British employment judge ruled that the Equality Act should also apply to people who sincerely believe in ethical veganism. How an indirect discrimination case will affect the bank notes is still to be seen.

Could be beef tallow, could be chicken fat most plastic bags use some type of animal fat as slip agents to prevent bags from sticking together. One more good reason for banning plastic bags!

Images via Shutterstock

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12 surprising things that aren't vegan - Inhabitat

What Meat Eaters Have to Say About Veganism (You May Be Surprised!) – The National Interest

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Most people in the UK are committed meat eaters but for how long? My new research into the views of meat eaters found that most respondents viewed veganism as ethical in principle and good for the environment.

It seems that practical matters of taste, price, and convenience are the main barriers preventing more people from adopting veganism not disagreement with the fundamental idea. This could have major implications for the future of the food industry as meat alternatives become tastier, cheaper and more widely available.

My survey of 1,000 UK adult men and women found that 73% of those surveyed considered veganism to be ethical, while 70% said it was good for the environment. But 61% said adopting a vegan diet was not enjoyable, 77% said it was inconvenient, and 83% said it was not easy.

Other possible barriers such as health concerns and social stigma seemed not to be as important, with 60% considering veganism to be socially acceptable, and over half saying it was healthy.

The idea that most meat eaters agree with the principles of veganism might seem surprising to some. But other research has led to similar conclusions. One study for example, found that almost half of Americans supported a ban on slaughterhouses.

The prevalence of taste, price, and convenience as barriers to change also mirrors previous findings. One British survey found that the most common reason by far people gave for not being vegetarian is simply: I like the taste of meat too much. The second and third most common reasons related to the high cost of meat substitutes and struggling for meal ideas.

These findings present climate and animal advocates with an interesting challenge. People are largely aware that there are good reasons to cut down their animal product consumption, but they are mostly not willing to bear the personal cost of doing so.

Food motivation

Decades of food behaviour research has shown us that price, taste and convenience are the three major factors driving food choices. For most people, ethics and environmental impact simply do not enter into it.

Experimental research has also shown that the act of eating meat can alter peoples views of the morality of eating animals. One study asked participants to rate their moral concern for cows. Before answering, participants were given either nuts or beef jerky to snack on.

The researchers found that eating beef jerky actually caused participants to care less about cows. People seem not to be choosing to eat meat because they think there are good reasons to do so they are choosing to think there are good reasons because they eat meat.

In this way, the default widespread (and, lets be honest, enjoyable) behaviour of meat eating can be a barrier to clear reasoning about our food systems. How can we be expected to discuss this honestly when we have such a strong interest in reaching the conclusion that eating meat is okay?

Fortunately, things are changing. The range, quality, and affordability of vegan options has exploded. My survey was conducted in September 2018, a few months before the tremendously successful release of Greggs vegan sausage roll.

Since then, we have seen an avalanche of high-quality affordable vegan options released in the British supermarkets, restaurants and even fast food outlets. These allow meat eaters to easily replace animal products one meal at a time. When Subway offers a version of its meatball marinara that is compatible with your views on ethics and the environment, why would you choose the one made from an animal if the alternative tastes the same?

The widespread availability of these options means that the growing number of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians in the UK have more choice than ever. Not only will this entice more people to try vegan options, but it will make it far easier for aspiring vegetarians and vegans to stick to their diets.

With consumer choice comes producer competition, and here we will see the magic of the market. If you think those looking to cut down their meat consumption are spoilt for choice in 2020, just wait to see the effect of these food giants racing to make their vegan offerings better and cheaper as they compete for a rapidly growing customer segment.

We may be about to witness an explosion in research to perfect plant-based meat analogues. Meanwhile, the development of real animal meat grown from stem cells without the animals is gaining pace.

Cheaper and tastier

While these replacements get tastier, more nutritious and cheaper over the next ten years, meat from animals will largely stay the same. It is no wonder the animal farming industry is nervous. Demand for meat and dairy is falling drastically while the market for alternatives has skyrocketed.

In the US, two major dairy producers have filed for bankruptcy in recent months, while a recent report estimated that the meat and dairy industries will collapse in the next decade.

This leaves the average meat eater with a dilemma. Most agree with the reasons for being vegan but object to the price, taste, and convenience of the alternatives.

As these alternatives get cheaper, better and more widespread, meat eaters will have to ask themselves just how good the alternatives need to be before they decide to consume in line with their values. Being one of the last people to pay for needless animal slaughter because the alternative was only pretty good will not be a good look in the near future.

Chris Bryant, PhD Candidate, University of Bath

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Image: Reuters.

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What Meat Eaters Have to Say About Veganism (You May Be Surprised!) - The National Interest

Vegans have won this court case but they’re losing hearts and minds – The Independent

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When on Friday a court ruled that ethical veganism was akin to a religion and should be protected by law, many vegans celebrated. Yet we should be cautious about doing so.

Jordi Casamitjanas case against his employer was that he was discriminated against on the basis of his veganism he did not want his pension invested in companies linked to animal experiments.

Its been years since I ate, wore, or used animal products, so I guess that makes me an ethical vegan, too though who came up with the definition isnt clear. To me, being a dietary vegan is pretty ethical already.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

But resorting to the law to enforce ones rights is hardly the best way to promote support for ones views.

The perception of vegans as shouty turns many people off veganism; nobody likes to think something is being foisted on them, or that theyre being judged. Indeed, many people react badly to it.

The pop singer is a passionate animal rights advocate, telling Vanity Fair in 2019 that her diet also reflects her fashion choices: "Im challenging the system more than ever. Choosing to live as a sustainable vegan activist means wearing more vintage (less waste; loving pieces for longer), playing with the newest eco-materials and technology, and making custom vegan pieces with some of my favorite designers."

Getty

The Clueless star went vegan shortly after wrapping the hit 1990s film and has been a passionate campaigner for animal rights since. Speaking in a video for Compassionate Meals in 2017, she said: "Knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, theres no way to go back from that for me."

Getty

The music mogul revealed in a recent interview with The Sun that he decided to give up animal products earlier this year "on a whim", adding that he feels much better as a result.

Getty

"I started for health reasons," Williams told Health in 2019. "I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and I wanted to maintain my performance on the court. Once I started I fell in love with the concept of fueling your body in the best way possible. Not only does it help me on the court, but I feel like Im doing the right thing for me."

Getty

The American-Israeli actor decided to go vegan eight years ago after learning more about the environmental consequences of eating animal products. Speaking at an Environmental Media Awards benefit, 2017, she said: "Factory farming is responsible for most of the air, water, and land pollution - that disproportionately affects our poor communities as well. So we get to make decisions three times a day, what we do with our planet, and you can make a difference by even once a day or once a week choosing not to eat animals or animal products."

AFP/Getty

While she chooses to refer to herself as plant-based as opposed to vegan, the 'Halo' singer underwent a 22-day vegan challenge with husband Jay-Z in 2013 and is believed to have maintained the diet ever since. Writing in the foreword of The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World by Marco Borges, the couple say: "We used to think of health as a diet some worked for us, some didnt. Once we looked at health as the truth, instead of a diet, it became a mission for us to share that truth and lifestyle with as many people as possible."

Getty/Coachella

The British boxer extolled the virtues of veganism in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasnt then the food the animals been fed has been. Thats tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever."

Getty

The 'Dangerous Woman' singer announced she was going vegan in November 2018. Speaking to The Daily Mirror in a recent interview, she explained: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasnt then the food the animals been fed has been. Thats tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever."

AFP/Getty

The British singer has been toying with veganism for a while, having been a vegetarian for seven years. Speaking to The Cut in 2018, she revealed that she will "never eat fish or meat again" and eats a predominantly vegan diet.

Getty

The former heavyweight boxing champion revealed he had become vegan in 2010. "I wish I was born this way," he told Fox News in 2011. "When you find out about the processed stuff you have been eating. I wonder why I was crazy all those years."

Getty

The Zero Dark Thirty star decided to go vegan roughly 13 years ago because of low energy. Speaking to W Magazine in 2017, she clarified: "being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me."

Getty

Mara has been vegan for eight years, telling Harper's Bazaar in 2018 "its better for your health and the environment.

Getty

Reality star Kim Kardashian West revealed that she has started eating a plant-based diet on Instagram in April 2019. Sharing two photographs of vegan dishes on her Instagram story, the 38-year-old wrote: I am eating all plant-based when I am at home.

Getty

The pop singer is a passionate animal rights advocate, telling Vanity Fair in 2019 that her diet also reflects her fashion choices: "Im challenging the system more than ever. Choosing to live as a sustainable vegan activist means wearing more vintage (less waste; loving pieces for longer), playing with the newest eco-materials and technology, and making custom vegan pieces with some of my favorite designers."

Getty

The Clueless star went vegan shortly after wrapping the hit 1990s film and has been a passionate campaigner for animal rights since. Speaking in a video for Compassionate Meals in 2017, she said: "Knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, theres no way to go back from that for me."

Getty

The music mogul revealed in a recent interview with The Sun that he decided to give up animal products earlier this year "on a whim", adding that he feels much better as a result.

Getty

"I started for health reasons," Williams told Health in 2019. "I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and I wanted to maintain my performance on the court. Once I started I fell in love with the concept of fueling your body in the best way possible. Not only does it help me on the court, but I feel like Im doing the right thing for me."

Getty

The American-Israeli actor decided to go vegan eight years ago after learning more about the environmental consequences of eating animal products. Speaking at an Environmental Media Awards benefit, 2017, she said: "Factory farming is responsible for most of the air, water, and land pollution - that disproportionately affects our poor communities as well. So we get to make decisions three times a day, what we do with our planet, and you can make a difference by even once a day or once a week choosing not to eat animals or animal products."

AFP/Getty

While she chooses to refer to herself as plant-based as opposed to vegan, the 'Halo' singer underwent a 22-day vegan challenge with husband Jay-Z in 2013 and is believed to have maintained the diet ever since. Writing in the foreword of The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World by Marco Borges, the couple say: "We used to think of health as a diet some worked for us, some didnt. Once we looked at health as the truth, instead of a diet, it became a mission for us to share that truth and lifestyle with as many people as possible."

Getty/Coachella

The British boxer extolled the virtues of veganism in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasnt then the food the animals been fed has been. Thats tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever."

Getty

The 'Dangerous Woman' singer announced she was going vegan in November 2018. Speaking to The Daily Mirror in a recent interview, she explained: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasnt then the food the animals been fed has been. Thats tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever."

AFP/Getty

The British singer has been toying with veganism for a while, having been a vegetarian for seven years. Speaking to The Cut in 2018, she revealed that she will "never eat fish or meat again" and eats a predominantly vegan diet.

Getty

The former heavyweight boxing champion revealed he had become vegan in 2010. "I wish I was born this way," he told Fox News in 2011. "When you find out about the processed stuff you have been eating. I wonder why I was crazy all those years."

Getty

The Zero Dark Thirty star decided to go vegan roughly 13 years ago because of low energy. Speaking to W Magazine in 2017, she clarified: "being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me."

Getty

Mara has been vegan for eight years, telling Harper's Bazaar in 2018 "its better for your health and the environment.

Getty

Reality star Kim Kardashian West revealed that she has started eating a plant-based diet on Instagram in April 2019. Sharing two photographs of vegan dishes on her Instagram story, the 38-year-old wrote: I am eating all plant-based when I am at home.

Getty

You dont get people to empathise with you or like you by force, and you dont get people to tolerate your views or win them over by insisting on your rights. Who ever started liking someone because they had a gun held to their head?

Indeed, insisting punctiliously on your rights is a surefire way of getting people to dislike you. Whether in the workplace or on an international level, it causes friction. You may get your way superficially, but it sets up the type of opposition that leads to psychological, cultural and geopolitical tensions.

Even the -ism after the word vegan is a suffix some of us baulk at using suggesting, as is it does, a certain religiosity.

Mr Casamitjanas case also risks encouraging the creep of a wearisome culture of insisting on rights. Sure, human rights and religious faiths must be respected; but the idea has started to filter down through society to petty levels, such as restaurant customers demanding discounts because the menu doesnt exactly match that displayed on the website, or pool-goers complaining because of a closure on one day of the school holidays. First-world problems where a sense of perspective is required.

Greggs launches vegan steak bake

Using the law to enforce vegans rights is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut a kind of needless passive aggression.

Far better for vegans to demonstrate that we are just like everyone else; that we dont get up at 5am to knit our own hemp, pray to Buddha, perfect our yoga or devise other new ways to single ourselves out.

More effective is to get on with being vegan, showing by quiet long-term example that we are normal, too.

A lot of people who avoid consuming meat, dairy and eggs instinctively know this, which is why the tribunal result received a mixed reaction.

Showing that you dont have to undergo any kind of spiritual conversion, be indoctrinated into anything, sign any documents, have any special qualities or turn your lifestyle upside down to stop being cruel to animals is more likely to be a far more constructive and effective influence in the long run than insisting on our rights.

This tribunal victory has done little to encourage people to give up meat and animal-derived and -tested products. Its a pity the case was ever brought.

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Vegans have won this court case but they're losing hearts and minds - The Independent

10 Vegan Celebrities On Why They Love The Lifestyle – elle.com

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Jessica Chastain

The Help star has been a vegan since 2007 and regularly uses her platform to speak openly about her lifestyle choice.

In an interview with W Magazine in 2017, the actress said she was initially a pescatarian but decided to become a vegan because she was really low on energy.

I found myself going to veganism because a friend of mine had a two-week vegan food delivery program she wasnt going to use so I used it, and immediately I just had more energy than Ive ever had in my life she told the publication. I said okay, Im going to just listen to my body now. Being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me.

A year later, she told the same publication that she was concerned her veganism would make others annoyed, especially her in-laws.

In the beginning, I would say I'm vegan, she explained. Which is like the worst thing. I don't eat 10 meals and I'm vegan. I would say, 'I'm sorry I can't eat that,' and [my mother-in-law] would say, No problem, we have fish.

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10 Vegan Celebrities On Why They Love The Lifestyle - elle.com

An honest conversation on veganism with Heather Mills – New Food

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In light of her upcoming contributions to Food Integrity 2020, Heather Mills, Owner of VBites Group, discusses all things vegan with New Foods Sam Mehmet.

After losing my leg in 1993, I was told I had to go vegan, Heather Mills, Founder and Owner of vegan brand, VBites, revealed.At the time, veganism was virtually unheard of, most people could not even comprehend the concept or its reasonings, Mills toldNew Food.

The advice to go vegan was given to Mills as a way to help heal the infection in her leg created by a road traffic amputation. Theres always an extreme reason for going vegan; its usually for health, animals or the planet. For me, it was health initially, she said. Back then I didnt know anything about animal cruelty or the environmental problems, I just thought, well, Ill try anything to improve my health. My diet started to include things like raw wheatgrass, ingredients that were entirely new to my palette, and within two weeks, my leg had healed.

After deciding to remain a vegan, Mills described becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of choice available on the market. She decided to take things into her own hands, going onto study food science and eventually replicating meat products such as burgers and hotdogs using plant-based ingredients.

Mills had 130 recipes by the end and started to approach large-scale companies around the world in an attempt to demonstrate that she could replicate their products without even thinking about animals.

Now its proving to be big business, the big players all want to step in and take a piece of the vegan pie

In early 2000, she toldNew Foodthat she almost came to an agreement with McDonalds but was informed the move to plant-based was too early. It was this that inspired her to open her own cafes, start producing products herself and invest in a factory.

I began producing vegan fish steaks, vegan duck, chorizo, different cheeses and so on. I knew that the meat and dairy industry would be against my developments because of the misinformation about meat and dairy alternatives, but I continued my journey, she said. I started exploring microprotein isolates from algae, mushroom protein isolates, oat protein isolates and so on.

I decided I had to go big or go home; I knew that the conglomerates would finally wake up to the plant-based movement. I was also sure that they would not invest quickly enough to have plant-based only facilities.

Mills went on to purchase a number of factories from the likes of Walkers/Pepsi-Cola and Coty. Today she has four different factories, one of which is an allergen-free environment to ensure no cross-contamination.

Theres always an extreme reason for going vegan; its usually for health, animals or the planet. For me, it was health initially.

Our facilities have always been 100 percent plant-based, but unfortunately not everyone that goes into vegan manufacturing actually cares about being vegan for the right reasons. Theyre just looking at it as profit, Mills contended.

In my opinion, the only reason for the plant-based boom is money.Now its proving to be big business, the big players all want to step in and take a piece of the vegan pie. Some of them have left it a bit late, and we have had to help out.

Although industry is witnessing a plant-based market boom, Mills said the vegan uptake is still not high enough. She vented her frustration over those who say I cant go vegan because it is now easy due to the now diverse range of great products available, such as the likes of VBites.

Mills also voiced her pride over VBites focus on attaining local procurement. We want to make each country sufficient on the plants that they have within their own countries, she said, and for those without plants, we have developed algae that we can make into supplements and then the biomass into products. The protein isolate will become the future of all plant-based product because you dont need to procure internationally. You can grow it anywhere, in any country.

Every two and a half tonnes of algae grown depletes CO2 by one and a half tonnes, Mills explained, and it is said to use just a tiny quantity of water, which is also recycled.

If everyone ate algae, it would take three years for world starvation to be eliminated, she continued. The answers are there, its just the greed of the big corporations that dont want to give simple solutions that is causing delay. They want to control the market.

She continued, We have been duped for so long with milk, being told its good for us and full of calcium, but we havent been told its full of antibiotics. We havent been told it depletes more calcium from our bones than we actually have, which is why countries that do not drink milk do not have the same osteoporosis and brittle bone problems we have in the UK.

If everyone ate algae, it would take three years for world starvation to be eliminate.

To normalise veganism, Mills states that stakeholders at every level must collaborate. It is about education and sharing knowledge and experience. The people that annoy me the most are the hierarchy vegans, who basically were not vegan but suddenly discovered veganism as a trend and are now judgemental and critical to the people that havent yet educated themselves, for one reason or another. Life is not just about being vegan, unfortunately.

We can educate people by holding their hand, and not slapping them in the face for doing the wrong thing.

If people are actively researching how to move to plant-based alternatives in a way that is best suited to them to stick to it as an individual, any changes are better than none and are making a huge difference to the animals, the environment, and to everything else. While consumers can educate themselves and their peers, Mills explained that the entire industry supply chain also has a responsibility to ensure that every step of a food products journey is completed in a way that is as optimal to the environment as possible. Its got to start from the origin supply chain into manufacturing, and then into the supermarket, she said. The supermarkets squeeze the farmers and the manufacturers so much that they are the only one stopping everything from being plastic free. All the technology is there, all the machinery is there; the consumer can still get food for a good price and the ethical ones are willing to pay a few pennies more. But right now, the pressure is all on farmers, manufacturers and consumers. The supermarkets are the ones making the humongous margins, while they shout out we plan to go plastic free by 2030, she contended.

Supermarkets squeeze the farmers and the manufacturers so much that they are the only one stopping everything from being plastic free

I have seen so many companies go under recently because of statements like that and then others that are new and excited to be working with a big supermarket then that supermarket dumps them. I have saved about five families through some horrific treatment of certain stores, where they had been supplying supermarkets for 10 years and then they just de-listed them with two weeks notice.

Mills believes veganism to have a prosperous future ahead and predicts ingredient innovation goes hand-in-hand with this increased uptake.

It will move in this order: soy first, pea protein second, and then coconut..It will then move forward with more advanced technology into mushroom based products, then oat-based and finally algae.

Mills was optimistic of algaes future, envisaging it to be the next big thing. Its literally the most ethical, sustainable and incredible product that we can use to make meat, fish and dairy alternatives. I am positive we are going to see much more of algae and very soon.

Heather Mills is the Founder of the plant based ethical Vegan food company VBites. She has encountered an unusual life of extraordinary circumstances. In 1993 Heather suffered the loss of her left leg below the knee due to an accident. To save her amputated leg from constant infection she went on a plant-based diet and subsequently created the pioneering international plant based ethical Vegan food company, VBites, which now exports to 24 countries, offers 130 plant-based products and has won 80 awards.

Heather will be speaking on day two (19 March) of Food Integrity about ethics and sustainability. To find out more about Heathers contributions, and to view the full agenda for the event, click here.

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An honest conversation on veganism with Heather Mills - New Food

How is the Vegan Movement Progressing in Cuba? – Havana Times

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There are several vegan communities today, which are building their lifestyle around the conditions that their environment allows for, especially in Havana.

By IPS-Cuba

HAVANA TIMES Being vegan might seem like an unlikely trend in Cuba, a country that is marked by its unhealthy diet and limited food variety and supply at markets, which makes it very hard to adopt this practice and life philosophy, and is experiencing a boom right now in many countries.

However, different projects, places and people are promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in harmony with the environment, as they believe that this can only be done by becoming vegan and their commitment to not eating any animal-derived food or product.

Vegan since birth

Artist Yudelkis Lafuente and athlete Fernando Cardenas are a couple who have been running their project YLA&XB on Facebook, where they speak about Afro-Veganism and other matters.

These young people say that their experience as vegans in Cuba has been positive in many regards, because they have had the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences with others, and to be a positive influence on some people who are open to taking up this healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

Society doesnt make it easy for people to live this lifestyle, Lafuente explains, and warns that there is a lot of misinformation in Cuba about the subject. Plus, you have to deal with shortages of some key foods in this diet, such as seeds, nuts and whole grains, she goes on to say.

However, once you understand the importance of being vegan, and you commit yourself to this lifestyle, you realize that it can be done with a little bit of organization, discipline and know-how, she says.

She believes there were many different factors that led them to make this decision, and to also include their young children in switching up their lifestyle. Fernando was a vegetarian from before they met, and Yudelkis was also leaning towards this, but she was still eating animal products.

In 2016, they watched a documentary called Cowspiracy: The sustainability secret (2015), about the negative impact of the meat industry on the environment. So, they decided to go vegan for a month.

After learning about all of the cruelty and suffering that goes into a plate of food, or anything that is from an animal product; after learning that many diseases are caused by acidity and high levels of saturated fat in the body, veganism was the only path forward for us, Lafuente says.

Talking about strategies, she says that they try to make pretty much all of the products they use: from non-dairy milk to antiperspirant. So, they avoid buying in stores and can invest more in fresh fruit and vegetables, because these alternatives are eco-friendlier and more affordable.

They also exchange foods they buy via the rations booklet: eggs for beans, milk for soy yoghurt Furthermore, if they have the chance to travel, they buy nuts, seeds and quinoa, although Yudelkis says that they are able to buy many essential ingredients such as cucumber, avocado, ginger, sweet potato, tumeric, melon, coconut, to name a few.

She believes that this is all worth the while because of the changes that she has been able to see: there have been many physical, mental and spiritual benefits. They have more energy now, are in better physical shape and their bodies fight off common colds and the flu, much faster.

In the case of their children, she explains that the eldest was only a few months old when they turned vegan, and the youngest one has been vegan since birth.

The two are growing really well and the most important thing is that we have had the chance to instill really healthy eating habits, and to teach them how important it is to respect Nature and other living beings on this planet, from a very young age, she says.

Incredible wellbeing in Regla

Amberly Alene is the founder of Regla Soul, alongside activist and rapper Alexey Rodriguez. Regla Soul is an initiative that promotes comprehensive health and wellbeing for Afro-descendants.

Activities include working with vegan groups and running campaigns that promote natural health. They also focus on self-care, self-esteem, herbalists (the use of plant medicines), gardening and other plant-based diets that try to improve our health, from a very natural viewpoint.

Furthermore, they run a music get-together, once a month, for therapy in the community and different Afro-vegan cooking, reiki and meditation workshops, appointments to fight disease using medicinal plants and events with health and wellbeing experts. All of this is free in this Havana municipality.

Regla Soul was founded two years ago, in February 2018, as a result of the need to get a hold of resources and information about wellbeing and plant-based meals.

Both founders have traveled extensively in the African diaspora with their art and activism-, verifying the lack of resources in education for the wellbeing and health of families, and black and mixed-race communities, including Cuba.

The project kicked off as a series of workshops at an organic farm run by Armando Rojas in Casablanca, which is also in Regla. There, people were taught how to identify plants, herbal teas, reiki and eco-friendly practices. They later expanded to the Regla Dam, when the Casablanca farm closed in 2019.

Every month, they run workshops for the community, including a monthly hip-hop concert for wellbeing, an Afro-vegan cooking workshop, as well as ones about meditation, energy healing, art therapy, sexual wellbeing and many others.

We seek to provide assistance and resources to members from our community, with basic access to the means for them to improve their self-care, mental health, diet and their general wellbeing, Alene says.

Using our international initiatives of retreats and collaborative projects, we are encouraging Afro-descendants both on and off the island of Cuba, to help us to create a sustainable and much-needed infrastructure for a much better understanding of what wellbeing means for black people living in the Regla municipality. she explains.

With this mission in sight, they have linked up with different organizations both on and off the island, such as University of Floridas Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Howard University, Witness for Peace, Proyecto Akokan, Comuna Travel and Cuba Educational Travel.

We have two big dreams for Regla Soul: to create a community garden in Regla to grow foods and to run workshops about gardening so that residents in the community can learn how to grow food at home; and to create a local store where we can find natural products and treatments for an affordable price.

A rendez-vou with Cubavegana

CubaVegana hopes to become a place where people can find and exchange information about these food issues and alternative lifestyle. Its intention is to sign up more people who discover a new way of eating and attitude in this lifestyle, so they can build a better future for society, in harmony with Nature.

This is what Orlando Niz says. He became a vegan because of some digestion problems he suffered a couple of years ago. This young person was a little overweight, even though he had always been active and exercising. Thats when he decided to try out being a vegetarian, and he stopped eating meat for a while.

The young man from the Bejucal municipality, in the Mayabeque province, explains that the experience motivated him to carry on this work. The first meal without meat and the ones that came after, were really delicious and beneficial. So, he started to look up information, on his own, and he stumbled across a book that confirmed his decision and changed his lifestyle: The anti-diet (1985), he recalls.

Orlando believes that it could be really easy and affordable to become a vegan in Cuba because of its climate and fertile soil. We should have an abundance of quality fruit, vegetables, root vegetables and seeds. However, this isnt the case. It isnt the worst either, he explains.

According to him, this happens for different reasons, including limited variety in food culture because of shortages and misinformation. Add farmers lack of motivation into the mix, who dont have the resources they need and lack incentives.

As food production and transport is such a problem, Niz believes that farmers only choose commercial crops to grow, that are lucrative and rarely drop in demand. As a result, the Cuban people have gotten used to eating the same meals, flavors and combinations. Good eating habits are mostly cultivated in restaurants, and not everyone can go, he says.

In his experience, non-processed seeds and whole grains are the hardest things to find in the vegan diet. Brown rice, whole-wheat flour, almonds, quinoa, chia and cashews, to name a few.

Orlando believes that the greatest benefit of being a vegan is its quality of life.

There is nothing better than being in good health and full of energy. I also like to eat as much as I like, without having to give up a variety of flavors and textures that you get with plants. As a being on this Earth, the best thing is knowing that I am one more person who wants a clean planet, in harmony with Nature, he summarizes.

Restaurants

Several businesses and restaurants have also joined the vegan movement, offering an alternative to traditional Creole cuisine for tourists who follow this diet, as well as locals.

El Shamuskiao restaurant is one of these places. Located in Old Havana, it offers vegetarian and vegan options, depending on what customers choose.

Amanda Pablo, the owners daughter, tells us that the restaurant was born three years ago, with the mission of providing a different cuisine to what is typically consumed in Cuba. She says that vegan customers have been blown away by the flavor, because these meals can usually be quite tasteless, but even non-vegans and non-vegetarians eat them at our restaurant!

Until now, the young woman who has also worked as a waitress and at the bar says that favorites are the vegan burger, hummus, croquettes and juices, which can be anything, from a combination of pineapple, ginger and basil, to beetroot with lemon.

The hardest thing is trying to get a hold of some products, because even vegetables are hard to find sometimes. But you always find a way to get around it. Plus, these challenges help us to create new variations of our dishes, and we innovate the menu, Pablo says.

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How is the Vegan Movement Progressing in Cuba? - Havana Times

Three ways to survive as a vegan at UMass – Amherst Wire

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Being a vegan college student is easier than you think.

AMHERST Being a vegan or a vegetarian is often thought of as too difficult a lifestyle to live out in college. Dining halls typically cater to people who eat animal products, buying groceries can get expensive, and going out to eat with friends can get tricky if you dont know what youre doing.

Luckily, this is the University of Massachusetts Amherst, land of number one dining, and there are plenty of ways to keep to a low budget while buying groceries, not to mention, Amherst has a ton of vegan friendly places to eat.

1. Dining Halls

Ive been a vegan for four years now, and Ive only gotten better at it with time. Truthfully, at first I had no idea what I was doing, but by the time I had read a few articles and a book or two, the whole lifestyle had fallen into place. Although I didnt choose UMass because of its famous dining halls, its been convenient for me nonetheless because they do a great job labeling their food and having vegan options.

Personally, I think Franklin Dining Commons has the best vegan section on campus out of all the other dining halls. Almost every time I go to Frank, their vegetarian/vegan line is all vegan whereas at the other dining halls you have to double check and make sure what youre getting is what you want. Typically Ive found that their options are more appealing too, rather than steamed vegetables or salads most days.

But if were talking pizza, Worcester Dining Commons is the place to go. Hands down, they have the best vegan pizza Ive ever had, and its even better when they put all those veggies on it!

At Blue Wall there are several different meals you can get as a vegan, but the tofu pho from Star Ginger is definitely my favorite. I love their vegetarian broth, which is actually vegan, because its salty and adds a lot of flavor to the meal. Coming in at number two would be the pre-packaged meals at Harvest. Whether its the dumplings, pesto risotto or one of the pastas like the pad thai, these little meals are easy to grab on the go, fill you up and taste amazing!

2. Grocery Shopping

I live in the North Apartments on campus and am lucky enough to have a decent size kitchen that I love to use. However, one of the arguments I hear against veganism in college is that buying vegan food is expensive. Im here to say, thats not really true.

Yes, buying vegan food can get expensive if youre buying Beyond Burgers or sausages everytime you go grocery shopping. It can even get expensive if youre buying any of the bigger brand names, like JUST Egg or Daiya. Even though I really like the Beyond Burger, JUST Egg, and Daiyas vegan cheeses, I dont buy them everytime I go food shopping because I see them as more of a treat yourself kind of thing. Plus, theyre not all that healthy.

I typically buy produce from Trader Joes. If you havent been enlightened to the establishment that is Trader Joes, youre missing out. I think that Trader Joes is the best place to get groceries in the Amherst area because its way more affordable than any other grocery store Ive been to. Plus, they have a lot of their own cool little vegan snacks (my mom always gets me the Trader Joes soft-baked snickerdoodle cookies when I come home). This time of year, fruit can get very expensive even at Trader Joes, so I do my best to look for good sales and stay away from fruit such as raspberries, which are overpriced at the moment.

I always make sure to have a package of tofu or seitan in my fridge along with some lentils in the cabinet. As long as you have good spices to cook with, youre looking at a good meal. If you dont know any good vegan recipes, check out Pinterestthey have a solution for everything. Vegan pancakes? Covered. Vegan stir-fry? Covered. Vegan buffalo wings? You guessed it, covered.

3. Where to Eat Out

When you and your friends wake up on that dreary Sunday morning and everyone wants to go out to breakfast, I suggest you either go to the Lone Wolf in Amherst center, or Cushman Cafe in Amherst. Both places have an additional vegan menu, and some of the best breakfast food ever. At the Lone Wolf they have everything between vegan omelettes and a tasty french toast. My favorite sandwich to get at Cushman Cafe is the Primrose, described on their menu as; On a Roll- Fakin bacon w/hash brown patty, pepper-jack cheese, tomato and spinach on a roll.

For lunch and dinner, Ive found Pulse Cafe in Hadley to be especially vegan friendly, because theyre plant-based, and delicious. My favorite place to go for sushi with my friends is Ginger Garden in Amherst, where the sweet potato roll and crunchy tofu roll are to die for.

So when it comes down to wondering whether a vegan lifestyle is maintainable in college the answer is yes! Whether you like the dining halls, cooking at home, or going out to eat every now and again, theres always an option at a university like UMass.

Email Elisabeth Morgan at [emailprotected] and follow her on Twitter @lizziewmorgan and on Instagram @elisabethmorgan.

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Three ways to survive as a vegan at UMass - Amherst Wire

The truth about veganism and cycling – Cycling Weekly

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In the opening sequence of The Game Changers documentary, presenter James Wilks a former mixed martial arts champion explains that his interest in veganism started when he got injured and began genning up on recovery.

He claims to have spent 1,000 hours researching recovery-boosting nutrition. One thousand hours? Assuming he studied 9am to 5pm without lunch breaks, thats a full six months of solid reading. Anyway, amid these mountains of paperwork, he stumbled upon an article purporting to prove that Roman gladiators (the original professional fighters) ate a mostly plant-based diet.

Wilkss mind is blown. Over the rest of the film, he advances the case, in no uncertain terms, that eating only plant-based foods is better for recovery, health and crucially sporting performance. It was no surprise, then, The Game Changers garnered enormous attention, even among ordinarily hard-headed cyclists.

Full disclosure to kick off: I eat a mostly plant-based diet; Im not a strict vegan, but I avoid meat and dairy products most of the time (largely for ethical reasons). If my position were prone to bias, it would be skewed in favour of The Game Changers its message that veganism boosts sporting performance is good news for me. My job here, though, is to be unswervingly objective in answering this question: will going vegan make you a fitter, faster cyclist?

Adam Hansen cut animal products out of his diet three years ago

Quite early in the film, we meet Dotsie Bausch, the seven-time US national champion and Olympic silver medallist. This is the segment for the cyclists. Bausch tells us that she was in her mid-30s and ready to retire when she switched to a vegan diet, from which point she unexpectedly just kept getting better pointing out that she went from struggling to leg-sled 300lb to pushing 585lb in sets of 60 reps.

She relives the pinnacle of her career: silver in the team pursuit at the London Games, where she stood on the podium aged 39.5 years Im still the oldest person in my event to even go to the Olympic Games.

The film implies the Americans late-career improvements were the result of her switch to a vegan diet. However, it doesnt take much research to discover Bausch took up cycling relatively late, aged 26, as part of her recovery from an eating disorder. In light of which, the fact she was still improving at 35 was perhaps not so much proof of plant power as the natural development of a huge talent that for many years had lain dormant and/or been hampered by improper fuelling. Of course, this is to take nothing away from her remarkable achievements.

I contacted Bausch by email and asked what made her so confident her improvements were the result of diet over and above other factors.

Truly, this was the one thing that I changed, she replied. My coach and my training stayed consistent it was the diet change that gave me this advantage. And, lets be honest, I wasnt getting any younger when my body should have been resisting and slowing me down, I was actually getting fitter, stronger and more resilient.

Bausch is a passionate advocate of veganism, and as a plant-powered athlete has become a professional influencer on the topic (dotsiebauschusa.com). Her anecdotal evidence is compelling but is it supported by hard science?

Read the full article in this weeks Cycling Weekly magazine that includes nutritious recipes from a top cycling chef that can be made with store cupboard items, an honest look at supplements and which ones you need and how the pros used to eat. You can take out a subscription to Cycling Weekly or its available in supermarkets and newsagents.

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The truth about veganism and cycling - Cycling Weekly

The Truth About Vegan Cheese: And Tips To Find The Best – Plant Based News

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Which vegan cheese should you opt for?

Morrisons has just launched a range of vegan cheeses, including smoked, mature and jalapeno. These cheeses are fantastic, but can cause so many issues with new vegans and I just wanted to explain why and offer some advice.

Firstly, if you are reading this and you are new to veganism, or just curious, then its important not to get your hopes up to find a vegan cheese that will imitate a dairy cheese.

The new cheeses at Morrisons and other major supermarkets are based on coconut oil, which helps the cheese melt, but doesnt mimic the taste of dairy.

Brands like Violife offer a range of vegan cheese options (Photo: InstagramAlternative Stores)

Even as a lover of vegan cheese, in my opinion there is still no block that matches dairy. Dairy cheese contains casein, which is actually addictive and our brains know the difference.

Vegan cheese can match the saltiness, the fattiness and even now the meltiness, but so far we dont have anything that replaces the casein.

My thoughts are that the wizards behind the Beyond Meat burgers and Just Egg will come up with something in a lab that replicates it almost perfectly, but so far in the UK there isnt anything.

Theyve nailed plant-based meats, they are amazing and almost exactly like the real thing, but we are still searching for the holy grail when it comes to vegan cheese.

Lots of brands are making vegan cheese - but have yet to perfectly replicate dairy-based alternatives (Photo: Vitalite)

Everyday I see members of the Vegan Food UK community ask this exact question: "Is there ANY vegan cheese that doesnt taste vile?

The answer to this is yes, but in comparison to dairy, you will be quite disappointed.

My advice and model for success is to go vegan and give up all cheese for a few weeks or even months. Let the body adjust to not consuming casein and then start your dairy-free cheese journey.

First thing to do after your cold turkey (horrible expression) has been well and truly served, is to move onto a mild vegan cheese that melts.

Applewood vegan is a popular option for many plant-based eaters(Photo: Supplied to Plant Based News)

By now you will probably miss having melted cheese on food? The good news is that there are a few to choose from, but the key is to go for something neutral like Violife Original. It melts well and wont offend your taste buds too much.

Once you get used to melted Violife, you can up the ante and move onto something with a bit more flavor and depth, like the Vegan Applewood Smoky Block, which melts even better than Violife.

What about pizza? In my opinion pizza cheese needs to be light without too much flavour. A perfect cheese for this is MozzaRisella: a brown rice milk based mozzarella cheese that melts perfectly on pizza. Its so good that Zizzis, Pizza Express and even Co-op have used it for their pizzas.

Zizzi uses MozzaRisella on its vegan pizzas (Photo:Supplied to Plant Based News)

Something also worth considering from the get-go are nut-based cheeses, which I regard as some of the best cheeses in the world. Use social media to seek them out, but also your local health store should stock a few. These are cheeses to be proud of and are usually made with cashews.

If you have followed my advice and arent satisfied with any cheese that you have tasted so far, then have a go at making your own. You will be amazed with what a bag of cashews and some nutritional yeast can do.

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The Truth About Vegan Cheese: And Tips To Find The Best - Plant Based News

Plant-Based Diet Is Not The Same As Vegan Diet, Key Differences You Must Know! – NDTV Food

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As more and more people are cutting down meat from their diet, the interest in plant-based diet is on an all-time high. Your favourite stars are turning vegetarian, 70 percent of Oscar's after-party menu of vegan, the Golden Globes also decided to reduce the amount of meat and poultry this year in its after-party. While what you eat is completely your choice, but it is important to know about your diet fully well. Many a times people confuse terms like plant-based diet, vegetarian diet and vegan diet, and even use them interchangeably while talking. But there are stark differences betweeneach of these that you should be aware of before making the switch.

(Also Read:11 Vegetarian Recipes That Leave You Wanting More | Popular Vegetarian Recipes)

Contrary to popular perception, not all people who follow a plant-based diet eat only broccoli, kale and spinach for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some people include a small quantum of animal-based products in their diet too, but stick mostly to eating plant-based foods. Vegans, on the other hand, rule out all animal products from their diet. Additionally, vegans also tend to shape their lifestyle in a way to avoid animal cruelty and suffering at all costs. In other words, vegans could be apprehensive buying leather, or beauty products that are made by harming animals. Vegans are also wary of the adverse environmental effects of animal products.

(Also Read:7 Things You Should Know Before Switching to Veganism)

In the United States, the plant-based food industry saw a $3.3 billion sales increase in 2018 alone. So the next time you are thinking about your diet, and the ratio of food on your plate- make sure you are well-versed with the facts.

(This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.)

About Sushmita SenguptaSharing a strong penchant for food, Sushmita loves all things good, cheesy and greasy. Her other favourite pastime activities other than discussing food includes, reading, watching movies and binge-watching TV shows.

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Plant-Based Diet Is Not The Same As Vegan Diet, Key Differences You Must Know! - NDTV Food

These 5 Documentaries and Films Will Inspire You to Go Vegan – The Beet

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Whether youre consideringswitching to a plant-based diet or youve just recently made the decision to go vegan, its easy to feel a little lost or stuck with all of the information thats available out there. From endless advice articles online to stacks of books on the subject, how can you decide if and why its right for you? One easy way to ease yourself into veganism is to simply watch a movie or two.

Conveniently, Netflix has a nice selection of vegan-related films for you to stream right now from the comfort of your home. Depending on your motivation for pursuing this lifestyle change, you may find yourself more drawn to one movie over another, but theres bound to be at least one that whets your appetite. Grab some popcorn, get cozy, and press play on one of these movies on Netflixor keep them going for a mini-movie marathonso you can get a better idea of what being vegan is all about.

For those who: are curious about how diet affects disease management.

You should set aside: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Taking a close look at the idea of food as medicine, Forks Over Knives (directed by Lee Fulkerson) promotes eating a whole-food, plant-based diet as the solution for reversing certain chronic diseases. Much of the movie centers on the work of two scientists, nutritional biochemist Dr. T. Colin Campbell and physician Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Using the fact that health issues like obesity and diabetes affect a significant portion of the countrys population, this documentary wants viewers to see that theres a clear path toward a healthier tomorrow: leaving behind the consumption of animal products and processed foods.

For those who: want to understand how diet relates to health and the healthcare industry.

You should set aside: 1 hour and 37 minutes

Co-directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, What the Health takes a look at how consuming animal products correlates to various health issues, such as diabetes and cancer. Taking things a step further, the investigative documentary explores how big industries (like food and pharmaceutical companies), as well as the government, might be invested in people eating meat and dairy. This approach is what gives the movie its sensational tagline: The Health Film That Health Organizations Don't Want You To See. Overall, What the Health is an invitation to reassess what you eat in light of alarming chronic diseases sweeping the country and the major players who are involved.

For those who: are interested in sustainability and environmental concerns.

You should set aside: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Cowspiracy also comes from the same director team behind What the Health (Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn). With this documentary though, the focus isnt on the health implications of eating animal products, but the impact farming animals has on the environment. Touching on deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and other important environmental concerns, Cowspiracy argues the devastating extent of destruction caused by the animal agriculture industry. It also investigates what environmental organizations, such as Greenpeace and Sierra Club, might be sidestepping or trying to cover up about the issue and how we can create a more sustainable future.

For those who: want to see veganisms relation to human performance and strength.

You should set aside: 1 hour and 48 minutes

The Game Changers is the work of Louie Psihoyos, the director behind the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, and it was an official selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Mainly following UFC fighter James Wilks journey of recovery, this film zeroes in on top athletes who have found benefits in plant-based eating. As a whole, it challenges the common misconception that consuming animal protein is needed to have elite physical performance. The film features a number of high-profile individuals, including one youre sure to recognize: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For those who: want to watch something thats not a documentary.

You should set aside: 2 hours

Documentaries arent the only way to explore veganism through film. A Netflix original film and official selection of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Okja tells the story of young Mijas fight to save her best friend Okja, a genetically modified super pig that was created by a powerful corporation to fight world hunger and given to her family to raise. The movie is a star-studded affair with a cast that includes Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal. Its also important to note that its directed by Bong Joon-ho, who recently won multiple Academy Awards for his hit film Parasite. With its heartfelt story and harsh portrayal of the meat industry, Okja effectively incites a conversation on going vegan.

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These 5 Documentaries and Films Will Inspire You to Go Vegan - The Beet