This week - Beyond Meat revealed its plans to create vegan bacon and steak.
Starbucks UK announced the launch of vegan mac and cheese bowls
and all day breakfast burritos.
Canada revealed its new Food Guide
which dropped dairy in favor of more vegan food.
And have you heard about Will.I.Am’s new vegan rap with the Black Eyed Peas?
All that and more on LIVEKINDLY’s weekly vegan news recap.
Popular vegan meat brand Beyond Meat
has plans to make plant-based bacon and steak.
In an interview with CNBC,
CEO Ethan Brown revealed the company’s ongoing interest in the plant-based meat market.
He said, “We want to make bacon, we want to make steak,
we want to make the most intricate and beautiful pieces of meat.”
The brand is a favorite around the globe
with its iconic ‘bleeding’ Beyond Burger,
a vegan patty made from pea protein that
looks, cooks, and tastes like beef.
"I'm just waiting for something to remind me that it's not meat."
"I know, the texture's really good."
Beyond Meat’s plan to create vegan bacon may help save lives, too.
In a recent campaign, McDonald’s was giving away free bacon
- a known carcinogen.
"Bacon hour means there's free bacon
for anybody who goes to McDonald's tomorrow
between 4 and 5pm local time."
The campaign, dubbed #BaconHour,
caught the attention of doctors from the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Rallying a group of protestors, PCRM’s Dr. Neal Barnard
took to the streets to inform the public
about bacon’s colorectal cancer risks.
"We're here at a McDonald's in Washington, D.C.
where McDonald's is handing out free bacon.
Well if it's not so healthy, people just kind of laugh it off
but the fact of the matter is - bacon and other processed meats
cause colorectal cancer.
The second leading cause of cancer death."
Starbucks launched dairy-free mac ‘n’ cheese
and a vegan all-day tofu breakfast burrito in select UK locations.
The “Vegan All Day Breakfast Burrito” contains smoked scrambled tofu and veggies
inside a spinach wrap.
The vegan macaroni shows butternut squash, greens, and dairy-free cheese.
Starbucks is increasing its vegan options around the world.
It offers vegan oatmeal hot pots, lentil wraps,
cookies, and vegan cold-brew protein shakes.
Starbucks also has vegan jackfruit wraps in the UK.
Starbucks just introduced a ‘sinless’ chocolate cake,
and a double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich
at locations in the Philippines.
The chain also offers a variety of vegan snacks,
and has released veganizable specialty lattes like the Halloween witches’ brew frappuccino
"Green chia seeds, and green - can you see that?
"Green like, I was gonna say seasoning."
and the Christmas Tree Latte.
"And they're like - you gotta get the big one! And guess what I did?"
Health Canada’s 2019 food guide sees some major changes,
with dairy almost scrapped entirely
and a bigger focus on plant-based food.
The guide was finalized last week,
after extensive consultations with healthcare professionals,
lobbying groups, and agricultural organizations.
"You see a plate, and you don't see a lot - you see maybe a little bit of chicken
a little bit of fish. But you see a lot of
tofu, you see a lot of legumes, nuts, seeds. That kind of thing."
Compared with the previous recommendation of four full servings of milk,
cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products a day,
the new food guide recommends cutting dairy items and in most cases, replacing milk with water.
The new plate-centered Food Guide focuses on health foods,
with 50% of the plate filled with fruits and vegetables.
"It puts more focus on what, when and how we eat
and less on food groups and servings."
A quarter of the plate is dedicated to protein,
a newly named category replacing its previous “Meat and Alternatives.”
"A quarter of your plate should be proteins, and a quarter should be grains.
So we're making some progress."
The remaining quarter is devoted to whole grains,
a step forward from previous recommendations that included refined flour products.
The Black Eyed Peas’ new song “Vibrations pt.1 pt.2”
sees the popular hip-hop group make a return to their roots,
but – as the lyrics repeat – it’s also about bringing a “whole new vibe” to the music.
For Will.i.am – the lead member of the Peas – the tune is also about one major lifestyle change, going vegan.
The video for the new release has a simple focus on nature.
He raps, “You eat the yellowtail, I’ma eat the plant-based.”
The musician initially adopted a plant-based diet for health reasons in 2017,
"And so I really had to get my life in check, so.
You know, my blood pressure came down without having to take medicine,
my cholesterol came down without having to take medicine."
He said, “After we finished filming [The Voice] in December
I went home, I became vegan, I biked to work and I lost 15lbs.”
Since then, Will.i.am has become more in touch with the ethical side of veganism,
as he hints at in Vibrations.
Another lyrics says, “I ain’t chewing on no food, with two eyes and a face.”
"For those that have a hard time staying focused,
or like keeping a mental structure to say no to bulls#*@ food,
you gotta be gangsta about that s$*@, if you see a lollipop or a cupcake,
be gangsta - V-GANG!"
Vegan actor Nathalie Emmanuel –
known for her role as Missandei on popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” –
has spoken out against the mistreatment of elephants.
During a trip to the south of Thailand, Emmanuel visited Phuket Elephant Sanctuary.
Writing about the experience on her Instagram account,
the British actor noted that the sanctuary is certified as ethical,
with tourists only allowed to observe the free-roaming animals from afar
and feed them from a safe distance.
However, this is not typical of many “sanctuaries” in Thailand
and other countries across Asia, which allow tourists to get up close and personal with the elephants,
use bullhooks to control them, and offer elephants rides.
Elephants used in this kind of tourism are separated from their families, Peter Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister, and has been a vegetarian for years with a recent turn to veganism.
beaten, starved, and are forced to stand in the heat for long periods of time.
Emmanuel isn’t the only vegan from the Game of Thrones cast.
Peter Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister,
and has been a vegetarian for years with a recent turn to veganism.
"The images you're about to see may make you want to turn away.
But this is what you pay for every time you buy meat, eggs and dairy products."
"He's big and freakish strong. And bigger than you'd expect for a man of that size."
His sidekick from the show, Bronn, is played by Jerome Flynn,
another ethical vegan who recently appeared in a video for PETA,
explaining why he doesn’t miss meat.
"I was always an animal lover, but we're not really educated to link the food on our plate to the animals that we love.
Veganism suits me very well. I don't miss meat at all."
International vegan cheese brand Violife launched its first television campaign.
The first of its kind campaign for a vegan cheese brand
bringing humour to the dairy-free category.
The adverts’ “heroes” learn how easy it is to ditch dairy,
so effortless that they believe they can do other tasks like become an escape artist or run through walls.
The campaign includes two television ads, and additional recipes and tips for ditching dairy on social media.
Its products – which include cheese slices, grated cheese, and cream cheese –
are made with coconut oil and are free from nuts, soy, preservatives, and cholesterol.
U.S. discount supermarket chain Trader Joe’s
released new vegan sunflower cups that taste just like Reese’s peanut butter cups.
The new vegan snack is made with fair trade chocolate and allergen-free sunflower seed butter.
The new addition follows the success of the chain’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
– similar to those made by Reese’s.
According to Trader Joe’s, the peanut version is one of its best-selling products
but it wanted to release something for customers with allergies.
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We’ll see you again next week for LIVEKINDLY’s vegan news.