- [Narrator] This week, Billie Eilish's mom
helps donate vegan meals to people in need,
a new documentary links pandemics to factory farming,
and coronavirus sparks a 280% increase in vegan meat sales.
All this and more on Livekindly's Weekly Vegan News.
If you're new to our channel,
you can subscribe by hitting the leaf icon
in the bottom right corner of the video.
Click the bell icon to turn on notifications,
and please be sure to like and comment below.
Vegan meat sales have surged by nearly 280%
due to the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Nielsen data, purchases of plant-based meat
were up by 279.8% for the week ending on March 14th.
Oat milk is also in high demand,
experiencing nearly a 477% increase in sales.
Dairy milk sales lagged behind plant-based milk,
at less than 10% of oat milk's spike.
Maggie Baird, mom to vegan Grammy Award-winning singer
Billie Eilish, is helping supply
plant-based food to hospitals, shelters
and first responders across Los Angeles.
Together with a number of organizations,
including Conscious Cleanup, and East Drink Vegan,
Baird has created Support and Feed.
The initiative encourages people
to simultaneously support vegan businesses
during the coronavirus pandemic,
as well as workers on the front lines.
"Please help," wrote Baird in an Instagram post.
"You can order from any of these incredible
"plant-based restaurants.
"The food will be delivered to a needy organization
"in a safe, coordinated way when it works for them,
"with enough time for the restaurant to plan and prepare."
She added, "You can also add it to a personal order
"if you want food yourself."
Coming up, China's dairy industry takes a hit
from the coronavirus pandemic.
Keegan Kuhn, co-director of the 2017 documentary
What the Health, is releasing a new film
that explores how diseases form animals pose
a greater threat to humanity than climate change.
British filmmaker Alex Lockwood,
the BAFTA Award-winning director
of the 2018 short film 73 Cows is the director.
Kuhn and Lockwood starting working on the new documentary
about six months before the coronavirus pandemic.
Kuhn says interviewing public health professionals
for What the Health inspired him to make the film.
"They all kept speaking about the real and present danger
"of diseases coming out of animal farming operations,"
he told Livekindly.
"I realized then that there was a major story not being told
"and wanted at some point to revisit this issue."
He explained that intensive factory farming
is the reason that diseases are able to spread
and mutate so quickly.
"Our close proximity to these animals
"gives ample opportunities for these diseases
"to jump species into us," he said.
On the conservative side, 2.2 million people
die every year from animal-to-human diseases.
Studies show that 60% of all human diseases
and 75% of all emerging infectious diseases
come from animals.
The majority of these come from Western livestock,
including chickens, cattle, and pigs.
Kuhn hopes the film will open people's eyes
to the dangers of animal agriculture
and animal exploitation.
"Even if people don't care about the individual animals
"suffering and dying at the hands of these industries,
"they should at least care about other humans
"and their own health.
"I believe the film will have a profound impact
"on how we see our behavior."
A new report from Rabobank reveals China's dairy imports
are expected to fall by the double digits
as a result of the current COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
The Dutch multinational bank
expects dairy imports will decrease by 19% this year.
It says a drop-off in demand for dairy
amid the coronavirus pandemic is partly to blame.
Rabobank included the estimates
in its global Dairy Quarterly Q1 2020 report.
The report explains a combination of factors
is putting pressure on global dairy markets.
These include supply chain disruptions,
reduced Chinese imports,
and the rising dairy surpluses in export regions.
Vegan athlete Lewis Hamilton has compared self-isolation
during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak
to the lives of animals in captivity.
- Hi, everyone.
As you all know, the coronavirus is very, very serious,
and it's very important that we all work together
to help reduce the spread of this virus.
- [Narrator] The six-time Formula One champion
took to Instagram to compare the current lockdown
to the feelings animals experience
while being held in zoos.
"If you are home on lockdown,
"perhaps you can feel a little
"of what the animals in captivity go through every day.
"Their entire lives stopped from them.
"Please don't go to any zoos or circuses,
"because this is what our money goes to supporting,"
he added.
Coming up, Jack Black gives up red meat for the planet.
The Mexican Senate unanimously passed a bill
banning animal testing for cosmetics.
The bill would also prohibit the manufacture,
marketing, or import of cosmetics
that were tested on animals outside of the country.
The bill was fully endorsed
by Mexico's Senate Health Committee.
The potential ban is supported by global
animal protection nonprofit Humane Society International,
and Te Protejo, a Latin American organization
that promotes the use of products not tested on animals.
"This brings us one step closer
"to ending unnecessary animal cruelty
"in the cosmetics industry
"and demonstrates Mexico's leadership
"within the Americas," said Anton Aguilar,
Executive director of HSI Mexico.
If enacted into law, Mexico's bill
will make the country the 40th in the world
to ban animal-tested cosmetics.
Actor Jack Black is off red meat.
The Jumanji star says he's given up meat
and switched to veggie burgers
to lower his carbon footprint.
The actor and musician made the announcement
in a video shared to Twitter in late March,
using the trending hashtag MyEcoResolution.
- My eco resolution is to stop eating red meat.
I'm a still eat a cheeseburger,
but it's gonna be one of those new
scientifically delicious veggie burgers.
You know, the Impossible, the Beyond, et cetera.
I'm doing this to limit catastrophic climate change
and to support my mental health.
I think you should too.
Much love.
JB, over and out.
- [Narrator] New York-based food tech startup
Atlast Food Co is growing vegan bacon from mushrooms.
The startup is a spinoff brand
of bio-tech company Ecovative.
Ecovative uses mycelium, the roots of mushrooms,
to create sustainable packaging,
skincare, textiles, and apparel.
At Last uses Ecovatives extensive knowledge of mycelium
to grow nutrient-rich fibers
that replicate the textures and mouth feel of meat.
It is currently working to perfect its vegan bacon
ahead of commercialization.
First, the company seeds gourmet mushrooms in trays,
which are then transferred to vertical farms
that simulate underground growth conditions.
In just a matter of days,
the mycelium is ready to be harvested
and used as a raw ingredient for plant-based meat.
Butter production is 3.5 times more damaging
to the environment than the production of vegan spreads,
according to a new study.
The study, which evaluated 212 plant-based spreads
and 21 dairy butters across 21 European
and North American markets,
was published in the journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
Greenhouse gas emissions from cattle feed production
and livestock rearing made dairy-based butter's
carbon footprint than its plant-based counterpart.
Research shows the mean average of greenhouse gas emissions
for plant-based spreads was 3.3. kilograms.
On the other hand, dairy-based butter
accounted for 12.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
Brands can make vegan butter from a variety of ingredients.
Earth Balance is made from soybean oil
and controversial palm oil.
Brooklyn-based Fora Foods makes its faba butter
from aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas.
- When we were building a product,
we knew that we needed a plant-based saturated fat
to kind of give it that backbone
so it would hold up at high temperatures,
and then keep ingredient deck super, super clean:
sea salt, nutritional yeast, aquafaba, the brine
from chickpeas to give it that umami, buttery kick.
- [Narrator] Northern California-based brand
Miyoko's Creamery makes dairy-free butter
from fermented cashew cream.
It will launch the world's first
spreadable oat-based butter later this year.
Shenzhen is now the first city in China
to ban to consumption of dog and cat meat.
Dog and cat meat will no longer be allowed
to be sold at restaurants, as well as live markets.
The new legislation also includes a permanent ban
on the consumption, breeding, and sale of wildlife,
including snakes, lizards, and other wild animals
for human consumption.
According to the Humane Society International,
the law, which was proposed last February,
comes into effect on May 1st.
Announcing the ban, a spokesperson
for the Shenzhen government said,
"Dogs and cats as pets have established
"a much closer relationship with humans
"than all other animals, and banning the consumption
"of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice
"in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
"This ban also responds to the demand and spirit
"of human civilization."
The ban also clarifies which animal meat may be eaten:
pig, cattle, sheep, rabbit, and chicken.
Dr. Peter Lee, China Policy Specialist for HSI
said this could be a watershed moment for China.
The trade kills an estimated 10 million dogs
and four million cats each year.
- Knowing that humans are capable of that,
that's probably the hardest part.
- [Narrator] In China, HSI believes attitudes towards dogs
and cats are starting to mirror those in the West,
as seen with Shenzhen's new ban.
The organization's Director of International Media,
Wendy Higgins, told The Guardian,
"There is a growing and vocal Chinese opposition
"to the dog and cat meat trade.
"Young people in China are far more likely
"to think of dogs as companions than cuisine."
That's it for today.
What do you think about Jack Black ditching red meat?
Let us know in the comments below.
Remember to subscribe and hit the notification bell.
We'll see you again next week
for Livekindly's Weekly Vegan News.
(soft music)