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Category: Vegan

  • Price Parity: 6 Steps to Make Plant-Based Meats Cheaper Than Conventional Meat

    plant based price parity
    7 Mins Read

    With even the cheapest plant-based meat products usually more expensive than conventional protein, cost remains a key consumption barrier for vegan alternatives – a new report shows how these can reach price parity.

    Plant-based meat has had a challenging year, with the higher cost of living, attitudes around ultra-processed food, and misinformation about these products contributing to dwindling sales globally.

    Many studies have identified the major factors that hold consumers back from eating these products. While taste and texture are regularly cited as the main barriers, alongside health/nutrition, price is key too. Despite a spate of launches over the last few years, and advancements made in the flavour and mouthfeel department, plant-based meats still cost on average than their conventional counterparts.

    plant based meat price parity
    Courtesy: Hannah Ritchie

    Alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute has revealed that in 2022, plant-based meat was 67% more expensive than animal meat. Likewise, research by data scientist Hannah Ritchie last year showed that even the cheapest plant-based meat alternatives are higher in price than animal-derived meat, suggesting that the former don’t just need to be at parity with the latter, but rather much cheaper.

    So how do we get there? A new report by British chef and writer Anthony Warner for New Food Innovation delves into solutions to make meat alternatives cheaper than they currently are. The whitepaper outlines how textured vegetable protein (TVP) is usually much cheaper than meat, as the former is combined with a bunch of other ingredients to enhance the end product, things get a little trickier.

    On average, hydrated TVP only makes up 20% of a plant-based burger’s ingredient cost. Fats and oils account for another 20%, emulsifiers and gelling agents 15%, and crumbs, seasonings, etc. 5%. But the real expense is in the flavourings to recreate the taste of beef and mask any native flavours in the plant protein, contributing to 40% of a vegan burger’s cost.

    plant based meat expensive
    Courtesy: New Food Innovation

    This is all before you consider the costs of processing – hydration, specialist equipment, time-consuming processes, specialist handling, efficient mixing and wastage are part of the manufacturing cycle, which can comprise up to thrice as many steps as conventional meat production.

    Here’s how the plant-based meat industry can step over these hurdles and provide cheaper products to reach price parity with meat.

    1) Tweak your flavour focus

    A 1,000-person survey last year found that taste is the biggest deterrent for plant-based meat consumption for Brits (66%), followed closely by price (62%). Taste and texture are also the most common reasons for reducing consumption of meat analogues (40%) in the UK. Clearly, it’s a key factor to unlocking cheaper alt-meat. But as noted above, it’s the costliest too.

    A typical burger formulation will have a savoury base element, a top-note meat flavour, a grill flavour, and a masking flavour. Masking is important as many plant proteins can have an unappetising taste, but using more specific masking agents can help reduce costs. Flavour companies can molecularly analyse the tasting notes in specific proteins to identify the best masking options – this targeted approach can bring savings compared to previous trial-and-error methods.

    The flavour industry is dominated by a few companies, which means sometimes, food manufacturers end up overpaying. A push to improve plant-based flavourings has meant higher research and marketing costs, which are often passed on to the producers, but market consolidation and sourcing flavours from a single supplier can help these meat alternatives get closer to price parity.

    Another solution could be to use non-natural flavouring agents, which are cheaper and can offer a wider gamut of taste notes, especially with grilling and smoking. This comes without any “obvious penalty on labelling”, given that they can be described as ‘flavouring’ instead of ‘natural flavouring’.

    2) Leverage enzymes and in-built emulsification and gelling properties

    methycellulose
    Courtesy: Impossible Foods

    Gels and emulsifiers like methylcellulose are omnipresent in plant-based meat and have key functional attributes, but these can make up between 10-15% of the total cost. While some companies are developing alternatives to methylcellulose, these are still expensive. The report recommends enzymatic solutions – especially those based on transglutaminase – which, while needing time and heat, require low levels of dosing and achieve “considerable cost savings”.

    Emulsifiers are easier to remove, but they’re rarely used in high enough proportions to significantly impact the price of the final product. However, eliminating them will obviously cut some costs, and a greater understanding of existing ingredients’ functionality can help manufacturers make use of the natural emulsification, foaming and gelling properties of plant proteins.

    3) Switch the processing and prolong the shelf life

    Short shelf life for chilled plant-based meats prevents long production runs and adds to wastage. The industry can learn from the bakery sector when it comes to shelf-life extension, including the use of buffered vinegars, fermented acids and natural sorbate sources.

    But it’s the micro issues that are most important to tackle. Using air-classified protein concentrates – which are cheaper and much more energy-efficient – over isolates is one solution, although they can be harder to work with and would need some refinement. Many high-quality TVPs are now being made entirely from plant protein concentrates, rendering cheaper and more climate-friendly ingredients.

    4) Diversify the protein type

    heura chicken
    Courtesy: Heura

    It’s easier to create plant-based analogues of lower-value, processed meats, but more premium cuts are harder and costlier to achieve – vegan bacon being a prime example. New extrusion processes can help overcome this obstacle, with a better understanding of their impact on finished products and the development of novel processes to improve meat-like structures enabling the creation of next-gen extruded plant proteins.

    Many of these processes can help produce high-quality meat structures from plant concentrates, and their focus is less on burgers and sausages, and more on chicken, beef, lamb or pork chunks, strips and pieces to be used directly in dishes like pies, ready meals and stir-fries. These cuts of meat analogues only require small modifications to existing extrusion processes, meaning they’re similar to existing TVPs in terms of price and labelling. Plus, they don’t require any gelling, emulsification or tropical fats to deliver acceptable products.

    5) Valorise the sidestream to cut food waste

    When a protein is concentrated, something is always left over – for example, producing a protein-rich fraction from legume flour will leave a carbohydrate- and fibre-rich fraction, and utilising this is key to making cheaper meat alternatives. This already happens in the meat and dairy industry: think whey from cheese production and rendered animal fats.

    Sidestream valorisation is essential for driving down costs and competing with animal agriculture. Some carb-rich streams can be used in food production as a source of starch to thicken soups or make extruded snacks, but they can also be used as feedstock for the fermentation sector to possibly increase protein yields.

    “There are several projects currently in the research stage that will help increase the utilisation of plant-based side streams, and if the market is to grow as predicted, this work is going to have to increase in urgency,” the report notes.

    6) Look local to find cheaper plant protein sources

    fava bean protein
    Courtesy: Meeluinie

    Current plant proteins are dominated by soy, pea and wheat, which often travel vast distances as part of a complex supply chain. While these still usually have environmental benefits over meat, this isn’t an ideal scenario. The research points to provenance and local sourcing as a major opportunity for plant-based meat.

    For example, in the UK, fava beans are an important crop, but are mostly exported or used for animal feed. While these aren’t as easy to transform into TVP as soy or yellow pea, and come with flavour challenges, extrusion and masking tech has helped bridge this gap, with the first TVP made entirely from fava bean concentrate soon to be available to manufacturers in the country. (Beyond Meat’s reformulated beef is a case in point, adding fava beans in its new recipe.)

    “There is much work to do. Some short-term solutions can produce significant results. Other approaches are likely to take more time, particularly those that require us to shift consumer understanding,” the report concludes. “But it is definitely possible that, if companies can maintain focus, a lot of plant-based products can be shifted towards price parity over the next couple of years. And if a few medium-term projects and research streams are implemented, we may even move beyond that point.”

    The post Price Parity: 6 Steps to Make Plant-Based Meats Cheaper Than Conventional Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Taos Slaughterhouse Backed by PETA? Here Are the Conditions

    Although many residents of Taos, New Mexico, are up in arms over the construction of a new slaughterhouse funded in part by taxpayer dollars, PETA fired off a letter to the city’s mayor, Pascualito Maestas, in support of the project—if the facility is built with a glass wall and broadcasts livestream video footage from the kill floor.

    About 900,000 cows are killed every single day worldwide, and PETA investigations into slaughterhouses have exposed immense animal suffering, human health problems, disgraceful conditions for workers, and filth.

    cow eye in sunlightHannah Elizabeth | Sympathy at Slaughter

    PETA is urging Taos Mayor Maestas to be transparent with his constituents and embrace a slaughterhouse with a glass wall.

    Taxpayers in Taos have the right to see what they’re paying for. A slaughterhouse with a glass wall would not only provide a degree of accountability but also allow everyone to witness the terror and torment that animals endure during the killing process.

    If slaughterhouse operations were made public, the scenes of terrified, screaming animals stunned with a captive-bolt gun, strung up, and slashed across the throat would persuade anyone to go vegan.

    Meat production is widely recognized as environmentally destructive, hideously cruel to animals, and a human health hazard. Animal agriculture is rightly condemned for contributing mightily to greenhouse gas emissions, and slaughterhouses, which consistently rank among the most dangerous workplaces, aren’t safe for employees.

    It’s easy to forget where meat comes from when it’s in neatly wrapped packages at the grocery store, but it didn’t get there peacefully. Animals tremble in terror as they smell the blood and hear the cries of those ahead of them in the kill line.

    Every animal is an individual. Cows are curious and clever, sometimes going to extraordinary lengths to escape slaughter.

    They understand cause-and-effect relationships and become excited when they figure out how to do something, such as operating a water pump with their horns. They’re gregarious, forming intense friendships and holding grudges against herd members who have treated them badly.

    Want to Help Cows? Go Vegan Today

    There’s no better time to make positive changes for animals, the planet, and yourself—and the easiest way to do that is by going vegan! Take part in PETA’s 3-Week Vegan Challenge to kick-start your journey. We’ll send you weekly e-mails full of delicious vegan recipes, shopping tips, a vegan meal plan, and tons of other resources:

    Get Started Now!

    The post Taos Slaughterhouse Backed by PETA? Here Are the Conditions appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Giant ‘Monkey’ to Hijack St. Pete Whole Foods Grand Opening Over Abuse in Thai Coconut Industry

    Shoppers attending Wednesday’s grand opening of the new Whole Foods store in St. Petersburg will be confronted by an 8-foot crying “monkey” chained to a massive coconut as PETA pushes the grocery giant to stop selling coconut milk from Thailand, where the coconut industry is involved in a scandal over the forced labor of endangered pig-tailed macaque monkeys.

    Where:    In front of Whole Foods Market, 201 38th Ave. N. (at the intersection with 39th Avenue N.), St. Petersburg

    When:    Wednesday, February 28, 9 a.m.

    giant inflatable monkey chained to a equally giant inflatable coconut at a whole foods store protest

    Credit: PETA

    Many monkeys used in Thailand’s coconut-picking industry are illegally snatched from their natural habitat as babies, fitted with rigid metal collars, whipped, and forced to climb trees to pick heavy coconuts. Their canine teeth are often pulled out in order to leave them defenseless. Because the industry and the Thai government lie about their systemic reliance on forced monkey labor, it’s impossible to guarantee that any coconut milk from Thailand is free of it. Multiple companies that produce coconut milk sold at Whole Foods were named by industry workers in a PETA Asia investigation as having used coconuts obtained by monkey labor. HelloFresh, Purple Carrot, and Performance Food Group have stopped sourcing coconut milk from Thailand following PETA’s exposé, as have international companies such as Aldi, ASDA, and Lidl.

    “Whole Foods’ continued sale of products implicated in the abuse of an endangered species is particularly appalling for a company that claims to care about animal welfare,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Whole Foods to live up to its stated values and sell coconut milk only from countries where monkey labor isn’t used, such as India and the Philippines.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone
    and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

    For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Giant ‘Monkey’ to Hijack St. Pete Whole Foods Grand Opening Over Abuse in Thai Coconut Industry appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Support for Slaughterhouse Comes From Unlikely Ally: PETA—With a Caveat

    Many residents are angry over the proposed construction of a slaughterhouse in Taos funded in part with taxpayer money, but PETA sent a letter today to Taos Mayor Pascualito Maestas expressing its support for the project—if the facility is built with a glass wall and livestreams video footage so the public can see what happens inside it, which should pose no problem if the operation is clean and humane. About 900,000 cows are killed every single day worldwide, and PETA investigations into slaughterhouses have revealed immense animal suffering, human health problems, disgraceful conditions for workers, and filth.

    A cow in the meat industry. Credit: PETA

    “If slaughterhouse operations were made public, the scenes of terrified, screaming animals stunned with a captive-bolt gun, strung up, and slashed across their throats would make anyone go vegan, and facility operators know that and fight to keep consumers in the dark,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is urging Mayor Maestas to be transparent with his constituents by considering a glass-walled ‘kill floor,’ because Taoseño taxpayers have a right to see what they’re paying for.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    PETA’s letter to Maestas follows.

    February 26, 2024

    The Honorable Pascualito Maestas
    Mayor of Taos

    Dear Mayor Maestas:

    I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters worldwide, including nearly 35,000 across New Mexico—in support of the construction of a new slaughterhouse in Taos but with one special request.

    This slaughterhouse will be built, in part, with taxpayer funding, so it’s reasonable that it should have a floor-to-ceiling glass wall so that the public would be able to see inside. This glass wall would not only provide a degree of accountability but also allow anyone who wants to see what goes on inside such a place to witness the terror and torment that animals endure there before they’re killed for food—and possibly then reexamine their food choices. We also request that school tours of the facility be allowed.

    Times have changed, and meat is now recognized as environmentally destructive, hideously cruel to animals, and a human health hazard. Animal agriculture is rightly condemned for contributing mightily to greenhouse gas emissions, and slaughterhouses are not safe for employees—they consistently rank among the most dangerous workplaces. As for the suffering of animals, as Sir Paul McCartney famously said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, no one would eat meat.”

    It’s easy to forget where meat comes from when you see it in neatly wrapped packages in a grocery store, but animals don’t go peacefully for it. They tremble in terror, as they smell the blood and hear the cries of those ahead of them on the kill line. When it’s their turn, cows are shot in the head with a captive-bolt gun—which we have shown is not always accurately aimed—and hung up by one leg, often dislocating their hips. Then their throats are cut and they are gutted—sometimes while they’re still conscious. They fight for their lives because, just like you and me, they don’t want to die. U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors have found pigs on the way to slaughter frozen to the side of trucks in winter and animals deprived of water during long summer journeys.

    The people of Taos have the right to see this process and to consider who animals are, what makes them tick, and how they feel. All animals are individuals. Cows are curious, clever animals who sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to escape slaughter. They understand cause-and-effect relationships and become excited when they figure out how to do something, such as operating a water pump with their horns. They are gregarious, forming intense friendships and holding grudges against herd members who have treated them badly. They are thoughtful individuals who feel just as much as you or I do.

    Concerned residents of Taos who have protested against this new slaughterhouse in an effort to point out how cruel, dangerous, environmentally destructive, and unhealthy it is to kill and eat sentient beings are correct. Meanwhile, vegan foods continue to proliferate on grocery store shelves.

    However, if the slaughterhouse is built, there should be transparency concerning what goes on inside it. There should be a viewing wall and the operation should be livestreamed for the world to see what the slaughter of animals is really all about.

    Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

    Very truly yours,

    Ingrid Newkirk
    President

    The post Support for Slaughterhouse Comes From Unlikely Ally: PETA—With a Caveat appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Update: PETA Memorial Rises to Honour Pigs Killed in Fiery Truck Crash

    In remembrance of the pigs who died in agony after the truck carrying them caught fire on North Talbot Road in Tecumseh on February 6, PETA has placed a sky-high memorial near the accident site that proclaims, in part, “If Everyone Were Vegan, It Wouldn’t Have Happened.”

    “Pigs died in pain and terror in this crash, and the traumatized survivors were likely rounded up and sent to slaughter,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Whether they die in a cramped transport truck or under the slaughterhouse knife, all pigs raised for food suffer immensely, and PETA urges everyone to show these animals some sympathy by going vegan.”

    PETA points out that pigs are playful, intelligent, friendly animals who are soothed by music, love playing ball, sleep in “pig piles,” and even enjoy getting massages. In the meat industry, workers chop off piglets’ tails, clip their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year; reduces their own risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity; and dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

    PETA’s billboard is located at 853 Division Rd. in Windsor.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Update: PETA Memorial Rises to Honour Pigs Killed in Fiery Truck Crash appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Not ‘Mylk’: Plant-Based Industry to Fight New UK Proposal That Could Force Alt-Dairy Products to Change Their Labels

    alpro this is not milk
    6 Mins Read

    A British trade standards group is pushing for guidance that would ban the use of alternative descriptors like ‘mylk’, ‘cheeze’, or ‘yoghurt-style’ on plant-based dairy packaging.

    The UK could soon issue new guidance prohibiting plant-based dairy companies from describing their products as alternatives, with terms like ‘not milk’ or ‘cheeze’ not allowed on product packaging.

    Plant-based brands are already banned from using dairy-related terms like ‘milk’, ‘yoghurt’ and ‘cheese’ on labels thanks to a 1987 EU law that has been retained by the UK post-Brexit. But the new rules could mean these companies wouldn’t allowed to use alternative descriptors either, in a move that has been described by industry stakeholders as “draconian”.

    It is part of a years-long effort from the Information Focus Group (FSIFG), a group of trading standards officers that alternative protein advocacy organisation ProVeg International has previously called “obscure”. The argument isn’t new: the FSIFG says these labels cause confusion among consumers, although consumer surveys have played this down.

    With the new guidance thought to be imminent, the Plant-Based Food Alliance UK (PBFA) will make a last-ditch attempt this week to ask UK environment secretary Steve Barclay to intervene, with a letter explaining how this would push up prices in a market hit hard with the cost-of-living crisis, and requesting for the guidance to be dropped and regulations reviewed.

    No ‘milk’, no ‘mylk’, and no ‘m*lk’

    plant based milk labels
    Courtesy: Alpro

    There were murmurs about the new guidance as far back as January last year, when the FSIFG issued the proposed guidance to local Trading Standards officials in the UK. The group called for a ban on brand names on supermarket shelves and in coffee shops, including Flora Plant B*tter, Mighty Not Milk (previously M.LKology), Good Hemp – Oat + Hemp Milk, Qurkee M’LK, and Alpro This Is Not M*lk.

    The new rules outlaw plays on words, like ‘m*lk’ or mylk’, terms like ‘not milk’ accompanying images evoking milk, phrases including ‘alternative to’, ‘yoghurt-style’, ‘Cheddar flavour’, etc., as well as ‘semi’ or ‘whole’ to describe the fat content in plant-based milk, as is done in conventional milk.

    “Technological innovation is leading to the construction of products offered as alternatives to conventional foods of animal origin,” the FSIFG was quoted as saying by the Guardian. “It is important that products are clearly distinguished, understood and nutritional differences are not confused.”

    However, ProVeg argued last year that the guidance was not subject to public consultation, and there was no communication with the plant-based sector either (though this has been disputed by some sources). But that would come as little surprise if you take Greenpeace’s suggestion that the dairy industry had been lobbying for these rules to be implemented.

    “We’re trying to come up with a fair and balanced view on what the legislation says, and if certain parts of the market don’t like that it’s up to them to lobby the government to change the legislation,” David Pickering, FSIFG member and lead food standard officer at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, told Greenpeace’s Unearthed publication.

    Despite objections from the vegan sector, the latest version of this guidance (dated January 2024) has not been watered down. It suggests that plant-based companies should not use homophones, asterisks, or other wordplay. While foods like custard creams and salad cream are fair game, ‘vegan mozzarella’ and ‘soya yoghurt’ are not. What should companies call these instead? “Vegan soft-white balls with a light cheese flavour” and “soya dessert fermented with live cultures” are the FSIFG’s suggestions, respectively.

    ‘Draconian’ rules for consumers who are not confused

    non dairy greek yogurt
    Oatly’s vegan Greek-style Oatgurt | Courtesy: Oatly

    “This move will make us one of the most draconian nations in regards to what we can and cannot call these sorts of products,” PBFA CEO Marisa Heath told Unearthed last year. “Consumers know what they are buying and they are not stupid, it should be left to them to make their choices in the supermarket.”

    This has been echoed by oat milk leader Oatly, whose UK and Ireland manager Bryan Carroll has described the assumption that people won’t be able to tell the difference as “frankly insulting”, questioning whether the UK wanted to be a country with the “most draconian rules about how we describe our food and drink”.

    A 2022 survey by ProVeg found that only 17% of Brits were confused about whether ‘plant-based’ foods contain dairy or eggs, which came two years after a study found that consumers aren’t more likely to think vegan products have animal origins if their names have conventional terms. In fact, the latter added, “omitting words that are traditionally associated with animal products from the names of plant-based products actually causes consumers to be significantly more confused about the taste and uses of these products”.

    Likewise, a 2,000-person poll published last month found that only 20% of Brits have confused plant-based foods with animal products due to branding or labelling, although it noted that 38% of UK consumers believe vegan companies should not be allowed to use animal-related terms.

    Heath believes the implementation of the new guidance would harm the food industry. “At the time when we should be encouraging consumers to make more sustainable choices… this is a bad move,” she told the Guardian. “Major retailers will have to rename their own-brand plant-based products. This will cause unnecessary time and financial costs in an industry that is already doing its best during the cost of living crisis. This could then have an impact on consumer prices too.”

    “In 2023, we didn’t receive a single complaint of consumer confusion,” said Ian Hepburn, marketing director at Upfield UK and Ireland, which makes the Flora butter range and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. “We are baffled by these proposed restrictions which do nothing but add bureaucracy to an outdated EU law.”

    If imposed, the proposed rules would be tougher than even the EU’s, which only bans conventional dairy terms like ‘milk’ and ‘cheese’, but not alternative uses or plays on these words. In the US, in fact, the FDA now allows plant-based milk brands to use the term ‘milk’ to describe their product (though there are disputes over voluntary nutritional labels). The new regulations would hinder the UK’s plant-based milk sector: market leader Alpro was already a key driver behind the milk category’s retail decline last year, with sales falling by £13.7M.

    The guidance will be shared with trading standards officials nationwide if passed through at the FSIFG’s next meet, and restrictions could be in place by Easter. If companies face a complaint, they may face enforcement action, which would mean a change in brand name or packaging. However, a spokesperson for Defra told the Guardian: “This is a draft opinion from a group who are independent of government. There are no plans to change existing legislation in this area.”

    The development comes around the same time that UK prime minister Rishi Sunak – who has been criticised for his climate inaction – attended a protest with a group that has posted climate change conspiracy theories and campaigns against net zero. Sunak has infamously called for a “more pragmatic, proportionate and realistic” to the UK’s net-zero plans for 2050, without outlining what that entails.

    The post Not ‘Mylk’: Plant-Based Industry to Fight New UK Proposal That Could Force Alt-Dairy Products to Change Their Labels appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • ‘Blood on Your Cans!’: PETA to Rattle Whole Foods Over Ties to Thai Monkey Abuse

    A troop of PETA “monkeys” dressed in prisoner garb will make a splash outside a local Whole Foods store on Sunday as they dump fake blood from spoof Thai coconut milk cans emblazoned with “Cruel Foods” labels to call out the grocery giant for its sale of coconut milk from Thailand—which it continues to stock even though it knows the country’s coconut industry is driven by the forced labor of endangered pig-tailed macaques.

    Where:    Whole Foods Market, 4315 Arden Way, Sacramento

    When:    Sunday, February 25, 11 a.m.

    spoof of a can of coconut milk with text that read Whole Foods Stop Selling Thai Coconut Milk - End Forced Monkey Labor

    Credit: PETA

     “By continuing to sell Thai coconut milk, Whole Foods is signing off on the abuse of an endangered species, willfully propping up an industry that kidnaps monkeys, chains them, and treats them as nothing more than coconut-picking machines,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Whole Foods to prove it’s not morally bankrupt by selling coconut milk only from countries where monkey labor isn’t used, such as India and the Philippines.”

    Many monkeys exploited in Thailand’s coconut industry are illegally snatched from their natural habitat as babies, fitted with metal collars, whipped, and forced to climb trees to pick heavy coconuts. Their canine teeth are often pulled out in order to leave them defenseless. Because the industry and the Thai government lie about their systemic reliance on forced monkey labor, it’s impossible to guarantee that any coconut milk from Thailand is free of it. Multiple companies that produce coconut milk sold at Whole Foods were named by industry workers in a PETA Asia investigation as having used coconuts obtained via monkey labor. HelloFresh, Purple Carrot, and Performance Food Group have stopped sourcing coconut milk from Thailand following PETA’s exposé, as have international companies such as Aldi, ASDA, and Lidl.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

    For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘Blood on Your Cans!’: PETA to Rattle Whole Foods Over Ties to Thai Monkey Abuse appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Why Editing Chickens’ Genes Is a Cockamamie Idea

    It’s been flapping around in the news that some experimenters think changing chickens’ genes will fend off avian influenza (bird flu). How about having respect for these remarkable birds rather than tampering with their DNA in order to keep using them for food? Editing chicken genetics, which only might make the birds less susceptible to disease, is highly problematic in multiple ways.

    Three chicks on orange towel

    Five Reasons Not to Edit Chicken Genetics

    1. It violates individuals: Chickens are living, feeling beings who shouldn’t be bred, exploited, and killed for food or anything else. Too often, deceptive labels like “humane,” “organic,” or “free-range” are used to distract consumers from the egregious misery that the meat and egg industries inflict on these remarkable birds. PETA has campaigned for decades to increase kindness toward them.

    Chickens are smart, social, and sensitive individuals, each with a distinct personality and capable of experiencing love, joy, sadness, and pain—yet they’re among the most abused animals on the planet. From the moment they hatch, billions of chickens raised for food each year are forced to endure enormous suffering, just for a fleeting taste of their flesh.

    chickens crammed into stacked battery cages on an egg farm

    1. It worsens the climate catastrophe: Editing genes in newly bred chickens perpetuates breeding more animals. This escalates environmental destruction due to having to feed them as they grow, manage their waste, transport them to a slaughterhouse, kill them, and process and ship their corpses as food.

    Raising billions of chickens on farms for food produces enormous amounts of excrement every year. Oregon State University agriculture professor Peter Cheeke says that today’s farming amounts to “a frontal assault on the environment,” which leads to widespread fecal pollution of land and water.

    waste runoff pouring from pipes into water that nearby birds are standing in

    1. It squanders tax money: Spending tax dollars on changing chickens’ genes—as the National Institutes of Health does on other tests on animals—is a wasteful expansion of the vivisection industry. That money would be better used to benefit animals, human health, and the planet.
    2. It wastes valuable time: Scientists should spend their time on meaningful and compassionate research—as laid out in PETA’s Research Modernization Deal. Damaging experiments like altering chickens’ genes would cause long-term harm, whereas human-relevant research that doesn’t involve other animals would bring about useful scientific advances.

    piece equipment for animal-free testing donated by a peta science group

    1. It stirs up potential pandemics: Reconfiguring chickens’ genetic makeup—which requires experimenters to be in close proximity to birds in potentially dangerous ways—could lead to future pandemics. And since all viruses, including bird flu, mutate, it could find a way around genetic manipulation.

    Birds used in the chicken industry and crowded into confinement have a high likelihood of contracting and carrying diseases, including avian flu, chronic respiratory illnesses, and bacterial infections. The answer isn’t to alter their genes—it’s to stop exploiting them for food.

    this is how chickens raised for cage-free eggs really live © iStock.com/takobchaiprakobkit

    Why Tampering With Chicken Genetics Is Cruel

    We should respect chickens for who they are, rather than trying to change them. Besides, by breeding them for specific characteristics, humans have already done horrible damage.

    Chickens love their families, value their lives, and are always looking out for others in their flock. They “talk” to their chicks while they’re still inside the shell and have unique calls to warn others of danger coming by land or air. They comprehend cause-and-effect relationships and understand that objects still exist even after they’ve been hidden from view. Inquisitive and intelligent, they have complex social structures as well as adept communication skills and can recall the faces and “pecking order” of over 100 other birds.

    mother chicken with baby chicks, to show the birds in a more natural state and encourage researchers not to meddle with chicken geneticsSuemack

    Focusing on how chickens could be changed to serve speciesism overrides compassion for and curiosity about them as individuals. Choosing kindness instead of using them for food would be better for everyone. Every animal—including every chicken—is someone.

    Mother and baby chicken with straw background next to text that says "Every animal is someone" and in a box "who will you be?"

    Help Stop the Spread of Bird Flu

    Crowded farms and filthy slaughterhouses are instrumental to the transmission and mutation of the bird flu virus, so our best bet at curbing its spread is to stop eating chickens and their eggs. Replacing them with animal-free options is the only way to be safe. And it’s easy to choose vegan chicken products. Have compassion for birds by ordering PETA’s free vegan starter kit:

    Order a Free Vegan Starter Kit

    The post Why Editing Chickens’ Genes Is a Cockamamie Idea appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Italy Rethinking Its Plant-Based Meat Labelling Ban to Avoid ‘Conflict with Italian Companies’

    italy plant based meat
    5 Mins Read

    Despite its hard-line stance on alternative protein in the last few months, Italy is reconsidering its ban on using meat-like terms on plant-based product labels, with Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida indicating that he doesn’t want to have any conflict with local manufacturers.

    It’s been an eventful few months for Italy and its adventures with alternative protein. In November, it became the first country to ban cultivated meat, citing health reasons, a risk to the country’s tradition, and a need to safeguard the livestock industry.

    However, this wasn’t the only ban introduced by Italy, with another legislation going slightly under the radar. As part of the cultivated meat legislation, the country also prohibited the use of meat-related terms like ‘steak’ and ‘salami’ on the product packaging of plant-based meat, which alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe says is consumed by half of Italy’s population.

    Labelling is a hot topic of debate in countries across the world, but perhaps it carries even greater weight considering Italy’s position as the third-largest vegan market in the EU, with a 21% sales hike from 2020-22. Agriculture Minister Lollobrigida appears to be changing tact, with the government reconsidering the move after backlash from food industry groups.

    Food industry group argues that consumers aren’t confused

    italy plant based ban
    Courtesy: VegFather

    The decision comes after Unione Italiana Food, which describes itself as Italy’s leading association for direct representation of food product categories, hit back at the government’s labelling ban by appealing to the EU Commission and requesting the removal of the article about plant-based food.

    Outlining its intention to introduce the legislation, Italy’s government submitted a Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) notification to the EU, which meant the country needed approval from the bloc if it wanted to ban cultivated meat and plant-based meat labels, with other EU members getting the chance to weigh in on the decision as well.

    In response to this notification, Unione Italiana Food had outlined its stance. As a group with over 550 companies and €51B in turnover, which offered a broad range of plant-based products, it noted that these have “nothing to do with food consisting of, isolated from or produced from cell cultures or tissues derived from vertebrate animals”.

    Unione Italiana Food argues that the protection of consumer information and the correct regulatory framework was already in place and that at the national and EU level, food labels are regulated by EU parliament rules. The bloc passed a landmark ruling in 2020 that rejected calls to ban the use of meat-related terms on plant-based product packaging.

    “It does not appear that consumers are confused by plant-based products’ denomination – on the contrary, they are generally consumers who read labels and who are very clear about the nature of what they are purchasing,” the association wrote. The European Consumer Organisation BEUC conducted a survey in 2020, which found that over 85% of Italians did not have any concerns with plant-based products using meat-like terms, as long as they were clearly labelled as vegetarian. “These names… do not give rise to risks of misunderstanding, also because they are always followed by the specification ‘vegetable’,” wrote Unione Italiana Food in its comment.

    “It’s not possible to change the names of products that have been around for 30 years,” the group told local newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. “This way, 20 million Italians who consume them knowingly will be confused. Our labels allow consumers to easily find and choose the products they intend to bring to the table without the risk of confusion on the shelves. Instead, the prohibition will end up generating confusion and disorientation.”

    GFI Europe’s public affairs consultant, Francesca Gallelli, had said at the time: “Eliminating the possibility of using familiar terms to facilitate product recognition undermines transparency, generating confusion for consumers where none currently exists, as demonstrated by surveys.”

    Supply chain discussions are needed as plant-based sales grow

    plant based meat labeling ban
    Courtesy: Atlante/Vivera

    Italy soon withdrew this notification, as it knew that the proposal would be rejected by the EU. This was followed by the formal ban, which many stakeholders felt would not hold, as it likely violated EU law. “We are the first nation to ban [cultivated meat], with all due respect to the multinationals who hope to make monstrous profits by putting citizens’ jobs and health at risk,” Lollobrigida said after the ban.

    While the noise was louder for cultivated meat, it’s plant-based meat products that were more affected, given that they’re the ones currently in the market. But now, it seems the Agriculture Minister is going back on his own words.

    “The last thing I want is to create conflict with Italian companies, so we have decided to start a process with Unione Italiana Food to develop a shared plan for the use of meat terms on plant-based products,” he told local reporters. “Our objective is to combine the needs of the industry with the protection of the consumer, who must not be misled.”

    While the deadline for the process was set to be February 16, Lollobrigida has said that it wasn’t an “imperative” date and that more discussions with supply chain players were required. He noted that the request “does not affect the entire law” of cultivated meat, but only the individual article about plant-based products, which is why he is happy to discuss it.

    “If it were a problem from this point of view, we could make an evaluation,” he said. “Through a gradual process, for example, we could decide not to change the names of the flagship products of some companies and instead modify those that are less well-known.”

    With plant-based sales in Italian retail and foodservice growing by 2.8% last year – in a global landscape where sales have regressed for these products – Unione Italiana Food will hope the conclusion is a positive one.

    The post Italy Rethinking Its Plant-Based Meat Labelling Ban to Avoid ‘Conflict with Italian Companies’ appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Society’s Burden: How Taxpayers Carry the Crushing Costs of Livestock Production

    5 Mins Read

    From pollution and destruction to disease, the societal costs of livestock meat production are an incredible burden.

    In 2020, the average American ate almost 280 pounds of meat, a figure which is very likely higher today.  Many European and Latin American countries, not to mention Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Hong Kong also eat a large amount of animal meat. In most industrialized nations, animal proteins are at the center of the average person’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner plate. But what of the costs to our collective health and environment? This past December, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a paper showing that our food systems, which we know to be based on animal proteins, externalizes $12.7 trillion in costs to society. That is an estimated 10% of global GDP.

    Why does meat cost society so much? 

    There is no shortage of research linking excess meat consumption to chronic disease. Both the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) and The National Library of Medicine show that regularly eating processed meats (bacon, sausage, deli slices, hot dogs) can cause heart disease. The World Health Organization qualifies processed meats as carcinogenic. Further, meat consumption is associated with rising levels of diabetes and obesity, as per the National Library of Medicine. All this illness costs the average taxpayer dearly: from debilitating personal illness to skyrocketing healthcare costs, not to mention severe environmental damage and considerable economic loss.

    For example, a 2018 Milken Institute report suggested that the $1.1 trillion in U.S. healthcare costs for chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity, as determined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is closer to $3.7 trillion when lost economic productivity is included. “This is equivalent to nearly 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP),” according to the report authors.   

    The FAO paper, published during the UN climate conference COP28 where sustainable and healthy food systems advancements were part of the main programming for the first time, noted that 73% of the $12.7 trillion cost to society was due to dietary pattern-induced productivity losses. In laypeople’s terms, we pay for our addiction to meat and other processed foods in more ways than at the grocery store.

    Another societal cost of our meat-dependent food systems, perhaps not reflected in the $12.7 trillion, is our growing antibiotic resistance. Livestock animals are raised in cramped conditions where disease is rampant, and as such, require enormous amounts of antibiotics (over 70% of all antibiotics produced globally are used by the livestock industry). By consuming meat, we ingest those pharmaceuticals and develop a resistance to them.

    Then, there are the environmental costs of our current food system, which the FAO report says “have an expected value corresponding to about 20 percent of total quantified hidden costs [$2.6T] caused by agrifood systems. Of these, more than half pertained to nitrogen emissions (mostly from runoff to surface waters and ammonia emissions to air). These were followed by the contributions of greenhouse gas emissions to climate change (30 percent), land-use change costs (14 percent), and water use (4 percent).” 

    Big Meat’s media tricks and the taxpayer burden

    Through sophisticated media campaigns that follow the PR playbook of other polluting industries such as fossil fuels and tobacco, the livestock industry has convinced the average consumer that meat is healthy, a non-negotiable part of their cultural identity, and that they can’t live without it. Made aware of the significant costs and tax burden of livestock meat production detailed above, would most people choose differently? 

    Alas, the duping of society by the Big Meat lobby is quite seductive. Take, for example, a Big Mac. What appears to be one of the cheapest meals/foods available to a US consumer, is actually quite costly upon further review, in large part because of external costs (see above) and substantial meat production subsidies. According to a paper by the American Institute for Economic Research titled ‘The True Cost of a Hamburger’, “the United States federal government spends $38 billion every year subsidizing the meat and dairy industries. Research from 2015 shows this subsidization reduces the price of Big Macs from $13 to $5 and the price of a pound of hamburger meat from $30 to the $5 we see today.” Guess who pays for those subsidies in the end? That’s right! It’s us, the taxpayers. Not only are we incentivized to eat foods that make us sick and damage our environment, we are made to pay for it through taxes. Not only is this infuriating, it’s fiscally irresponsible. Not to mention it’s all in the service of a very below-average hamburger.

    Food system innovation is the silver lining

    There is a silver lining: investing in food system innovation. Per the U.N.E.P., despite livestock farming accounting for up to 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, agrifood tech funding accounts for only 4% of global climate investments.

    Public markets haven’t yet priced in the true negative costs of livestock meat production and the full positive potential of future food innovations. Now is the time to invest in what some might call a golden opportunity.

    Where there is inefficiency, there is disruption through innovation. Markets thrive on this, and eventually, the great solutions rise to the top and there is mass adoption across society. Think of how the horse and buggy gave way to the automobile, the film developing industry gave way to digital imaging and the landline gave way to the cell phone. Today’s smart protein industry is alight with innovation that makes animal factories look like the dark-age torture relics they are.

    Indeed, innovation for efficient protein diversification through plant-based foods, precision fermented proteins and cultivated meat is growing, and the benefits are many. With alternatives, society can meet the rising demand for protein from a growing, economically-mobile and urbanizing global population for a fraction of the health and environmental costs, as noted by the COP28 host nation the UAE’s Minister of the Environment Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri during the conference.  

    We can see the path to food systems change is already taking shape with pioneering startups hitting key milestones. Israel’s Aleph Farms, for example, has just received approval from the Israeli government for the public sale of cultivated beef. Their peers at Upside Foods and GOOD Meat received US regulatory approval for cultivated chicken in June of last year. In the past few weeks, several precision fermentation dairy companies have earned FDA self-affirmed GRAS status for their animal-free dairy proteins. Meanwhile, the plant-based industry continues to iterate and work to improve taste, ingredient quality and health credentials.

    It’s never been a better time to invest in the future of food, and it’s never been more important. Soon, Governments across the world are waking up to this reality. In the meantime, you and your financial portfolio could potentially benefit from the market’s assymetry.

    The post Society’s Burden: How Taxpayers Carry the Crushing Costs of Livestock Production appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • ‘Eat Me!’ Chris P. Carrot Says Presidential Candidates Must Go Vegan to Combat Climate Catastrophe and More in Georgetown

    PETA’s bipartisan mascot Chris P. Carrot is on the campaign trail in South Carolina, where he’ll give attendees and presidential hopefuls some food for thought as he holds an “EAT ME!” sign and urges them to go vegan for three good reasons: to stop harming animals, to bolster human health, and to protect the environment. Chris P. Carrot will appear at Nikki Haley’s bus tour stops in Georgetown this afternoon and in Myrtle Beach later this evening.

    Left: Chris P. Carrot at the Asa Hutchinson rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 13. Right: Chris P. Carrot at Nikki Haley’s rally in Adel, Iowa, on January 14. Credit: PETA

    Left: Chris P. Carrot at the Asa Hutchinson rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 13. Right: Chris P. Carrot at Nikki Haley’s rally in Adel, Iowa, on January 14. Credit: PETA

    “Animal agriculture is a killer, spewing methane that’s destroying the planet, hardening humans’ arteries with cholesterol, and sending billions of animals to their deaths,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s Chris P. Carrot is urging candidates and voters to go vegan before it’s too late—and we have free downloadable vegan starter kits for all.”

    According to the United Nations, about a third of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food production and the largest percentage of these emissions come from the meat and dairy industries. PETA notes that growing water-intensive crops just to feed animals raised for food consumes more than half the water used in the U.S. and that up to 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cows. Vegan foods—such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils—require less energy, land, and water.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘Eat Me!’ Chris P. Carrot Says Presidential Candidates Must Go Vegan to Combat Climate Catastrophe and More in Georgetown appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • ‘Eat Me!’ Chris P. Carrot Says Presidential Candidates Must Go Vegan to Combat Climate Catastrophe and More

    PETA’s bipartisan mascot Chris P. Carrot is on the campaign trail in South Carolina, where he’ll give attendees and presidential hopefuls some food for thought as he holds an “EAT ME!” sign and urges them to go vegan for three good reasons: to stop harming animals, to bolster human health, and to protect the environment. Chris P. Carrot’s first stop will be at Nikki Haley’s bus tour stop in Beaufort this evening, followed by other events throughout the week.

    Left: Chris P. Carrot at the Asa Hutchinson rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. Right: Chris P. Carrot at the Nikki Haley rally in Adel, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit: PETA

    Left: Chris P. Carrot at the Asa Hutchinson rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. Right: Chris P. Carrot at the Nikki Haley rally in Adel, Iowa, on Sunday. Credit: PETA

    “Animal agriculture is a killer, spewing methane that’s destroying the planet, hardening humans’ arteries with cholesterol, and sending billions of animals to their deaths,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s Chris P. Carrot is urging candidates and voters to go vegan before it’s too late—and we have free downloadable vegan starter kits for all.”

    According to the United Nations, about a third of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food production and the largest percentage of these emissions come from the meat and dairy industries. PETA notes that growing water-intensive crops just to feed animals raised for food consumes more than half the water used in the U.S. and that up to 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cows. Vegan foods—such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils—require less energy, land, and water.

    Chris P. Carrot will make appearances at Haley’s bus tour stops in Georgetown and Myrtle Beach tomorrow and in Rock Hill on Friday.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘Eat Me!’ Chris P. Carrot Says Presidential Candidates Must Go Vegan to Combat Climate Catastrophe and More appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Breaking Victory! African Union Bans Violent Donkey-Skin Trade

    PETA is celebrating a historic victory for donkeys! Following a massive push from PETA entities and an explosive PETA Asia investigation into Kenya’s bloody donkey slaughter industry, the African Union has announced a 15-year continentwide ban on slaughtering donkeys for their skin. This decision will prevent countless donkeys from being violently killed so that their skins can be exported to China and boiled down to make gelatin for ejiao—a traditional Chinese “medicine.”

    donkey farm with victory text announcing that the african union banned the donkey-skin trade

    This monumental win follows a campaign against the ejiao trade by PETA entities and a coalition of animal protection groups in and outside Africa. PETA Asia’s eye-opening investigation at a donkey slaughterhouse in Kenya—which revealed that donkeys were left to suffer from untreated injuries and that some even died during the torturous, days-long journey to the slaughterhouse—ignited global outrage.

    Many countries, including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, either banned the export of donkey skin or closed down Chinese-owned slaughterhouses. But donkeys were still being sent on grueling days-long journeys to slaughterhouses in Kenya and Nigeria, countries where the trade was still legal.

    Animal advocates kept up the pressure, and PETA entities and hundreds of thousands of our supporters contacted African officials. This moratorium on donkey slaughter is a massive blow to the Chinese ejiao industry, which relies heavily on imports of donkey skins from Africa and elsewhere.

    In 2017, a first-of-its-kind PETA Asia investigation revealed that donkey farms in China confined the animals to cramped, feces-caked pens with concrete floors. At a donkey market, terrified animals were beaten with sticks while they were forced to stand in the hot sun. At the slaughterhouse, donkeys were bashed in the head with a sledgehammer before workers slit their throats.

    In addition to inflicting unimaginable suffering on gentle donkeys, the ejiao trade was decimating Africa’s donkey population. Between 2016 and 2019, Kenyan slaughterhouses reportedly killed about half the donkeys in the country for this cruel trade. PETA is now urging all African Union member nations to strictly enforce the ban.

    What You Can Do

    Donkeys are patient, kind, intelligent animals. They can recognize the faces of animals they haven’t seen for years, and they feel pain and fear just as any other animal does. You can continue to help them by refusing to purchase products made with ejiao. Look out for ingredients such as “donkey oil,” “donkey-hide gelatin,” “donkey hide,” “donkey glue,” and “ass-hide glue.”

    Call on Xie Feng—the Chinese ambassador to the U.S.—to use his influence to protect donkeys from suffering in the ejiao industry:

    The post Breaking Victory! African Union Bans Violent Donkey-Skin Trade appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Beyond Meat IV: Meatier, Healthier & Costlier Plant-Based Burgers

    beyond burger
    9 Mins Read

    Californian plant-based giant Beyond Meat has unveiled its first product reformulation in three years, with the Beyond IV burger and beef now featuring avocado oil, fava beans and lentils. It’s a more nutritious product, but it’s also more expensive.

    Beyond Meat is reformulating its mince and burger SKUs to match consumer demands for better-tasting and healthier plant-based meats, which will roll out in the US this spring.

    Fuelled by the fourth generation of its core beef platform, the new Beyond Burger and Beef will replace the existing iterations on retail shelves, and their launch is headlined by improved nutritional credentials. There’s less saturated fat, less sodium, more calcium, more potassium, and slightly more protein.

    The El Segundo-based company has now bid adieu to canola and coconut oils, replacing them with avocado oil. Plus, it has added fava beans and red lentils to its ingredient list, marginally shortening the ingredient list from 18 to 17. All this plays into key consumer concerns and demands: research has shown that people want better-tasting vegan burgers that are also better for their health.

    Beyond Meat’s revamp comes with the backdrop of heightened criticism around the additives, ‘unnatural’ ingredients and ultra-processing used in meat alternatives. To ensure that its claims live up to scrutiny, the company worked with medical and nutrition experts in a multi-year research effort to improve its offerings and meet guidelines set by national health bodies and experts.

    “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished with Beyond IV as it marks our most significant renovation and step forward to date,” Shira Zackai, the company’s chief communication officer, told Green Queen. “As part of Beyond Meat’s rapid and relentless approach to innovation, we’re always working to advance the taste and nutrition of our products.”

    Beyond Meat IV means more nutritious plant-based beef

    beyond burger nutrition
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat | Graphic by Green Queen

    In the last year, brand strategies for plant-based meat have shifted drastically. There’s a bigger focus on health than ever before, in direct response to consumer attitudes and concerns about vegan alternatives. In August, with its first marketing campaign in years, Beyond Meat opted to subtly push back against targeted attacks from meat industry lobby groups, shining a light on the farmers who grow its ingredients.

    However, it quickly changed tact two months later, with a new marketing drive honing in on its steak product, which was certified as ‘heart-healthy’ by the American Heart Association (AHA). It has continued that rhetoric, as has its biggest rival, Impossible Foods.

    “There is a considerable gap between the strong health credentials of our products and a broader counternarrative that is now afoot, and this gap appears to have widened,” Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said in its Q2 earnings call. “This change in perception is not without encouragement from interest groups, who have succeeded in seeding doubt and fear around the ingredients and processes we use to create our and other plant-based meats.”

    In retrospect, this served as a precursor to today’s announcement. Behind the scenes, Beyond Meat has been intent on answering critics of plant-based meat, and the belief is that its newest products are its strongest response yet. The Beyond Burger IV is an upgrade on the existing one on multiple counts: there’s 60% less saturated fat (2g per serving), 30% less sodium (310mg), 20% more calcium (120mg), and 12% higher potassium content (370mg).

    Plus, the new Beyond Beef has 21g of protein, a gram more than its predecessor. This, by the way, is higher than most 80/20 beef products on the market. The company claims the saturated fat content is 75% lower than standard 80/20 beef too.

    “The development of the new products occurred within an ecosystem of leading medical and nutrition experts, and were designed to meet the standards of national health organisations to create a product that delivers the taste, satisfaction, and utility of 80/20 beef – yet is demonstrably healthier,” said Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown.

    The company has been able to do so by rejigging its ingredient list. Gone are the canola and coconut oils – the former is a seed oil that has high amounts of linoleic acid, which has been linked to inflammation and related diseases, while the latter is a fat infamous for its high saturated fat content. With avocado oil, there’s less saturated fat, less linoleic acid, and more monounsaturated fat (also known as one of the healthier fats). The new products have 8g of the latter, versus 6g in the 3.0 versions.

    Half of Americans found plant-based meats to be healthy in 2020, but that dipped to 38% in 2022. The loss in faith has since continued, with a Mintel survey from last year showing that nutrition is the second-biggest reason (35%) for Americans’ reticence to try meat alternatives. Yet another poll revealed that health is the major factor behind Americans eating meatless diets, with six in 10 choosing it.

    Beyond Meat’s beef is now recognised by the American Diabetes Association’s evidence-based nutritional guidelines for its Better Choices for Life programme, and now features Good Housekeeping’s Nutritionist Approved Emblem. Unlike its steak, the ground beef and burger aren’t yet certified by the AHA, but they have been included in a catalogue of ‘heart-healthy’ recipes by its Heart-Check initiative.

    All this will no doubt appeal to a country where one citizen dies from cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds, over a third are clinically obese, and over 11% suffer from type 2 diabetes.

    beyond meat ingredients
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    Beyond Meat leans into the whole-food trend, but there’s a snag

    The other major additions to Beyond Meat’s mince and burger are fava beans and red lentils. The company joins a raft of others incorporating whole foods into their plant-based offerings, playing into a trend connected to the increased consciousness around health and ultra-processed foods.

    Among different protein sources, those originating from whole plants experienced the sharpest rise in consumption among Americans between 2022 and 2023, with 28% eating them ‘somewhat’ or ‘much more’. These foods also had the second-lowest drop (11%) in intake, behind plant-based meat and seafood analogues (10%).

    There is a lot of misconception about ultra-processing and plant-based meats, with consumers linking the former with healthfulness to explain their dismay about the latter. This outlook chimes with “concerns some people have around foods that are new – often called food neophobia“, Churchill Fellow Jenny Chapman told Green Queen earlier this month. “Some [marketing] campaigns really hone in on this, by using words like ‘fake’ and ‘unnatural’ to describe plant-based meats (which are safe, nutritious foods).”

    With fava bean, pea protein and avocado oil, Beyond Meat is aiming to appeal to people looking for clean-label foods. Research by ingredients supplier Ingredion has found that 78% of consumers would spend more money on products with ‘natural’ or ‘all-natural’ packaging claims.

    It’s important to note that there’s no agreed definition for what constitutes a ‘clean-label’ food, though the common understanding is that it means there are fewer ingredients and fewer ultra-processed elements. The 17-ingredient Beyond Beef and Burger IV don’t suggest they meet the former criterion, but the removal of ‘expeller-pressed canola oil’ and ‘refined coconut oil’ indicates they could fit the latter.

    Backing up this claim is a Clean Label Project certification, the first such accreditation for plant-based meat – although the initiative is more focused on screening products for environmental toxins and ingredient quality.

    However, there is one drawback with the inclusion of fava beans: it makes Beyond Meat products more susceptible to allergies. Estimates suggest that around 4% of the world’s population have favism, a genetic disorder characterised by allergy-like reactions to these beans. The company did not respond to Green Queen’s query about whether the inclusion of fava beans raised any internal concerns about allergies.

    beyond meat
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat | Graphic by Green Queen

    Avocado oil pits flavour against cost

    Using avocado oil doesn’t just come with health gains – it opens up more culinary attributes too. This is important: flavour is by far the biggest deterrent and attraction for alt-meat consumption. This is illustrated by an international survey from 2022, which suggested that plant-based meat’s taste and texture are as important as their conventional counterparts for over 75% of consumers. And remember that Mintel poll from above? Nutrition was second on the list to flavour, which drives 48% of consumers away from these products.

    But by using this fat, Beyond Meat is hitting the taste vertical, with the neutral flavour and smoother mouthfeel allowing it to “unlock an even meatier, beefy flavour” for the new products. Plus, given avocado oil has a higher smoke point of any fat (270°C/521°F, versus 230°C/446°F for canola oil, on average), the new Beyond Beef is designed to sizzle and barbecue better.

    If you’re worried about the change in ingredients meaning a change in your beloved Beyond Burger’s flavour, fret not. A 93-person taste test last September indicated that consumers preferred the meatier taste and texture of the new vegan beef. And at last month’s FoodFluence conference in Edinburgh, 29 out of 31 registered dietitians said they enjoyed the taste of the new Beyond Burger, found it healthful, and would recommend it.

    “We are excited to be adding more nutrient-dense plant-based ingredients including red lentil and faba
    bean protein in the Beyond IV platform,” Zackai told Green Queen. “The interplay of the proteins with the avocado oil allowed us to deliver our meatiest product yet while significantly advancing the nutritional benefits.”

    Moreover, according to its latest life-cycle assessment, the Beyond Burger 3.0 generates 90% fewer GHG emissions, requires 37% non-renewable energy, uses 97% less land and consumes 97% less water than a conventional 80/20 quarter-pound beef patty produced in the US. But the reformulation doesn’t necessarily signal a shift in Beyond Beef’s environmental credentials. “While more research is still needed, we don’t expect there to be a significant change,” he said.

    beyond meat stock
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    Okay, taste? Check. Nutrition? Check. Sustainability? Check. Price? Well.

    We’re in an era of increased cost of living, and people are looking for wallet-friendly food. In the UK, inflation has bitten plant-based meats already. While Beyond Meat’s yearly accounts are due next week, the company’s previous financials have shown that it struggled last year, with a 26.5% sales fall in Q3 (over already declining sales in the previous quarter) forcing it to abandon its target of becoming cashflow-positive, lay off more staff, and cut back its full-year forecast.

    There was always going to be one major issue with avocado oil – for all its benefits, it’s significantly more expensive. So, Beyond Meat had to make a decision: absorb the added costs, or pass them on to the consumer. “As avocado oil is a more premium ingredient, the new platform will be priced to reflect that,” revealed Zackai. “However, based on the significant nutritional benefits and elevated taste profile of these new products, we feel confident in the value we will be providing to consumers relative to their cost.”

    So, it’ll be interesting to see whether consumers really are willing to pay more for healthier, tastier meat alternatives. The new products are initially exclusive to retail, and their foodservice path remains unclear. “It will be available at all retailers where the Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef are currently sold, replacing the previous version in grocery stores,” confirmed Zackai. “We are excited to get these products into the market and clearly communicate these benefits to consumers, so they can make a choice that not only tastes great, but is substantially better for them and the planet.”

    Could platform IV be a catalyst for the year 2024 for Beyond Meat?

    The post Beyond Meat IV: Meatier, Healthier & Costlier Plant-Based Burgers appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 10,000 Locations by Year-End: Meati Appoints New CEO, Lays Off 13% Staff in Bid for Profitability

    meati layoffs
    6 Mins Read

    US mycelium meat maker Meati has appointed a new CEO and cut 13% of its workforce in a right-sizing move aimed at reaching profitability.

    Meati has switched up its C-suite by making Phil Graves its new CEO. The former Patagonia executive, who joined the alternative meat startup just two weeks ago as CFO, takes over from Meati co-founder Tyler Huggins, who will move into the role of chief innovation officer. It follows ex-COO and president Scott Tassani’s exit earlier this month.

    Amid restructuring in the wider food industry, the Colorado-based company has also let go of 13% of its workforce, marking the business’s third round of job cuts in nine months. The decision to right-size has been made with an eye towards accelerating the company’s path to profitability. The details of any severance packages are unclear, but Meati said it doesn’t expect any supply chain disruptions due to the layoffs.

    Graves argued that although such changes are challenging, they’re essential for aligning resources with profitability objectives. “These changes allow us to better serve our customers and pave the way for long-term, sustainable growth,” said the new Meati CEO.

    Meati layoffs come after a challenging year for plant-based meat

    meati steak
    Courtesy: Charlie McKenna/Meati

    In June last year, Meati laid off 17 employees (about 5% of its workforce), followed by another round of cutbacks in September that saw 30 staffers (10% of the total at the time) lose their jobs. This was accompanied by a reshuffle that meant the elimination of 60 positions, as well as the shuttering of its pilot plant.

    Striking a similar tone to Graves now, a Meati representative told Green Queen at the time: “These job cuts, while incredibly difficult, are a necessary part of ensuring we achieve a sustainable business model. Despite creating incredible products and an excellent commercial start in the market, we must be nimble and focus on near-term profitability.”

    They added: “Meati is a young, disruptive company navigating uncharted territory – bringing a novel food to the forefront of a highly competitive industry in a challenging economic climate. Each of these factors requires us to regularly evaluate every aspect of our operations.”

    Meati is not the only plant-based meat company to have cut its workforce over the last year, which has been incredibly challenging for the industry in terms of both funding and sales. Beyond Meat, one of the sector’s leading companies, laid off 19% of its global non-production workforce (about 65 employees) last year in an effort to reduce operating expenses and improve its cost structure, after reducing its annual sales forecast. A few months prior, rival company Impossible Foods let go of 20% of its staff.

    Circana data crunched by 210 Analytics reveals that retail sales of meat analogues dipped by 11.1% to $1.05B in the 52 weeks ending January 28, 2024, while volume was down by 16.5%. In comparison, sales of fresh meat declined only by 0.5%, with volumes decreasing by 1.5% in the same period.

    Investment has also slowed down in the plant-based protein space, as part of a wider funding hurdle for food tech. In the first half of 2023, plant-based companies attracted just $124M in investment – while data for the second half is yet to be updated, it still represents an alarming drop from the $1.2B injected in the sector for the full year of 2022.

    Meati – which has raised over $275M in total investment – said its latest cutbacks follow precedents set by other leading companies “navigating transformative market shifts”. Last month, over 6,650 layoffs were publicly announced in the food sector, which is the highest number of monthly cutbacks in the sector since November 2012 (which were a result of factory closures), according to data from Challenger, Grey & Christmas Inc.

    Meati continues to grow, targeting 10,000 retailers by year-end

    plant based meat sales
    Courtesy: Meati

    Graves’ move from CFO to CEO leaves the company without a dedicated chief financial or commercial executive, but a spokesperson for Meati told AFN that the departure of Tassani, who joined TreeHouse Foods after two years at Meati, wasn’t sudden: “He took another role that was offered to him that he couldn’t pass up. Scott left before Phil was brought in as CFO, and that hiring process had been ongoing.”

    The reshuffle sees Huggins, who founded Meati alongside CSO Justin Whiteley in 2017, move to a product-focused position. He will oversee the launch of a new foodservice Chef Cut product and drive the business’s sustainability initiatives. “I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved to date, and I am confident that in Phil we have found the right individual to lead the company to our next exciting chapter,” said Huggins.

    Despite the layoffs last September, though, Meati added nearly 100 positions to amp up production capacity for its mycelium-based chicken and beef alternatives, which have been produced in a ‘mega ranch’ facility in Thornton, Colorado since January 2023. This will ultimately be capable of manufacturing 40 million lbs of meat analogues annually to rival the output of animal farms, which will help the company achieve its goal of $1B sales, which was previously earmarked for 2025, but may now be pushed back.

    “Our future is bright. This category-defining product is already in 3,600 stores nationwide after just one year of production, showcasing its boundless potential,” revealed Graves. Its products are available in Whole Foods Market, Meijer, Cub Foods and Sprouts Farmers Markets, among other retailers, while it launched a D2C marketplace in September alongside a subscription service for new product trials. By the end of this year, it aims to enter 10,000 retail doors.

    The company added chicken nuggets, jerky SKUs, and more flavours to its roster ahead of Christmas, all powered by its patented MushroomRoot ingredient, its commercial name for the Neurospora crassa strain of mycelium. An AI-led study has shown that this ingredient, whose whole-food nutritional density could address “prevalent nutritional deficiencies” and enhance “cardiovascular health”, also boasts certain “exceedingly rare/non-existent” compounds in food that present “pointed” health benefits.

    It’s a leading company in the red-hot mycelium protein space, which has seen a bunch of innovations and developments in the last year, including Esencia Foods‘ whole-cut seafood analogues, Better Nature‘s soybean mycelium chicken, Libre Foods‘ whole-cut chicken breast, and Bolder Foods‘ cheese alternatives. Plus, investors have shown heightened interest in the sector, with MyForest Foods bagging a $15M Series A extension in June and Infinite Roots securing $58M in Series B funding last month.

    It speaks to the potential of mycelium, with a study authored by Meati employees revealing that the fungi can take on different desired tasting notes through biochemistry and flavour chemistry, while being high in protein with all essential amino acids and micronutrients. It has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol too, with the potential to reduce food waste by valorising the sidestream and be produced in a cost-effective manner.

    The study argued that mycelium could resolve global hunger and food insecurity if scaled effectively with enough investment and consumer education: “Once achieved, mycelium will certainly be appealing as an environmentally friendly, nutrient-dense protein source that can aid in the reduction of global hunger.”

    The post 10,000 Locations by Year-End: Meati Appoints New CEO, Lays Off 13% Staff in Bid for Profitability appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Giant ‘Monkey’ to Hijack Albuquerque Whole Foods Grand Opening Over Thai Coconut Industry Abuse

    Shoppers attending Thursday’s grand opening of the new Whole Foods store in Albuquerque will be confronted by an 8-foot crying “monkey” chained to a massive coconut as PETA pushes the grocery giant to stop selling coconut milk from Thailand, where the coconut industry is involved in a scandal over the forced labor of endangered pig-tailed macaque monkeys.

    Where:     In front of Whole Foods, 2100 Carlisle Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque

    When:     Thursday, February 22, 9 a.m.

    giant inflatable monkey chained to a equally giant inflatable coconut at a whole foods store protest

    Credit: PETA

    Many monkeys used in Thailand’s coconut-picking industry are illegally snatched from their natural habitat as babies, fitted with rigid metal collars, chained, whipped, and forced to climb trees to pick heavy coconuts. Their canine teeth are sometimes pulled out in order to leave them defenseless. Because the industry and the Thai government lie about their systemic reliance on forced monkey labor, it’s impossible to guarantee that any coconut milk from Thailand is free of it. Multiple companies that produce coconut milk sold at Whole Foods were named by industry workers in a PETA Asia investigation as having used coconuts obtained by monkey labor. HelloFresh, Purple Carrot, and Performance Food Group stopped sourcing coconut milk from Thailand following the exposé.

    “Whole Foods’ continued sale of products implicated in the abuse of an endangered species is particularly appalling coming from a company that claims to care about animal welfare,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Whole Foods to live up to its values and sell coconut milk only from countries where monkey labor isn’t used, including India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

    For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Giant ‘Monkey’ to Hijack Albuquerque Whole Foods Grand Opening Over Thai Coconut Industry Abuse appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Giant ‘Monkey’ to Hijack Albuquerque Whole Foods Grand Opening Over Thai Coconut Industry Abuse

    Shoppers attending Thursday’s grand opening of the new Whole Foods store in Albuquerque will be confronted by an 8-foot crying “monkey” chained to a massive coconut as PETA pushes the grocery giant to stop selling coconut milk from Thailand, where the coconut industry is involved in a scandal over the forced labor of endangered pig-tailed macaque monkeys.

    Where:    In front of Whole Foods, 2100 Carlisle Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque

    When:    Thursday, February 22, 9 a.m

    giant inflatable monkey chained to a equally giant inflatable coconut at a whole foods store protest

    Credit: PETA

    Many monkeys used in Thailand’s coconut-picking industry are illegally snatched from their natural habitat as babies, fitted with rigid metal collars, chained, whipped, and forced to climb trees to pick heavy coconuts. Their canine teeth are sometimes pulled out in order to leave them defenseless. Because the industry and the Thai government lie about their systemic reliance on forced monkey labor, it’s impossible to guarantee that any coconut milk from Thailand is free of it. Multiple companies that produce coconut milk sold at Whole Foods were named by industry workers in a PETA Asia investigation as having used coconuts obtained by monkey labor. HelloFresh, Purple Carrot, and Performance Food Group stopped sourcing coconut milk from Thailand following the exposé.

    “Whole Foods’ continued sale of products implicated in the abuse of an endangered species is particularly appalling coming from a company that claims to care about animal welfare,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Whole Foods to live up to its values and sell coconut milk only from countries where monkey labor isn’t used, including India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

    For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Giant ‘Monkey’ to Hijack Albuquerque Whole Foods Grand Opening Over Thai Coconut Industry Abuse appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • The Body Shop: How the Ethical Beauty Pioneer’s Fortunes Soured, and What Happens Next

    the body shop vegan
    7 Mins Read

    The Body Shop has announced that its UK and German operations have gone into administration, with its business in other countries also in jeopardy. How did it get here, and what’s next?

    A pioneer of cruelty-free beauty and a beloved brand for millions around the world, The Body Shop last week entered administration in the UK and Germany, three months after it changed hands in a deal worth £207M.

    The move puts the jobs of more than 2,600 people at risk, and has left its fair trade suppliers in vulnerable countries with over $1M worth of ingredients and stock that may never be paid for. It comes after the brand witnessed disappointing sales over the Christmas period, and it emerged that the cosmetics label had insufficient working capital.

    The 48-year-old business is now in jeopardy. Here’s what happened, and what happens next.

    The rise and fall of The Body Shop

    the body shop cruelty free
    Courtesy: The Body Shop

    Founded by human rights and environmental activist Dame Anita Roddick, the Body Shop grew from a small shop in Brighton to a global business with about 3,000 stores in over 70 countries. Famed for its emphasis on ethics, it was the world’s first cosmetics brand to commit to zero animal testing, way back in 1989.

    Roddick was a champion of ethical consumerism and was the face of the company as it won over consumers – especially teenagers – for its cruelty-free products, including bath pearls, body butters, fruit soaps, White Musk fragrance, Hemp hand cream, and the famous Dewberry Perfume Oil.

    After three decades of family ownership, The Body Shop entered the corporate world after Roddick sold it to French personal care giant L’Oréal for £652M in 2006. This attracted criticism from many of the brand’s consumers, who labelled it as a betrayal of its ethics and identity, given that L’Oréal’s products had been linked to animal testing and the company was part-owned by Nestlé.

    In 2017, L’Oréal sold The Body Shop to Brazilian beauty giant Natura for £880M. But by this time, The Body Shop was no longer the be-all and end-all of the ethical beauty world. After the EU had introduced a blanket ban on animal testing in cosmetics in 2013, its brand identity wasn’t as distinguishable as it once was.

    Its product portfolio became more dictated by trends, eliminating fan-favourite SKUs and introducing items thought of as untrue to its identity. There was also a case of too many launches, which clouded out the focus and fuelled already existing overconsumption patterns. The company has – like many – been forced to raise prices, but that has diverted many towards cheaper replicas of its products as the cost-of-living crisis bites.

    Many of its customers flocked to competitors like Neal’s Yard, Aesop, Bath and Body Works, and Lush. The latter, for instance, is a business that champions animal welfare, sustainability and workers’ rights too, but is, crucially, still independently owned. There was a sense that The Body Shop – a company that had always been ahead of its time – had stopped evolving with time. Winning over newer consumers, especially Gen Zers, became a challenge.

    Last year, The Body Shop – which employs over 10,000 people – was sold once again, but this time to a German private investment firm called Aurelius, which hoped to reinvigorate the brand. However, less than three months later, the cosmetics label is now in all sorts of trouble.

    Financial woes lead to administration

    is the body shop closing
    Courtesy: The Body Shop

    Reports began surfacing earlier this month that The Body Shop – which transformed its entire portfolio to be vegan-friendly last year – was set to appoint administrators, a move aimed at saving the business from liquidity or collapse.

    It came a month after Aurelius announced it was selling off The Body Shop’s loss-making operations in most of mainland Europe and parts of Asia to “an international family office”, which is understood to be Alma24, whose majority shareholder Friedrich Trautwein has close ties with Aurelius. The Body Shop’s Ireland and Japan businesses are part of the deal.

    “This further prioritises the Body Shop’s strategically important markets and global head franchise partner relationships, which it will look for opportunities to build,” the company told Retail Week at the time. “The Body Shop will also focus on more effectively reaching customers by strengthening digital platforms, developing new sales channels, and via differentiated retail experiences.”

    And last week, the company – which recorded a £71M loss in its latest accounts in 2022, down from a £10M profit – appointed administrators for its home market of the UK, where it has over 200 stores, as well as a head office and a distribution centre. “The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector,” said the administrators.

    This was swiftly followed by the company entering administration in Germany, where it has more than 400 employees and 60 stores. Staff in Belgium were told that the operation there would face the same fate soon. “The actions being taken may not be wrong, but it is how it is being done that is breaking people’s hearts,” one source told the Guardian. “People are being told with no notice: ‘You work for an unnamed family company,’ when some of these people have been with the company for years, some 30 years. It is so painful.”

    Aurelius has faced criticism for its cut-price takeover of the beauty brand, which valued the company at £670M less than what Nature had paid for it six years ago. The private equity firm is facing allegations of failure to make payments worth £3M to around 20 former employees last month.

    Is The Body Shop closing down?

    the body shop administration
    Courtesy: The Body Shop

    It’s unlikely that The Body Shop will completely disappear, but there will likely be a sea change in the business’s operations. “Administrators will now consider all options to find a way forward for the business and will update creditors and employees in due course,” the company has said, while conforming that it will continue to trade during this period, both in-store and online.

    It’s important to note that this doesn’t spell doom for The Body Shop everywhere. While it’s expected to fall into administration in Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg too, its Canada and Australia operations – where it remains successful – are anticipated to remain open.

    It’s unclear what this means for The Body Shop in the US, or even in France, Sweden and Spain, where directors haven’t signed documents finalising a transfer of ownership. As the company explained, the administration period “provides the stability, flexibility and security to find the best means of securing the future of The Body Shop and revitalising this iconic British brand”.

    While it’s too early to tell how things will pan out, some say there will be a focus on cost reduction – including on property and rents – and building greater online presence. Others expect the brand to survive, but with far fewer stores (numbering 100 in the UK), with Aurelius a likely buyer for a diluted business. Next, the UK’s largest clothing company and parent of Reiss, Victoria’s Secret UK, GAP UK and Cath Kidston (among others), is also thought to be in the running.

    One industry expert told the Guardian that The Body Shop wasn’t a brand that could work as a wholesaler. Instead, it would require a chain to ensure efficient communication about ethical sourcing. “If you stick a few products on a shelf in Boots, you would lose the magic,” they said.

    It highlights the problem for the cruelty-free beauty pioneer – no one can seem to agree on what to do next. There are hopes that the company can be restructured to appeal to younger shoppers and compete with the likes of Lush, for instance. But there’s a feeling that e-commerce might be the most viable course of action next. For others, there’s a brick-and-mortar charm that is irreplaceable for a company like The Body Shop.

    Most agree on one thing though: this is a brand steeped in nostalgia, and they don’t want to see it go. At a time when animal welfare, ethical sourcing, environmental sustainability, and vegan personal care are crucial, it would be against the grain for The Body Shop to say goodbye. Time will tell if it can bounce back.

    The post The Body Shop: How the Ethical Beauty Pioneer’s Fortunes Soured, and What Happens Next appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Inside Meat the Mushroom’s Vegan Bacon Pitch on Shark Tank

    meat the mushroom
    6 Mins Read

    Black-owned plant-based meat company Meat the Mushroom secured investment from two Sharks in the ongoing season on Shark Tank – here’s the inside story on how it all went down.

    “In Shark Tank, we have so many plant-based products – they all taste like crap. This actually tastes good.”

    As far as stamps of approval go, this one from Kevin O’Leary – known on the internet as Chef Wonderful – took the cake for Meat the Mushroom, the Baltimore-based startup that appeared on Shark Tank’s ongoing season. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Marvin and Aleah Rae Montague, the three-year-old brand’s flagship product is Shroomacon, a vegan bacon with only five ingredients: king oyster mushrooms, olive oil, natural smoke flavour, salt and black pepper.

    The clean-label aspect drives the company’s nutrition-focused marketing strategy, with Aleah highlighting bacon’s association with high blood pressure and heart disease, its high saturated fat and cholesterol content, and the presence of nitrates and preservatives. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in the US – one American dies from cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds, and African Americans are 30% more likely to do so than non-Hispanic white people – the health focus on food is higher than ever.

    A 1,022-person survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) last year found that health is the major factor behind Americans eating vegan or vegetarian diets, with six in 10 choosing it. And in terms of plant-based meat, ‘healthy’ is the most appealing description on product labels.

    When it comes to protein intake, whole-plant sources saw the sharpest rise among Americans between 2022 and 2023, with 28% eating them ‘somewhat’ or ‘much more’ now. There’s also greater sensitivity around ultra-processed foods and their impact on health, a link that is extended to meat alternatives. All this has brought whole-food plant-based proteins into sharp focus recently.

    For Marvin himself, going vegan was a health thing. Within a year of transitioning to a plant-based diet in 2014, he managed to overcome his lifelong battle with asthma and reverse a diagnosis of early heart disease. Giving up bacon was the hardest part, though, which led to him creating a mushroom-based version in preparation for a future restaurant. That has now evolved into Meat the Mushroom.

    Two Sharks for the price of one

    vegan shark tank
    Courtesy: Christopher Willard/ABC

    The Montagues’ appearance on Shark Tank – which has platformed many vegan brands, including Wild Earth, Everything Legendary, Project Pollo, Mrs Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli and The Cinnamon Kitchen – was two years in the making. “We applied two years in a row and got the call in the spring of 2023 that we were moving forward to the next round in the process,” Aleah tells Green Queen. “And it is a process.”

    They received a call to find out they’re moving forward past the application stage, a moment she describes as “surreal”. “This entire experience is a real ‘pinch-me’ moment,” she notes. The nerves gave way to adrenaline as she and her husband walked down the famous Shark Tank hallway. “All of our practice really kicked in… and we made it all happen.”

    Pitching to Mark Cuban (a known vegetarian and alternative protein investor), Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Daniel Lubetzky and O’Leary, Marvin and Aleah were seeking $150,000 for a 7.5% stake in their vegan bacon company.

    But although the Sharks were impressed by the bacon, they didn’t have the same feeling about the $2M valuation. O’Leary offered the full $150,000, but for a 33.3% stake, valuing the company at $450,000 instead. “I have zero flexibility,” he warned. Were the Shroomacon makers surprised by that? “No, they are Sharks for a reason,” says Marvin. “Everything is negotiable, and just having an offer meant we had a chance to walk out of there with one on our team.”

    Quickly, however, Cuban and John pulled out – for the former, it was a conflict of interest, given he’s an investor in Unreal Deli, while John believed it would be too hard to maximise profits. O’Leary followed up with a ‘mushroomed’ offer of 33.67%, and then 34%. Lubetzky then took himself out of the running too, encouraging the Montagues to take O’Leary’s offer.

    Meat the Mushroom experiences the ‘Shark Tank effect’

    shroomacon
    Courtesy: Meat the Mushroom

    You could sense the hesitation on the entrepreneurs’ minds, who knew they’d need to raise more money down the line, which is proving to already be an uphill task in the food tech sector. Things took a turn soon, though, when Greiner came in matching O’Leary’s original offer for a 33.3% stake.

    Aleah explained that a third of the company is a lot more than they were willing to give. After O’Leary outlined the challenging financial landscape, Greiner sweetened the deal by offering to join his 33.3% offer. As the saying goes, two Sharks are better than one.

    The Montagues countered with 25%, but the investors stood their ground. Their next counters – $200,000 for 33.33% and 34% – was unsuccessful too, before Cuban chimed in and warned that they were overnegotiating. While still looking a little uncertain, the Meat the Mushroom founders agreed to O’Leary and Greiner’s joint deal.

    “We could see the value that having two Sharks could really bring,” explains Marvin. “Our goal has always been to make Shroomacon more accessible and to make it easier for people to really transform their lives by changing their eating habits. We felt two Sharks can get us there, and it felt worth the equity.”

    While many deals end up gaining investment from the Sharks, roughly half of them never close after due diligence. But things look to be going positively for Meat the Mushroom. “We are in the process of finalising the details and are excited about what this partnership will bring forth,” reveals Aliah.

    The startup was also subject to what’s become known as the ‘Shark Tank effect’, when businesses who appear on the show receive a huge uptick in sales and website visits after the segment’s airing. “In the 12 hours after our episode aired, we did over $60,000 worth of online sales. That’s more sales than we did in any month in the history of our business,” notes Marvin. For context, at the time of their pitch the startup’s all-time sales were $360,000. “Our minds were blown.”

    Vegan bacon isn’t an easy game – in a $1.3B market crowded by innovators like THIS, La Vie, MyForest Foods, Prime Roots, the Vegetarian Butcher and Lightlife, to name a few, Meat the Mushroom would need to double down on the clean-label aspect for its Shroomacon to really stand out. Having a couple of Sharks on board will go a long way in doing so.

    Since the pitch, the business has progressed nicely. “We’ve gone from about 25 stores to over 100 and closed 2023 with over a half million in sales,” Marvin says. “Our team has grown too – we now have over 12 people on our team, and we are very proud to be creating jobs in our city of Baltimore.” The city became the first in the US to officially proclaim January as the month of Veganuary earlier this year.

    “We are working hard to get our product into grocery stores and restaurants nationwide,” adds Aleah. Currently, Shroomacon is available in Central Market, Green Life Market, MOM’s Organic Market and Jungle Jim’s stores. “But more than that, we want to continue to be a resource to anyone looking to live longer and healthier by making eating choices that are better for their body.”

    The post Inside Meat the Mushroom’s Vegan Bacon Pitch on Shark Tank appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Oatly 2023 Earnings Reports: More Revenues, More Losses As Company Aims for Profitability with New Barista Milks

    6 Mins Read

    The oat milk leader posted an 8.5% increase in year-on-year revenue, though annual losses grew by 6.2%, primarily due to abandoning the construction of three production facilities. 

    The company has promised to focus on profitability in the coming months, with plans to expand its barista edition oat milks, introduce a new line of yoghurts, and optimise its foodservice offerings, particularly in Europe.

    Oatly’s revenue increased by 8.5% in 2023, a year described as “pivotal” by CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin, who took over from predecessor Toni Petersson in June. “I am proud of the progress that we made throughout 2023… where we executed a significant re-calibration of the entire organisation to stabilise our business and ensure we are properly positioned for long-term success,” said Flatin.

    He outlined Oatly’s improvements in gross profit, as well as reduced sales and general expenses, with the quarter exceeding the oat milk maker’s expectations. The company also finished the year with over 202% more cash left over after all expenditures, which will help it pay off debt and facilitate its growth.

    “As we enter 2024, our financial guidance calls for solid top-line growth while delivering significant profit improvement as we focus on our top priority of driving toward profitable growth.”

    After reporting its Q3 earnings last year, Oatly announced that it would halt the construction of three manufacturing facilities in Peterborough (UK), Fort Worth (US) and China in line with a new streamlined “asset-light strategy” to reach profitability. But this resulted in a one-off impairment charge of $172.6M and “other costs” of $29M, which have heavily impacted the Swedish oat milk giant’s Q4 earnings, despite 

    The NASDAQ-listed company says it may incur further costs due to the abandoned construction too, but already, these have brought its quarterly losses to $298.8M, versus a $44M profit in Q3. When discounting such non-recurring costs – aka adjusted EBITDA – losses narrowed by $19M from the previous quarter, signalling a positive move by the business in the long term. Overall total losses increased by 6.2% from $392.5M to $417M in 2023.

    EMEA reigns supreme, while Asia faces expected decline

    oatly sales
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Oatly experienced revenue growth in both foodservice and retail channels, which made up 38% and 59% of the total, respectively, in Q4, with e-commerce mostly accounting for the rest.  52% of the company’s revenues came from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 32% from the Americas and 16% from Asia.

    For the full year of 2023, revenue declined by 14% in Asia, and rose by 16% and 12% in EMEA and the Americas, respectively. This is a continuous trend for Asia, where Oatly has suffered from consistent decreases in sales as post-Covid recovery has been slow and domestic competitors have eaten into its market share.

    “The Asia segment decline was primarily driven by the prior decision to refocus into the foodservice channel, resulting in discontinuation of certain lower-margin products across the retail and e-commerce channels,” the company said in its results commentary. About 73% of its Asia revenue came from the foodservice channel in Q4, versus 69% the year before.

    In the Americas, there was a near-even split between foodservice (52%) and retail (48%), with revenue rising by 12% in 2023 – bucking the larger trend of plant-based milk retail sales, which declined by 7.2% year-over-year according to Circana.

    Meanwhile, retail remains king in Europe, dominating the market share with 80% of revenue in 2020. “The increase in revenue was primarily driven by price increases introduced at the beginning of the year,” the company said. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, Oatly says it became the top-selling plant-based milk in the second half of last year.

    Reaching profitability a ‘major focus’

    oatly ceo
    Oatly CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin (left) with board co-chair and former CEO Toni Petersson (right) | Courtesy: Oatly

    The financial results come after a turbulent few years for Oatly, whose stock has crashed by over 95% from its high of $28.73 (at the time of writing, it’s $1.22). The company has faced significant supply chain issues post-Covid, and has been forced to increase prices.

    The business’s reputation has been hit with product recalls, ad bans and SKU elimination. In the UK, for example, Oatly withdrew its entire range of ice creams, as well as the Plain Oatgurt last year. But After these purges and a refocusing of priorities, Oatly is committed to reaching profitability this year, with revenue growth for 2024 predicted to be between 5-10%.

    “In 2024, our top priority remains driving towards profitable growth,” Flatin said in an earnings call. “The entire organisation is focused on driving the business towards structural, consistent profitable growth. We have made progress on improving our profitability and we will continue to do so. To drive towards profitability, we must bring the Oatly magic to more people. We have a terrific brand that resonates with consumers around the world and we believe our products are second to none. In 2024, we will be stepping up our efforts to bring the Oatly magic to even more consumers.”

    New barista oat milks and yoghurts on the horizon

    oatly barista edition
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Oatly has been stepping up its product development efforts of late. The company says a majority of speciality coffee shops already serve its barista edition oat milk in countries like Spain, France, Belgium and Portugal, and now, it’s strengthening its coffee portfolio with the launch of four new SKUs in EMEA. These comprise the Jigger, a single-portion version for flights, trains and cafés; an organic variant of the barista edition to onboard previously unwilling consumers; an option specifically made for light-roasted coffee with higher acidity levels; and a 1.5-litre carton to save time and minimise packaging waste.

    In addition, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands will witness a new line of Oatly’s yoghurts, with redesigned packaging and labelling highlighting “live yoghurt bacteria” in six flavours – plain, blueberry, mango, strawberry, apple-mint, and vanilla – no doubt looking to capitalise on the growing gut health trend.

    oatly yogurt
    Courtesy: Oatly

    In the Americas, Oatly will diversify its foodservice offerings through partnerships with gyms and fitness centres (focused on the newly launched low-/no-sugar Super Basic and Unsweetened oat milks), as well as Minor League Baseball. In Asia, the company plans to maintain its foodservice focus and optimise its product offering for customers in this channel to “rebuild top line in a disciplined way”.

    “We plan to continue driving toward profitable growth by bringing the Oatly magic to more people and delivering on the expected benefits of our resource re-calibration while maintaining our focus on execution,” said Flatin.

    The post Oatly 2023 Earnings Reports: More Revenues, More Losses As Company Aims for Profitability with New Barista Milks appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Whale’s Death in Lobster Gear Prompts PETA to Point Finger at Seafood Eaters

    Federal officials just confirmed that fishing gear traced back to Maine’s lobster industry has been linked to the death of a young North Atlantic right whale—a critically endangered species with fewer than 70 reproductively active females—found washed up on Joseph Sylvia State Beach last month with a rope deeply embedded in her tail. In response, PETA is blitzing local ferries with a message giving people food for thought about the scores of hidden deaths behind their seafood spreads.

    A lobster next to a whale tied up and big text that says "did your lobster kill a whale?"

    “Boiling lobsters alive is cruel enough, but perhaps realizing that eating one animal may also doom others may have people thinking twice about their food choices,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA urges everyone to consider the high cost of putting any aquatic animal on their plate and go vegan.”

    More than 85% of the remaining right whale population is estimated to have become entangled in fishing gear at least once, with entanglements in the gear and vessel strikes the primary causes of premature deaths in the species, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. PETA notes that death due to gear entanglement is also one of the biggest threats to many of the world’s 90 other cetacean species and that abandoned fishing gear kills 300,000 whalesdolphins, and porpoises annually. The animals are callously referred to as “bycatch,” a euphemism for the nontarget animals who become caught and are then discarded or die. Experts agree that the fishing industry is one of the greatest threats to all marine wildlife worldwide.

     PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—offers a list of delicious vegan fish options, such as Gardein’s f’sh filets, Sophie’s Kitchen’s Fish Fillets, and Good Catch Plant-Based Crab Cakes, as well as a free vegan starter kit.

    PETA points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Whale’s Death in Lobster Gear Prompts PETA to Point Finger at Seafood Eaters appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Eat a Lobster, Kill a Whale: PETA Pinpoints Deadly Web Cast by Fishing Industry

    Federal officials have confirmed that gear from Maine’s lobster-fishing industry was a factor in the January 2024 death of a young North Atlantic right whale—a critically endangered species—who washed up on Joseph Sylvia State Beach in Edgartown, Massachusetts, with a rope deeply embedded in her tail.

    In response, PETA will share a striking message in the area that will remind people about the scores of hidden deaths of animals of all kinds caused by eating “seafood.” Our bold advertisement will show that all sea life is worth protecting. Check it out:

    A lobster next to a whale tied up and big text that says "did your lobster kill a whale?"

    Imperiled right whales shouldn’t be sustaining fatal injuries from fishing gear any more than lobsters should be boiled alive or fish gutted on the decks of trawlers. PETA urges everyone to consider the high cost of putting any marine animal on their plate and go vegan.

    Experts agree that the fishing industry is one of the greatest threats to all marine wildlife worldwide.

    It’s estimated that more than 85% of North Atlantic right whales become entangled in fishing gear at least once in their life. Entanglements have killed at least nine and injured 70 other right whales since 2017.

    Death due to gear entanglement is one of the biggest threats to right whales’ survival as well as to that of many of the world’s other cetacean species. Abandoned fishing gear kills roughly 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises annually.

    Did you know that whales have close-knit family structures and often communicate with one another through song? Mother whales dedicate years to caring for their calves, and some species “whisper” to their babies to protect them from predators. Some also use individualized calls to refer to one another, much as humans use names.

    Here’s What You Can Do to Help Whales and Other Sea Life

    It’s easy to find delicious vegan fish options—such as Gardein’s f’sh filets, Sophie’s Kitchen’s Fish Fillets, and Good Catch Plant-Based Crab Cakes—at a store near you. PETA will even send you a free vegan starter kit.

    Want to do more?

    The post Eat a Lobster, Kill a Whale: PETA Pinpoints Deadly Web Cast by Fishing Industry appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • ‘Bonehead’ Bills to Ban Cell-Cultured Meat Prompt PETA to Call Out Lawmakers for Special Interest Pandering

    Sens. Jay Collins and Clay Yarborough and Reps. Danny Alvarez and Tyler Sirois of Florida recently introduced bills that would preemptively ban the sale of cell-cultured meat in the state, so PETA fired off letters today to the lawmakers proposing that they name the ridiculous proposals “Special Interests’ Dirty Habits Retention Act of 2024” to reflect their true purpose—propping up special interest groups at the expense of animals’ lives and humans’ health. The group notes that, better yet, the lawmakers should scrap the bills and instead work to ensure that all Floridians know how filthy and cruel factory farming is and have access to fresh and delicious vegan foods.

    “These bonehead bills aim to appease the declining meat industry that’s terrified of losing more customers,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “This would be funny, given that in vitro meat is years away from the market, but it’s also tragic when Florida lawmakers want to push an unhealthy, environmentally destructive, and extremely cruel food on their constituents just to curry favor with their donors in animal agriculture.”

    PETA notes that billions of cows, pigs, and chickens—intelligent, sensitive individuals who feel pain and fear—endure short, miserable lives in the meat industry, which subjects them to extreme crowding, routine mutilations without pain relief, a terrifying trip to the slaughterhouse, and a violent, painful death in which their throats may be slit while they’re still conscious. Animal agriculture also wreaks havoc on the environment, as the meat industry is one of the world’s largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    PETA’s letter to Collins follows. Letters to Yarborough, Alvarez, and Sirois are available upon request.

    February 15, 2024

    The Honorable Jay Collins
    Florida State Senate

    Dear Senator Collins:

    I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally, including hundreds of thousands in Florida. It’s come to our attention that you have introduced SB 1084 to bar anyone in the state from what should be their right to obtain in vitro meat, if it should ever become available. In the interests of transparency, we suggest that you rename your bill the “Special Interests’ Dirty Habits Retention Act of 2024”—because that’s truly what it is.

    Or better yet, scrap this boneheaded bill and redirect your efforts to ensuring that every Floridian knows exactly how filthy and cruel factory farming is and how they can enjoy fresh, delicious vegan foods right now, no wait, and without supporting, as your bill does, cruelty to animals.

    Despite your fears, cell-cultured meat may never materialize, but we need to give meat the boot right now.

    Animal agriculture is wreaking havoc on the environment—including the increasing intensity of storms and hurricanes ravaging Florida’s coasts. The meat industry is one of the world’s largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, and I hope our suggestion to name this bill inspires you to think hard about the favoritism being afforded to special interests that aren’t in the best interests of Floridians and other humans around the planet.

    Otherwise, shame on you.

    Sincerely,

    Ingrid Newkirk
    President

    The post ‘Bonehead’ Bills to Ban Cell-Cultured Meat Prompt PETA to Call Out Lawmakers for Special Interest Pandering appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Meet the Entrepreneur Taking Hong Kong’s Vegan Bakery & Cheese Scene to the Next Level

    the cakery
    8 Mins Read

    The Cakery founder Shirley Kwok speaks to Green Queen about her new businesses shaking up Hong Kong’s plant-based scene: vegan cheese brand Cultured and plant-forward bakery Maya.

    Shirley Kwok is one busy lady. Under her entrepreneur belt so far: a cakery, a bakery, and an artisanal cheese brand, and it’s not even been a decade!

    And oh, her products range from better-for-you, allergen-friendly, vegan-friendly and diet-inclusive to a combination of all the above. The best part, though? The flavour is – some would say – bomb.

    What started as a pop-up cake shop at Hong Kong’s famous commercial complex Landmark in 2016 has now evolved into five locations that offer cakes in all shapes and sizes, for all occasions and diets. But about a year and a half ago, The Cakery was no longer enough for Kwok, a mother of two.

    You see, there was this local vegan cheese she loved, but the brand was sadly closing down – a fate that many of the city’s plant-forward businesses have suffered post-pandemic. Kwok was going to buy out that business, but that didn’t pan out. So instead, she created her own artisanal vegan cheese brand.

    vegan cheese hong kong
    Courtesy: Cultured

    “I was doing a lot of tests at home,” she tells me. After testing a few different versions, she brought the cheese to work. “Everybody tried and they’re like: ‘Oh, it’s really nice. And I can’t stop eating,’” recalls Kwok. That’s when the thought occurred – maybe there was a real business in all this.

    It came to fruition at the end of last year in the form of Cultured, a CPG brand offering kitchen staples like spreadable cheese blocks, cream cheeses, superfood crackers and curried hummus – all vegan.

    Inspired by nations, powered by fermentation

    As the name suggests, Cultured is rooted in fermentation, blending a base of cashews with probiotics and ageing them to unlock depth, complexity and umami notes. Plus, there’s the good-for-you bacteria and enzymes to support digestion and a strong immune system. “Everyone’s talking about gut health,” notes Kwok.

    “The reason why I use the word ‘Cultured’ is because I wanted to bring in all sorts of cultures into this new thing. I want the brand to be inclusive, so it’s for everyone to try,” she tells me. The idea was to blend global cultures with fermentation cultures, with product flavours linked to different parts of the world (truffles are a nod to Italy, jalapeños to Mexico, and so on).

    Her decision to make blocks of spreadable cheese over grated/gratable versions was part of a conscious move away from ingredients like agar or cornstarch, keeping her products as clean-label as possible. ethos intact. That is evident when you take a peek at the label: the sundried tomato and roasted garlic cheese, for example, has cashews, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt and probiotics.

    cultured vegan cheese
    Courtesy: Cultured

    The process of making the cheese starts with a 48-hour ferment at room temperature, followed by another two to three days in the fridge, which will make it good to last for at least two weeks. Kwok has tried plenty of nuts, but cashews just work well with the flavour and texture of her current portfolio. “I’m going to start using other nuts,” she adds. Almonds, macadamias, and the like.

    But with nut-based cheeses, cost is always an issue. Cultured’s cashew cheeses range from HK$120-135 ($15-17) for less than 200g, which is quite steep. Having said that, it is artisanal cheese, and the prices aren’t much different from high-end conventional counterparts.

    “I feel like people who really understand my product should be able to appreciate that,” she says. “Even for my cakes, some people say: ‘Oh, yeah, your cakes are really expensive. But I can tell you use really good ingredients.’”

    From The Cakery to a plant-forward bakery

    This brings us neatly to the setting of our chat – we’re sat at the site of Maya in the commercial hub that is Taikoo Place. Borrowing similar principles from The Cakery, Maya is Kwok’s newest brand, a bakery with an almost fully plant-based menu. There are vegan versions of local favourites in egg tarts and pineapple buns, international treasures in pistachio croissants and blueberry muffins, and indulgent treats in peanut-butter-filled chocolate cookies.

    My favourite part (aside from the flavour, of course) is the price. The vegan egg tart costs HK$18 ($2.30), the pistachio croissant HK$26 ($3.30), and the pandan-fulled pineapple bun HK$22 ($2.80). For high-quality plant-based products, that is excellent pricing. How did Kwok manage to keep prices so low for Maya, especially when Cultured’s rates are relatively high?

    vegan bakery hong kong
    Processed with VSCO with al3 preset

    “It’s a new concept, and we’re having the shop in a commercial area,” she explains. She was expecting to get some pushback. “I wanted people to give it a try first, and not have a barrier. So then they like it and come back again. But if the price point is too high, they’ll be like: ‘Why would I want to pay so much for something that I’m not even sure whether I would like?’”

    It’s a pertinent point for a region where 20% of the population lives in poverty, and inflation has mirrored increases globally, with things costing 2.4% more in December 2023 than the month before. But despite a spate of post-pandemic closures and collapses for plant-based businesses, the demand for vegan food remains, with a June 2023 survey finding that 86% of locals want to see more plant-based options in public places, while 70% don’t think restaurants offer enough meat-free options.

    Speaking of which, you may have noticed I described Maya as a bakery with an almost 100% vegan menu. That’s because the menu has one meat-based option: a turmeric chicken sourdough sandwich. “I was debating whether to use ‘fake’ meat,” says Kwok. “But it’s processed, and we really don’t want to use that.” She acknowledges that the menu does have a sandwich with vegan tuna, which she says is “the most processed food in this café”.

    plant based hong kong
    Courtesy: Green Queen Media

    “I was also worried that we’re in a commercial area, where probably most of the people are not vegan – I still want to try to accommodate people who are not vegan, you know?” she adds. Explaining her rationale, she says meat-eaters might come to the store and select the chicken sandwich the first time, but they might like it so much that they’d try something else – maybe one of the vegan sandwiches (which incorporate Cultured’s products), quiches or soups – next time. It’s a working example of how flexitarians hold the key to protein diversification.

    Kwok isn’t vegan herself but says she really appreciates good plant-based food. “But it’s quite hard to find in Hong Kong,” she tells me. “Even though they say they’re vegan, they’re heavily processed, and I don’t feel healthy after eating it.” It’s a view held by many around the world, with the heightened discourse about ultra-processed foods (UPFs) associating certain vegan foods with ill health – though not all UPFs or plant-based meats are unhealthy. “I try to eat very clean. I prefer wholesome food, rather than really processed food.”

    It’s all about the aesthetics – and family

    The other reason why Maya isn’t fully vegan is because the espresso bar serves cow’s milk. Don’t worry though, there’s oat and soy too – and the coffee, sourced from a local roaster, is truly great. There are two options: “nutty” and “fruity” (which I assume are layperson’s terms for washed and natural processed coffee, respectively).

    Aesthetics are important to Kwok. There’s an underlying pastel theme running through Maya’s exteriors, serveware and the food itself. The hot drinks come in gorgeous stone mugs with golden spoons, with takeaway packaging sourced from local supplier Sustainabl. For iced beverages, there are plastic-free, starch-based straws.

    maya vegan bakery
    Courtesy: Maya

    As for the food, take that pistachio croissant, for instance. The top is meticulously half-covered in a pistachio-white chocolate glaze, lined with pistachio pieces. I ask her why she chose to go with an exterior glaze instead of a filling. “I really appreciate things that look nice,” she responds. “So if I put it on top, it can be very catchy.” Traditional croissants can be “shiny and nice”, but it’s hard to replicate that with a margarine-based vegan croissant. So she wanted something that would grab the attention of people standing afar.

    But Maya isn’t just a bakery: it moonlights as a bar, with cocktails like Honeybee Gin Tea, Coriander Blast and a classic negroni, alongside craft beers and organic wines. You can grab a vegan cheese platter too, if you’re into that. It’s a whole package, and it makes sense when you consider how personal the brand is to Kwok.

    Maya is the name of her 11-year-old daughter, who helped conceptualise the business’s mascot and logo, a bird also called Maya. The new business is a tribute to both her kids, and signals that she’s in it for the long haul. She’s already deep in R&D for future releases (a not-so-subtle hint: if you’re into kimchi and hot sauces, you may be in for a treat).

    shirley kwok
    Courtesy: Maya

    While Kwok does want to expand eventually, she’s wary that vegan cheese brands in Hong Kong have come and gone, so education for her is key. In the long term, she hopes people recognise she’s trying to help her own community and normalise veganism. “Right now, people are still asking us: ‘Do you have normal cakes?’ Hopefully, in five years, I won’t get those kinds of customers,” she says.

    In the end, for Kwok, it’s about convincing people that it’s okay to eat vegan food: “Just give it a try.”

    The post Meet the Entrepreneur Taking Hong Kong’s Vegan Bakery & Cheese Scene to the Next Level appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • ‘Hell on Wheels’ Is Coming: Squawking Chicken Truck to Ruffle Feathers Outside West Palm Beach Eateries

    West Palm Beach diners just might think twice about chowing down on fried chicken after they see—and hear—“Hell on Wheels,” PETA’s guerilla-marketing campaign featuring a life-size chicken transport truck covered with images of real chickens crammed into crates on their way to a slaughterhouse, complete with actual recorded sounds of the birds’ cries and a subliminal message every 10 seconds suggesting that people go vegan. The vexatious vehicle will debut outside Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap on Clematis Street before moving on to confront diners at Howley’s Restaurant, PDQ, Chick-fil-A, Mr Mack Island Grill, Dixie Grill & Brewery, Bud’s Chicken & Seafood, Palm Beach Grill, La Brasa Grill, and Palm Beach Meats.

    Where:    Outside Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap, 223 Clematis St., West Palm Beach

    When:     Saturday, February 17, 12 noon

    Credit: PETA

    “Behind every barbecued wing or bucket of fried chicken is a once-living, sensitive individual who was crammed onto a truck for a terrifying, miserable journey to their death,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s ‘Hell on Wheels’ truck is an appeal to anyone who eats chicken to remember that the meat industry is cruel to birds and the only kind meal is a vegan one.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone
    and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

    For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘Hell on Wheels’ Is Coming: Squawking Chicken Truck to Ruffle Feathers Outside West Palm Beach Eateries appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Smashburger Jumps on Whole-Food Plant-Based Trend with Jack & Annie’s Jackfruit Burger at All 235 US Locations

    jack and annie's smashburger
    5 Mins Read

    US fast-casual chain Smashburger has partnered with jackfruit meat producer Jack & Annie’s to debut a new burger across its locations nationwide, the latest example of a QSR embracing whole-food plant-based products.

    With health and nutrition top of mind for consumers, whole-food plant-based products have been cropping up across the globe in the foodservice world. In the latest instance, Colorado-based companies Smashburger and Jack & Annie’s have linked up to launch a new burger spotlighting the latter’s jackfruit-based meat.

    The collaboration marks the fast-casual debut of Jack & Annie’s – whose products are already available in over 5,000 locations across the US, including Whole Foods, Safeway and Target. Smashburger will add its jackfruit patty as a permanent menu item across its 235 locations nationwide.

    “Plant-based alternatives have continued to show up on menus throughout the industry, so making sure we offer more diverse and plant-forward options was the natural transition to expand our menu,” said Smashburger’s chief restaurant support officer, Eric Marcoux.

    Keying into health-conscious Americans with jackfruit

    jack and annie's funding
    Courtesy: Jack & Annie’s

    Smashburger and Jack & Annie first tested the partnership with a limited-time offering last summer in the chain’s Colorado, New York, New Jersey and Chicago locations. Following positive consumer feedback, it decided to make the jackfruit burger a permanent fixture on its menu nationally.

    The burger patty itself is plant-based, but the default Classic Smash Veggie Burger contains American cheese, alongside lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickles, Smash Sauce (which isn’t vegan), and ketchup. It is part of a burger range that also includes Truffle Mushroom Swiss and Colorado Veggie burgers, as well as Bacon Smash, BBQ Bacon Cheddar, Avocado Bacon Club burgers (which are not meat-free).

    So although the branding makes it seem like these are all veggie burgers, it’s important to note that Smashburger uses conventional bacon. But the jackfruit patty can be subbed in for any chicken, beef or black bean burger on the menu, which could be an appealing option for many health-conscious consumers, given that the Jack & Annie’s burger has 47% less fat than a traditional beef patty.

    While not exactly what you’d call an entirely clean-label option – the Jack & Annie’s burger has jackfruit, soy flour, coconut and canola oils, alliums, spices, natural flavourings and colourings, and methylcellulose – it is a whole-food, plant-based meat rich in fibre and micronutrients like potassium, iron and calcium. Moreover, a 100g patty contains 8g of protein, just 9g of total fat (with 5g saturated fat), and 150 calories. Plus, being animal-free, it’s free from cholesterol.

    Health is a topic entrenched in the American mainstream consciousness, given the alarming rise in rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes – over two-thirds (69%) of Americans are overweight and 36% are obese. Additionally, there’s greater sensitivity around ultra-processed foods and their impact on health. Last year, research revealed that more Gen Zers in the US want to go vegan for their health than the environment – a key target demographic for Smashburger.

    A 1,022-person survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) found that health is the major factor behind Americans eating vegan or vegetarian diets, with six in 10 choosing it. In terms of plant-based meat products like Jack & Annie’s, ‘healthy’ is the most appealing labelling description to these consumers.

    According to Jack & Annie’s – which has previously been ranked as the third-largest player in the frozen plant-based category – two in three fast-casual customers say a jackfruit-based menu item would make them more likely to purchase from a restaurant. There’s the environmental aspect too: the company’s independent life-cycle assessment has shown that jackfruit’s global warming potential is 94% better than beef, 87% better than pork, and 60% better than chicken.

    “With jackfruit, we’ve found a path for consumers that is sustainable, healthier, and provides the tasty experience they are looking for,” said Jack & Annie’s namesake founder and CEO Annie Ryu.

    Whole-food plant-based on the up

    smashburger vegan
    Courtesy: Smashburger

    The IFIC poll also showed that when it comes to protein intake, whole-plant sources saw the sharpest rise among Americans between 2022 and 2023, with 28% eating them ‘somewhat’ or ‘much more’ now. These foods additionally had the second-lowest drop in consumption rates (behind plant-based meat and seafood analogues), with only 11% of consumers eating them less during this period. (In comparison, red meat consumption was down by 32%, and poultry 15%).

    It highlights the growing importance of whole-food plant-based options for Americans, with protein choices ranging from tofu and tempeh to jackfruit itself. While Jack & Annie’s isn’t the only company working with jackfruit-based proteins – Karana (Singapore), Jack & Bry (UK) and Upton’s Naturals (US) are among a few others – it is the most well-funded, with $28M in total investments following a $23M Series B round in late 2021 after debuting its products in 2020.

    Its partnership with Smashburger signals two opportunities. First, long-standing whole-food plant-based meat brands like Jack & Annie’s parent The Jackfruit Company (which was founded in 2011, the same year as Impossible Foods) might be able to find success with consumers looking for such options. This includes the likes of Upton’s Naturals, NoBull Burger and Big Mountain Foods.

    Second, it’s a marker of the growing prevalence of the whole-food plant-based trend in foodservice. Just earlier this year, Dave’s Hot Chicken released its first meat-free options with cauliflower sliders and bites, and Hard Rock Cafe in Broadway introduced a Veganuary menu with cauliflower wings and a mushroom primavera pasta. Chipotle’s braised tofu (Sofritas) and Shake Shack’s veggie burger also come to mind, as does Chipotle founder Steve Ells’ new chain Kernel, whose menu is focused on whole foods too.

    This is a trend being seen internationally as well. In the UK, Veganuary saw a whole-food plant-based boom. Burger King brought back its black bean burger, Wagamama and Pret A Manger spotlit mushrooms, Leon went all-in on gut health with a bhaji wrap, while Pizza Express introduced a veggie-packed calzone and Zizzi’s new Rustic pizza featured Fable Foods’ pulled shiitake mushrooms.

    With the Smashburger partnership, Jack & Annie’s hopes to make 2024 a significant growth year, and close in on profitability. “We’re excited that consumers across the nation will get to taste what we have known all along: our jackfruit offerings make for delicious and simple plant-based, plant-forward food with naturally meaty taste and texture,” said Ryu. “We are thrilled to move the plant-based category forward.”

    The post Smashburger Jumps on Whole-Food Plant-Based Trend with Jack & Annie’s Jackfruit Burger at All 235 US Locations appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • TurtleTree Achieves First Vegan Certification for Precision-Fermented Dairy Proteins

    turtletree
    5 Mins Read

    Singaporean startup TurtleTree has become the first precision fermentation dairy company to earn a vegan certification, with its animal-free lactoferrin protein LF+ now sporting the Certified Vegan logo by Vegan Action.

    Called LF+, TurtleTree says its lactoferrin is the first precision-fermented dairy protein to be accredited as a vegan product globally, months after it earned self-affirmed GRAS status in the US.

    This also marks the first time Vegan Action – the most recognised vegan certification body in the US, with over 15,000 accredited products in its catalogue – has provided its stamp to a novel protein in the 24 years since its launch. The accreditation confirms that TurtleTree’s lactoferrin protein is indeed free from animal products, byproducts and testing.

    “As conscious consumers increasingly prioritise ethical choices, we aim to provide food and beverage brands with the unwavering confidence that our products align seamlessly with those evolving values,” said TurtleTree co-founder and CEO Fengru Lin.

    Why vegan certification became important for TurtleTree

    precision fermentation vegan
    Courtesy: TurtleTree

    TurtleTree said its vegan certification has “solidified its unwavering commitment” to animal welfare and meeting evolving consumer demands. While most precision fermentation products don’t involve any animals, their bioidentical nature and the genetic codes required in production can make interpretations complex, especially when adhering to standards originally designed for plant-based products, the startup explained.

    There is certainly a case for clarity here. A 2022 consumer acceptance study by German precision fermentation company Formo, Mercy for Animals, and the University of Bath revealed that respondents wondered how best to categorise animal-free dairy, and whether they’re vegan, plant-based and free from animal involvement at all, or if they should be considered ‘real’ dairy?

    “Preoccupation with broken rules of categorisation was a factor for many of the participants, and many called for regulatory bodies, labelling standards, and transparency in the production process to deliver clarity on these questions,” the authors wrote.

    TurtleTree called vegan certification a “hot-button issue”, explaining that regulatory approval demands extensive safety testing, and some companies choose quicker, cheaper animal studies and preclude products from being accredited as vegan. The startup aims to set a precedent to help create a standardised definition of veganism in the context of precision fermentation.

    Krissi Vandenberg, director of Vegan Action, said this sets a “clear benchmark” for the rest of the industry: “This certification demonstrates the tangible steps companies can take to validate and communicate their values to customers, underlining a collective commitment to ethical standards.”

    Irina Gerry, chief marketing officer of US-Australian precision fermentation company Change Foods and vice chair of the board of directors at industry association Precision Fermentation Alliance, told Green Queen that while vegan certification is a great way to demonstrate a company’s product satisfies strict ethical standards, all companies in the sector might not want to go down this path.

    Whether a food is vegan-friendly is separate from whether it should be labelled as vegan because it transcends just ethical factors. Until now, seeing a vegan product was a sure sign that it was free from dairy – and thus lactose – making it suitable for people with lactose intolerance, but with precision fermentation, the lines are more blurry. While TurtleTree’s dairy protein is lactose-free, that may not be the case for every producer in the space. Furthermore, for folks allergic to dairy proteins themselves, a vegan label may cause added confusion.

    “Given that to date, consumers tend to understand ‘vegan’ as ‘plant-based’, and therefore not expect to encounter a milk allergen, labelling milk protein made via fermentation as vegan could lead to confusion around allergenicity,” explains Gerry. So should all startups aim for vegan certification? “It depends on the company, the specific molecule, and the target consumer.”

    Disrupting the coveted lactoferrin market

    vegan lactoferrin
    Courtesy: TurtleTree

    The startup argues that being the only vegan lactoferrin on the market, LF+ will challenge the dominance of bovine lactoferrin. One of the main whey proteins found in human milk and bovine colostrum produced just after birth, it is also known as ‘first milk’. It’s a highly sought-after protein, as it takes at least 10,000 litres of milk to produce just 1kg of purified lactoferrin and currently retails for $750-$1,500 per kg.

    Due to its limited supply, lactoferrin is only used in a few essential foods and beverages like infant formula and supplements. But it is said to have many functional benefits, including antiviral, antibacterial, anti-carcinogenic, immunity-boosting, gut-strengthening and iron regulation properties. The latter is a major USP, with the protein earning its ‘pink gold’ moniker due to the colour derived from its rich iron content.

    One estimate predicts a 15.8% annual growth for the lactoferrin market, growing from $772.3M in 2023 to $3.3B in 2033. TurtleTree has claimed that its animal-free version will be more affordable and that it has managed to scale up production of the protein, which allows the company to alleviate “the global shortage of lactoferrin”, and attract new consumers previously unable to access the protein due to cost and supply barriers.

    The company has previously said its clients are interested in purchasing $500M worth of LF+ over the next five years. It claims its protein will be more affordable and that it has managed to scale up production to alleviate “the global shortage of lactoferrin”. This will help attract new consumers previously unable to access lactoferrin due to cost and supply barriers.

    Apart from infant formula, multivitamins and supplements, LF+ could be used in protein powders, functional beverages, meal replacements for the elderly, and animal-free dairy products. Vegan Action’s Certified Vegan logo now appears on the product’s packaging, validating its animal-free claims through a third party.

    “Producing milk proteins without farming animals is a big part of the value proposition of precision fermentation,” says Gerry, but she reiterated that whether every company would want to obtain such accreditation is a more nuanced matter. “I always look at it from the end consumer in mind. If a company is targeting a vegan audience, then obtaining vegan certification would be highly beneficial.”

    “However, it may not be needed if a company is targeting a broader set of consumers, especially if these consumers have varied reasons for seeking animal-free products. For some, it could be animal ethics, for others, it could be dairy allergen avoidance… climate or targeted nutrition needs.”

    The post TurtleTree Achieves First Vegan Certification for Precision-Fermented Dairy Proteins appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Plant-Based Meats Grow by 14% in Australian Retail, with Burgers Making Way for Deli Meats & Ready Meals

    plant based meat australia
    6 Mins Read

    Despite facing a tough time globally, Australia’s plant-based meat sector has proliferated in the last few years, with the number of products on sale in retail channels growing by 14% from 2022-23, according to alternative protein think tank Food Frontier.

    Out with the burgers, in with the deli meats. That’s the way Australia’s plant-based meat sector has gone over the last few years, according to research by Food Frontier, which found that between September 2022 and 2023, the number of meat analogues on sale down under increased by 13.7%.

    Ahead of the release of its third State of the Industry report in mid-2024, the think tank has released its analysis of audit results of major supermarkets in Melbourne and Sydney in mid-2023, revealing that the volume and types of plant-based meats have changed significantly over the last three years.

    With Australia and New Zealand leading Asia’s alternative protein investments last year, garnering $20M in funding in the first half of 2023, the former country has bucked the global retail trend for plant-based meats, with a threefold increase in on-shelf products over the last few years, from less than 90 to just under 300.

    gfi state of the industry report
    Courtesy: GFI APAC

    Where companies like Beyond Meat and Quorn have struggled overseas, brands like Heck have reduced their plant-based offerings, and labels like Nestlé’s Garden Gourmet have withdrawn from certain markets, the plant-based meat category in Australia has gone from fewer than five Antipodean brands in 2017 to more than 30 in 2023.

    Food Frontier’s 2020 State of the Industry report revealed that plant-based meats alone could generate nearly AU$3B in sales and provide 6,000 full-time jobs by 2030.

    Convenience takes over utility for Australia’s plant-based meat sector

    Food Frontier’s analysis reveals a shift in product categories as well. While burgers and sausages were all the rage a few years ago, the growing need for convenience has seen formats like snacking and finger foods, deli slices and ready meals come to the fore.

    Versatile, functional products that can be integrated into multiple dishes – beef strips and chunks, and whole-cut meats – have proliferated, although there are still fewer than 10 products of each format in the retail market. Between July 2020 and September 2023, the number of burger and uncrumbed seafood analogues has remained the same, while sausage products have just witnessed a 36% increase.

    However, there are 132% products in the crumbed chicken pieces category (nearing nearly 60 on-shelf offerings), with even greater increases for ready meals (254%), whole cuts (350%), deli slices (400%), meatballs (1,000%), and snacking and finger foods (1,100%).

    food frontier
    Courtesy: Food Frontier

    “The market has seen a growth in interest in products presenting more options and greater versatility than the traditional utility products such as burgers and sausages,” Food Frontier CEO Simon Eassom told Green Queen. “Manufacturers have moved to meet the consumer with an increase in chicken-style products both as ready-to-use finished products, but also for inclusion in their cooking (for example, chicken-style strips and chunks), as well as in chicken-based ready meals.”

    Asked whether he expected this shift in format popularities, he said: “We weren’t surprised to see the evolution from burgers and sausages to formats that are more flexible and adaptable to different cuisines. This again reflects a maturing of a market in which consumers are expecting more. The increased provision of deli meats has been interesting to observe, as well as the growth in utilisation of plant-based meats into convenient ready-meal formats.”

    The report suggests that the number of meat alternatives in Australia peaked at about 350 in early 2023, which was followed by consolidation in a few categories. Eassom explained that when these products first appeared on retail shelves, they were utility foods, but with too many manufacturers of the same products, Australians have “voted with their tastebuds and their wallets”.

    Local companies dominate the alt-meat market down under

    The data indicates that formats beyond burgers and sausages that can be incorporated into a much wider range of dishes are gaining favour, and manufacturers are responding accordingly. “We know that the early adopters of plant-based meats in Australia and around the world are flexitarians – they are the cohort, used to centre-of-plate proteins or protein-based dishes, that are now looking for healthier alternatives to those conventional protein sources and for products that mimic what they’re used to buying,” said Eassom.

    A November 2022 YouGov Australia poll revealed that 19% of respondents called themselves flexitarians, while a further 9% were vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian. Taste and health were the top priorities for flexitarians, indicating the challenges for plant-based food manufacturers. Meanwhile, a study from Queensland’s Griffith University in October found that nearly a third (32.2%) of Australians have reduced their meat consumption over the last year, with 71.3% eating either completely meatless diets, mostly plant-based, or having some plant-based dishes in an overall omnivorous diet.

    Food Frontier also found that the lion’s share of the market is now dominated by a few strong brands. And there has been a marked rise in homegrown brands too. With at least 31 plant-based meat manufacturers and ingredient suppliers in Australia – including v2food, The Aussie Plant Based Co and Fable Foods – the companies now make up 56% of plant-based products in major retail in Australia – up from less than half in 2019. International manufacturers like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Fry Family Food are "holding their own" too.

    australia plant based meat market
    Courtesy: Food Frontier

    "A number of factors have affected the decline of international brand products in relation to the growth of Australian manufactured products," Eassom told this publication. "First and foremost, the products from the big, well-known US brands have always been viewed as premium products with a price tag that has been difficult for consumers to meet under recent financial conditions. The relatively weak Aussie dollar has not helped.

    "In addition, several major international food manufacturers have withdrawn their early plant-based meat offerings or are reviewing their strategy within the sector. At the same time, a handful of Australian brands have seized the opportunity to consolidate their position in the market and take advantage of the rise in demand for new formats, such as crumbed chicken-style products.

    "v2food has been extremely successful in its brand positioning within the retail sector as retail buyers have sought to consolidate their relationships around suppliers that can provide the whole range of products; i.e., beef-style as well as chicken-style across a multitude of formats from mince to schnitzels."

    Food Frontier expects the category to keep evolving, with changes in company integration and product formulations not out of the question. “This is a food industry that’s continuing to innovate and adapt to consumer tastes and budgets," said Eassom. "The availability of more sophisticated ingredients will help manufacturers improve products to meet expectations around taste and texture, as well as price."

    The post Plant-Based Meats Grow by 14% in Australian Retail, with Burgers Making Way for Deli Meats & Ready Meals appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Don’t Go ‘Bacon’ My Heart! PETA Spreads Love With Vegan BLTs on Valentine’s Day

    On Valentine’s Day, PETA’s compassionate cupids traded in their bows and arrows for vegan BLTs, spreading the love with a tasty, animal-friendly giveaway!

    peta activists give out vegan BLTs on valentine's day

    At the site of PETA’s sky-high billboard—which features a pig putting a catchy twist on Elton John and Kiki Dee’s classic hit—our supporters handed out BLT samples in Burlington, Ontario from a local vegan restaurant, urging everyone to have a heart for pigs, keep bacon off their plates, and go vegan.

    peta activists give out vegan BLTs on valentine's day

    Our billboard serves as a red-hot reminder that pigs—like all animals—are sensitive beings who don’t want to be killed for their flesh. They have complex social lives and are extremely protective of their friends and family. In the meat industry, they languish on cramped, filthy farms, where they can’t bask in the sun, roll in the mud, or meaningfully socialize with others. At slaughterhouses, workers shoot them in the head with a captive-bolt gun, hang them up by one leg, and cut their throat—often while they’re still conscious.

    spotted pig in grass

    Don’t Go Bacon Our Hearts—Go Vegan!

    With lots of delicious vegan brands to choose from, you can have your bacon and eat it, too—plus, you won’t be increasing your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. By going vegan, you can spare nearly 200 animals every year, drastically shrink your carbon footprint, and improve your health.

    You may be waiting for your match made in heaven, but you can go vegan right now—just order PETA’s free vegan starter kit today:

    The post Don’t Go ‘Bacon’ My Heart! PETA Spreads Love With Vegan BLTs on Valentine’s Day appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

  • Cuddles and Chocolates in Charm City! PETA Pair to Give Away Vegan Truffles From Bed

    Vegans make better lovers! That’s the message from a PETA couple who will cuddle in a bed on a busy downtown street corner in Baltimore this Valentine’s Day. The lovebirds will pass out delicious vegan oat milk Lindt chocolates to passersby, offering a sweet reminder that eating vegan can mean the difference between sizzling and fizzling in the bedroom. Animal-derived products can clog the arteries to every organ—not just the heart.

    Where:    257 Charles Plaza, Baltimore

    When:    Wednesday, February 14, 12 noon

    Vegan Couple Beds Down on Busy Street for Valentine’s Day

    Credit: PETA

    “What goes on in the kitchen has a lot to do with what happens—or doesn’t—in the bedroom,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “By joining PETA and going vegan for Valentine’s Day, your body will thank you—and your partner will, too.”

    Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals daily suffering and a terrifying death every year. In addition to reducing the risk of impotence, plant-powered eating slashes the risk of heart disease by a whopping 52%, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

    For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Cuddles and Chocolates in Charm City! PETA Pair to Give Away Vegan Truffles From Bed appeared first on PETA.

    This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.