radiofree.asia

Category: Vegan

  • Cluck Yeah: Rotterdam is Getting A Fully Vegan Butcher Shop This World Animal Day

    vegan butcher
    3 Mins Read

    Unilever-owned plant-based meat brand The Vegetarian Butcher is opening a vegan butchery in Rotterdam, Netherlands. To be launched on World Animal Day, it marks the 13th anniversary of the company’s launch.

    On October 4, The Vegetarian Butcher will open the plant-based butchery to celebrate 13 years to the day of its own launch. The Rotterdam-based store will be open five days a week (from Tuesday to Saturday) and feature the brand’s extensive range of alt-meat – including vegan chicken, shawarma and beef mince – alongside limited-edition offerings exclusive to the butcher shop.

    Championing ‘real craftsmanship’

    vegan butchery
    Courtesy: The Vegetarian Butcher

    While the dozens of products can be bought for home cooking, there will be an in-store menu to try them as part of meals too. “We are very happy with the opening of the largest plant-based butcher’s shop in the Netherlands. What makes this Butcher unique is that the products on our shelves are plant-based and yet have the recognisable properties of meat classics,” The Vegetarian Butcher CEO Hugo Verkuil told Dutch news outlet De Ondernemer.

    “We don’t want to make any concessions on taste, structure and nutritional value, and you can taste that,” he added. “For us, taste is central and that is why we have been working with chefs and product developers who know the specific properties of meat since its inception. This led to a wide range of successful hacks.”

    Verkuil continued that the limited-edition exclusive products represent “real craftsmanship”. “The range in this plant-based butcher is not only of high quality, but also remains surprising. This makes every visit worthwhile,” he explained. “This new generation of plant-based meat products offer the experience of beloved meat classics, making the transition to more plant-based meat easier than ever.”

    The announcement is a full-circle moment for the brand, which began in 2010 by selling alt-meat out of a butcher shop in The Hague. Its products are now available in 55 countries and over 40,000 retail stores. Additionally, it has foodservice partnerships across the world, most notably with Burger King in Europe and Asia.

    The rise of vegan butcher shops

    the vegetarian butcher
    Courtesy: Carrefour

    This won’t be the company’s only vegan butcher shop. Last year, it unveiled what it claimed was France’s first plant-based butchery, selling alt-meat by weight at a counter in French retail giant Carrefour‘s Carré Sénart store. In a social media post, the latter said: “Carrefour is the first major retailer to market these delicious products that have already won over Burger King.”

    That partnership has extended to Spain too, with the alt-meat producer’s products available in 24 Carrefour stores. Meanwhile, in 2019, it hosted a Meatless Monday takeover at UK butchery-restaurant Hill & Szrok.

    And earlier this year, The Vegetarian Butcher published its first cookbook, New Meat, featuring meatless spins on 100 classic meat dishes. The recipes were written by its co-founder Jaap Korteweg, as well as 11 world-renowned chefs, including Michelin-starred chefs Asimakis Chaniotis, James Goodyear, Ricky Saward and Andrew Pern.

    The cookbook highlighted five of The Vegetarian Butcher’s products, like Chicken Chunks, Raw Burger, Meatballs, Chicken Breast, and a Crispy Chicken Burger. And these were used in recipes over five categories: Weekdays; Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch; Weekends; Snack Time; and Classic.

    The brand, which was acquired by Unilever in 2018, has previously opened its pop-up restaurant, De Vleesch Lobby, in The Hague and a vegetarian eatery at Rotterdam Central Station. Its products have won more than 25 awards – and earlier this month, it launched a vegan döner kebab SKU across Europe.

    Other plant-based butcheries include Love Handle in Singapore, Rudy’s Vegan Butcher in London, The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis, and Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher & Deli in Los Angeles. And in a similar collaboration as The Vegetarian Butcher and Carrefour in Europe, in 2021, Californian pea protein meat maker Abbot’s Butcher landed in 360 Sprouts Farmers Markets locations across the US.

    The post Cluck Yeah: Rotterdam is Getting A Fully Vegan Butcher Shop This World Animal Day appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • James Cromwell Mocks Starbucks Exec in Video Slamming Vegan Upcharge

    In his first acting role since Succession, James Cromwell plays Ewan Roy’s worst nightmare in a new PETA video released in time for National Coffee Day (September 29): a greedy, fictional Starbucks executive who exploits eco-conscious customers by charging them up to 90 cents more for vegan milk —even though the chain reported $3.3 billion in profits last year alone.

    Spliced with images of cruel milking machines, baby cows being torn from their mothers, melting ice caps, and wildfires, the video features Cromwell in the chain’s signature green apron explaining that Starbucks is aware of dairy’s contribution to “a giant burning hellscape” and that customers choose vegan milks to slash greenhouse gas emissions. “And it’s good that you pay. I mean care,” he says. “Because we also have other things to care about. Like a $1.6 million cash sign-on bonus for our new CEO.

    “You just keep caring about saving the world, and we’ll keep caring about our savings account. Because Starbucks cares about money. Hey, it’s right there in our name,” he says with a smirk, handing over a latte with a dollar symbol outlined in foam.

    In addition to driving the climate catastrophe, the dairy industry tears calves away from their mothers within a day of birth so the milk meant to nourish them can be stolen and sold to humans. PETA’s investigations into dairy facilities have found workers electroshocking a cow in the face, hitting cows with poles and a cane, and abusing them in other ways. Once their bodies wear out from repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter to be used for ground beef or dog food.

    The video will air on YouTube, reaching potential customers who have googled “Starbucks.” The spot was directed by Nim Shapira and produced by Noa Osheroff. Cromwell’s previous campaign efforts include supergluing himself to a Starbucks counter in Midtown Manhattan to pressure the company to end the upcharge for vegan milks (which other chains offer at no extra cost).

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post James Cromwell Mocks Starbucks Exec in Video Slamming Vegan Upcharge appeared first on PETA.

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

  • ‘She Did Not Consent’ Pro-Turkey ‘ThanksVegan’ Appeal Lands in London, Courtesy of PETA

    Ahead of Thanksgiving (October 9), PETA has erected a towering appeal near the Aladdin’s Food butcher shop and a Subway restaurant urging everyone to give birds a break and enjoy a delicious “ThanksVegan” feast instead.

    “Turkeys are individuals who feel pain and fear, experience joy, value their lives, and don’t want to be carved up and stuffed any more than we do,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging everyone to show a little mercy, keep turkeys off the table, and tuck into savory and satisfying vegan roasts that give everyone something to be thankful for.”

    Each year in Canada, nearly 3 million turkeys are killed and sold for Thanksgiving alone. During their short lives, they’re forced to stand in their own waste and inhale ammonia-laden air inside dark warehouses. The birds are bred to grow so large that their legs break under them. In addition to sparing the lives of nearly 200 animals a year, everyone who goes vegan shrinks their carbon footprint and reduces their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments.

    PETA’s “ThanksVegan” guide is packed with recipes, cooking tips, and everything else needed to enjoy a delicious, turkey-friendly holiday.

    PETA’s message is located on Wonderland Road in London. The group is also posting the ad in Edmonton and Spruce Grove, Alberta.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on the group’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘She Did Not Consent’ Pro-Turkey ‘ThanksVegan’ Appeal Lands in London, Courtesy of PETA appeared first on PETA.

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

  • PETA to Raise a Stink at Fried Chicken Festival

    Attendees at Saturday’s National Fried Chicken Festival may want to rethink their dining decisions after they spot PETA’s new mobile message, which warns viewers that poop could be lurking on every greasy plate of chicken body parts. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits only visible fecal matter on the production line, meat products can still be contaminated with feces not easy to spot with the naked eye. PETA points out that today’s faster slaughter speeds also increase the risk of contamination—and that USDA policy allows slaughterhouses to sell meat that they know contains salmonella.

    When:             Saturday, September 30, 11 a.m.

    Where:           Driving around the National Fried Chicken Festival, 6601 Franklin Ave., New Orleans

    “Chickens are packed by the thousands into dark, filthy sheds, where they stand and sit in waste constantly before being shipped off to slaughter,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges anyone disgusted by the idea of eating animal waste to clean their conscience by going vegan.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website.

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

    The post PETA to Raise a Stink at Fried Chicken Festival appeared first on PETA.

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

  • This New Vegan Menu Item Is Making Its Way to a Taco Bell Near You

    The vegan fast-food boom is still going strong. Taco Bell announced that the return of its popular Nacho Fries this year would also include a new vegan menu item. Beginning October 12, compassionate customers can order Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Sauce. Made from chickpeas and soy instead of cow’s milk, this sauce helps spare the lives of intelligent, playful cows who are abused by the dairy industry.

    hand dipping vegan nacho fries into a dairy-free cheese sauce from taco bell© Taco Bell
    Patrons got a taste of this spicy queso sauce when the chain tested its Vegan Crunchwrap at three locations—in Los Angeles, New York, and Orlando, Florida. But now, no matter where you go for your Taco Bell fix, you’ll be able to dip into dairy-free cheese sauce.

    taco bell's vegan crunchwrap on a taco bell bag next to packets of hot sauce© Taco Bell
    While the Vegan Nacho Sauce will be available only for a limited time, Taco Bell has been slowly rolling out new vegan menu items for years and has stressed its commitment to developing new (and delicious) vegan options. Prior to the successful test of the Vegan Crunchwrap, the chain tested a cow-friendly carne asada steak in collaboration with Beyond Meat, a proprietary vegan ground beef, and a meatless Naked Chicken Chalupa shell.

    Best Vegan Fast-Food Options of 2021, including the vegan naked chicken chalupa taco bell

    Taco Bell’s Naked Chalupa with a crispy plant-based shell

    Taco Bell’s regular menu is already one of the most vegan-friendly around, with easily customizable and tasty options like the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme (order it fresco style), Cinnamon Twists, and fresco-style bean burrito.

    Taco Bell
    By going vegan, you can spare the lives of countless animals who otherwise would be killed in the meat, egg, and dairy industries. Order a free vegan starter kit to make the change today, and check out our tips on ordering vegan at Taco Bell and other chain restaurants.

    The post This New Vegan Menu Item Is Making Its Way to a Taco Bell Near You appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Actor James Cromwell Reveals What Starbucks Really Cares About in New PETA Video

    In his first acting role since Succession, actor James Cromwell plays Ewan Roy’s worst nightmare—a greedy, fictional Starbucks executive who exploits eco-conscious customers by charging them more for vegan milk—in a new PETA video released in time for National Coffee Day on September 29.

    Watch Cromwell’s PETA Video Slamming Starbucks:

    Director:
    Nim Shapira    		 Producer:
    Noa Osheroff    		 Writers:
    Ronen Harten, Nim Shapira, and PETA    		 Director of photography and colorist:
    Eyal Bau Cohen
    Editor:
    Nitay Dagan    		 Gaffer:
    Daniele Sestito    		 Sound design and mix:
    Daniel Bloch    		 Title design:
    Adriano Reis
    First assistant director:
    Zohar Zeev    		 Script supervisor:
    Alon Shabshin    		 Production services:
    Besties Make Movies

    Spliced with images of cruel industrialized milking, melting ice caps, and wildfires, the video features Cromwell in Starbucks’ signature green apron, explaining that the coffee chain is aware of the dairy industry’s contribution to “a giant burning hellscape.” He also explains why customers choose vegan milks to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

    James Cromwell with vegan milk dressed in starbucks uniform with swirling colors

    “It’s good that you pay … I mean, care,” he says, “because we also have other things to care about, like the $1.6 million cash sign-on bonus for our new CEO.”

    “You just keep caring about saving the world, and we’ll keep caring about our savings account, because Starbucks cares about money. Heck, it’s right there in our name,” Cromwell says with a smirk, handing over a latte with a dollar symbol outlined in foam.

    The socially conscious actor previously supported PETA’s campaign against the coffee giant by supergluing himself to a Starbucks counter in Midtown Manhattan to pressure the company to end its upcharge for vegan milks (which other chains offer at no extra cost).

    James Cromwell superglue Starbucks protest

    Ditch Dairy!

    In addition to driving the climate catastrophe, the dairy industry tears calves away from their mothers within a day of birth so that the milk meant to nourish them can be stolen and sold to humans. PETA’s investigations into dairy facilities have found workers electroshocking a cow in the face, hitting cows with poles and a cane, and abusing them in other ways. Once their bodies wear out from repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter.

    PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit to anyone who is ready to make kinder, healthier choices.

    Join Cromwell in urging Starbucks to stop charging extra for vegan milks:

    The post Actor James Cromwell Reveals What Starbucks Really Cares About in New PETA Video appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Say ‘Vegan Cheese!’ PETA to Crash The Wedge Festival With Cruelty-Free Flavor

    Attendees at Saturday’s cheese festival, The Wedge, will get a tasty treat before they even enter the main event—PETA supporters will hand out free Babybel Plant-Based cheese snacks and remind people that loving cheese and being kind to cows can go hand in hand.

    When:    Saturday, September 30, 12 noon

    Where:    100 S.E. Alder St. (near the intersection of S.E. Second Avenue and S.E. Morrison Street), Portland

    Giant ‘Babies’ Lead PETA’s Vegan Cheese Giveaway

    PETA supporters at a previous vegan cheese giveaway. Photos: PETA

    “Cows love their calves and produce milk to nourish them, not so humans can enjoy a fleeting bite of brie,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges cheese lovers to be kind to cows by ditching dairy and indulging in the many delicious cashew, almond, and other plant-based milks and cheeses available.”

    In the dairy industry, calves are torn away from their mothers within a day of birth so that the milk meant for them can be stolen and sold to humans. PETA’s investigations into dairy facilities have found workers electroshocking cows in the face, hitting them with poles and a cane, and abusing them in other ways. Once their bodies wear out from repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers free vegan starter kits to help anyone make the switch.

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

    The post Say ‘Vegan Cheese!’ PETA to Crash The Wedge Festival With Cruelty-Free Flavor appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Say ‘Vegan Cheese!’ PETA to Crash Mac and Cheese Fest With Cruelty-Free Flavor

    Attendees at Saturday’s Mac and Cheese Festival will get a tasty treat before they even enter the main event—PETA supporters will hand out free Babybel Plant-Based cheese snacks and remind people that loving cheese and being kind to cows can go hand in hand.

    When:    Saturday, September 30, 4-6 p.m.

    Where:    Outside the Mac and Cheese Festival, Mercy Health Stadium, 2009 Baseball Blvd., Avon

    Giant ‘Babies’ Lead PETA’s Vegan Cheese Giveaway

    PETA supporters at a previous vegan cheese giveaway. Photos: PETA

    “Cows love their calves and produce milk to nourish them, not so humans can enjoy a fleeting bite of brie,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges cheese lovers to be kind to cows by ditching dairy and indulging in the many delicious cashew, almond, and other plant-based milks and cheeses available.”

    In the dairy industry, calves are torn away from their mothers within a day of birth so that the milk meant for them can be stolen and sold to humans. PETA’s investigations into dairy facilities have found workers electroshocking cows in the face, hitting them with poles and a cane, and abusing them in other ways. Once their bodies wear out from repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers free vegan starter kits to help anyone make the switch.

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

    The post Say ‘Vegan Cheese!’ PETA to Crash Mac and Cheese Fest With Cruelty-Free Flavor appeared first on PETA.

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

  • PALM-ALT: Could This Palm Oil Alternative Be the ‘Holy Grail’ of Sustainable Baking Fats?

    palm oil alternative
    5 Mins Read

    A new sustainable fat by Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University (QMU) is the latest to join the fledgling palm oil alternative sector. Using food industry sidestream ingredients, PALM-ALT is said to be 70% better for the environment (emissions-wise) and contains 88% less saturated fat. The researchers claim this is the “holy grail” of eco-friendly palm oil substitutes.

    Experts at the Scottish university say their palm oil alternative uses a byproduct from the linseed (aka flaxseed) industry, combining it with natural fibre and rapeseed oil (aka canola oil) to produce a fully plant-based fat that resembles the texture of mayonnaise.

    Catriona Liddle, one of the lead developers, told the BBC: “It’s the holy grail to replace [palm oil] and still have exactly the same end result in product – to taste the same and have the texture the same – and we’ve done that.”

    PALM-ALT – which contains 25% less fat overall, 88% less saturated fat, and 30% fewer calories – can be produced on a global scale locally and is cost-competitive, according to QMU. It is also free from added flavourings, sugar, sweeteners, preservatives or colourings.

    “We’ve put it through some special sensory testing to see if a panel can tell the difference between our product and traditional palm shortening, and they can’t,” Liddle told the BBC.

    alt palm
    Courtesy: Malcolm Cochrane/Queen Margaret University

    The problem with palm oil

    Palm oil is the most widely produced oil in the world – accounting for 40% of all oil production. It works as a natural preservative, has no taste, smell or colour, and can withstand high temperatures, making it a favourite for food and beauty companies around the world. In fact, it’s present in half of all supermarket items, across every category.

    But palm oil is a major driver of tropical deforestation – 90% of the world’s palm oil trees are located in the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. In August 2019, Indonesian forests were engulfed by wildfires caused directly by palm plantation trees. As per one estimate, tropical deforestation is responsible for nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions annually.

    Rainforests are cleared and various species are killed to make way for these plantations. Palm oil production has increased tenfold since 1980, and is set to increase by another 50% by 2050. The high demand means more forests are burnt down, a form of mass deforestation that emits greenhouse gases, while removing trees that would help absorb these very emissions.

    Moreover, palm oil cultivation is a threat to wildlife including orangutans – 50% of whom are found outside national parks due to deforestation – and rhinos. Moreover, the industry is linked with human rights abuses, with Indigenous communities losing their lands and villages, and workers exploited with poor working conditions and pay.

    lab grown palm oil
    Courtesy: Getty Images via Canva

    “It is therefore essential to develop an alternative product, which works well for the food industry and helps reduce the world’s overreliance on palm,” said Liddle. PALM-ALT has the potential to replace palm oil in baking products, where it is largely used for its ability to remain solid at room temperature (owing to a high amount of saturated fat). “Palm-based fat works particularly well in bakery products due to its composition, taste and mouthfeel. For example, it helps produce cakes which are light, with a good taste profile which has a pleasant mouthfeel.”

    Dr Julien Lonchamp, who led the research alongside Liddle, added: “Our team has patented the PALM-ALT composition and process and we are currently in discussions with a number of partners to implement the novel palm replacer at the industry level.”

    A growing list of palm oil alternatives

    QMU’s palm oil alternative joins a fast-growing lineup of companies hoping to produce a like-for-like substitute for the problematic fat. Last month, fellow British firm Clean Food Group raised £2.3M to accelerate the commercialisation of its fermentation-based palm oil replacement.

    palm oil alternatives
    Professor Chris Chuck, Clean Food Group’s technical lead | Courtesy: Laurie Lapworth / University of Bath

    New York-based climate tech startup C16 Biosciences, meanwhile, has created a Palmless Torula oil, using microbes grown in bioreactors. The bioidentical palm oil alternative has been used in a soap bar by British material science firm Pangaia and skincare label Haeckels. Across the coast, Bay Area firm Kiverdi is making a sustainable substitute to palm oil using captured carbon, and Zero Acre makes a Cultured Oil rainforest-fed sugarcane as a replacement for conventional vegetable oil. Meanwhile, Wisconsin-based Xylome makes a yeast-derived Yoil.

    Also in the US, Unilever injected $120M into San Diego’s Genomatica last year, whose palm oil replacement is suited for personal, home and cleaning products as of now. Ohio-based Locus Ingredients’ palm alternative is similar, using fermentation to replace palm-based ingredients and chemical surfactants.

    In Europe, Estonian startup Äio raised €1M in February to scale up production of its alternative, which (like ALT-PALM) uses byproducts from agricultural sidestreams. Dutch company NoPalm Ingredients similarly makes use of waste feedstocks like discarded produce and peelings to make its microbial-fermented palm oil substitute. Fellow Dutch startup Time-Travelling Milkman uses sunflower seeds to make a fat alternative that can replace palm oil in various applications.

    Aio
    Nemailla Bonturi, co-founder of Äio | Courtesy: Janek Toomikas

    In Germany, meanwhile, Colipi is a biotech firm using precision fermentation to turn yeast into ‘Carbon Oil’ by using organic sidestreams as feed. And alt-chocolate producer ChoViva revealed to Green Queen earlier this month that it is working on cocoa butter and palm oil alternatives.

    In Singapore, scientists at the Nanyang Technical University are working on replacing palm oil with a microalgae fat, which is said to have better health and eco credentials The new oil is claimed to offer health and sustainability benefits, including lowering cholesterol and being made from regenerative algae varieties.

    Despite this list, Liddle is confident that its ALT-PALM oil is unlike any other alternative. “Despite efforts to develop more sustainable cultivation practices, the industry has found it difficult to identify another fat which delivers the cost benefits and physical characteristics (bland taste, food shelf-life and ambient storage) that palm offers, and which is not linked with health concerns,” she argued. “Currently, there is no palm oil replacement that is sustainable, healthy and cost-effective.”

    The post PALM-ALT: Could This Palm Oil Alternative Be the ‘Holy Grail’ of Sustainable Baking Fats? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • From Burger King To IHOP, Impossible Foods Does Foodservice Collabs Right

    impossible foodservice
    5 Mins Read

    Impossible Foods has partnered with IHOP on a range of menu items, expanding its US foodservice footprint. A leading plant-based meat company, Impossible has a knack for getting these collaborations with F&B chains just right – with multiple deals ongoing for years now.

    Announced yesterday, the partnership with IHOP sees Impossible’s breakfast sausage and burger patties make it on the iconic US pancake diners’s menu at all of its almost 1,700 locations. It expands the alt-meat giant’s presence in restaurants and fast-food chains across the US – and globally, it claims to be on the menu of over 40,000 foodservice locations.

    It brings to mind similar deals that Impossible has struck with fast food giants over the years, which – unlike many other alt-meat foodservice collaborations – are long-standing and still going strong.

    Plant-based meat sector overview

    impossible ihop
    Courtesy: Impossible Foods

    Impossible occupies an interesting position amidst a somewhat precarious climate for plant-based meat, as the sector has faced media storm over the last couple of years after faltering sales, particularly in the US. Unlike its main competitor Beyond Meat, it’s not a public company, and so hasn’t experienced the same scrutiny – but it has still felt the effects.

    The US plant-based sector has been hit hard by a combination of Covid-19 after-effects, supply chain disruptions, and the cost-of-living crisis. Investors are losing confidence, misinformation is rampant, and consumer adoption is at a 10-year low. Alt-meat companies in the US have ceased operations, filed for bankruptcy and laid off employees. Impossible itself has had two rounds of layoffs over the last 12 months, cutting 20% of its workforce (132 employees) in February, after a 6% cull last October.

    According to industry think tank the Good Food Institute, all this turmoil has results in retail sales for plant-based meat flatlining in the US, while pound sales (as measured by weight) have decreased. And while the hospitality sector is still recovering from the pandemic-induced lockdowns, in the US, plant-based meat sales in foodservice reached an all-time high of $730M in 2022.

    Speaking to AFN earlier this month, Impossible CEO Peter McGuinness agreed that the sector was facing significant challenges but said that the company’s retail performance was strong: “In the 52-week Nielsen [data], we’re still growing high single-digit, low double-digit in retail, which is great. We have a 50% repeat [purchase rate]… so every two people we get to try our product, one repeats, which is quite strong.” In January, the brand said its retail dollar sales grew by 50% in 2022.

    Impossible’s foodservice success streak

    impossible whopper
    Courtesy: Burger King/Impossible Foods

    He also “We have 15% household awareness – so 85% of the country hasn’t heard of us, and you can’t buy what you haven’t heard of,” McGuinness added. “We did our first ever marketing campaign in June and July, in 11 years. It takes time to build a brand, but awareness leads to trial; trial leads to repeat.”

    But one thing that has helped grow awareness about the brand is its partnerships with some of the foodservice world’s biggest operators. McGuinness noted how well the Impossible’s collaborations in this space are going. And he’s right.

    Impossible made a huge splash when it partnered with American chef David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant group in 2016 right out of the gate. It’s been seven years, and that link-up is still going (albeit in Chang’s other eateries). Similarly, it partnered with hamburger chain White Castle in September 2018 on the Impossible Slider and the two companies just celebrated their five-year anniversary.

    Moreover, Impossible’s breakfast sausage has been on Starbucks menus in the US for four years now, and its partnership with Disney – which saw the alt-meat appear on restaurant menus across multiple Disneyland locations in the US – is three years strong now. One of the company’s major early foodservice wins, launching the Impossible Whopper at Burger King, is a four-year strong partnership.

    Foodservice remains a bright spot for plant-based

    beyond meat restaurants
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    This retention rate is impressive, especially when so many similar collaborations are short-lived. You only have to look as far as the world’s biggest food brand: McDonald’s, Of note, the partnerships Though it is much more successful in other countries, like the UK and Germany.)

    While in Europe, Beyond Meat enjoys a successful partnership with McDonald’s that has seen both a UK and German trial go nationwide, and new markets launching consistently, stateside Beyond Meat’s fast-food partnerships track record is more spotty. The US McPlant launch was shorter-lived, with the trial ending last year owing to poor sales.

    In 2021, the company announced a deal with Yum! Brands – the parent company of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell with Beyond Meat developping vegan chicken nuggets thatwere trialled and taken off the menu after a couple of months (they returned for another temporary period).

    With Pizza Hut, the Beyond Italian Sausage Pan Pizza lasted barely a year before being withdrawn. Taco Bell had some teething issues with its Beyond Meat partnership too, but is now testing its pea-protein beef in the chain’s famous Crunchwrap. Then, there’s the discontinued team-up with Panda Express, which began selling Beyond Orange Chicken in the summer of 2021. It was brought back by popular demand last year but for a limited time as well. The Beyond Meat-Panda Express partnership was so popular with consumers that an online petition garnered over 4,000 signatures asking the companies to reintroduce the dish.

    It’s not clear whether some of these partnerships were discontinued due to poor sales or for other reasons. Foodservice partnerships are undoubtedly complicated and require buy-in from multiple stakeholders to be successful, not to mention consumers have to support the campaigns.

    Impossible’s latest IHOP announcement suggests the company is doing something right on the foodservice front, particularly as the latter is a bright spot for the plant-based category.

    That being said, the plant-based category is an important one for restauranteurs. According to a report released last month by the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), 95% of foodservice operators in the United States anticipate either higher or consistent sales of vegan food and beverages in the coming year. Furthermore, 76% of them plan to maintain or expand their selection of plant-based meat alternatives.

    The post From Burger King To IHOP, Impossible Foods Does Foodservice Collabs Right appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 8 Brands Making the Best Plant-Based Ready Meals for the Time-Strapped Consumer

    plant based ready meals
    7 Mins Read

    It’s a fast-paced world. There’s a lot to do. Cooking? Gah, who has the time? But you love food. We get it. Ready-to-eat meals are here to save you, showcasing the best of plant-based food that’s ready in a jiffy. Here are the (vegan) crème de la crème.

    Ready meals have a bad rep. Sometimes it’s a perceived lack of freshness, and sometimes, they are just bland or unappetising.

    But they can also be a lifesaver (especially for busy working parents). In the constant grind of the workday, sometimes the last thing you want to do or (at least as a writer) break your flow is cook. Believe me, I would kill for a nice vegan meal right now – something I could just microwave or heat up on the stove.

    Well, I’m here to tell you – I know a lot of ready meals are meh, but some truly stand a cut above the rest. So even if you’re a food snob, you won’t be disappointed. Plus, they can help you get through your day that much easier – whether that is just a workday, a busy weeknight, or even just a lousy Sunday afternoon.

    Here are the brands making some of the best plant-based ready meals you can buy:

    Impossible Foods

    impossible ready meals
    Courtesy: Impossible Kitchen

    Alt-meat giant Impossible Foods launched its frozen ready-to-heat bowls last September, and it’s an eight-product-strong range. The meals contain Impossible’s plant-based beef, chicken or pork, with 10-13g of protein per serving. They can be heated in five minutes.

    The pork bowls include vegan mac and cheese, sweet and sour pork with rice, and BBQ pork with potatoes and beans. The chicken meals include a spicy enchilada bowl and a teriyaki option with rice. Then there’s an Impossible beef burrito bowl, along with meals with both beef and pork – pasta bolognese and spaghetti and meatballs.

    You can find Impossible’s frozen plant-based ready meals at Walmart for $6.28.

    Daring

    vegan ready meals
    Courtesy: Daring

    Vegan chicken brand Daring also deals in the ready-to-heat bowl business. It has three frozen entrées that pack in 16g of protein.

    The Harvest Plant Chicken Bowl pairs Daring’s meat alternative with brown rice, a chimichurri sauce, sweet potatoes and kale. The Teriyaki bowl, meanwhile, combines the teriyaki-flavoured soy chicken with white rice and broccoli, and the fajita bowl contains fire-roasted onions and peppers, white rice and cajun-spiced Daring chicken.

    You can find Daring’s frozen bowls online and at various retailers across the US for $8.99.

    Somos

    vegan ready to eat meals
    Courtesy: Somos

    Somos might be known for its mind-blowing chilli crisps and salsas, but it has an extensive range of vegan ready meal components too. The idea is to mix and match the rice, beans and taco fillings to create your own meal – it’s perfect for fajita night or burrito bowl lunches.

    The white rice comes in cilantro-lime and Mexican street corn flavours, and brown rice in Mexican red salsa and poblano options. As for the beans, there are whole-cooked black beans, as well as spicy or chipotle refried beans.

    Moving on to the veggie entrées, Somos used a pea-protein-based beef alternative as the main taco filling in the Peacadillo and Salsa Verde variants. The other options are smoky chipotle mushrooms and cauliflower tinga.

    To help people pick, Somos offers bundles comprising rice, beans, taco fillings and a sauce jar, which retail for $28.

    You can find Somos’ pick-and-mix vegan ready meal components online and various retailers across the US.

    Gardein

    gardein ready meals
    Courtesy: Gardein

    Gardein is a huge name in the plant-based industry. In addition to its beef, fish, pork, turkey and chicken alternatives, it also offers frozen vegan meals in the form of its Ultimate Bowls (14-18g of protein per meal) and Skillet Meals ranges (11-14 of protein).

    The Ultimate Bowls line comprises sweet and sour chicken (with rice, pineapple, carrots and peppers), a beef burrito bowl (with rice, corn and black beans), beef and broccoli (with rice), and meatball marinara (with pasta, spinach and onions).

    The Skillet Meals range contains an Italian-style vegan sausage with rigatoni and bell peppers in a marinara sauce, and a plant-based chicken Florentino, with strozzapreti, broccoli and spinach in a lemon-garlic sauce.

    You can find Gardein’s frozen vegan bowls at Target and Stater Bros for $4.50, and the skillet meals at multiple retailers for across the US $8.99.

    Beyond Meat

    beyond meat meals
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    Plant-based giant Beyond Meat launched its ready meal range in the UK only earlier this year. The lineup consists of three frozen Beyond Meals, containing 14-17g of protein – and they can be ready in seven to nine minutes.

    The spaghetti bolognese pairs Beyond Meat with pasta cooked in a tomato and herb sauce, alongside a dash of wine. The keema curry and pilau rice option comprises its pea protein beef simmered with spices and an Indian-inspired gravy, and the other rice option is a chili with coriander rice, with Beyond Meat cooked in a tomato-chilli sauce with black beans and red pepper.

    You can find Beyond Meat’s ready meals exclusively at Tesco stores across the UK for £3.

    Wicked Kitchen

    wicked kitchen
    Courtesy: Wicked Kitchen

    Speaking of Tesco, it is home to Wicked Kitchen’s UK retail presence. The Minneapolis-headquartered brand is present in four countries across three continents and has a wide range of vegan ready meals.

    The frozen range has two meals with Beyond Meat – a naked burrito and a Korean-inspired bowl. Sriracha tofu and rice, as well as Penang tofu curry make up the other two in this section. Wicked Kitchen also makes frozen vegan pizzas, in Margherita, rustic veg, and spicy sausage and pepperoni flavours.

    Apart from these, Wicked Kitchen makes microwaveable bowls too. These include a plant-based chickpea and mushroom bourguignon, potato and three-bean chilli, and Tuscan white bean stew.

    You can find Wicked Kitchen’s ready meals at various locations across the UK, US, Finland and Thailand.

    Earth Company

    earth company
    Courtesy: Earth Company

    A relatively new brand, Earth Company is the brainchild of vegan chef Matthey Kenney and entrepreneur Max Koenig. It has a whole-food plant-based, “360° nutrition” approach to its plant-based meals.

    Its first range of products came in jars and included a lentil and tofu bolognese, a lentil and bean chilli, and a chickpea, lentil and tofu curry. The bolognese boasted 25g of protein per serving, while the other two had 28g. The meals could be heated in a microwave or in a pan in about two to three minutes.

    They are currently sold out, but Earth Company has teased that it will be launching another range soon on its website. At the time, each 16oz jar was priced at $6.

    Bonus: Blue Zones Kitchen

    Courtesy: Blue Zones Kitchen

    After the popular Netflix documentary, Live to 100, Blue Zones certification co-founder Dan Buettner announced the launch of Blue Zones Kitchen, a line of ready-to-heat meals inspired by the world’s Blue Zones – regions where people are said to live the longest.

    The four ready meals also take a whole-foods plant-based approach. The burrito bowl – inspired by Nicoya, Costa Rica – blends sweet potatoes, organic black beans, roasted corn and red quinoa. The heirloom rice takes influence from the Gullah community, combining heirloom Carolina Gold rice with red beans, toasted garlic, sweet potatoes and stewed tomatoes.

    The sesame-ginger bowl pairs brown rice with carrots, edamame and broccoli. And the minestrone casserole takes inspiration from Sardinia, which was the original blue zone. It combines chickpeas, red lentils, durum wheat pasta, kale, tomatoes and other vegetables.

    Blue Zones Kitchens will soon launch their products at Town & Country markets across Washington state.

    The post 8 Brands Making the Best Plant-Based Ready Meals for the Time-Strapped Consumer appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • ‘Polar Bears’ to Occupy Uptown Starbucks Over Earth-Killing Pro-Dairy Policy

    On Friday, a pack of “polar bears” will pound the pavement to the Starbucks store at Midtown Plaza to urge the company to stop charging customers extra for vegan milk—which incentivizes them to opt for dairy, even though the industry is a top producer of the greenhouse gases that are contributing to melting the ice caps, killing polar bears, and otherwise driving the climate catastrophe. The pleading “bears” are the latest action in PETA’s campaign calling on Starbucks to end the upcharge for vegan milks, which the company already agrees are better for the planet.

    ‘Polar Bears’ Swarm Starbucks Over Pro-Dairy Policy

    Photo: PETA

    When:    Friday, September 29, 12 noon

    Where:    212 S. Tryon St. (between W. Third and W. Fourth streets), Charlotte

    “Starbucks admits that it has a massive carbon footprint from its use of dairy, yet the company still refuses to put the planet over profits,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Starbucks to end the shameful vegan milk surcharge and give a frap about the polar bears who die on melting ice caps and the cows forcibly impregnated for dairy.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website.

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

    The post ‘Polar Bears’ to Occupy Uptown Starbucks Over Earth-Killing Pro-Dairy Policy appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Lamb Beaten With a Crowbar at Local Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

    Today, PETA sent a letter to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone calling on her to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against the Carteret Abattoir worker responsible for beating a lamb with a crowbar at the company’s slaughterhouse at 2 Roosevelt Ave.

    As revealed in a just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report, a federal inspector witnessed the employee “hitting a lamb on the back with a crowbar” on September 8. The worker lifted the crowbar above his head and struck the animal so hard that the agent could hear the impact of the strike.

    “Lambs in slaughterhouses experience such terror and pain when their throats are slit, yet for this little lamb, the experience was made even more horrific by a slaughterhouse worker who beat her with a crowbar,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of this lamb and urges everyone to help prevent all slaughterhouse violence by going vegan.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—points out that sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys, and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives, just as humans do. The group is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse since at least 2007.

    For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    PETA’s letter to Ciccone follows.

    September 26, 2023

    The Honorable Yolanda Ciccone

    Middlesex County Prosecutor

    Dear Ms. Ciccone:

    I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to request that your office (and the proper local law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file suitable criminal charges against the Carteret Abattoir worker responsible for beating a lamb with a crowbar on September 8 at its slaughterhouse located at 2 Roosevelt Ave. in Carteret. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in the attached report, which states the following:

    [T]he Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) observed an employee driving lambs to the pens. … [H]e saw the employee hitting a lamb on the back with a crowbar. The employee raised the crowbar above his head before striking the animal. When the crowbar struck the animal, the CSI could hear the impact of the strike.

    This conduct appears to violate N.J.S.A. § 4:22-17. Importantly, FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for slaughterhouse workers who perpetrate acts of cruelty to animals. Given that the FSIS has not initiated a criminal prosecution of a licensed slaughterhouse for inhumane handling since at least 2007, charges under state law are this victim’s only chance at a measure of justice.

    Please let us know if we can do anything to assist you. Thank you for your consideration and for the difficult work that you do.

    Sincerely,

    Colin Henstock

    Investigations Project Manager

    The post Lamb Beaten With a Crowbar at Local Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe appeared first on PETA.

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

  • ‘She Did Not Consent’ Pro-Turkey ‘ThanksVegan’ Appeal Lands in Spruce Grove, Courtesy of PETA

    Ahead of Thanksgiving, PETA has erected a towering appeal near a local Safeway store urging everyone to give birds a break and enjoy a delicious “ThanksVegan” feast instead.

    “Turkeys are individuals who feel pain and fear, experience joy, value their lives, and don’t want to be carved up and stuffed any more than we do,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging everyone to show a little mercy, keep turkeys off the table, and tuck into savory and satisfying vegan roasts that give everyone something to be thankful for.”

    Each year in Canada, about 2.7 million turkeys are killed and sold for Thanksgiving. During their short lives, they’re forced to stand in their own waste and inhale ammonia-laden air inside dark warehouses. The birds are bred to grow so large that their legs break under them. In addition to sparing the lives of nearly 200 animals a year, everyone who goes vegan shrinks their carbon footprint and reduces their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments.

    PETA’s “ThanksVegan” guide is packed with recipes, cooking tips, and everything else needed to enjoy a delicious, turkey-friendly holiday.

    The group’s message is located at the intersection of Highway 16A and Calahoo Road. It will also appear in Edmonton and in London, Ontario.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on the group’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘She Did Not Consent’ Pro-Turkey ‘ThanksVegan’ Appeal Lands in Spruce Grove, Courtesy of PETA appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Feds Find Neglected Dogs at Elkhart County Puppy Mill; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

    Damning reports recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveal that dogs were denied needed veterinary care and were confined to cramped cages without being let out to exercise at a breeding facility operated by Michael Weaver near Goshen. In response, PETA rushed a letter to Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney Vicki Elaine Becker asking her to investigate and file applicable charges against those responsible for the neglect.

    According to the report, on August 15 a USDA veterinarian found a dog whose right ear was “reddened,” with waxy brown debris inside, which Weaver had failed to notice. On May 31, the USDA veterinarian found four dogs who were confined to enclosures barely bigger than their bodies and at least one dog—a mini golden retriever/poodle mix—who had to “constantly remain hunched over or lay down to prevent her head from hitting the top” of the cage. Weaver apparently stated that the dogs weren’t being let out for exercise, and the veterinarian noted that these conditions can cause psychological distress and discomfort. The same day, the veterinarian also documented that a French bulldog hadn’t received medical care despite suffering from a suspected prolapsed eyelid, known as “cherry eye”—which occurs when an eyelid gland protrudes, leading to a swollen pink mass.

    “Miserable mills like this one deny dogs proper care, imprison them in cramped conditions, and treat them as nothing but commodities,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is urging Elkhart County authorities to prosecute those responsible for this neglect and calls on everyone to avoid buying dogs from breeders or pet stores, which keep operations like this one in business, and to adopt from shelters instead.”

    PETA is pursuing charges under state law because the USDA doesn’t render relief or aid to animals during its inspections and these violations carry no federal criminal or civil penalties.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    PETA’s letter to Becker follows.

    September 26, 2023

    The Honorable Vicki Elaine Becker

    Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney

    Dear Ms. Becker:

    I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to request that your office (and the proper law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and, as suitable, file criminal charges against those responsible for neglecting dogs at a breeding facility operated by Michael Weaver at 63771 State Rd. 13. PETA hopes investigators will visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in canine health and welfare so that they can identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for approximately 110 dogs there.

    A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian documented neglect at the facility in the attached reports, which were recently made public. On May 31, the veterinarian found that two dogs—who were 25 to 30 inches long and 17 to 26 inches tall—were in cages that measured only 24 inches across and 17 inches high. Two more dogs, who were 14 to 20 inches tall, were also kept in cages that were just 17 inches high. Weaver apparently told the veterinarian that the dogs weren’t being let out of the cages to exercise.

    The same day, the USDA official found a dog whose right eyelid was evidently prolapsed, causing a “fleshy pink mass” to develop on the eye. Despite being aware of the injury, Weaver apparently hadn’t contacted a veterinarian to seek care. Similarly, on August 15 the USDA veterinarian found that another dog’s right ear was “reddened,” with waxy brown debris inside—which Weaver “had not identified.”

    These findings may violate Indiana Code § 35-46-3-7.

    You may also wish to know that on August 15, the USDA veterinarian found that about 23 dogs had access to “excessively dirty” feeders, which Weaver reportedly admitted had not been cleaned in “a few weeks.”

    The USDA renders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site, and these reports carry no criminal or civil penalties and don’t preempt criminal liability under state law for neglecting animals. If you’d like to learn more about the agency’s findings, please see the contact information for its office in Riverdale, Maryland, here. Thank you for your time and consideration.

    Sincerely,

    Daniel Paden

    Vice President of Evidence Analysis

    PETA

    The post Feds Find Neglected Dogs at Elkhart County Puppy Mill; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe appeared first on PETA.

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

  • ‘Not Your Mom? Not Your Milk!’: PETA Media Blitz Targets World Dairy Expo

    People traveling to the World Dairy Expo next week will likely catch sight of a new messaging blitz from PETA that reminds visitors that a mother cow’s milk is meant for her calf. The appeal—plastered on more than a dozen local buses and placed inside Chicago’s Midway International Airport—urges people to leave cows in peace by going vegan.Not Your Mom Not Your Milk cow

    “A cow produces milk for her young only after pregnancy, just as a human does for her baby,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Instead of celebrating the horrors of the dairy industry, PETA is calling on everyone to skip the World Dairy Expo and to show compassion to mothers and their babies by choosing only vegan milks, yogurts, and cheeses.”

    In the dairy industry, calves are torn away from their mothers within a day of birth so the milk meant to nourish them can be stolen and sold in supermarkets. It’s standard industry practice to keep cows almost constantly pregnant by forcibly inseminating them—workers insert an arm into the animals’ rectum and a metal rod to deliver semen into their vagina—and although people rarely think about it, there’s no retirement home for cows: After only a few years, their bodies wear out and they’re sent to slaughter.

    PETA’s ads are located on 14 Metro Transit buses in Madison and in Concourse B (Arrivals & Departures) at Midway.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘Not Your Mom? Not Your Milk!’: PETA Media Blitz Targets World Dairy Expo appeared first on PETA.

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

  • ‘She Did Not Consent’ Pro-Turkey ‘ThanksVegan’ Appeal Lands in Edmonton, Courtesy of PETA

    Ahead of Thanksgiving, PETA has erected towering appeals in Edmonton and Spruce Grove urging everyone to give birds a break and enjoy a delicious “ThanksVegan” feast instead.

    “Turkeys are individuals who feel pain and fear, experience joy, value their lives, and don’t want to be carved up and stuffed any more than we do,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging everyone to show a little mercy, keep turkeys off the table, and tuck into savory and satisfying vegan roasts that give everyone something to be thankful for.”

    Each year in Canada, about 2.7 million turkeys are killed and sold for Thanksgiving. During their short lives, they’re forced to stand in their own waste and inhale ammonia-laden air inside dark warehouses. The birds are bred to grow so large that their legs break under them. In addition to sparing the lives of nearly 200 animals a year, everyone who goes vegan shrinks their carbon footprint and reduces their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments.

    PETA’s “ThanksVegan” guide is packed with recipes, cooking tips, and everything else needed to enjoy a delicious, turkey-friendly holiday.

    The group’s message in Edmonton is located at 10639 82nd Ave. N.W., between 107th Street N.W. and 106th Street. In Spruce Grove, it’s located at the intersection of Highway 16A and Calahoo Road, near Safeway. It will also be posted in London, Ontario.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on the group’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post ‘She Did Not Consent’ Pro-Turkey ‘ThanksVegan’ Appeal Lands in Edmonton, Courtesy of PETA appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Did She Consent? PETA’s New Billboards Will Make You Rethink Your Thanksgiving Dinner

    Ahead of Canada’s Thanksgiving on October 9, PETA is inviting Canadians to join in our “ThanksVegan” festivities by choosing a compassionate holiday feast. As a reminder that gentle, sensitive turkeys don’t want to be killed for a Thanksgiving meal, we’re placing billboards in three Canadian cities—Edmonton and Spruce Grove, Alberta, and London, Ontario—with the message “She Did Not Consent.”

    Every year, Canadians kill and consume millions of turkeys for Thanksgiving. Before ending up on someone’s holiday plate, many of these birds endure short, miserable lives on farms, where workers cram them into dark sheds with barely any room to move. To prevent crowded turkeys from injuring each other—likely out of extreme stress—workers often cut off portions of the birds’ toes and upper beaks with hot blades.

    ‘She Did Not Consent’: Animal-Derived Products Are the Result of Sexual Assault

    As PETA’s thought-provoking billboards point out, consent isn’t just a human issue. While investigating farms and slaughterhouses in the U.S., PETA eyewitnesses uncovered horrific abuse, including that workers sexually assaulted birds. In one instance, at a Butterball slaughterhouse, a PETA eyewitness documented that a worker shoved his finger into a turkey’s cloaca (vagina) for “fun” during a break while the slaughter line was stopped. During an investigation into Plainville Farms, which claims to provide a “stress-free” environment for turkeys, PETA’s eyewitness saw a worker pick up a hen by her injured neck and mimic sex acts with her before dropping her on the floor, kicking her, and leaving her to die.

    On many farms, genetic manipulation—or causing turkeys to grow much larger than they ever would in nature—is standard practice. It leaves them unable to breed normally, so workers typically manually extract semen from the males and impregnate the females by repeated forced artificial insemination.

    PETA’s “She Did Not Consent” turkey ads will be placed near popular grocery stores to urge shoppers to choose vegan options instead of cruelty.

    Two turkeys in a field of grass

    Do Right by Turkeys This Thanksgiving

    Turkeys are smart, loyal, and fiercely protective of their young. In nature, they spend their days caring for their loved ones, building nests, foraging for food, taking dust baths, grooming themselves, and roosting high in trees—all things they can’t do on farms that raise them for slaughter. Show turkeys and all our fellow sentient beings the empathy and respect they deserve this Thanksgiving by pledging to go vegan.

    The post Did She Consent? PETA’s New Billboards Will Make You Rethink Your Thanksgiving Dinner appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Truck Crash Prompts PETA Memorial to Chickens in Hall County

    To memorialize the chickens who were killed Friday morning when a truck carrying them overturned on Athens Highway north of A.L. Mangum Road, PETA plans to place a sky-high message near the site, reminding everyone that the crash victims were individuals. Already this year, there have been at least 42 animal-transport truck crashes.

    “Each of the chickens on this truck experienced terror and agony as she was crushed to death or suffocated,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to see chickens as the sensitive beings they are and go vegan.”

    Chickens killed for their flesh are crowded by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds and bred to grow such unnaturally large upper bodies that their legs often become crippled under the weight. Those used for egg production are confined to cramped barns, where each bird has no more than a square foot of space. At the slaughterhouse, their throats are cut, often while they’re still conscious, and many are scalded to death in defeathering tanks.

    Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year daily suffering and terrifying deaths; reduces their own risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity; and dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Truck Crash Prompts PETA Memorial to Chickens in Hall County appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Made in The USA: TiNDLE Launches Vegan Breakfast Sausage For Restaurants, Eyes 2024 Retail Expansion

    tindle breakfast sausage
    5 Mins Read

    Singapore-headquartered TiNDLE Foods has launched a breakfast sausage in the US, its first domestically-made product. The rollout comes a day after it expanded its presence in the UK, appearing on menus at two restaurant chains and debuting at Whole Foods.

    Just under two months after it first announced plans to launch its first American-made product, TiNDLE has unveiled its savoury Breakfast Sausage in the US. It will be available at Mr. Charlie’s in Los Angeles, and Neat Burger and Vegan On the Fly in New York City. The launch marks the three-year-old alt-meat brand’s first collaboration with plant-based egg giant Just Egg – TiNDLE’s soy protein sausage will be paired with Just Egg’s folded mung bean egg for various menu items at these restaurants.

    All three restaurants will incorporate these products as part of breakfast sandwiches, with Neat Burger – which opened its Manhattan restaurant earlier this year and collaborated with whole-cut plant-based steak maker Chunk Foods last week – featuring them in a breakfast burrito too. The new vegan sausage combines soy protein with canola and coconut oils, potato starch, methylcellulose, and oat fibre, alongside flavour and seasoning elements.

    Made in the USA

    The launch marks TiNDLE’s first product conceptualised and manufactured in the US. Its products have been available at hundreds of distribution points and restaurants across the country since 2022, and so far, all of them have been produced in a co-manufacturing facility in the Netherlands.

    The new plant-based breakfast sausage was developed and tested at TiNDLE’s US headquarters in Chicago, where it established a new R&D facility in September 2022. The ingredients for the product are sourced and grown in the US too, and the product is made at a co-manufacturing plant in the Pacific Northwest.

    vegan breakfast sausage
    Courtesy: TiNDLE Foods

    “We are thrilled to introduce TiNDLE Breakfast Sausage as our first American-designed innovation,” said JJ Kass, TiNDLE’s VP of business development and strategy. “This launch not only showcases our dedication to developing delicious and sustainable foods, but also signifies a major achievement for our company as we serve the American market and consumers with a truly authentic and enjoyable breakfast experience.”

    The news comes a month after the company launched its vegan chicken pieces in Singapore, which was its first locally manufactured product in its home market – part of a wider effort to boost food security in the country. The product was launched in the Netherlands as well.

    The company now has seven products for foodservice in the US, and plans to enter widespread retail channels next year. “We plan to increase the availability of our product offerings in the US next year and specifically, bring our flagship product TiNDLE Chicken to US grocery stores,” a TiNDLE spokesperson told Green Queen.

    When asked about upcoming product development, they added: “At the Chicago R&D center, we’re continually working on improving our existing TiNDLE Chicken products and testing out new formats and applications for potential future products. Other products in our existing lineup include nuggets, sandwich patties, tenders, popcorn patties, and boneless wings.”

    Expanding across the UK

    neat burger chicken
    Courtesy: Neat Burger

    The news comes on the heels of TiNDLE’s further expansion in the UK, where it debuted in April 2022 following a record-breaking $100M Series A round two months before. Earlier this year, it expanded its flagship chicken alternative to 350 Morrisons stores across the UK – and yesterday, it added 150 more locations to the list. Yesterday, TiNDLE made its debut at all seven Whole Foods stores in London, with plant-based wings, nuggets and tenders.

    Meanwhile, it strengthened its foodservice footprint through partnerships with burger chain Byron, as well as Neat Burger’s UK locations. TiNDLE’s products have already been available at Amigo’s, BrewDog and Clean Kitchen Club locations.

    Additionally, TiNDLE has made it onto university cafeteria menus, through a collaboration with London’s University of Westminster. It will be part of a katsu curry dish and K-pop-inspired nuggets at all of the institution’s eateries. Earlier this month, hundreds of British academics and campaigners wrote an open letter urging UK universities to transition to 100% plant-based menus.

    “In addition to traditional foodservice, we have focused on bringing in partners from the non-commercial space – schools, universities, offices, tourism, etc. – across the globe,” TiNDLE’s spokesperson told Green Queen. “A priority for us has always been to work with schools and universities, as younger generations are adopting a plant-based lifestyle and embracing options at a larger scale than older generations.

    “What’s so great about universities is that there are active and vocal student bodies demanding plant-based be on permanent menus in their canteens. In fact, we’ve seen this excitement directly in the UK.” The Universities of Stirling, Birmingham, Queen Mary, London Metropolitan, Kent, University College London and Cambridge have already voted to introduce fully vegan menus at their cafeterias.

    Plant-based will ‘continue to grow’

    tindle vegan chicken
    TiNDLE announced a rebrand and product portfolio expansion in August | Courtesy: TiNDLE Foods

    In early August, TiNDLE rebranded from its parent New School Foods and merged with London-based alt-dairy startup Mwah!, which the company had acquired back in March. TiNDLE told Green Queen at the time that it planned on expanding its collection of multi-ingredient vegan milks and gelatos, and now says it expects to launch the plant-based milk in Europe next year.

    It has been a tough few years for the plant-based industry – and even with some forecasts looking positive, there are many challenges the sector needs to overcome. “We don’t believe the overall category is a passing ‘fad’ or that consumer interest has waned. We believe, however, that the market is reflecting larger macroeconomic factors that are affecting almost every sector of industry currently,” the spokesperson said.

    TiNDLE calls it a “temporary stress” on the category and emphasises its focus on growth and expansion across Europe, the US and Asia. “As a young industry, there is ample room for growth and development in the US as consumers and diners become more aware of plant-based foods and, through adoption, their impact on climate change,” the spokesperson explained.

    “Additionally, as companies such as ours continue to innovate and create delicious plant-based options that are more appealing than animal-based offerings, we believe that consumer demand for plant-based foods will only continue to grow.”

    The post Made in The USA: TiNDLE Launches Vegan Breakfast Sausage For Restaurants, Eyes 2024 Retail Expansion appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • ‘Hybrid Could Unleash Alt-Seafood’: Vegan Fish Startup Seaspire on Indian Consumers, Launching in Foodservice and Why Retail Isn’t Viable Yet

    vegan seafood india
    7 Mins Read

    Indian vegan seafood company Seaspire has launched in D2C channels after months of foodservice trials in major cities in its home country. The startup’s co-founder Varun Gagodia tells Green Queen about India’s appetite for alt-seafood, consumer attitudes, why retail isn’t a viable option, and the key to this sector’s success.

    Launched in 2021, Seaspire made waves last year after piloting its bio-printed whole-cut vegan snapper at foodservice locations in India and New Zealand. The company claimed its product was the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, and after positive consumer feedback in the trials, it’s now launching in e-commerce channels to present vegan seafood for home cooking applications.

    But the products Seaspire has launched on the D2C channel don’t include the whole-cut snapper, which the company expects to continue exclusively in foodservice. “These outlets are highly niche, and we are doing these trials to validate the product use cases in food service,” Gadodia told Green Queen, adding that the snapper’s retail journey still has a few ways to go.

    The D2C offerings are plant-based fish fingers, a fish burger and fish mince. The base of the innovations is made from eight ingredients, combining pea and rice protein (which also appears in powdered form) with water, sunflower oil, salt, psyllium husk and algal extracts. The burger and fingers have an additional crumb coating made from wheat flour, spices and condiments.

    Gadodia said these ingredients come from multiple sources – “some through leading ingredients houses, and some are proprietary ingredients”. “We are currently outsourcing manufacturing of our commercial products to a leading food manufacturer in India,” he added. “Going forward, we will be looking at decentralising manufacturing based on target markets.”

    ‘Retail is not commercially viable’ for alt-seafood in India

    plant based seafood india
    Courtesy: Seaspire

    Seaspire decided to launch into retail after realising that “the early adopters are looking to get these products easily available at their doorsteps”. Gadodia said the company figured this out via some pop-up events. “Essentially, these three products will be still part of the foodservice channel, as we aim to establish multiple use-case applications in regional and continental cuisines,” he confirmed.

    But the new products are limited to online stores. “Physical retail is yet not a promising channel in India, what we have learned observing other brands,” explained Gadodia. “There is a huge inventory cost in the supply chain for physical distribution, and [it] is not viable corresponding to market adoption.”

    He added that Seaspire’s increased market presence will help it establish commercial bandwidth and introduce further whole-cut plant-based seafood products, which are set to be launched in Q1 2024: “We are already testing our cold-cut fillets of plant-based fish with leading foodservice in business, and hoping to follow [the] pilot exercise for [a] few months until their launch next year.” Moreover, he confirmed that the startup is working on vegan shrimp as it is “in high demand in foodservice” (it may not launch in retail, however).

    Seaspire describes the Asia-Pacific region as an “untapped opportunity” for vegan seafood, and while the company has already been operating in India, New Zealand has expanded its B2B presence to Australia and the UAE, it has earmarked Singapore as a potential market for its products too.

    Gadodia alluded to a challenging fundraising market and said that while Seaspire hasn’t raised funds from an institutional round, it has been supported by accelerator financing and grants in India and New Zealand. “In a tough funding environment like today, we feel we are fortunate that we are able to optimise [our] business to a great extent, and still deliver good products and access markets,” he explained.

    When asked if Seaspire planned to fundraise, he added: “It takes a lot to work with very limited capital. However, it’s very important to stay true to the fundamentals of business and improve cash flows for a better and sustainable business model.”

    What Indian consumers want from their food

    seaspire
    Seaspire co-founders Varun Gadodia and Shantanu Dhangar | Courtesy: Seaspire

    In terms of its home market, Gadodia noted that India has seen a modest rise in vegan consumption post-pandemic. A report by the country’s Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) in May found that veganism has become “increasingly popular” over the last five years in India, with “more than 2% of people actively identifying as vegan”. A December 2021 survey by leading food company Kerry found that 63% of Indians would be willing to buy plant-based products regularly, with 60% not deterred by higher price tags.

    However, Gadodia said that higher consumption of vegan food is restricted to “tier one” cities, which would include metropolises like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. “Tier two” cities are witnessing a rise in traditional plant proteins, he added. “We have also observed that positioning ‘plant-based’ or ‘vegetarian’ protein is much more acceptable in the consumer space than ‘vegan’. Vegan connotations are seemingly turning off a potential audience.”

    It aligns with previous research in other markets that highlights what term consumers prefer. A July 2022 ProVeg International survey covering the UK found that respondents were most likely to pick products labelled ‘plant-based’ or ‘veggie’, and least likely to do so with labels that read ‘vegan’ or ‘meatless’. In the US, too, the Plant Based Foods Association found that there’s a stronger preference for the terms ‘plant-based’ and ‘dairy-free’ compared to ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’.

    “More than vegan consumption, consumers tend to follow vegetarian diets,” Gadodia added. While there are conflicting figures about the number of vegetarians in India, estimates put it between 20-40%. Even at the lower end, that figure is about 280 million – that’s more than double the entire population of the second-highest on the list, Mexico.

    Moreover, eight in 10 Indians say they are reducing meat. Gadodia said targeting just vegans and flexitarians is “only scratching the surface”: “The bigger opportunity is inclusive of all consumers such as vegetarians who are looking for healthy and tasty foods.”

    He added: “The Indian consumer space is very complex, and there’s no straight pattern as regional diversity and economics play a huge role in food choices. In general, the demand for protein sources is steadily growing, and many consumers are looking for alternative options to supplement their protein needs. As a thumb rule, India is still a traditional market and consumers rely on regional food preparations. Thus taste, local flavours in preparation and cost parity are crucial [for growth].”

    Hybrid proteins could unlock alt-seafood’s potential

    vegan fish india
    Courtesy: Seaspire

    While India’s per capita consumption of fish is below the global average – which makes sense given its large vegetarian population – it still ranks among the largest seafood exporters in the world. The PBFIA report explains that as plant-based meat consumption in India “continues to grow, demand for alternative seafood is also expected to increase”. Apart from Seaspire, other brands offering plant-based seafood products in India include Mister Veg, VegetaGold, Veggie Champ and The Mighty Food.

    Alternative seafood, Gadodia said, is imperative to cope with the rising demand, as well as tackle climate change: “We aim to leverage traditional channels to supplement with alternative seafood products. Seafood in general is a highly fragmented category, and testing alternative seafood in a traditional market like India will provide us with a strong footing to establish product market fit.”

    So far, he noted that consumer response has been positive: “We have definitely managed to outgrow the consumer perception of plant-based products still not [being] quite there. Moreover, consumers have seen a lot of plant-based chicken or deli meats, but seafood is still scarce and that adds [to] the curiosity too.”

    Seaspire hopes to “trail the path of technology innovation that can promote growth and adoption of alternative seafood”, said Gadodia. He also hinted that the key to success for alt-seafood in India could be in the confluence of plant-based and cultivated proteins. “More specifically, we believe the category will be unleashed by the rise of biotech-driven solutions – [like] cell-based and synthetic biology – and aim to develop enabling technologies or solutions for hybrid seafood alternatives.”

    It involves mixing plant-based proteins with cell-cultured ones to produce a hybrid alternative to meat and seafood. So far, the only company working with cultivated seafood in India is Klevermeat. But as a whole, Asia has a number of food tech firms making strides in this space.

    The post ‘Hybrid Could Unleash Alt-Seafood’: Vegan Fish Startup Seaspire on Indian Consumers, Launching in Foodservice and Why Retail Isn’t Viable Yet appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Mangled Birds Repeatedly Left on Roadside for Hours; PETA Calls On Circle S Ranch to Act

    After North Carolina–based turkey supplier Circle S Ranch Inc. allowed turkeys in shattered cages strewn along the road to suffer for at least five hours following a recent truck crash in Pittsylvania County, PETA rushed a letter to General Manager Ronnie Parker urging him to implement vital measures to prevent and better respond to future crashes. This is the fifth case in recent years in a two-county area in which Circle S Ranch took at least four hours to arrive at a crash site where birds lay dying.

    According to records just obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the truck driver told the Virginia State Police that he lacked contact information for Circle S Ranch representatives who could assist with this emergency. Authorities struggled to contact Circle S Ranch staff for over two hours, at which point company reps told them that it would take another three hours for anyone to arrive to start recovering the turkeys.

    A Virginia State Police image of the crash scene obtained via a FOIA request. More photos are available here.

    PETA notes that Circle S Ranch previously agreed to implement an emergency-response plan for accidents involving trucks carrying live turkeys following the group’s work with the Virginia State Police and a prosecutor—but the company has not made good on its promises.

    “For years, Circle S has faced pressure from authorities and the public to improve its response to crashes, but birds are still ending up mangled, crushed, and left to suffer for hours,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling on Circle S Ranch to finally heed concerns and rush qualified personnel to wrecks, and we urge the public to help prevent birds from suffering on roadsides or at slaughterhouses by eating vegan.”

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—points out that turkeys, chickens, pigs, cows, sheep, and other animals feel pain and fear and value their lives, just as humans do. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Mangled Birds Repeatedly Left on Roadside for Hours; PETA Calls On Circle S Ranch to Act appeared first on PETA.

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

  • First ‘Veganuary,’ Now ‘ThanksVegan’: PETA Launches ‘Think Before You Eat’ Ad Blitz Across Canada

    Ahead of Thanksgiving (October 9), an unmissable appeal from an endearing young tom turkey—who cocks his head as if to ask, “Why would you eat me?!”—is all set to roost in Overbrook as part of a Canadian campaign urging everyone to celebrate a humane, healthy, and environmentally positive vegan holiday this year.

    Streetside photo of Canadian thanksvegan ad

    “When it comes to having feelings like love and joy, protecting their families, and valuing their freedom, turkeys are individuals to emulate, not eat,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA encourages everyone to save rather than serve them.”

    Turkeys are doting and resourceful parents and spirited explorers who typically live up to five years in nature, but those raised for food are slaughtered within their first six months of life—and millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone. The young birds are hung by their feet from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath, and they’re often still conscious when their throats are slit and they’re dumped into scalding-hot defeathering tanks.

    PETA’s billboard is located at 1076 St. Laurent Blvd., Ottawa, near the intersection with Ogilvie Road.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers a “ThanksVegan” recipe guide, which can be accessed here. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post First ‘Veganuary,’ Now ‘ThanksVegan’: PETA Launches ‘Think Before You Eat’ Ad Blitz Across Canada appeared first on PETA.

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

  • First ‘Veganuary,’ Now ‘ThanksVegan’: PETA Launches ‘Think Before You Eat’ Ad Blitz Across Canada

    Ahead of Thanksgiving (October 9), an unmissable appeal from an endearing young tom turkey—cocking his head as if to ask, “Why would you eat me?!”—is roosting on Richards Street as part of a Canadian campaign urging everyone to celebrate a humane, healthy, and environmentally positive vegan holiday this year.

    “When it comes to having feelings like love and joy, protecting their families, and valuing their freedom, turkeys are individuals to emulate, not eat,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA encourages everyone to save rather than serve them.”

    Turkeys are doting and resourceful parents and spirited explorers who typically live up to five years in nature, but those raised for food are slaughtered within their first six months of life—and millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone. The young birds are hung by their feet from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath, and they’re often still conscious when their throats are slit and they’re dumped into scalding-hot defeathering tanks.

    PETA’s billboard is located at 827 Richards St. near turkey-selling purveyors including IGA, Nesters Market, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and H-Mart Downtown. The group is also erecting the ad in Ottawa and Calgary, Alberta.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers a “ThanksVegan” recipe guide, which can be accessed here. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post First ‘Veganuary,’ Now ‘ThanksVegan’: PETA Launches ‘Think Before You Eat’ Ad Blitz Across Canada appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Pigs Beaten at Local Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Investigation

    In response to a just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report that documents a truck driver at the Perry Way Foods slaughterhouse in Watertown beating pigs with a paddle with “excessive force,” PETA fired off a letter today to Jefferson County District Attorney Monica Hall calling on her to investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the person responsible.

    According to the report, on March 10 an inspector observed the driver attempting to force pigs out of a trailer. As they exited the vehicle, he began striking them with the paddle, raising it “above his shoulders and down onto the back of random sows in rapid succession.” The inspector repeatedly called the driver’s name in an attempt to stop him, but the driver appeared not to hear.

    “These terrified pigs were viciously beaten by a worker who made the last moments of their lives even more agonizing,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for an investigation on these animals’ behalf and urges everyone to help end this suffering by going vegan.”

    PETA is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse since at least 2007.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    PETA’s letter to Hall follows.

    September 25, 2023

    The Honorable Monica Hall

    Jefferson County District Attorney

    Dear Ms. Hall:

    I’m writing to request that your office (and a law-enforcement agency, as necessary) investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the individual responsible for beating pigs at Perry Way Foods LLC, located at 1222 Perry Way in Watertown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the incident in a report that the agency recently made available to the public. (See the attached table.)

    According to the report, on March 10 an FSIS agent witnessed a truck driver—who had apparently hauled pigs to the slaughterhouse—“strike multiple sows on their backs with excessive force. Between each strike he would bring the paddle above his shoulders and down onto the back of random sows in rapid succession.” The FSIS agent “began repeatedly calling the trucker’s name to get his attention to tell him to stop,” but the driver “did not appear to hear” the official.

    This conduct appears to violate Wis. Stat. § 951.02. Please note that FSIS’ action carries no criminal or civil penalties and does not preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of cruelty to animals. Given that the FSIS hasn’t initiated a criminal prosecution of a licensed slaughterhouse for inhumane handling since at least 2007, charges under state law are these victims’ only chance at a measure of justice.

    Sincerely,

    Daniel Paden

    Vice President of Evidence Analysis

    Cruelty Investigations Department

    PETA

    The post Pigs Beaten at Local Slaughterhouse; PETA Seeks Criminal Investigation appeared first on PETA.

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

  • Is Starbucks Driving Away Customers With Its Vegan Milk Upcharge? Shareholders Want Answers

    A weeklong push for Starbucks to drop its vegan milk upcharge kicked off today with the submission of a shareholder resolution calling on the board to commission a report to examine whether the company is actually losing sales— along with damaging its image and its self-branding as an environmentally conscientious company—by charging a higher price for the vegan milks that it agrees are better for the planet. This is the second time PETA is pushing Starbucks executives to commission such a report, following enthusiastic support from other shareholders.

    The resolution points out that the production of plant-based milks emits roughly three times less greenhouse gas and uses nearly 10 times less land and up to 20 times less freshwater than the production of cow’s milk. The group also notes that most people of color have some form of lactose intolerance and that Starbucks should anticipate a growing backlash against companies that penalize individuals for who they are or for standing up for the planet.

    protesters walking around starbucks

    PETA supporters call on Starbucks to end its vegan milk upcharge. Credit: PETA

    “Starbucks should be encouraging consumers to choose animal- and planet-friendly vegan milks, not punishing them for it,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Starbucks to report the true cost of alienating those customers who can’t stomach cow’s milk for ethical, religious, environmental, or dietary reasons.”

    Animal rights activists across the country are participating in a week of action to push Starbucks to drop its upcharge, which includes a social media uproar and protests at more than 30 Starbucks locations nationwide. Caribou Coffee, a Starbucks competitor, recently dropped its vegan milk upcharge for Caribou Perks members who order ahead on its app, and many other popular coffee stops—such as Panera Bread, Pret A Manger, and Stumptown Coffee Roasters—already offer dairy-free milk at no extra charge.

    In the dairy industry, calves are torn away from their mothers within a day of birth so the milk meant to nourish them can be stolen and sold to humans. PETA’s investigations into dairy facilities have found workers electroshocking a cow in the face, hitting cows with poles and a cane, and abusing them in other ways. Once their bodies wear out from repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter.

    PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and offers a free vegan starter kit on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

    The post Is Starbucks Driving Away Customers With Its Vegan Milk Upcharge? Shareholders Want Answers appeared first on PETA.

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

  • EY Report Suggests Strong Growth For Plant-Based But Industry Faces Key Challenges

    plant based market
    7 Mins Read

    A new report commissioned by plant-based body Protein Industries Canada (PIC) has found that the global vegan market shows great potential over the next decade. But while Canada’s own alt-meat consumption has increased, major industry barriers remain.

    The research was carried out by Ernst & Young (EY), and commissioned by PIC. Founded in 2018, the Canadian government-backed alt-protein organisation aims to “underpin the creation of new plant-based ingredients and food” by investing “collaboratively to accelerate innovation and the competitiveness of the Canadian plant protein sector” as one of its goals.

    Much like the larger food tech industry, the global plant-based sector has faced a difficult 18 months after a few years of global hype, owing to the impact of Covid-19, supply chain disruptions, as well as inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. It has seen industry giants like Beyond Meat and Oatly experience sales declines and stock price volatility, as many companies have laid off employees, and some have shut down.

    According to the PIC/EY report, there’s potential for the tide to turn here. The research’s findings suggest that the plant-based meat sector, which it claims is currently worth $16.5B, is set to grow by 16.5% annually to reach $139.4B by 2035. Similarly, alt-dairy is predicted to expand by 9.5% year-on-year from $14.4B to $51.3B, and the vegan bakery category is expected to see its value increase by 4.1% annually from $8.7B to $15.3B by the same year.

    Key barriers towards consumer adoption

    plant based market size
    Courtesy: EY

    The report mentions that consumers’ price sensitivity towards “products lacking texture and taste parity” with conventional counterparts has increased due to inflation, but that future improvements can offset this trend. Price parity, however, remains the biggest barrier to the adoption and growth of plant-based products, with 64% of consumers who reduced their vegan protein consumption citing cost as a reason.

    Taste and texture come in second on this list, a detractor for 58% of consumers, according to EY’s analysis. Other obstacles include regulatory complications around labelling – most countries, including Canada, the US and the EU have restrictions on what plant-based companies can call their alternatives on product packaging – as well as supply chain issues.

    The global food and agriculture sector has been hit by disruption from Covid-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent food shortages, export bans and the energy crisis, plus the effects of climate change. The latter includes widespread crop destruction, as extreme heat and water shortages could significantly disrupt the global food supply.

    EY says funding is another key hurdle. Last month, a Stanford University study revealed that livestock farming receives 1,200 and 800 times more funding than plant-based and cultivated meat in the EU and the US, respectively. Meanwhile, 97% of all research and innovation spending in the EU (and 95% in the US) between 2014 and 2020 went to animal farmers, aimed at improving production.

    Earlier this week, analysis by Pitchbook found that investors are deserting food tech, despite a survey by alt-protein think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) last December revealing that 87% of investors expected to make alt-protein investments in 2023.

    Asia-Pacific plant-based milk is slated for growth, but dairy consumption is also rising

    plant based apac
    Courtesy: Cottonbro Studio/Pexels

    The report focuses on Asia-Pacific as a key region for this sector’s growth. It points to higher instances of lactose intolerance in Asia and population increases as major factors for this. While there is no research proving an increase in lactose intolerance, studies have found that lactose malabsorption is prevalent in at least 70% of people of East Asian descent.

    According to EY’s calculations, per capita GDP in the East Asia and Pacific regions has now surpassed the global average, pointing to an increase in incomes and willingness to pay for plant-based alternatives, which are often more expensive than conventional counterparts in this part of the world.

    The report estimates that Asia-Pacific will be the world’s largest market for plant-based dairy, accounting for 40% of the total sector by 2035. It’s expected to overtake North America in the vegan bakery category, although Europe is tipped to remain the largest market for this.

    But current headlines are in contrast with this forecast. For example, leading oat milk player Oatly saw a 15% drop in quarterly sales in Asia this year. While the company had been expanding in Asia, with a new factory announced in China and a joint facility in Singapore – when it launched in the Lion City in 2020, its own survey had found that a third of Singaporeans hadn’t heard of plant-based milk  – a slower-than-expected recovery from Covid-19 in China has seen the brand slow down new product development and eliminate certain SKUs across Asia.

    And while China’s population has a high prevalence of lactose intolerance, the country is now the largest importer of dairy in the world. That’s after it’s expected to become the third-largest dairy producer across the globe, with annual demand predicted to expand by 2.4% until 2032, according to Rabobank. The Chinese government actively encourages dairy consumption, “with national guidelines suggesting a daily dairy intake of between 300-500g/person”.

    China is now the world’s third-largest dairy consumer. Between 2019 and 2021, household dairy consumption rose by 11.8% year-on-year to reach 42.3kg, according to government data. Additionally, Asia is home to India, the biggest milk-drinking country globally. So while EY’s projections certainly paint a positive picture, fundamentals suggest challenges ahead on the consumer adoption front.

    Canada’s plant-based industry

    Sensible Hot Dogs
    Canada’s Sensible Hot Dogs recently raised nearly $12M | Courtesy: Sensible Hot Dogs

    In terms of Canada – whose plant-based industry was a big focus of EY’s research, the report suggests the country has what it takes to be a leader in the plant-based protein space. This includes a “mature agricultural sector” and a “strong financial sector, stable economy, and well-developed capital markets”.

    Last year, a third of Canadians said they tried a plant-based meat alternative, while 42% reported consuming a vegan dairy substitute, according to research by Dalhousie University. Meanwhile, 31% said they consume alt-meat at least once a week, and half said the same for plant-based dairy. Another survey revealed that Canadians eat alt-protein (7%) more than pork (5%) or seafood (4%) in a typical week.

    But Canada has its own fto overcome. EY points to increased policy and infrastructure support, as well as more investment in the sector. There is also the regulatory question: as mentioned above, plant-based manufacturers are restricted by labelling laws in Canada. Currently, they aren’t allowed to use terms like ‘milk’, meat’, ‘cheese’, etc. on vegan product labels.

    And while there are some proposed changes, they are still restrictive. Novel protein products would need to use the term ‘simulated’ and match certain nutritional levels, while alt-meat made from traditional vegan protein like tofu must have clear labels to identify the base ingredient, and won’t be allowed to be fortified with added nutrients.

    Source: GFI State of The Industry Report

    Pricing in misinformation risk

    The positive global forecast and contrasting current challenges (many of which EY says are short-term) add to a growing body of fluctuating predictions about the alt-protein industry. GFI has compiled a host of different projections to show the difference in alt-protein forecasts over the next two decades.

    Moreover, it’s unclear if the report authors factored in the risk of misinformation. As The Spoon’s Michael Wolf writes: most industry reports “do not attempt to assess or quantify the increased risk to the alternative protein industry from industry and product-related misinformation.” Lobby groups linked with meat and dairy companies have a history of acting against the plant-based industry via smear campaigns and commercials.

    plant based meat ads
    Courtesy: CCF

    Big Dairy is about to go big again. The California Milk Processor Board, the body behind the popular and influential Got Milk? ad campaign, released a new commercial drive last month, titled ‘Everyone Wants to be Milk’. It seemingly poked fun at plant-based alternatives by imagining milk made from salmon, octopus, cranberries, ghosts and aliens, among others, and urging consumers to “get real”.

    Such consumer-aimed campaigns can be highly successful and pose a risk for vegan brands as a whole hoping to welcome more shoppers to the category. While the EY/PIC forecast is hopeful, the global plant-based industry has a fair few struggles to overcome.

    The post EY Report Suggests Strong Growth For Plant-Based But Industry Faces Key Challenges appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Stone Fruit Kernel Milk: Austrian Startup Lands €12M Series A, Eyes US Launch in 2025

    kern tec

    5 Mins Read

    Austrian food tech startup Kern Tec, which upcycles stone fruit pits into plant-based dairy alternatives, has raised €12M in a Series A funding round. The brand’s co-founder tells Green Queen that it aims to scale up European production and enter the US market in 2025.

    Founded in 2019, Vienna-based Kern Tec uses pits of stone fruits like apricots, plums and cherries that are otherwise destined to go to waste and turns them into oil and proteins for plant-based dairy products.

    Last year, it unveiled its consumer-facing brand Wunderkern with a dairy-free ice cream made from apricot kernel oil (which it sells too). Since then, the lineup has expanded to include cherry and plum seed oils, as well as apricot-oil-based milk and chocolate spread. And earlier this year, it showcased its apricot kernel dairy products at Germany’s BioFach European organic food fair.

    Now, Kern Tec, which raised over €630K in a previous funding round, aims to use its Series A injunction to scale up production and commercialise its ingredients for both B2B and B2C applications. The investment round was led by Belgium’s Telos Impact, with additional participants including the PeakBridge Growth II Fund and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. Apart from the equity financing, the company has “secured significant local and international grants”.

    wunderkern
    Courtesy: Kern Tec

    “Innovations in food ingredients, like those propelled by Kern Tec, play a pivotal role in transforming the food industry towards healthier and more sustainable products, at affordable costs,” said Peakbridge co-founder and general manager Erich Sieber. “Kern Tec’s initiatives pave the way for responsible production and consumption, while also offering enhanced flavour possibilities.”

    Svetoslava Georgieva, chair of the EIC Fund Board, added: “Our investment will provide Kern Tec with the means to scale their business in Europe and, thanks to their innovative technology, contribute to saving resources and supporting farmers and businesses.”

    A circular food system and safe processing process

    Kern Tec was co-founded in Vienna by Luca Fichtinger, Sebastian Jeschko, Fabian Wagesreither and Michael Beitl. Fichtinger tells Green Queen that apart from amping up its production capacity, the company wants to develop new technologies with the funds as well. Additionally, it hopes to scale the value chain and increase its employee numbers, “doubling down on product development for dairy alternatives and new categories”.

    Fichtinger says Kern Tec has always focused on B2B, and uses its consumer brand to “bring products to the market early, collect valuable feedback and improve recipes”. “We have started a collaboration with a notable German dairy company, which will come to market very soon,” he reveals. “Additionally, we have created a product line in the snack category with the Swiss retailer Coop, and have placed our [Wunderkern] dairy alternatives on the shelves of Rewe in Austria.”

    The company says 500,000 tonnes of stone fruit pits go to landfill each year in Europe. Its products valorise the sidestream and upcycled usually discarded ingredients, contributing to a circular food system. “We typically buy the products, as we need them to be treated as food products – not as waste. This is how we motivate our suppliers to take care of the raw materials,” he adds.

    But stone fruit pits, including those of apricots, cherries and plums, can contain amygdalin, a cyanide compound. The poison can be fatal when processed into powder or crushed – poorly processed apricot kernel oil could contain traces of the substance.

    This is why Kern Tec has created a breakthrough process for the safe treatment of cyanide. “We have developed a process to reduce the cyanide content in goods, and therefore are able to bring fruit seed products to the market for the first time,” says Fichtinger. “After our processing, there is no risk of poisoning. We have aligned with all EU regulations, so consumption is harmless.”

    The company’s oils can be used for a variety of products – but it plans to stick to alt-dairy for now. “As our seeds (and so the formulations) are very similar to nuts – containing healthy fats and proteins – we can provide a complete ready-to-use compound, creating a new dairy alternative to the market,” Fichtinger explains. “We can therefore offer a new addition to the category of milk alternatives. Oat milk, almond milk, fruit seed milk.”

    “There is such a great fit between the raw material in terms of taste, sustainability and nutrition,” he says on the decision to focus on plant-based dairy. “We [are] currently developing more and more products in this segment, such as vegan cheese, yoghurts and many more, which will enter the market very soon.”

    Moreover, Fichtinger confirms the company plans to launch in the US in 2025, once it has successfully completed the scale-up process in Europe.

    upcycled food brands
    Courtesy: Kern Tec

    Sustainable fats and Austria’s plant-based industry

    According to the alt-protein think tank the Good Food Institute Europe, Austria’s vegan retail market is “one of the smallest in Europe”. But consumer demand is growing rapidly, with plant-based food sales increasing by 22% between 2020-22. And alt-milk is the most developed category, with sales rising by 18% to reach €49.6M in 2022.

    Meanwhile, unit sales of plant-based milk, meat and yoghurt outpaced their conventional counterparts in Austria last year. Cow’s milk saw unit sales decrease by 10% between 2022-22, whereas alt-milk witnessed an 18% hike in unit sales.

    A 2021 survey by Smart Protein EU – albeit with a small sample size of 757 – has found that 35% of Austrians consider themselves flexitarians, with milk, cheese and yoghurt being the most frequently consumed dairy products. In terms of vegan food, alt-milk (21%) and yoghurt (15%) are consumed at least once a week by Austrians – the most of any other plant-based products. So while dairy is big in Austria, recent trends show potential for products like Kern Tec’s.

    apricot kernel oil
    Courtesy: Kern Tec

    Kern Tec is part of a growing roster of startups in the sustainable fat sector. Californian startup Zero Acre makes cultivated oil using rain-fed sugarcane, and recently announced a pilot with hamburger chain Shake Shack. San Francisco-based Lypid has created a proprietary PhytoFat for plant-based meat, while Sweden’s Mycorena makes fermented fungi-based fat to replace animal fats.

    Barcelona’s Cubiq Foods is developing omega-3 fats for alt-protein, Hong Kong-based OmniFoods makes a vegan OmniNano fat to mimic the juiciness of conventional meat, and AI-led startup Shiru‘s OleoPro plant fat is geared at alt-protein applications.

    Other companies are working on alternatives to palm oil, including Estonian startup Äio, UK-based Clean Food Group, New York’s C16 Biosciences, Dutch company NoPalm Ingredients, and Germany’s ChoViva.

    The post Stone Fruit Kernel Milk: Austrian Startup Lands €12M Series A, Eyes US Launch in 2025 appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Gouda Riddance: Dutch Company Spins Off Dairy to Go Fully Vegan, Aims for Europe-Wide Launch by 2026

    boermarke vegan

    5 Mins Read

    Dutch dairy leader Boermarke, operational since 1987, has announced its intention to pivot to a fully plant-based product lineup. The decision comes after alt-dairy sales in the Netherlands grew in the last two years, as conventional milk witnessed a drop. Boermarke’s aim is to spin off its dairy division and launch its vegan lineup across Europe by 2026.

    Boermarke introduced its plant-based brand Vairy in 2015 with a lineup of coconut yoghurts and has since expanded its range to multiple plant milk bases, alongside launching vegan cheeses and ice cream. The company is now preparing for a complete overhaul as it moves towards what it describes as a more sustainable production.

    The 36-year-old company is already transferring its dairy operations to fellow dairy giant Zuivelhoeve – located a short distance away from its production site – and will gradually pivot to a 100% plant-based line under the Vairy brand, or via supermarket private-label offerings. It will also retain its 180 employees, who will now be involved in this shift in production, instead of moving to Zuivelhoeve.

    boermarke vegan
    Courtesy: Boermarke

    Boermarke’s vegan cheese production has also witnessed an 800% growth in the last three years, and the company notes that a big reason for this rise is its price parity with dairy. (In one supermarket, 200g of grated gouda costs €1.78, while conventional gouda retails from €3.39 for the same amount.)

    Boermarke isn’t the only Dutch dairy company working with plant-based alternatives. In 2021, Westland Cheese partnered with alt-dairy startup Those Vegan Cowboys to launch the vegan cheese line WildWestLand. Other recent developments in this sector include the launch of Amsterdam-based startup Willicroft’s fermented vegan butter earlier this month, and B2B ingredients company Vivici closing a seed funding round to bring to market its precision fermentation dairy proteins last month.

    The Dutch alt-dairy shift: a work in progress

    Boermarke’s transition plays into consumer trends in the Netherlands. According to industry think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe, between 2019-22, alt-milk sales in the nation grew by 14%. Meanwhile, conventional dairy companies like Boermarke have suffered, with unit sales of cow’s milk down by 13%. Even in terms of costs, while inflation has seen price hikes across the board, conventional milk prices have gone up by 14%, compared to a 3% rise for plant-based alternatives in the Netherlands.

    Historically, the Netherlands has been a major dairy consumer, owing to the prevalence of milk products in its culinary culture. It’s also the joint third-largest producer of milk in Europe. However, this has gradually decreased over the years. According to one estimate, per capita consumption of dairy products in the Netherlands amounted to 129kg per year in 2005 – but this reduced by about 15% to 110kg annually in 2022.

    The Netherlands has one of the highest per capita consumption of plant-based foods across Europe, with overall sales growing by 9% between 2020-22. However, meat consumption hasn’t reduced too much, either – going down from 50% to 44% between 2019-22. And while the Dutch are drinking less milk, they’re eating more cheese. Between 2005 and 2021, consumption of cheese and quark increased by 40%.

    This aligns with a broader plant-based trend in the country – despite only 3% of the population identifying as vegan, cheese is the fastest-growing plant-based category, seeing a 60% hike in sales between 2020-22, according to GFI Europe.

    Analytics firm Foss reports that the Dutch government aims to become a plant-based world leader by 2030. “A lot has happened during the last five years, and the average supermarket in the Netherlands now has as many plant-based products as conventional products,” says its Benelux segment sales manager René Stoffels.

    “The most popular products are ready-to-eat products made locally in the Netherlands simulating dairy, fish, chicken, and minced meat. And we see a lot of innovation in the industry where milk made from grass is only one of the things currently being tested.”

    Dutch plant-based dairy faces challenges

    vairy vegan cheese
    Courtesy: Boermarke

    Boermarke’s decision to eliminate animal products from its product portfolio is motivated by consumer demands for a separation between dairy and vegan production. It says the process to fully transition will take three years and aims to make its alt-dairy products available at supermarkets across Europe by then.

    However, the (soon-to-be-vegan) dairy company will have to contend with cost challenges as the Netherlands raises the tax levied on plant-based milk from next year. These products are classified as soft drinks in the company’s legislation, as the government argues that alt-milks don’t have enough protein, their impact has “not been sufficiently researched to comment on”, and the additives in these products make them unhealthy.

    The change in law will see the VAT on plant-based milk triple from nearly nine cents to 26 cents per litre. Soy and pea milk won’t carry the surcharge, however, as they are deemed to contain an equivalent amount of protein to conventional milk.

    Additionally, since the Netherlands is part of the EU, rules about plant-based milk labelling also apply here. Currently, the EU prohibits vegan manufacturers from calling their dairy alternatives ‘milk’, ‘cheese’, ‘ice cream’, etc. on product packaging.

    So while there are signs that the plant-based dairy industry is growing in the Netherlands, some factors still limit their potential, keeping it a work in progress. As Foss plant-based foods specialist Mette Skau Mikkelsen attests: “While the industry has grown tremendously in recent years, there is still a lot of missing knowledge related to nutrition and texture of plant-based food.”

    The post Gouda Riddance: Dutch Company Spins Off Dairy to Go Fully Vegan, Aims for Europe-Wide Launch by 2026 appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Meatless Farm Products Back at UK Supermarkets After VFC Acquisition

    meatless farm
    4 Mins Read

    Three months after the UK company was bailed out of bankruptcy by fellow British plant-based meat brand VFC, Meatless Farm products are back on UK supermarket shelves. The brand has relaunched a few of its old products alongside a new offering, as it prepares a comeback marketing campaign nationwide.

    It’s bewn a challenging time for the plant-based meat sector, what with sales declining, employees being laid off, and brands going out business. In June, UK-based Meatless Farm came close to the latter – before it was rescued by VFC in what is now a famous acquisition.

    Meatless Farm has managed to turn its story from doom to gloom, as it now prepares to return to supermarket shelves across the UK. Its flagship pea-protein-based mince is making a comeback, and so are the burgers, chipolatas, chicken breasts, and chicken roast joints. Two of its pasta – the Beef, Red Wine & Porcini Mushroom Girasole and the No-Duja Ravioli also return to shelves.

    In addition, a new chicken and bacon tortellini SKU will be launched exclusively in Tesco, while its other products will be available across Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Asda (which is also where Meatless Farm launched its pork and apple sausages last month).

    meatless farm pasta
    Courtesy: Meatless Farm

    Speaking to Green Queen, Meatless Farm and VFC CEO Dave Sparrow confirmed the company plans to relaunch more of its old lineup: “Our valued customers and consumers are our number one priority, [and] bringing their favourite Meatless Farm products back to the shelves has been our absolute focus.”

    Along with its retail return, Meatless Farm has launched a national marketing campaign with the tagline ‘For the Tryers’, encouraging flexitarians to “give it a try” as it hopes to increase the adoption of plant-based meat in the UK. The campaign – which will run from September 25 to October 22 on tube car panels, digital six sheets, street hubs and billboards – is expected to reach over eight million consumers.

    The ads will be integrated with a £2 discount coupon that shoppers can redeem in-store on Meatless Farm’s products. “It’s fantastic to see the brand return to retail,” Sparrow said in a statement. “And we’re all delighted to let everyone know that Meatless Farm is back for good via our national advertising campaign, encouraging consumers to make simple switches and give the brand a try.”

    A triumphant return

    meatless farm vfc
    Courtesy: Meatless Farm

    This is the Meatless Farm’s first big step back into focus after a turbulent year that saw it nearly cease its operations. In early June, the company laid off its entire staff, days after filing a notice of intent to appoint administrators. It was facing millions in losses and needed to find a buyer to avoid administration – and the company had reportedly found an investor, who eventually backed out and the company ran out of time.

    In just over a week, it was acquired by vegan chicken brand VFC in a deal worth €12M, saving it from bankruptcy and keeping the brand assets intact. At the time, Meatless Farm was a household name in UK retailers, and also had a US distribution deal with a presence in over 600 stores. It also had many foodservice partners, most notably securing a nationwide agreement with UK pub chain Wetherspoons in 2019.

    Meatless Farm confirmed that it is using the same manufacturers, supply chain and recipes post-acquisition, and added that it is already back in foodservice channels. “We’ll have more updates on further expansion soon,” Sparrow revealed to Green Queen. “Innovation is a key part of our growth plans to reach more consumers via new eating occasions.”

    Navigating a stagnating market

    plant based meat uk
    Courtesy: Meatless Farm

    Its return is welcome news for the UK vegan market – it’s the second-largest in Europe, with Brits spending £964M on vegan meat and dairy last year. But sales have stagnated and, over the last decade, total investment in plant-based protein R&D has been overtaken by cultivated meat. Last month, the UK received its first regulatory filing for approval of cultivated meat sales by Israeli company Aleph Farms.

    “Much has been reported on the plant-based market recently and it’s clear that, whilst it will see continued growth and demand, the level of early capital and emerging brands has saturated the space,” said Sparrow. “Consumer-led brands that stay true to their core values will weather the storm to create strong businesses.”

    He added: “Within VFC Foods, that starts with having quality-led products, impactful brand communications and an eye on maintaining affordable price points for consumer entry into plant-based foods. Beyond this, ensuring that choice and convenience remain a priority to make eating plant-based food an easy transition is key – bringing both VFC and Meatless Farm brands together is a big part of our objective here and an excellent opportunity to be at the forefront of the market in the coming years.”

    The post Meatless Farm Products Back at UK Supermarkets After VFC Acquisition appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.