JENNIFER EPPERSON: For a state that loves its meat, Texas is increasingly welcoming to vegans, who adhere to a diet without animal products, including fish, meat, eggs, and dairy. Texas has more than two hundred vegan and vegetarian restaurants, and another 1,500 that serve vegan and vegetarian options. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Dallas (Dallas!) ranked as the seventh-friendliest city for vegans in the U.S. in 2019. Though Blacks continue to be most closely associated with pork-infused soul food, 8 percent of Black Americans identify as strict vegans, compared…

DONNA BERRY: New brands and styles of meat and dairy alternatives continue to steal retail space from the animal-based products they try to simulate. This is due to advancements in ingredient technology to deliver cleaner, simpler and more authentic analogs. “Consumers are attracted to many of the attributes associated with products made with plant proteins, but taste still drives repeat purchase,” said Melissa Machen, senior technical services specialist – plant protein, Cargill, Minneapolis. “Emerging plant proteins can bring along flavor issues, including astringency and bitterness. Even…

MANEKA GANDHI: When Britain’s largest bakery, Greggs, brought, a vegan sausage roll into the market, it was attacked by a senior reporter as “Stalinist”, and the idea of having a vegan roll as “nauseating”. In India, we never have this problem, because almost everyone at the top of society/media/government/sport/films is vegetarian. But all over the world hundreds of vegans/vegetarians can tell you horror stories about the reactions of “conservatives”. One study found that more than half of vegetarians had experienced discrimination, and nearly 10% of vegetarians said that family had…

DANIEL RODGER: Medicines and medical devices containing animal-derived ingredients are frequently used on patients without their informed consent, despite a significant proportion of patients wanting to know if an animal-derived product is going to be used in their care. Here, I outline three arguments for why this practice is wrong. First, I argue that using animal-derived medical products on patients without their informed consent undermines respect for their autonomy. Second, it risks causing nontrivial psychological harm. Third, it is morally inconsistent to respect patients’ dietary…

SHERRY F. COLB: Actor Joaquin Phoenix gave an interview with the Sunday Times. During the conversation, he spoke of his nine-month-old son River. Phoenix said that he would expose the boy to the truth about animal products and the misery they inflict. His son would know that a “happy meal” is anything but. Controversially, Phoenix added that he would not “force” his son to be vegan, though he hoped he would be. Both the question and his answer were provocative... When a person asks a vegan parent or prospective parent whether the latter will “force” her children to be vegan, the question…

HUAXIA: Sustainable consumption of livestock-based diets including meat, eggs, and milk should be prioritized in order to combat malnutrition affecting pregnant mothers and children in low-income countries, UN Nutrition said in a new report launched in Nairobi... Titled "Livestock-Derived Foods and Sustainable Healthy Diets," the report says that resource-constrained households should be encouraged to consume animal-based proteins in order to reduce undernourishment and stunting... It says that plant-based diets alone are not enough to eliminate the global malnutrition crisis, which…

ANNA MATTILA: Consumers are more likely to choose a plant-based meat substitute when the restaurant’s advertising highlights the social benefits of doing so rather than its taste, according to recently published research I conducted with a colleague. We also found that showcasing the social costs of meat consumption also leads to a preference for plant-based “meats.” To reach this conclusion, we conducted two online experiments to examine the advertising of plant-based burgers and meatballs. Participants were recruited via the crowdsourcing website Amazon Mechanical Turk. In the first one,…

CITY NEWS SERVICE: The 11th National Animal Rights Day (NARD11) will be commemorated on Sunday June 6, 2021, in more than 70 cities around the world, plus a global event on Zoom. NARD is part rally, part memorial service. As in past years, a small number of volunteers dressed in black will hold the bodies of dead animals as attendees observe moments of silence. Those animals — who died on their own and were donated by various farms that raise animals for human consumption — serve to represent all non-humans killed for food, clothing, medical experiments and other reasons, and will later be…

DAVID O. WIEBERS & VALERY L. FEGIN: The world is enveloped in a global health emergency that is exacting enormous medical and economic tolls upon humanity... The medical community finds itself on the front lines throughout the world dealing with the immediate human health consequences of this rapidly evolving crisis and trying to develop therapies and vaccines, as countries and their leaders attempt to mitigate the overwhelming societal and economic devastations that are unfolding... Yet, in the midst of all of the pandemonium and destruction, and as we begin to find our way through…

TESSA NOWOSENETZ: While veganism and vegetarianism appear to be increasing, only 1% of the population of developed countries claim to be vegan and only 5% claim to be vegetarian. Another trend is plant-based food. You might assume that this correlates with the increase in veganism and vegetarianism but, with such small numbers, neither group actually has the scale to command significant buying power. Is it worth it for retailers to cater to the needs of this small segment of the population? And if so, how?.. Walk the aisles of most food retailers and there’s no major emphasis on food…