KRISTA KIHLANDER: 'The Raven Corps is a youth-powered nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon. High school and college-aged advocates empower other “Ravens” to promote a plant-based diet in the spaces they know best: their own communities. Advocating for a plant-based diet is a large part of what The Raven Corps does. The organization recognizes that factory farming is a leading contributor to the current climate crisis, and is able to see how a plant-based diet can counter this crisis... In the beginning the Raven Corps was just two lunch-time animal rights clubs in Portland high…

MANEKA GANDHI: 'A few months ago a Veganfest was held in Delhi. It was attended by hundreds of young, affluent, well read and enthusiastic people. The speakers were from all over the world. But each one represented a company that was making vegan products: mock meat, cosmetic, etc. There were no philosophers, no one to define what veganism could and should be. It was a consumer event. That is what worries me about the rapidly spreading vegan movement. It is simply about buying "something else". It was meant to be transformative, something that would make the world a gentler, happier place,…

KAREN DAWN: 'Last year in Berkeley, The Good Food Conference buzzed about the incredibly meat-like Beyond and Impossible Burgers that were just hitting the market. That Berkeley buzz became a Wall Street cacophony a few months later in May 2019, when Beyond Meat went public and became the “biggest popping U.S. IPO” in almost two decades. This year, the buzz at the conference was about cell-grown meat. Or cultured meat. Or clean meat. Or even micro-brewed meat... This brave new industry is still figuring out what the new meat should be called. Last year, the favored term was “clean meat,” a…

NADRA NITTLE: 'With vegan restaurants on the rise, sales of vegan foods outpacing other cuisine, and young adults flocking to plant-based diets, 2019 has been deemed the “year of the vegan,” at least by the media. Forbes, The Economist, and The Guardian all agree that veganism has gone mainstream—and as with most things this year, the political realm is following suit. Plant-based diets have come up multiple times during the 2020 US presidential race... For the first time in U.S. history, being a meat-free politician isn’t necessarily a liability. “That a vegan diet has become a respectable…

MATTHA BUSBY: 'The chief executive of bakery chain Greggs – which sells thousands of meat pasties every week – is trying veganism after seeing a documentary about the health benefits. “If you’d asked me three weeks ago which roll I preferred I would have said the original sausage roll, but I’m now attempting to live on a vegan diet,” said Roger Whiteside. Whiteside, 61, stopped eating meat and dairy three weeks ago, and told of how Greggs – which has bakeries and cafes across the UK – was working to develop vegan versions of some of its other products after the success of its meatless…

ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN: Everyone knows that Tel Aviv is the vegan capital of Israel, right? After all, it’s home to scores of vegan restaurants and many of the 5 percent of Israelis who eat a plant-based diet. Well, here’s a surprise: Long before you could get veggie shawarma in Tel Aviv, a community in the desert town of Dimona pioneered the vegan lifestyle in Israel. They’re called the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem and they live in a compound called Neve Shalom (Village of Peace). The original 138 members of the community, mostly natives of Chicago, arrived in Israel in 1969. “We…

LAUREN JAMES: 'November is World Vegan Month. As more people are spurred to change their eating habits in the wake of the top-selling documentary The Game Changers, popular proponents of plant-based eating – who avoid meat, dairy and animal-derived foods – share tips on getting the most benefits from the switch. From athletes and models to restaurateurs, popular proponents of plant-based eating share tips on getting the most benefits from the switch. Mistakes they made include not planning ahead, consuming too much protein, and eating too many processed meat substitutes'. SOURCE... RELATED…

ALEXANDRA THOMPSON: 'People in their seventies may benefit from going vegan, an expert has said. Professor John Mathers from Newcastle University claims swapping meat and dairy for a plant-based diet helps “feed” the “good bacteria” in our gut. These bugs typically decline with age as the gut barrier becomes “leakier”, allowing substances from the digestive tract to enter the bloodstream. This may trigger inflammation, which has been linked to everything from dementia and heart disease to cancer. Speaking at the House of Lords, the professor of nutrition said: “A plant-based diet may be…

SABRINA BARR: 'Scientists are imploring members of the public to eat less meat as they warn that the world is facing a climate emergency. In a paper published today in journal BioScience, a global team of scientists have declared a climate emergency, detailing six areas of action they say must be addressed that can help slow down the impact of climate change. The paper, which features more than 11,000 scientist signatories from 153 countries, was authored by scientists from the University of Sydney, Oregon State University, the University of Cape Town and Tufts University. The team of…

MATTHEW ZAMPA: 'The UK’s food and farming systems are in crisis. For years, climate groups and scientists around the world have called for a plant-based food system to avert climate breakdown. When will the government act?... The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affair (DEFRA)... DEFRA is the UK’s chief government body supporting the animal farming industry... The Department announced that it will be conducting an independent review of the future of the country’s food system as part of a National Food Strategy – a strategy that has not been updated in 75 years... To bring…