VEGANISM

EMILY LEFROY: If you’ve ever had the desire to taste human flesh, you’ve now got a chance to give it a whirl between buns. Swedish plant-based food brand Oumph! created the unusual flesh-flavored burger, which won a Silver Brand Experience and Activation Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity last week. If you’re concerned the special-edition bizarre “meat” may not be realistic enough, do not fear — a spokesperson said they’ve done their best to make sure it’s as lifelike as possible, crafting it from soya, mushrooms and wheat protein as well as plant-based fats and “a mysterious…

RICE UNIVERSITY: A study led by environmental scientists at Rice University's George R. Brown School of Engineering puts numbers to the toll of reactive nitrogen species produced in America's croplands. The study led by Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and graduate student Lina Luo quantifies emissions of nitrogen oxides, ammonia and nitrous oxide from fertilized soils over three years (2011, 2012 and 2017) and compares their impacts by region on air quality, health and climate. While seasonal and regional impacts differ across types of emission,…

GARY L. FRANCIONE: Before the 19th century, at least in the West, animals were largely excluded from the moral and legal community. They were considered as things. This is contrasted with Eastern thinking, which generally accorded at least some moral value to animals that accounted for the vegetarianism that remains prevalent in the Jain, Hindu and most Buddhist traditions. The Western view was that we could have moral and legal obligations that concerned animals but were not owed to them. To the extent that the cruel treatment of animals was thought to present a moral problem, it was only…

KATHRYN PARSONS: In recent years, veganism as a phenomenon has accelerated its growth as a movement with tangible changes in society, on our high streets and in our shops. As equally has a palpable political alignment to the left come with it, likely due to a supposed common alliance in their liberal stances and egalitarian core. Since its roots in the French Revolution, the left has stood for equality, class struggle and the protection of people from abuses of power. In contradiction to this, typical notions of conservatism bring to the fore thoughts of injustices within capitalist…

JORDI CASAMITJANA: One of the good things about the term vegan becoming more well-known and used in mainstream society is that we now have more delicious vegan food available everywhere. One of the bad things, though, is that more people may use the term incorrectly, or co-opt the concept of veganism taking it somewhere far from what it should be. Luckily, we have the definition of the Vegan Society to set things straight: “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food,…

LISA MCLOUGHLIN: When you think of a vegan’s staple diet, you think plant-based. Well, some are arguing that there is an interesting exception to the rules – and that is oysters... According to The Vegan Society, vegan is a person who avoids 'all animal foods such as meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs and honey – as well as avoiding animal-derived materials, products tested on animals and places that use animals for entertainment'... Much like honey, the conversation around oysters is a tricky one with a clear divide in the community about whether it’s animal protein…

SARAH LUMLEY: Almost half of meat-eating Brits admit to being “pleasantly surprised” by the taste of plant-based food. Research of 2,000 adults who eat meat found 46 per cent have previously turned their nose up at “different” foods – only to be surprised by the flavour when they actually try them. Nearly half (48 per cent) confessed they wouldn’t generally consider a meal to be “complete” unless it contained meat, while 38 per cent were doubtful about eating plant-based alternatives altogether. However, of those who were pleasantly surprised by meat substitutes, meat-free sausages,…

PAULA COCOZZA: Frances Day’s husband died during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, so there was no funeral. “It was a horrid, horrid time. I was on my own. It took a long time for me to get fairly steady,” she says. Her 82nd birthday passed, and as the summer wore on, she thought: “I’ve got to do something. I don’t want my life to end now. I want to have a few adventures. Let’s start with veganism.” Day has three children, two of whom are vegans, so she was no stranger to the idea – but for decades it had been personally unthinkable. Her late husband had traditional tastes... She…

REBECCA GREGSON: Veganism is a dietary lifestyle that boasts of benefits to the planet and personal health, underpinned by a moral philosophy. More than a fad, for many, veganism is a part of who they are. Indeed, studies have found that, relative to vegetarians, self-identified vegans report that their diet is highly central to their identity. Vegans also tend to attribute high-levels of sentience to animals, identify with animals, and strongly support animal rights. Nonetheless, maintaining a vegan lifestyle represents a significant challenge for many people. A Fauntalytics study…

ALAN MOZES: Women who follow a healthy plant-based diet after menopause appear to face a substantially lower risk for breast cancer, new French research indicates. After tracking more than 65,000 women for two decades, investigators found those who consumed a healthy, primarily plant-based diet saw their risk for developing any type of breast cancer drop by an average of 14%... But the accent is on "healthy." Breast cancer risk fell only among women whose diets included a significant amount of whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils and tea or coffee -- even if red…