Jun 08

Legislature to Require Hospitals to Have Vegan Meals Passed by New York Legislature

A legislative proposal to legally require all hospital to have vegan food options has been passed by New York’s legislature.

Senate Bill 1471 passed both the House of Representatives and Senate on Monday, sending it to Governor Andrew Cuomo for final consideration.

According to its official text, the measure “requires hospitals providing inpatient or residential care (i.e., general hospitals and nursing homes) to offer patients a plant-based food option for every meal or snack, at the request of a patient or patient’s lawful representative, at no addi- tional cost to the patient.” This “shall be effective for every meal or snack the patient is reasonably expected to participate in.”

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Jun 08

Nevada Governor Signs Bill Banning Animal Testing for Cosmetics

Legislation that explicitly prohibits cosmetics being tested on animals has been signed into law in Nevada.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed Senate Bill 197, titled The Nevada Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act, into law this week. The measure places a statewide ban on cosmetic companies selling products that were tested on animals. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

With the signing of SB 197 Nevada becomes the second state to ban cosmetic testing on animals, following California.

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Jun 07

New York Legislature Passes Bill to Prohibit Declawing Cats, First State to Do So

New York’s full legislature has passed a measure that criminalizes the declawing of cats.

The measure – Assembly Bill 01303 – has been sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo after passing the legislature. The governor now has the option of signing it into law, allowing it to become law without his signature, or vetoing it.

Sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 36 lawmakers, AB01303 bans the procedure called onychectomy, which is when the claws of a cat are removed from their paws. The new measure states:

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May 29

Report: Vegan Meat Market to be Worth $140 Billion by 2029

According to a new report, the market for vegan meat could top $140 billion – yes billion – by 2029.

Vegan Beyond Burgers (photo: SeriousEats.com).

According to the report, titled Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat and conducted by the research firm Barclays, the vegan meat market will have a value of $140 billion within the next decade, which includes the agriculture, food and restaurant industries. As reported by CNBC, that rapid pace of growth implies the vegan meat market capture about 10% of the $1.4 trillion global meat industry, a massive increase from recent years.

“Although today we believe that there are inherent barriers to successfully replicating certain animal-based consumer favorites (e.g., t-bone steaks), what has been achieved so far in terms of ‘meatless’ ground beef, sausage and hamburger products has yielded positive initial consumer reaction,” the report states. “While lab-based meat is still likely several years away from hitting supermarket shelves, plant-based protein continues to gain ground vs. its animal-based counterpart, and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future”.

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May 24

Study: Eating Government-Recommended Level of Red and Processed Meat Increases Colorectal Cancer Risk

According to a new study published by the International Journal of Epidemiology, the consumption of red and processed meat at a level that meets current UK government recommendations is “associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.”

For the study, researchers “used Cox-regression models to estimate adjusted hazard ratios for colorectal cancer by dietary factors in the UK Biobank study.” Men and women aged 40–69 years at recruitment reported their diet on a short food-frequency questionnaire. Dietary intakes were re-measured in a large sub-sample who completed an online 24-hour dietary assessment during follow-up. Trends in risk across the baseline categories were calculated by assigning re-measured intakes to allow for measurement error and changes in intake over time.

“During an average of 5.7 years of follow-up, 2609 cases of colorectal cancer occurred”, states the study. “Participants who reported consuming an average of 76 g/day of red and processed meat compared with 21 g/day had a 20% higher risk of colorectal cancer.” Participants in the highest fifth of intake of fiber from bread and breakfast cereals “had a 14% lower risk of colorectal cancer.”

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May 18

Chick-fil-A is Researching and Considering Vegan Meat Substitutes

Chick-fil-A is researching and considering adding vegan meat substitutes to their menu.

“We’re definitely aware, and I would say we’re always interested in, what’s happening in food,” said Amanda Norris, the executive director of Chick-fil-A’s menu, in a recent interview with Business Insider. “Specifically, a vegetarian option or a vegan option is something we’re looking at, we’re thinking about, and have some [research and development].”

Norris says that Chick-fil-A has been studying vegan menu items and meat substitutes for a few years at this point, noting that given their small menu (which rarely includes limited-edition items) they take longer time to research, develop and introduce new menu items. According to Norris, it typically takes about 18 to 24 months for a new menu item to go from initial consideration to being an item the public can purchase.

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May 10

Study: Vegan Diet Associated With Lower Blood Pressure in Those With Proteinuria

A vegan diet free of all animal products is associated with lower blood pressure in those with proteinuria, according to a study published by the National Institute of Health.

(Photo: MedicalNewsToday.com).

“Previous studies have reported that a vegetarian diet may lower blood pressure (BP), but the effect of diet on BP in asymptomatic participants with proteinuria is unknown”, begins the abstract of the studt. “We examined the association of diet and BP in individuals with or without proteinuria.”

This cross-sectional study “analyzed data from participants who were more than 40 years old and received physical checkups at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital from September 5, 2005, to December 31, 2016.” Diets were assessed at baseline by a self-reported questionnaire and categorized as vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, or omnivore. There were 2818 (7.7%) vegans, 5616 (15.3%) lacto-ovo vegetarians, and 28,183 (77.0%) omnivores. “The effect of different parameters on BP was determined using a multivariate multiple linear regression model with no intercept, with control for important characteristics and lifestyle confounders.”

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May 01

Burger King’s Vegan Impossible Whopper to be Available Nationwide by End of 2019

Earlier this month Burger King created a media storm by announcing the launch of the Impossible Whopper in certain Missouri locations. Now the company has announced that the vegan burger will soon be available across the nation.

According to a press release Burger King plans to make the Impossible Whopper – made with the plant-based Impossible Burger – available at all of their over 7,000 locations across the U.S. by the end of this year. The announcement comes after a successful test-launch in 59 St. Louis locations. Burger King plans to expand to other test markets throughout the year before the nationwide launch.

“The Impossible Whopper test in St. Louis went exceedingly well and as a result, there are plans to extend testing into additional markets in the very near future,” Burger King said in their press release. “Burger King restaurants in St. Louis are showing encouraging results and Impossible Whopper sales are complementing traditional Whopper purchases.”

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Apr 28

Amy’s Opening Third Organic Vegetarian Drive Thru Restaurant

Amy’s Drive Thru, which features an entirely organic, vegetarian menu (all items can be made vegan if they aren’t already), is planning to open a third location in California.

(Photo: AmysDriveThru.com).

Amy’s currently has one drive thru location in Rohnert Park, which was opened in 2015. A second location will soon open in Corte Madera, and now Amy’s has announced that they are planning to open a third location in Walnut Creek.

Everything on Amy’s is vegetarian, and any item that isn’t vegan can easily be made vegan. Some of the items include (all organic) burgers, pizzas, salads, chili (including chili cheese fries), mac ‘n’ cheeze, a burrito and burrito bowl, soups, baked goods (including cinnamon rolls), milk shakes and various drinks (including coffee, hot chocolate, lemonades, tea and on tap kombucha). They also have a breakfast menu which including a breakfast sandwich (with veggie sausage), bagels, a yogurt parfait and hash browns.

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Apr 26

Oceania Cruises Adds Over 200 Vegan Dishes to Their Menus

Oceania Cruises has announced that they’ve added over 200 vegan meals to their menus, covering everything from breakfast to dessert. 

“We’re thrilled to unveil the most extensive and creative plant-based menus at sea with more than 200 new healthy dishes available on each of our beautiful ships”, Oceania said in a recent press release. “Remaining at the forefront of culinary development, our talented culinary team is turning out these healthy menu selections in The Grand Dining Room and Terrace Café at breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to our already expansive gourmet offerings. You will also have plant-based options available upon request during dinner service in each of our specialty restaurants.”

Oceania notes that “Not only are our plant-based options mouthwatering and colorful, these dishes now provide you with an innovative menu of choices whether you’re seeking healthier options to balance our more indulgent options (our new Dom Pérignon Experience, anyone?) or you’re increasing your focus on overall wellness as you travel the world.” The plant-based dishes have been developed “by our culinary leadership team in concert with world-renowned chef, culinary instructor, and author Christophe Berg.”

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Apr 26

Study: Vegetarian Diet Associated With Decreased Risk of Symptomatic Gallstone Disease in Women

A vegetarian diet may protect against symptomatic gallstone disease in women, according to a study published recently by the journal Nutrients, and published online by the U.S. National Institute of Health.

“Vegetarian diets may lower symptomatic gallstone disease via cholesterol lowering”, begins the study’s abstract. “This study aimed to examine the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease (GSD) in Taiwanese vegetarians vs. nonvegetarians in a prospective cohort and to explore if this association is related to cholesterol concentration.”

For the study researchers “prospectively followed 4839 participants, and in the 29,295 person-years of follow-up, 104 new incident GSD cases were confirmed.” Diet was assessed through a validated food frequency questionnaire, and symptomatic GSD “was ascertained through linkage to the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.”

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Apr 25

Tofurky Launches Vegan Cheesecake Line

The vegan food brand Tofurky has launched a line of vegan cheesecakes.

Tofurky, which is known for its vegan meat products including deli slices and ground beef, recently unveiled its “Moocho” line of vegan desserts.

According to Tofurky CEO Jaime Athos, the company’s Moocho cheesecakes will come in three flavors: New York Style Vanilla, Triple Berry Swirl and chocolate.

“After including a plant-based espresso cheesecake in our limited-edition holiday feast kits this past year, we received overwhelming feedback from consumers and retailers asking to include the product in chilled bakery and frozen dessert cases year-round,” says Athos. “After revisiting the branding, pack, and recipe, Moocho Cheesecakes was born. We have called the sub-brand Moocho because we felt a creamy, sweet product like cheesecake would be better suited to dairy-inspired branding than the savory, protein-anchored Tofurky brand.”

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