Welcome to our weekly vegan news round up, where we go through the Who, What, Where and How of veganism for this past week, as well as share some of our favorite longer reads and throw in some favorite vegan recipes too.
Who?
Vegan Celebrity News
American Idol star Fantasia Taylor is hosting vegan cooking lessons this Sunday 15th of November on Instagram and Facebook. You can join in on the live-action and make the same meals as Fantasia loves, completely free of meat, fish, and dairy! The time is 2pm EST. Sounds like a decent excuse to get a few friends together and get in on the action, may be with a glass of wine in hand.
The Natalie Portman vegan cooking show story continues and here you will find a list of some of her vegan recipes, with video links.
And for anyone needing a bit of a competitive nudge on their way to becoming plant-powered - in honor of World Vegan Month in November, Grammy award winning producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri is issuing the #PlantBasedforaDay challenge. The Atlanta native has been vegan for the last 15 years. “I feel like if one person changes their life from this challenge then that's a start,” Dupri said.
What?
Vegan Products
Probably the biggest news this week on the product front was the newvegan McPlant sandwich coming to McDonalds. “There are other plant-based burgers out there, but the McPlant delivers our iconic taste in a sink-your-teeth-in (and wipe-your-mouth) kind of sandwich,” the restaurant chain stated “It’s made with a juicy, plant-based patty and served on a warm, sesame seed bun with all the classic toppings.”
Not far behind isPizza Hut, which has added Beyond Meat topped pizzas to the their US and UK menus.
"The Beyond Pan Pizzas feature the Beyond Italian Sausage Pizza, which is a classic (dairy) cheese pizza topped with Beyond Meat Italian sausage crumbles, while the specialty The Great Beyond Pizza is crafted with fresh veggie toppings that include tomatoes, sliced red onions and tangy banana peppers, and is served on Pizza Hut’s classic Original Pan crust."
And for something a little different, how about a plant-based bacon, made using koji, an umami-rich mold. The bacon is made by Prime Roots, a Berkeley startup, who calls themselves the "Omaha Steaks for plant-based food". Their meats come via an online subscription. Have a read about this lesser knownalt-meat success storyand their other products.
Including this as a nod to our British friends - the vegan soccer club Forest Green Rovers, who we have posted about before, have made availablea plant-based version of the old British favorite, Bovril. The drink, for those not familiar with it, is traditionally made with a thick and salty meat extract paste that is added to hot drinks and is a popular half-time beverage. The Rover's version is made with beets instead. Mmm, delicious.
The Slutty Vegan team has been on a roll this year, expanding to 3 location and the latest is that Pinky Cole has a 4th on the way and this time it is something a little different, as it will include a bar. This one will be at the Ponce City Market, Atlanta.
New York readers, you'll want to know about the new all vegan community center in Tonawanda. It features an event space, consignment shop, office space and an all-vegan community kitchen.
A different way the veganism is expanding can be seen in Sweden, where a startup called VEAT Foods is installing 10 vegan vending machines at office buildings, department stores and co-working spaces across Stockholm. They feature ready-made meals such as wraps, salads, reheatable meal, snacks and drinks.And in Ireland, Dublin will have the pleasure of hosting this "walk-in vegan bakery". The rest of us that won't be visiting any time soon can follower Bear Lemon's instagram account and share in the inspiration.
This last one may be a little controversial, but we believe this kind of things helps to reduce the suffering of animals, so we're cautiously for it. The world's first lab-made chicken meat restaurant has opened in Israel. It comes from the startup SuperMeat and is simply called The Chicken. The meat is served in two burger compositions. "The burger has a juicy chicken flavor, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside,” SuperMeat CEO Ido Savir.
Favourite reads
The Rest
Our favorite read this week is actually more of a watch - it is this list of 23 inspiring vegan TED talks to watch. (the link seemed to be temporarily down earlier today - it did work last night, so fingers crossed it comes back up shortly, if not search for it on the VegNews site).
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