The collection is in collaboration with vegan sneaker brand Løci. It’s called “Nicki Minaj X Løci,” and consists of 11 styles of unisex shoes made from vegan leather. Many of the trainers are a shade of pink reminiscent of Barbie, a film that Minaj created music for.

Read more: ‘Sheer Nonsense’: Stella McCartney On Why Leather Is Not A Byproduct

According to Løci, the new line “blends street-cool aesthetics with high-fashion chic.” Writing on Instagram at the end of March, Minaj said the release was an “absolute dream come true.”

“I can’t WAIT for you guys to see my 1st collection,” she wrote. “Thank you to my team for helping me make this dream come to fruition. This isn’t a sponsorship. I’m an owner & partner.”

The collection is available to shop online now. Prices range from $185 to $200.

The rise of Løci

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Løci was founded in London on 2019, and has since become a hugely popular sneaker brand, with its designs being seen on celebrities including Mila Kunis, Jessica Alba, and Ben Affleck. 

Read more: Cillian Murphy Discusses His Decision To Go Plant-Based

The brand doesn’t use any animal leather, instead opting for materials like recycled bottles, recycled nylon and brass, as well as cork, bamboo, and a bio leather alternative. It’s thought that each pair of sneakers repurposes the equivalent of 20 plastic bottles. Løci’s shoes are made in Portugal, a country known for its craftsmanship and sustainability credentials. 

According to Løci, the brand has saved one million plastic bottles from being discarded. It also donates 10 percent of online profits to marine organizations like Sea Shepherd and SEE Turtles. 

Read more: Joaquin Phoenix Wore A Plant-Based Hat For ‘Napoleon’

In 2022, it was announced that Leonardo DiCaprio had invested in the brand. The actor said at the time that he was “proud” to invest in a company “dedicated to minimizing its environmental impact, and centered around creating cruelty-free, ethical footwear.”

The post Nicki Minaj Launches Range Of Barbie Pink Vegan Sneakers appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: Supermarket Chain REWE ‘To Open All-Vegan Store’

Lidl made the announcement at a protein transition event it hosted in Berlin last week, reports Vegconomist. It said that sales had risen since it created price parity between meat and plant-based alternatives in October 2023. As part of its effort to encourage customers to choose plant-based, it also began placing vegan products next to animal-based versions in stores.

Lidl has been at the forefront of the transition to plant-based protein among major food retailers. In February 2023 it announced it would reduce the amount of animal products it sells while expanding its vegan range. Lidl’s chief buyer Christoph Graf said at the time that there is “no alternative” if we going to “feed ourselves within planetary limits.”

Healthier and more sustainable

Lidl launched its own-brand plant-based range Vemondo across Europe in 2021. It includes around 50 products such as oat milk, pizza, cheese, tofu, and mince. Lidl says the products are carbon neutral. In 2022, Vemondo won PETA’s Vegan Food Award for Best Vegan Private Label.

Read more: Lidl Named Cheapest UK Supermarket To Buy Vegan Christmas Food

As well as lowering prices for plant-based alternatives, Lidl maintains low prices for fruits and vegetables as part of its Healthy Eating Pledge. It aims to increase sales of fresh fruit and veg by 35 percent by 2026.

Change in Germany

Germany is a fitting location for an event – which included politicians, businesspeople, and scientists – focused on transitioning to sustainable sources of protein. The country’s newly published dietary guidelines recommend that people eat at least 75 percent plant-based. The German government also recently committed millions of euros to help boost development of plant-based proteins.

Read more: Tesco Says It’s In Its ‘Second Phase’ Of Plant-Based Growth

Meat eating has hit a record low in Germany, with around 10 percent of people living there now thought to follow a vegetarian diet. In addition, around 55 percent of the population identify as “flexitarian,” meaning they already mostly eat plant-based foods.

The post Lidl Announces Huge Increase In Plant-Based Food Sales appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: The Best Totally Vegan Fast Food Restaurants In The UK And USA

Bowditch, a regular cast member of Made in Chelsea, co-founded the London restaurant in 2020 with YouTuber Mikey Pearce. Serving healthier fast food items such as burger and nuggets, Clean Kitchen was entirely plant-based until this week.

In an Instagram post, Pearce and Bowditch explained that the restaurant would be adding animal products to its menu following a “tough, tough year.” The restaurant would shift from a “100 percent plant-based menu to a much more wholefood approach, catering for everyone” said Pearce.

“I’m so passionate about animal welfare, I can’t physically be part of something that isn’t fully plant-based,” said Bowditch, referring to her decision to step down from her role. “I have to stand true to my values.”

Business decision

Pearce said that the decision was to protect jobs and protect the business. The restaurant was initially very successful, making £725,000 in revenue in its first year. It also quickly expanded into catering for brands such as Under Armour. But, according to the Instagram post, the restaurant has struggled over the last year.

Read more: Welsh Pub Named Best Vegan Restaurant In Europe

“Clean is now opening up our menu to be focused on becoming healthier, fresher and better for you,” said the accompanying caption. “We will of course still be championing our plant-based classics on our menu.”

It is not the first restaurant to put animal products on the menu after first being fully plant-based. Nomas Gastrobar in Macclesfield, Cheshire, added meat and dairy to its menu in January after being fully vegan since its opening in 2021.

Praise for Bowditch

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A post shared by Verity Scarlett (@veritybowditch)

Many commenters on Clean Kitchen’s and Bowditch’s Instagram posts praised her decision to step down. People expressed admiration that she was “sticking to” her “principles” and said they had “huge respect” for her.

Bowditch was raised vegetarian and grew up surrounded by rescue animals. She transitioned to veganism in adulthood.

Many have expressed disappointment with Clean Kitchen’s menu changes. Some said they had invested in the business when it was crowdfunding and questioned if they could get their money back now that the restaurant no longer aligned with their values.

The post Verity Bowditch Steps Down From Clean Kitchen After It Adds Animal Products To Menu appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: EU Making Animal Diets ‘Artificially Cheap’ With Subsidies, Report Finds

KlimaSeniorinnen (Swiss Elders for Climate Protection), a collective of around 2,500 Swiss women with an average age of 73, told the court that several of their basic human rights had been violated. For example, because older women are more likely to die during severe heat waves, the group argued that Switzerland has not done its share to mitigate global warming.

KlimaSeniorinnen spent several years unsuccessfully battling Swiss courts before escalating the case to the ECHR, found that the Swiss government had not prepared a suitable plan to cut emissions and that applicants had not had access to justice in national courts.

“This ruling is a landmark in the struggle for a liveable climate for everyone,” said Anne Mahrer, Co-President of the Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection, in a release. “We have been fighting for climate justice for nine years with the support of Greenpeace.”

“After the Swiss courts refused to hear us, the ECHR has now confirmed that climate protection is a human right,” added Mahrer.

Read more: Switzerland Votes Against Ban On Factory Farming

ECHR rules that Swiss inaction on climate change breaches human rights

Two other climate cases were unsuccessfully brought to the ECHR – one by a group of 32 young Portuguese people against 32 European countries, and one by a French mayor against France. While cases are notably different, all three were based on the question of whether government inaction on climate change violates human rights. The ECHR also rejected four cases brought by individual applicants from the KlimaSeniorinnen.

The decision to hold the Swiss government accountable has been described as a historic one by many observers, and the ECHR, which refers to itself as “the conscience of Europe,” has still set a precedent for all 46 member states moving forward.

“The significance of this decision cannot be overestimated,” explained Cordelia Bähr, the lead lawyer for the Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection.

“It will be of great importance for further climate lawsuits against states and companies worldwide and increase their chances of success. The judgment shows citizens, judges, and governments across Europe what is needed in terms of climate protection,” added Bähr.

Read more: I’m Taking The Government To Court Over Farmed Chickens – Here’s Why

The post Switzerland’s Inaction On Climate Crisis Breaches Human Rights, Says Landmark Court Case appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: Plans To Ban ‘Meaty’ Vegan Labels On Hold In Belgium

The country’s top administrative court has now suspended a decree initially issued by France’s government in February to ban the word steak from plant-based meat labeling. (In French, a meat-free burger patty might be described as a “veggie steak”.)

If successful, the decree would have been active from May 1, 2024, just a few weeks away. In addition to the word steak, it included 20 additional terms typically associated with cuts of meat and animal proteins, such as “spare rib,” “ham,” “escalope,” and the phrase “butcher.”

In 2022, France’s administrative court, the Conseil d’État, suspended a similar decree following public pressure exerted by plant-based companies based in France, and due to concerns it was too vague to be practically enforceable – or even legal.

On Wednesday, the state council said once again that there was “a serious doubt over the legality of such a ban,” and that it would remain suspended until the European Union’s Court of Justice could review the decree and rule one way or the other.

Read more: More Than Half Of Europeans Are Cutting Down Meat, Study Finds

France’s ban on meaty words for plant-based foods ‘complete nonsense’

Meat and dairy companies have long complained over the plant-based sector’s use of words traditionally associated with animal products, citing potential confusion for consumers. However, there is little evidence to support this, and critics suggest that removing familiar words like steak, sausage, and burger would actively confuse shoppers.

Belgium recently put a similar ban on hold, and in 2021 the European Parliament voted against a proposal to ban meaty terms from plant-based products. More than half of Europeans are now cutting down on meat amid continent-wide and national pushes towards sustainable, healthy, and equitable food systems via plant-based diets.

Nicholas Schweitzer, CEO of French vegan bacon innovator La Vie previously told Plant Based News (PBN) that any national ban on labels using such words – which would by definition only apply to companies producing foods within France – would be “complete nonsense.”

“This law is going completely in the opposite direction of two official priorities of the French government: the fight against global warming and the reindustrialization of France,” said Schweitzer.

Read more: Meat-Eaters Prefer Not To See Animals On Meat Labels, Research Finds

The post France Just Suspended Its Ban On Words Like ‘Steak’ For Plant Foods appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: It Wasn’t The Biggest Year For Plant-Based Meat – But Vegan Milk Is Killing It

Eric Mirbach, a content and brand specialist, wrote on LinkedIn that we must take “emotional stakes” into account “if we want lasting, sustainable change.”

At the start of the post, he stated that many people in the south of the USA drink Coca Cola for breakfast. “It’s traditional, and therefore a part of consumer’s identities,” he explained. “Mothers served their kids coke in the morning — and now these kids have become adults and do it with their kids.”

Read more: Spread Brand Flora Says Dairy Is ‘A Bit Weird’ In New Ad

The post then goes on to explain that there was huge resistance in these states when a new version of Coke was brought out. This, Mirbach says, was because people had an emotional attachment to the original drink that they knew and loved.

“People don’t like change to begin with, but what Coke had done by introducing an improved recipe was challenging some very deeply held feelings: safety, nostalgia, and motherly love.”

He then said that it was the marketing equivalent of “telling people their mother did it wrong.”

Parallels with plant-based food

Mirbach compared this attitude to the attitude towards alternative dairy and protein. Many people have an emotional attachment to animal products, meaning companies should take this account when trying to tempt consumers away from them.

“All founders, marketeers and creatives in this space have to find a way to champion change and make it attractive,” he wrote. “And we have to do it while identifying and respecting the consumer’s deeply held beliefs and feelings.”

Read more: Is Whole Milk Having A Comeback? Nutritionist Warns Against Its ‘Health Benefits’

The post then goes on to state that serving someone a vegan meal could be interpreted as telling them they weren’t raised right, while bringing home a vegan option for Christmas may “tell your mom she didn’t raise you right.”

“The emotional stakes are very high,” he wrote. “If we want lasting, sustainable change, we have to take them into account. Actually, they should be front and center. Because stats won’t do it. Honest, good, human, and relatable communication will.”

Eric Mirbach is the cofounder and managing director of branding, content & venture studio Very Good Looking.

The post ‘Why People Have Coca Cola For Breakfast, And What Alt Dairy Can Learn’ appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: 81% Of USA Sandwich Bags Contain Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’

Dr Benjamin Droguet, Professor Silvia Vignolini, and a group of fellow Cambridge scientists founded the UK-based company in 2022 in order to replicate the vibrant colors found in nature sustainably. Sparxell’s star compound is cellulose, a plant-derived sugar.

Sparxell can extract its plant-based, renewable, and biodegradable cellulose from waste streams, all while achieving vibrant, high-performance pigments for use in sectors as diverse as cosmetics, fashion, packaging, crafts, food and beverage, and automotive care.

“Our plant-based materials can be grown and sourced locally in a complete rethink of how colors are currently being manufactured while reducing transport emissions,” explained Sparxall founder and CEO Droguet, in a release published by BusinessWire.

The company says it will use the backing to accelerate the development and commercialization of its products. Prominent participants in the seed funding include the L’Oreal-founded Circular Innovation Fund and SpaceX-backer Future Communities Capital.

Read more: Flora Unveils ‘World First’ Plastic-Free Paper Tubs For Vegan Spreads

Traditional colorants cause ‘major environmental harm’

According to Sparxell, its product is the “world’s first” 100 percent natural, high-performance, and biodegradable color platform, free from child labor, health risks, and minimal pollution. 

“Traditional chemical colorants are causing major environmental harm through every stage of their lifecycle, from manufacture to degradation,” continued Droguet.

A recent report by Precedence Research predicts that the global colorants market will more than double between 2022 and 2032, but specifically highlights toxic elements and associated health risks – including cancer – impact both workers and customers.

“The textile industry is a well-known emitter of dyes and microplastics, with over 1.5m tonnes entering the environment every year, while paint has recently been recognized as the largest source of microplastics in the ocean,” added Droguet.

Read more: The UK’s Plastic Waste Crisis: 100 Billion Pieces Of Packaging Discarded Every Year

Sparxell’s ‘plastic-free and toxin-free pigments’

A 2022 study published by the Swiss scientific research firm Environmental Action (EA) found that of the tens of millions of tonnes of microplastics leaked into the ocean each year, approximately 58 percent comes from paint particulates.

The researchers reported that 1.9 million tonnes of paint end up in oceans and waterways annually, many of which contain plastic polymers, contributing to ubiquitous microplastics. Furthermore, common volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paint include formaldehyde, benzene, and ethyl acetate, exposure to which can cause a range of serious health issues.

In contrast, Sparxell makes its plant-based cellulose completely biodegradable, and the company notes that model studies confirm that its “plastic-free and toxin-free pigments” have “some of the lowest impacts on flora and fauna at the end of life.”

Sparxell expects to launch a Series A funding round in the coming months to upscale production capacity and accelerate commercialization.

The post Company Raises $3.2 Million For Plant-Based Pigment Development appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: EU Making Animal Diets ‘Artificially Cheap’ With Subsidies, Report Finds

An international group of academic experts has described the omission as “concerning” in a commentary in Nature. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published the roadmap during the COP28 Climate Summit in December 2023. It lays out how to achieve zero hunger without breaching 1.5°C of global temperature rise.

“The FAO roadmap neglects one of the most obvious and urgent interventions to reduce emissions from the food system: shifting away from the production and consumption of animal-sourced foods,” the authors write.

The roadmap has already received criticism from environmental organizations for urging an intensification of animal farming to make it more efficient.

Ignoring a key solution

The FAO roadmap acknowledges the climate impact of animal agriculture and that diets “absolutely must” change “for human and planetary health.” To address this, it sets a goal of a 25 percent reduction in methane emissions from the sector by 2030 compared to 2020. But it doesn’t “offer measures or milestones for lowering production and consumption of animal-sourced foods,” the academics write in the commentary.

Read more: Meat Industry Fights To Use ‘Alternative Metric’ To Measure Methane Emissions

This is despite the mounting evidence that a shift to plant-based diets, particularly in wealthy countries, is a key way to bring down global emissions. 

The commentary also criticizes the roadmap for “dismissing plant-based meats as “hav[ing] nutritional deficiencies” without providing any evidence to support this claim.”

One Health

The roadmap does encourage a reduction in the production of meat from large ruminant animals – mainly cows – which cause the majority of emissions in animal agriculture. But it recommends replacing them with chickens instead, along with the intensification of animal farming.

Read more: Denmark Unveils ‘Groundbreaking’ Roadmap Towards Plant-Based Food

The commentary warns that such a move would come with a range of other negative impacts on the environment and human health. These include a potentially big increase in the risk of antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as bird flu.

The authors argue that the FAO’s focus on intensification of animal agriculture means it fails to consider how plant-based diets also entail “public health and sustainability co-benefits.”

They support a “One Health” approach, which addresses the health and welfare of humans, animals, and the environment holistically. The roadmap does not mention One Health, despite the FAO being part of a coalition of organizations advocating the approach.

Lack of transparency

The commentary highlights other problems with the roadmap. These include no explanation of how proposed actions were selected, nor a list of authors and reviewers or what review process was used.

The need for transparency in this regard is clear. In 2023, former FAO officials claimed that senior figures in the organization had censored and undermined them for reporting on the climate impact of animal agriculture. Some blamed lobbying of the FAO by powerful meat producers.

As the FAO roadmap is the first of three instalments, the commentary calls for the subsequent ones to be more upfront about how the reports are produced, and who is writing them. 

The post Academics Call Out FAO For Leaving Meat Reduction From Food Emissions Plan appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: Pro-Meat Ads In UK Supermarkets Prompt ASA Complaints

The supermarket chain plans to make half of the protein on its shelves plant-based by 2025, increasing to 60 percent by 2030. In aid of this goal, which is in line with Dutch Health Council dietary guidance, it has a campaign to promote plant-based recipes to customers.

The move to end fresh meat promotions is a first among Dutch supermarkets. Animal rights group Wakker Dier has praised Jumbo for its “ambition.”

More plants

Wakker Dier has been campaigning for supermarkets to embrace “more plants” in their products since 2010. Meat promotions in particular have stood in the way of this goal, according to Wakker Dier. Such promotions keep prices for meat low, forcing farmers to produce meat as cheaply as possible. 

Read more: Supermarket Chain REWE ‘To Open All-Vegan Store’

These promotions “are driving up meat sales enormously,” said Collin Molenaar, campaigner at Wakker Dier in a statement. “And the animals pay the price for this with poor living conditions.”

Campaigning by Wakker Dier led recently to Jumbo and six other brands in the Netherlands, including Knorr and Koh Thai, to commit to make 50 percent of the suggested recipes on their product packaging meat-free. Leading Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn said it would add plant-based ideas to its packaging, but would not commit to removing meat from half the recipes.

However, in 2022 Albert Heijn pledged to make more than half its range of proteins plant-based by 2030. It said it would make these options equal to or cheaper than the animal-based equivalents.

Should the UK follow suit?

Matthew Glover, founder of Veganuary, praised Jumbo and told Food Manufacture that UK supermarkets should think about following its lead. They should leverage “their influence to promote healthier, plant-based alternatives and contribute significantly to the global effort against climate change and animal mistreatment,” he said.

Read more: EU Making Animal Diets ‘Artificially Cheap’ With Subsidies, Report Finds

Research by UK food waste organization Feedback revealed that British supermarkets are fuelling demand for meat with promotional offers. Another study in 2022 found that four major UK supermarkets use multi-buys and reduced prices to to sell more meat. This was in spite or their pledges to promote sustainable eating to improve diets and tackle climate change.

The post Dutch Supermarket Jumbo To Ditch Meat Promotions appeared first on Plant Based News.

But as the realities of the climate and biodiversity crises get ever more serious, the impact of food is becoming impossible to ignore.

Read more: Think Free Range Eggs Are Ethical? Investigation Exposes Reality Of ‘Cage-Free’

Faced with uncomfortable truths about the impacts of different foods on the planet, one response has been denial. This trait is evident amongst supporters of “regenerative” farming, who claim that animal agriculture can be “carbon positive.” A recent study put another nail in that coffin.

Another response has been deflection.

It’s very easy to point the finger at cows. Besides the fact that that finger should be aimed firmly at the humans who farm and eat cows, rather than the animals themselves, such simplification is potentially very problematic.

House on fire

Beef has far and away the highest contribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of everything humans eat.

The amount of land and water needed to farm cows is astronomical. The amount of crops grown to feed them is enormously wasteful. The waste and deforestation that cow farming causes make it one of the most destructive activities on the planet.

In response to concerns about beef’s environmental impact, some have put forward chicken consumption as a climate solution. A recent article even suggested that being a “chickentarian” could be a viable alternative to veganism. 

But two wrongs don’t make a right.

Over-emphasizing the unique harms of beef production risks letting another ruinous meat industry off the hook. Worse, beefing up chicken slaughter could exacerbate several key environmental, ethical, and health risks.

As Nicholas Carter, an ecologist and data scientist, puts it: “Choosing chicken over beef for the claimed environmental benefits is like turning down the thermostat in a burning house.”

Room for improvement

Removing ruminant meat (cows and lambs) from menus has been touted as a climate policy by some forward-thinking institutions and restaurants.

While the intention is admirable, the consequences can be alarming if all that beef is replaced with chicken meat.

Read more: EU Making Animal Diets ‘Artificially Cheap’ With Subsidies, Report Finds

That’s because the argument for eating more chicken is usually based solely on GHG emissions. Although lower than for some other meats, chicken has higher emissions than plant-based proteins such as tofu, lentils, chickpeas, and beans.

“Chicken does have a lower carbon footprint than beef or pork,” Carter tells Plant Based News (PBN). “But it’s still three times higher than even the highest emitting plant protein, like soy, and almost ten times higher than peas.”

Mega mess 

Worse, scaling up chicken production usually means even greater intensification.

Intensification is a long-standing answer to how to reduce the climate impact of meat. The result can be seen in the spread of Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in the US and mega-farms in the UK.

Intensive farming comes with serious problems. 

Read more: How Many Animals Are Killed For Food Everyday?

Carter points to the extreme risks of zoonotic diseases from mass confinement of animals as one leading concern. Studies have shown that intensive farming poses a major risk of antibiotic resistance, disease spread, and pandemics.

This echoes the warnings of Matthew Hayek, Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University, who has warned of the “zoonosis trap” that results from chicken farming. This trap involves a cycle of intensifying existing facilities (which enhances disease transmission and antimicrobial resistance) and expanding into new regions (where humans will come into contact with the new diseases).

There’s also chicken poo to contend with. Keeping huge numbers of birds in one place inevitably leads to huge amounts of waste. Excessive manure runs off into local waterways and can bring about ecological collapse, as has happened recently in the River Wye and Lough Neagh.

It’s not the how, it’s the who

If the environmental and health risks are not enough to turn people off chicken meat, the ethical arguments are overwhelming.

Chickens, being smaller, are farmed in significantly higher numbers than cows. Indeed, more than 200 million chickens are slaughtered for food every day. That’s 140,000 deaths every minute.

For the birds stuck in factory farms right now, ever more intensive farming methods means ever less space and ever more suffering.

Eat beans, not birds

Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement that he had started raising cows was rightly condemned by climate scientists as an “obnoxious luxury.”

Sticking it to Zuck for raising cows while tucking into a chicken dinner, however, is not the climate solution that some seem to think it is.

Study after study shows that the best response to the ills of animal agriculture is to transition towards a plant-based food system.

“Continuing to farm chicken is one of the riskiest ways of attempting to feed the world,” Carter adds. It’s time governments stop gambling and start following the science.

The post Will Eating Chicken Really Save The Planet? appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: ‘Sheer Nonsense’: Stella McCartney On Why Leather Is Not A Byproduct

Researchers at Imperial College London have created a shoe from a genetically engineered bacteria species. The bacteria produces sheets of microbial cellulose, a strong, flexible material already used in food, cosmetics, and textiles. 

The scientists worked with designers to grow a sheet of bacterial cellulose in a specially made shoe-shaped vessel over a two week period. The shoe then spent two days being gentle shaken at a temperature of 30°C. This activated the bacteria to produce black pigment, dyeing the material from the inside.

“Bacterial cellulose is inherently vegan, and its growth requires a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions, water, land use and time of farming cows for leather,” lead author Professor Tom Ellis said in a statement. “Unlike plastic-based leather alternatives, bacterial cellulose can also be made without petrochemicals, and will biodegrade safely and non-toxically in the environment.”

Making leather non-toxic

The self-pigmenting bacteria could solve one of the most toxic problems in fashion. Dyeing and finishing textile products accounts for about 20 percent of the pollution of clean water. Leather production and dyeing is particularly harmful, requiring significant amounts of toxic chemicals.

Read more: Billie Eilish Promotes Gucci’s New Vegan Leather Bag

The Imperial College scientists modified the bacteria to produce the dark black pigment, eumelanin. But designers who might use it in future won’t be limited to black leather products. 

The bacteria can be further engineered using genes from other microbes to produce other colors. 

The researchers showed that they can project a pattern or logo onto the cellulose sheets using blue light. This makes the bacteria produce colored proteins which then glow. This means that designs can be projected onto the bacterial cultures as the leather grows. They then form within the material and don’t need to be added after.

“Our technique works at large enough scales to create real-life products, as shown by our prototypes,” study co-author Dr Kenneth Walker said in a statement. “From here, we can consider aesthetics as well as alternative shapes, patterns, textiles, and colours.”

The researchers and design collaborators have just received £2 million in UK Research Council funding. They will use it to solve more of fashion’s toxic problems with bacterial cellulose.

The post Scientists Grow A Vegan Self-Dyeing Leather Shoe From Bacteria appeared first on Plant Based News.

Read more: 51% Of German Consumers Reduced Their Meat Intake In The Last Year

A new study reports that over 80 percent of the public money invested in farming via Europe’s “common agricultural policy” (CAP) supported animal products, even though countless scientists and industry experts back a shift towards more plant-based foods.

The new study, published earlier this month in the journal Nature, notes that 82 percent of the EU’s agricultural subsidies support (38 percent directly and 44 percent for animal feed) animal-based foods. The same animal-based foods are responsible for the vast majority (84 percent) of EU food production’s embodied greenhouse gas emissions.

These subsidies are provided via various mechanisms, including direct payments to farmers, commodity support for livestock products such as border tariffs, and general support linked to either the production or consumption of animal products, as in school milk schemes.

“The de facto subsidizing of livestock production may lead to animal-rich diets becoming artificially cheap,” note study authors Anniek J. Kortleve, José M. Mogollón, Helen Harwatt, and Paul Behrens, thereby “supporting unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.”

Read more: ‘Groundbreaking’ Vote To Ban Factory Farming To Be Held In US County

EU animal agriculture: subsidization and artificially lowered prices

Industrialized animal agriculture – including its negative impact on the environment, human health, and animals themselves – has arguably produced both the modern demand for incongruously cheap meat and the industry’s current dependence on subsidization.

A kilogram of chicken cost 39p per kilogram in 1967, and, accounting for inflation should cost nearly £9 today. Instead, you can purchase a “small” chicken – around 1.1 kg – from Sainsbury’s for just £2.70. An “extra-large” Waitrose chicken (2.3 kg) costs £6.79.

Intensive chicken production has a particularly devastating impact on water quality and environmental degradation, in addition to its contributions to the climate crisis. Countless poultry farms have also been subject to repeated investigations of animal cruelty in recent years, many of which revealed shocking living conditions and animal abuse.

“The CAP holds the potential to steer the food system towards addressing environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, disturbed nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, water and land degradation,” say Kortleve, Mogollón, Harwatt, and Behrens.

Read more: Think Free-Range Eggs Are Ethical? Investigation Exposes Reality Of ‘Cage-Free’

‘Perverse outcomes for food transition’

The CAP was established in 1962 as a “partnership between agriculture and society,” and it currently receives approximately one-third of the entire EU budget. However, it has repeatedly failed to make farming more climate-friendly despite plans to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, leading to widespread criticism of the scheme.

The more land a farm occupies, the higher its rate of subsidization, and because animal agriculture is so resource-intensive and inefficient, livestock farms get more support. (Globally, animal agriculture occupies 83 percent of all farming land despite providing just 18 percent of the world’s calories.)

“Although the CAP does not designate animal-based commodities as desirable, by disproportionally supporting livestock farming, especially when accounting for animal feed subsidies, the CAP presents an economic disincentive for transitions towards more sustainable plant-based foods,” add Kortleve, Mogollón, Harwatt, and Behrens. This results in what the study authors call “perverse outcomes for food transition.”

Back in 2021, the WWF European Policy Office’s Senior Policy Officer for Agriculture Jabier Ruiz commented that the EU needs “A CAP that is compatible with the aims of the European Green Deal, helping farmers adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and address agriculture’s impact on the environment.”

The post EU Making Animal Diets ‘Artificially Cheap’ With Subsidies, Report Finds appeared first on Plant Based News.

The inaugural Vegan Animal Rights Conference (VARC) combines workshops and panels led by industry experts with networking opportunities and information on impactful advocacy. Taking place over two days, VARC has over 43 different sessions in total.

Read more: Vegan Women Summit Announces Celebrity Speakers and More for 2024

The event aims to unify and energize the vegan and animal rights movement by connecting activists of all kinds and fostering a sense of “shared purpose” through talks and activities.

The organizers say that VARC “promises to be an inspiring gathering, aiming to ignite new initiatives, strengthen ongoing efforts, and enhance the sense of community among advocates for animal rights and veganism in the UK.”

Speaking to Plant Based News (PBN) VARC Founder and Director Liz Flynn said: “The UK is a hive of animal rights and vegan advocacy, imagine what we could achieve with our own conference here, dedicated to looking at our unique challenges and opportunities.”

There are now approximately 2.5 million vegans in the UK, a 1.1 million person increase compared to 12 months ago. Meat consumption fell to record lows in 2023, and an increasing number of people are moving away from animal diets for their health, the planet, and the animals.

What is the Vegan Animal Rights Conference about?

Along with Flynn, VARC was co-founded by Emily Huang and Esther Salomon, who have collectively spent years within UK animal rights working on training and leadership development, direct action, strategizing, and mobilization in various parts of the movement.

Read more: Vegandale Is Coming To The UK – How To Get Tickets

The trio describes VARC as a strictly grassroots effort, involving many different people working in their free time to design and organize. In a statement on the event’s website, Flynn, Huang, and Salomon write: “Each of us believes that in order to achieve animal liberation, the movement needs many people working on a variety of different strategies.”

These different strategies include – and combine – both corporate campaigning and direct action, challenging laws and disrupting the food industry through alternative proteins. The organizers add that VARC welcomes both established strategies and “novel” ones.

“The strength of our movement lies in our diversity and unity. With VARC 2024, we aim to showcase the incredible range of voices and tactics within our community, demonstrating that there is not just one way to advocate for animal rights, but a multitude that can unite to form a powerful force for change,” explained Flynn.

VARC aims to ‘challenge, inspire, and educate’

The event will begin with a keynote speech titled “Lessons from 30 Years of Vegan Advocacy” by Generation Vegan’s Director of Communications Kate Fowler, while panel discussions range from “How We Can Use Science to Improve Public Support for Animal Freedom” to “Why We Need to Work Effectively With the Farming Community.”

“We’ve curated sessions that challenge, inspire, and educate. From undercover investigations to legal battles for animal rights, each session is a piece of the larger puzzle of advocacy. It’s about showing the multifaceted ways we can fight for change,” said Flynn.

Other speakers and discussion leaders include Plant Based Universities’ Regional Co-ordinator Alistair Stewart; Humane Society UK’s Senior Public Affairs Manager Amro Hussain; Animal Justice Project founder Claire Palmer; Animal Think Tank founder Laila Kassam; Viva!’s Head of Investigations Lex Rigby; and ALF founder Ronnie Lee.

For the full VARC agenda including timing, read on here.

Vegan Animal Rights Conference 2024: dates, location, tickets, and more

The inaugural VARC will take place at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel from April 13 – 14, 2024.

Ticket prices are tiered depending on income from GBP £89 per person up to £168. (There is also an option to donate an additional £10 plus fees to subsidize someone else’s entry.)

Read more: The UK Is About To Open Its ‘First Ever’ Vegan Theater

“VARC 2024 is more than an event; it’s a beacon for change in the animal rights and vegan community. We’re crafting a space where advocacy meets action, knowledge meets passion, and individuals become a movement,” added Flynn.

Find more information on the VARC website here and purchase tickets here.

The post A Major New Vegan Conference Is Coming To The UK – How To Get Tickets appeared first on Plant Based News.

New Zealand (Aotearoa) startup ANDFOODS is one of several companies developing legume-based dairy alternatives. And it has just raised NZD $2.7 million in seed funding for to make milk, milk powder, and cream using its novel fermentation technology.

A functional alternative

ANDFOODS uses pulses, the edible seeds of legumes. It splits them into liquid and solid, using the liquid as the base for its powders, milks, and creams. Its novel fermentation process gets rid of the “plant taste” and creates products that ANDFOODS says are “nutritionally and functionally superior.”

Alex Devereaux, CEO of ANDFOODS, says that the pulses the company make a “perfect” alternative to dairy. “Though many dairy alternatives reasonably capture the taste and texture of dairy milk, few to date have come close to emulating the measurable quality of high-grade cow-based creams or milk powders,” he told Food Ingredients First. “As a result, many extra ingredients are needed throughout the manufacturing process. Our chosen legume has properties that reduce the need for a long list of additives to make it functional.”

ANDFOODS’ products “blend effortlessly into recipes,” according to the company website. They can be used in baked goods, creamy foods, and frozen desserts. They would make “a standout choice” for food manufacturers that want to use more plant-based ingredients in their products without worrying about altering the taste and texture.

Versatile legumes

In 2023, UK-based The Good Pulse Company received £300,000 in public funding to develop cheese made from yellow split peas. The company says its use of the whole peas means the cheese retains the peas’ high protein and nutrient content.

Chickpea protein company Innovopro has been developing chickpea-based emulsifiers and egg replacers for use in plant-based milks, cheese, and desserts. It has partnered with plant-based milk brand Milkadamia to make ice-cream from chickpeas and macadamia nuts.

More like this:

• Veg Capital Invests Millions In SHICKEN
• Supermarket Chain REWE ‘To Open All-Vegan Store’
• Company Unveils ‘Revolutionary’ Machine That Makes Vegan Egg Yolks

The post Legume-Based Dairy Could Be The Next Plant-Based Innovation appeared first on Plant Based News.

A new investigation has shone fresh light on the reality of “free range” eggs in the UK. 

Vegan organization Animal Justice Project looked into a number of cage-free egg producing farms in the UK. The farms, which are RSPCA Assured and part of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA), are key suppliers to major supermarkets. 

Investigators described the findings as “deeply concerning.” Tens of thousands of hens were packed into dark barns and forced to live in “nightmare” conditions surrounded by bodies and skeletons of birds who had passed away. Photos and videos uncovered instances of bullying, including one hen being pecked to death on camera. Birds were seen bald and covered in blood, sporting injuries, and many were unable to access food and water.

Many birds were denied outdoor access, which goes against RSPCA guidelines. Drone footage acquired by the organization found that the birds were not let outside on any of the days that they filmed.

“What we uncovered at these three free-range egg farms was nothing short of a nightmare for these poor hens,” Tayana Simons, Campaigner at Animal Justice Project, told Plant Based News. “What we exposed is a stark reminder that assurance labels can be deceiving, and behind the façade of ‘cage-free’ lies a world of suffering for millions of hens.”

What is ‘free range’?

Free range is the name given to eggs that have come from hens who supposedly have access to the outside. Free range eggs make up around 60 percent of eggs sold in the UK, and people have long been prepared to pay extra for them to avoid supporting caged systems.

The UK public tends to free range eggs as an ethical animal product, as adverts and marketing often depicts birds out in large fields and breathing fresh air. The reality, though, is very different. 

Modern egg laying hens have been selectively bred to produce as many eggs as possible, and lay around 300 a year (in the natural world, they would lay around 12). This takes a huge toll on their bodies, and they often suffer from broken bones due to calcium deficiencies. When they stop producing eggs, they will be slaughtered.

The “free range” label just means that hens legally have to have access to the outdoors for some part of the day. Birds in this system will often spend the vast majority of their lives in huge barns with tends of thousands of other birds, with barely any room to move. While they should have access to the outside, they are often unable to make it to the door of the barn due to injuries or strict pecking orders in flocks. 

Free-range as a marketing tactic

As the Animal Justice Project investigation proves, even the minimal legal guidelines for free range eggs are often not met or enforced properly by farms. A report published last year found that less than three percent of UK animal farms are inspected each year, so breaches of minimal so-called “welfare guidance” are commonplace.

The investigation comes just months before all major UK supermarkets will make all their eggs cage-free. Under the “cage free commitment,” major retailers will only sell whole eggs that have come from free range farms. This move has, according to Animal Justice Project, been met with a surge of “high welfare” claims for eggs. 

Welfare labels like free-range, as well as Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured, are often used to convince customers that what they’re buying is ethical. But investigation after investigation shows that animals suffer hugely on farms run by these schemes.

“It’s time for the public to realise that these accreditations make no meaningful difference to the lives of animals who are farmed,” said Simons, “The only way to protect animals is to leave them off your plate.”

More like this:

• I’m Taking The Government To Court Over Farmed Chickens – Here’s Why
• The ‘Shocking’ Rise In US-Style Mega-Farms In The UK
• How Many Animals Are Killed For Food Everyday?

The post Think Free Range Eggs Are Ethical? Investigation Exposes Reality Of ‘Cage-Free’ appeared first on Plant Based News.

On Wednesday, March 27, the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters officially confirmed that a citizen-led petition to ban factory farms qualified for the ballot. Volunteers from the Coalition to End Factory Farming (CEFF) submitted over 37 thousand signatures earlier this month.

The Registrar of Voters will now deliver the initiative to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, which will then decide when it will actually go to a vote. The CEFF believes that this will likely be in November of this year. This means that Sonoma County will become the first in the nation to vote on such a ban, with potentially huge implications for the rest of the US.

The measure, if adopted, would impact around two dozen local agricultural businesses which are classed as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), or factory farms, per federal guidelines. (The USDA defines a CAFO as confining more than 1,000 “animal units.”)

The proposed measure would also take into account the species of the confined animals, the duration of animals’ confinement, and how significant its pollution of the local environment, including where two or more operations could be together considered a CAFO.

Existing CAFOs would be required to register, and would have three years to phase out operations before facing increasingly severe financial penalties: USD $1,000 for the first day, $5,000 for the second, and $10,000 for the third and all subsequent days spent in violation.

The measure would also require a phase out process developed in collaboration with a California-based humane society or society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, along with a job-retraining program for CAFO workers created by the Agricultural Commissioner.

Why end factory farming?

CEFF is a coalition of over 30 organizations including various environmental advocacy and animal protection groups along with several small animal farms and even local businesses. They are as diverse as the Organic Consumers Association, Farm Sanctuary, the Food Animals Concerns Trust (FACT), and Direct Action Everywhere (DxE).

“Sonoma County is a beautiful place with strong values around protecting animals and the environment. Unfortunately, dozens of factory farms are operating counter to the public’s values,” DxE communications lead Cassie King told Plant Based News (PBN). “Now, ordinary people are uniting and utilizing a form of direct democracy to end factory farming in Sonoma County.”

Factory farming’s impact is felt far and wide. Extensive scientific studies combined with repeated undercover investigations depict the myriad of ways factory farming impacts the environment and wildlife, public health, and CAFO workers, as well as the animals themselves.

In fact, several years of factory farm investigations in Sonoma County specifically have exposed shocking cruelty, including three separate investigations (2014, 2019, and 2023) into the Reichardt Duck Farm in Petaluma which each found diseased and dying animals.

“Cheap food has come at the cost of our local economy and rural landscape,” said Roy Smith, operator of a Sonoma-based diverse animal farm and vocal supporter of the CEFF’s measure, in a release sent to PBN. “The first step in rebuilding our food system, and making family farms viable again, is to level the playing field.”

“There is no playing field for small farmers as long as CAFOs occupy it,” added Smith. “And they won’t leave without an eviction notice.”

More like this:

• How Many Animals Are Killed For Food Everyday?
• Amazon Rainforest Faces ‘Unprecedented Stresses’ As Tipping Points Near
• Antibiotic Overuse On UK Factory Farms ‘Could Kill Over 52,000 Humans By 2050’

The post ‘Groundbreaking’ Vote To Ban Factory Farming To Be Held In US County appeared first on Plant Based News.