Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton to open plant-based burger chain, joining other celebs in fake meat craze

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

By Matthew McNultyPublished August 31, 2019Food and BeverageFOXBusiness

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/formula-1-lewis-hamilton-open-plant-based-burger-chain-celebs-backing-fake-meat-movement

Who will win the plant-based fast-food war?

Morningstar Consumer equity strategist RJ Hottovy and A.T. Kearney partner Greg Portell discussed Beyond Meat and the popularity of the meat alternative at fast-food restaurants.

Count Formula 1 racecar driver Lewis Hamilton among those who are getting into the meatless, plant-based burger businessOpens a New Window. following the growing popularity of Burger King’s Impossible Whopper, which has captured consumer’s attention and taken the fast food marketOpens a New Window. by storm.

Hamilton, 34, along with Italian night club promoter and entrepreneur Tommaso Chiabra and investor Ryan Bishti, are opening up Neat Burger just off of London’s Regent Street on Monday, with several more locations in Britain to follow.

They are currently seeking £15 million to fund expansions into locations at Covent Garden and Kings Cross.

“We are not aiming for vegans or a plant-based niche, we are aiming to convert meat eaters,” Bishti said in a statement. “We are part of a movement happening when you look at the world today in the Amazon with deforestation for crops and agri-farming. This is a perfect way to make a change.”

Opens a New Window.

ALL-DAY FLAWLESS MAKEUPOPENS A NEW WINDOW.

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Hamilton is hardly the only sports figure or celebrity to get into the plant-based burger game, as Jay-Z, Trevor Noah, Serena Williams and Katy Perry are investing in Impossible Foods while the market for meatless burgers continues to grow worldwide.

Burger King has led the recent market expansion of plant-based burgers, and the payoff has been hard to ignore for competitors, with the Impossible Whopper predicted to contribute 6% to same-store sales growth at U.S. Burger Kings this quarter, according to the market research and investment firm Cowen.

“Our 6% same-store sales estimate for 3Q implies instances of one-time consumer trial for Impossible Whopper is sustained, and arguably offset, by awareness that continues to grow with Burger King using TV advertising to promote the innovation,” Charles said in a statement released last Thursday.

‘Plant-based meat’ products miss the point

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/27/plant-based-meat-pro
ducts-miss-the-point.html

<https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors.html> CONTRIBUTORS

OPINION

By Karina G. MeyselContributor

Tues., Aug. 27, 2019timer2 min. read

Renewed fascination with vegetarianism and veganism has spawned the latest
trend toward meat-free eating, and with that, the latest generation of
commercially available “plant-based meat” products. There is, however,
something disingenuous about the current vegetarian and vegan craze, when
those “plant-based meat” products look, taste and feel just like the very
products they are meant to replace.

Embracing a vegetarian or vegan diet means embracing a dietary culture that
precisely sets itself apart from one that includes meat. Thus, it is the
consumer’s fundamental conceptualization of meat (real or fake) as the
pre-eminent protein source that requires examination and reshaping if the
current trend toward vegetarianism and veganism is to last.

Heightened social consciousness with respect to animal welfare, personal
health and the large carbon footprint produced by the livestock farming
industry are valid arguments in support of a meat-free diet. These same
points, however, have also placed meat lovers in a moral quandary.

Cognitive dissonance theory posits that conflicting beliefs, thoughts,
attitudes and behaviours that a person has on a particular matter will spur
an effort by the individual to mitigate those tensions. Here, plant-based
meat products seem to assuage the tension between thoughts of “I shouldn’t
eat meat; it’s bad for animals, the environment and me” and “I love meat,
the way it looks, feels and tastes; it’s the quintessential protein source.”

Plant-based meat products appear to be a specifically Western phenomenon.
Their popularity demonstrates Westerners’ resolve to finally shake their
meat habit, but the commercial success of these products reveals the
consumer’s persistent reluctance and resistance to give up meat. After all,
consumers demand not just meat-free products, but products that are
essentially meat’s doppelgängers.

The faux meat manufacturers readily oblige and use every trick in the food
chemistry kit to create plant-based products that are so meat-like that they
could be mistaken for the real thing. Duly touted as synthetic wonders,
these plant-based meat offerings are scrutinized for being overly processed
and questionably healthy, seeing that the “plant” in “plant-based” has all
but faded into obscurity.

Social psychology suggests that enduring attitude change necessitates
changes to that attitude’s underlying structure, namely its cognitive,
affective (emotional) and behavioural components. As replicas of real meat,
plant-based meat only serves to reaffirm the consumer’s conceptualization of
meat as the foremost dietary protein source. A sincere and sustained embrace
of a vegetarian or vegan diet requires a severance of deeply held notions
about meat’s status as a pre-eminent food source.

Individuals who are sincere about embracing a vegetarian or vegan diet will
find golden resources among fellow citizens who have followed genuinely
vegetarian and vegan diets for years, if not generations, without the use of
any highly processed, plant-based meat products.

KFC is testing meatless chicken wings and nuggets

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

Beyond Meat and KFC have partnered to offer the first fast-food plant-based chicken at one Atlanta location.

By Kelsey Piper Updated Aug 27, 2019, 2:40pm EDT

A tub of Beyond chicken nuggets, reading “Beyond Fried Chicken: A Kentucky Fried Miracle” — Beyond Meat’s meatless nuggets will be for sale at a KFC in Atlanta — and, if that goes well, potentially at KFC locations everywhere.

No chickens were harmed in the making of the new KFC nuggets and wings going on the menu in Atlanta.

A single KFC franchise — the one near the SunTrust Park baseball stadium in Atlanta — is now offering meatless chicken from the plant-based food company Beyond Meat. The deal makes KFC the first fast-food restaurant to serve plant-based chicken.

The early results? Hours-long lines, with cars and pedestrians wrapped around the building as customers try to get a taste.

It’s a huge step forward for both companies — and for chickens, nearly 50 billion of which are raised in factory farms in the US annually.

“KFC is an iconic part of American culture and a brand that I, like so many consumers, grew up with. To be able to bring Beyond Fried Chicken, in all of its KFC-inspired deliciousness to market, speaks to our collective ability to meet the consumer where they are and accompany them on their journey. My only regret is not being able to see the legendary Colonel himself enjoy this important moment,” said Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, in the press release announcing the deal.

Founded in 2009, Beyond Meat produces plant-based products that imitate the taste, texture, and nutrient profile of meat without killing any animals. Earlier this year, the company went public, and its stock has soared as more and more restaurants sign plant-based meat deals.

Beyond Meat has signed deals with Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., Subway, and the national food distributor Aramark, among restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. Competitor Impossible Foods has teamed up with Qdoba, Burger King, and the national distributor Sodexo, among others.

So far, Beyond Meat — like its competitors — has largely focused on imitation beef, with its signature Beyond Burger and new offerings of imitation ground beef. There are some good reasons for plant-based companies to start with beef: Cows are huge contributors to global warming, and there are big sustainability gains from replacing them with plant-based products.

But there are also some good reasons chicken should be at the top of the agenda. Each cow produces a lot of burgers, which means we kill far more chickens than cows to get the same amount of meat. And chickens are among the worst-treated animals on factory farms, caged in small, chemical-treated spaces where disease is rampant, and engineered to grow so quickly that their legs give out. Chicken farming also contributes to public health problems like antibiotic resistance and the spread of bird flu — and yes, chicken factory farms have a carbon footprint too.

For those reasons, animal welfare researchers have urged plant-based meat companies to figure out a substitute for chicken and other farmed chicken products like eggs. Now, Beyond Meat has answered that call with a partnership with the most famous fast-food chicken restaurant in America.

“Beyond Fried Chicken is available in nuggets with choice of favorite dipping sauce, like KFC’s signature Finger Lickin’ Good sauce, or boneless wings tossed in one of three delicious sauce options: Nashville Hot, Buffalo or Honey BBQ,” KFC announced. If consumers in Atlanta agree that they’re finger-lickin’ good, the meatless nuggets could hit menus elsewhere soon.

THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER DEBATE WAS A TEST FOR VEGANS, AND WE FAILED

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

Jessica Hoar

Vegans, we have a problem. We’re insulting each other, we’re alienating each other, we’re destroying each other’s businesses and reputations, and we’re playing right into the hands of the animal exploitation industry. To paraphrase a line from one of my favorite television Presidents (Jed Bartlett of The West Wing), we’re eating our young. And if we don’t get our act together soon, this movement we’re all passionately fighting for will never make the impact we crave or the change the animals need.

For those of you who were lucky enough to miss out on 2018’s burger-induced vegan community meltdown, here’s the basic story. Impossible Foods debuted their plant-based burger patty that many consumers consider to be the closest imitation of a cow-based patty. The smell, the texture, the juiciness…it’s so beef-like, many vegans are too creeped out to even try it. According to Impossible Foods, the Impossible Burger uses 1/20 the land, requires 1/4 the water, and produces 1/8 the greenhouse gas emissions compared to its cow-based counterpart. For those of us who like plant-based meats, it was a dream come true, right?

But then came the news that Impossible Foods’ proprietary “heme”, the groundbreaking ingredient that gives the burgers their beefy flavor, was tested on animals. Rats, to be specific. Because this newly developed ingredient hadn’t previously been used in food, Impossible Foods agreed to participate in animal testing in hopes of earning official approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). From what I understand, the testing wasn’t legally mandated, but had the potential to make a big difference in terms of distribution approvals.

TOP ARTICLES2/5READ MORESan Francisco Airport Just Banned PlasticWater Bottles

Cue the internet outrage. Not one day of outrage, this was months of battles taking place in comments sections across the vegan cyber world. The Chicago Vegans Facebook group damn near collapsed into itself like a dying star. I watched vegan icons be smeared for daring to post a photo of themselves eating the Impossible Burger. I saw people defriend one another for coming to a different conclusion on the issue than they did. I personally lost quite a few followers (some of whom left very unkind farewell messages) after mentioning the burger on my Instagram story.

vegans fighting about impossible burger — *Just a sampling of vegans fighting with vegans about the Impossible Burger*

And these are the people who are supposed to be on the SAME TEAM. The people getting sucked into these rage fests didn’t seem to respect or even acknowledge that they all felt as passionately as they did because of a shared love of animals. The pro-burger side was outraged that the anti-burger side couldn’t seem to appreciate the end goal of potentially saving billions of cows with a revolutionary plant-based patty. The anti-burger side was outraged that people who typically boycott products tested on animals were bending their ethics for this one item.

Meanwhile, as vegans spent weeks hurling insults at other vegans (making sure to end every conversation with, “don’t you dare call yourself a vegan!”), cattle transport trucks continued to transport victims to the slaughterhouse. Dairy cows had their newborn babies ripped away. Millions of dogs, cats, rats, and other animals were injected with chemicals and tested on in excruciating ways. The industrial animal exploitation machine didn’t just turn off because we happened to be distracted. In fact, it’s my very strong assumption that our infighting was exactly what cattle farmers dream of.

Personally, I have eaten and will continue to eat the Impossible Burger. I often lean more towards the “ends justify the means” side of the philosophical spectrum, and for me, this falls into that category. Pat Brown, Impossible Foods’ founder and CEO, has been vegetarian for four decades and vegan (if the vegan police are still letting him call himself that) for 14 years. I’ve read his statement on the issue, and while I still have no idea what I would have done in his situation, I fully understand how he arrived at the difficult conclusion that he needed to allow the testing. Just like I understand how my friends who run other big name plant-based food companies repeatedly paid for and consumed animal products for comparison’s sake while developing their plant-based alternatives. Yes, these vegan entrepreneurs and chefs take bites of real chicken flesh and real chicken eggs in the process of perfecting their vegan counterparts. And no, I won’t tell you who those people or companies are, because I don’t want to send the vegan army after them.

I also understand and empathize with the animal advocates who don’t want to support Impossible Foods. I know their reasoning comes from an opposition to animal cruelty, and I of course share that opposition. I actually welcome people who disagree with me yet want to discuss the issue civilly, in the way that people working towards the same end goal are supposed to do.

Unfortunately, it seems I’m in the minority on this. Vocal vegans seem willing and sometimes even happy to tear one another apart in a never-ending game of “who’s the most vegan?” While I guess this makes our egos feel better, I’m not sure how it helps the animals. My strong fear is that unless we tackle this insidious in-fighting now, we won’t be prepared for the inevitable dilemmas ahead.

I imagine the next battle will be over lab-grown “clean meats”, once they actually come to market. There are numerous companies working on this technology, and as I understand it, some animal cells may still be required to initiate the growth process. Just For All (previously known as Hampton Creek Foods), claims their lab-grown meat can be harvested from feathers that naturally fall off of healthy, happy chickens. Mosa Meats, a pioneer in the industry, has struggled to move past the use of fetal bovine serum. Fetal bovine serum has to be harvested from an unborn calf; obviously, this would require animal slaughter. In any case, the technology as it stands seems to still rely on the use of animals, either dead or alive.

1524683552603 — *Just For All claims they’ll release their lab-grown “clean meat” by the end of 2018*

Leaders in the vegan community are already starting to develop varying opinions on the subject. Most are supportive, but skeptical– which is basically how I’d describe my stance. I often say that any industry that exploits animals for profit will eventually abuse them (hence, why I don’t eat or wear any animal products), but is that true if the industry is run by genuine animal advocates?

If we find ourselves in a situation where “clean” chicken meat can be produced from fallen feathers collected from chickens roaming freely on a sanctuary-like plot of land, I’m totally behind it. However, if we’re forcibly impregnating cows to slaughter and collect serum from their fetuses, I’m not really on board. Earlier I said I tend to fall on the “ends justify the means” side of the spectrum, but it’s never that black and white. If cells from one slaughtered cow were able to feed one billion humans, would I support it? Maybe. If cells from one slaughtered cow were able to feed 100 humans? Probably not.

Ethics are tricky, and these issues are going to become increasingly more complex. In addition to the lab-grown meat controversy, we’re inevitably going to face other debates. McDonalds, a corporation most vegans despise, will undoubtedly eventually release vegan burgers in the United States (they’ve already launched the McVegan burger in Europe). Vegans who purchase it in order to support the distribution of affordable cruelty-free food will certainly be chastised for supporting an evil empire. Vegans who boycott it will be insulted and degraded for failing to understand economics. Friendships will end, fights will go on, and we’ll lose focus all over again.

impossible burger vegans mcvegan — *McDonalds’ McVegan Burger has already launched in some European countries!*

That is, unless we get a grip on ourselves. Unless we remind ourselves during every one of these new ethical dilemmas that regardless of our tactics, we are all on the same side. We’re all fighting this fight because we abhor suffering and needless violence, and we’re trying to create a world without those things. As the vegan community continues to expand, we’ll hear new voices and new perspectives; we should welcome this rather than cast it out.

According to the Top Trends In Prepared Foods Report (2017), the number of self identified vegans in the United States has risen 600% in the past three years! That’s incredible news, but it means our demographics are changing rapidly. This movement is attracting people across all age groups, professions, political parties, ethnicities, education levels, and personality types. Things are only going to get more complicated going forward, and we need to be ready.

If you were hoping to stumble upon a magical solution in this post, I’m sorry to disappoint you. This is simply an invitation for some self-reflection. I don’t have the answers. Instead, I have some questions. Questions I recommend that we all ask before publicly commenting on The Next Great Vegan Battle, whatever it may be:

Ask yourself: Is my comment offering a unique, constructive insight? Am I using insulting or sarcastic language to offend, embarrass, or upset other animal advocates? Would I want someone who just went vegan this week to read this comment? Would I want people who still eat animals to read this? Would my comment please those who are still profiting from animal exploitation? Is this comment pleasing to my ego, and if so, why?

If we remember to ask ourselves these questions before we engage, we have a much better shot at productive, healthy, respectful discussions. We all have egos and strong opinions, and I certainly don’t claim to be immune to any of this drama. I’m sure I’ve played a negative role numerous times over the years, but I’m becoming more and more aware of how harmful that attitude is to animals. It’s only when we work together and resolve our differences respectfully that we actually create meaningful change.

Suffering animals are counting on us. We need to do better.

The consequences if the world decided to go meat-free

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

If the world went meat-free, the consequences would be mixed (Credit: Getty Images)

[Disclaimer: Views expressed here by outside entities do not necessarily reflect reality or the views of this blog. Some are shared purely for entertainment purposes or to help in getting to know the animals’ and thy planet’s enemies.]

It’s World Meat Free Day – but what would actually happen if the whole world suddenly went vegetarian permanently? Here’s a briefing about the potential pros and cons for the climate, environment, our health, economy and more.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170612-the-consequences-if-the-world-decided-to-go-meat-free

By Sophia Smith Galer

12 June 2017

If vegetarianism was adopted by everyone by 2050, the world would have about seven million fewer deaths every year – and veganism would bring that up to eight million.

Food-related emissions would drop by around 60%, according to Marco Springmann, a research fellow at the Oxford Martin School’s Future of Food programme. This would be down to getting rid of red meat – which come from methane-producing livestock – from people’s diets.

However, farmers in the developing world could really suffer. Arid and semi-arid rangeland can only be used to raise animals, such as the Sahel land strip in Africa next to the Sahara; nomadic groups that keep livestock there would be forced to settle permanently and lose their cultural identities if there was no more meat.

Repurposing former pastures into native habitats and forests would alleviate climate change and bring back lost biodiversity, including larger herbivores such as buffalo, and predators such as wolves, all of which were previously pushed out or killed in order to keep cattle.

What if the world went vegetarian? (Credit: iStock)

End of meat

For an in-depth analysis of a meat-free world and more detail about the sources for these figures and predictions, read BBC Future’s original article by Rachel Nuwer: What would happen if the world suddenly went vegetarian?

Everybody currently engaged in the livestock industry would need to be retrained for a new career – this could be in agriculture, reforestation or producing bioenergy. Failing to provide career alternatives could lead to mass unemployment and social upheaval, particularly in traditionally rural communities.

Taking livestock like sheep away could actually have a negative impact on biodiversity, as their grazing has helped to shape the land for centuries – so some farmers could be paid to keep animals for environmental purposes.

No more Christmas turkey – losing meat means that we would also lose traditions. Many communities around the world offer gifts of livestock at weddings and celebrations. For Ben Phalan at the University of Cambridge, this is “why efforts to reduce meat consumption have often faltered”.

No meat would lower the chances of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers – and so save the world 2-3% global gross domestic product in medical bills.

But we would need to replace meat with nutritional substitutes, in particular for the world’s estimated two billion-plus undernourished people. Animal products contain more nutrients per calorie than staples like grains and rice.

So, have you been tempted to convert to vegetarianism? Why? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook where you can join the conversation with 800,000 Future fans.

And if you like this, you may also like…

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Veggie burger opens new divide in the US

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

The veggie burger has emerged as the latest battleground over traditional American values.

Several states have passed labelling laws banning the use of the word meat – and even meat-related terms such as burger or hot dog – for plant-based products.

The row has pitched high-tech food innovators against the ranchers’ trade body US Cattlemen’s Association and mainly conservative politicians in America’s rural heartland.

Environmentalists extol the planet-friendly virtues of plant-based meat, arguing that it is responsible for far lower methane emissions than cattle.

From the other corner conservatives, like Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz, have been scathing about vegan food.

During his bitter election battle with Beto O’Rourke, he claimed on Twitter that the Democrats would ban barbecues across the state.

Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana and Arkansas have led the way in passing strict labelling laws, imposing fines on companies who transgress.

Ted Cruz

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.@peta protested our town hall yesterday, handing out barbecued tofu. We were glad to welcome them, but it illustrates the stakes af the election: if Beto wins, BBQ will be illegal! https://twitter.com/peta/status/1041373529684434946 …

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Yesterday, PETA supporters gathered outside of Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign event in #Texas and handed out samples of barbecued tofu Tofu is versatile, healthy, and grown right in the Lone Star State, and if Cruz knew this we’re sure he’d want to see tofu in every Texas pot!

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In America’s cattle-producing states, the legislation has broad support, said Billy Hudson, a Republican state senator who piloted the law through the Mississippi legislature.

“The intent of this legislation was to help consumers better identify their foods. We don’t want fake meat confused with real meat.

“If there is a product on the shelf made from bugs, plants or grown in a lab, and someone wants to buy it, Mississippi wants that to happen. But the packaging material should not be misleading or deceptive.

“The legislation passed the Senate and House without opposition. Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals all voted for it.”

Andy Berry, the executive vice president of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, described the measure as purely a piece of consumer protection legislation.

“The beef industry has never been worried about competition. We produce a high-quality product.

“I like vegetables too, but just don’t call them meat.

“My family was in the Chevrolet business from 1936 to 2009. We would never put a Corvette sticker on a Malibu.”

Cattle in Louisiana where new meat labelling laws have been introduced CREDIT: NICOLE CRAINE/BLOOMBERT

However, the Plant Based Foods Association and one of its members, Upton’s Naturals, are challenging the law in court, arguing it infringes the US First Amendment which guarantees free speech.

“We have been in business for 13 years and we have never had anyone say they have bought our products unknowingly,” said Nicole Sopko, the company’s vice president

“We are not trying to trick people. We are proud of what we produce.

“This is a protectionist move by the meat industry: it is trying to limit the competition.”

Last month another challenge was filed in Arkansas on behalf of a company producing Tofurky.

That lawsuit is backed by the local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Good Food Institute and the Animal Legal Defence Fund.

Underpinning the battle is ranchers’ alarm at soaring demand for alternatives to meat which, according to the Plant Based Food Association, has seen sales grow five times faster than the food sector as a whole.

Last month it said the plant-based food market was worth $4.5 billion a year, representing an 11 per cent increase over the previous 12 months.

The strength of the flourishing new industry was underlined when Beyond Meat, one of the biggest producers of vegan burgers and sausages, went public in May.

Shares rose 160 per cent on the first day’s trading as investors piled in.

Its main rival, Impossible Foods, which has been selling its laboratory-produced meat alternatives since 2016, has even teamed up with Burger King to offer “Impossible Whoppers”.

The company broke new ground by using heme – a protein which is found in soybean plants – to replicate blood. It means that the patty has the appearance of a meat equivalent, including being red in the middle for those who prefer their burgers underdone.

Ranchers argue that consumers are being misled by the use of the term meat when no animal was slaughtered.

But this was denied by an Impossible Foods spokesman.

“Consumers are not at all confused about the fact that plant-based meat contains no animals. That’s precisely why they’re buying it at record levels,” she said.

The hard part about arguing against veganism

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

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The most malicious beings

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

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Slutty Vegan restaurant a plant-based burger sensation

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

Lisa Respers France, CNN • Updated 6th August 2019

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in a long line for hours on end
just to enjoy this experience,

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Atlanta (CNN) — One scorching hot day in southwest Atlanta, Houston native Tamara Edwards stood in a line that stretched a full block for a chance to get “sluttified.”

“I found out about it on social media and the line has just been crazy and it’s nonstop,” Edwards said. “The food looks really, really good. Anything worth the people standing out for, I want to try it.”

Welcome to the world of Slutty Vegan, a 100% plant-based burger restaurant that has become such a food sensation in less than a year that owner Pinky Cole is already working on opening two more locations.

On a typical day, people wait for hours for a chance to sample Cole’s chefed-up versions of Impossible Burgers.

There’s the “One Night Stand,” which features a patty loaded with vegan bacon, vegan cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and slutty sauce on a vegan Hawaiian bun.

The “Ménage à Trois” comes with all that and adds some vegan shrimp.

Cole gives a nod to her Jamaican heritage with menu items such as the “Dancehall Queen,” which adds sweet jerk plantains to the mix.

Pinky Cole’s Slutty Vegan restaurant has lines down the block.

Cameron Mitchell

No one is more surprised by the success of Slutty Vegan than the Baltimore native who dreamed it all up in her two-bedroom apartment.

“It literally was only supposed to be a ghost restaurant where people only order food online and they pick up through a delivery service,” said Cole, who graduated from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta. “But I wasn’t thinking big enough because what I felt was only going to be a ghost restaurant turned out to be one of the biggest concepts and brands in America.”

She’s not blowing smoke with that.

Using her background as a former television producer (she’s worked on such hits as “The Maury Show” and “Iyanla: Fix My Life”) and her social media savvy, Cole has taken Slutty Vegan from a vision to a food truck and then a restaurant.

Growing black vegan community

She’s also at the forefront of a growing veganism movement among black people.

Spurred in part by the epidemic of diabetes and hypertension in the African American community, the plant-based lifestyle is starting to become so popular that in February PETA celebrated Black History Month with a feature on “29 Black Vegans Saving Animals.”

And while Cole’s burgers and fries aren’t exactly what one would think of as health food, Dymetra Pernell sees it as helping spread the word — especially in the black community — that eating a plant-based diet can be delicious.

Pernell is known as “The Plant Based Princess” and is owner of First Batch Artisan Foods, an Atlanta vegan ice cream and pastry company.

Cole credits Pernell as one of her biggest champions. Pernell was the first to use her thriving social media presence to plug Slutty Vegan, Cole said.

The restaurant features distinctive, chefed-up takes on Impossible Burgers.

Cameron Mitchell

The pair met in a shared commercial kitchen space where Pernell was surprised to learn that the delicious-looking and smelling burgers coming from Cole’s area were vegan.

“She gave me the burger to try, and I got upset instantly,” Pernell said, laughing. “Like, wait, who are you and why didn’t I know who you were and why haven’t I heard of you?”

As a naturopath, Pernell has long been trying to help people understand the impact diet has on their health.

“I was one of the people who would always try and to raise awareness about that and how and why heart disease and type 2 diabetes are so prevalent in the [black] community,” she said. “People of color die and suffer at a disproportionately higher rate than any other race or community from chronic diseases and lifestyle diseases.”

Cole jokes that “vegan is the new black,” even as she says it transcends race.

“Veganism is a universal thing and as long as it’s universal, people can come together in the name of food and that’s the most beautiful part about it,” she said. “But black people coming together, especially standing in a long line for hours on end just to enjoy this experience and enjoy the food, it’s really history making.”

Worth the wait

On a typical day, crowds line up several hours in advance to await the small shop’s opening.

Cole’s team greets newbies with cries of “We’ve got a virgin,” while returning guests are “sluts.” It’s take-out only, so virgins and sluts alike are on their own for a dining spot.

She said she came up with the Slutty Vegan name while looking for something sexy that would hook potential customers.

“What I did was I connected a provocative way of putting food and sex together, but it’s positive manipulation because I knew that it wouldn’t have anything to do with sex,” Cole said. “It was really about food and how to connect people to eating healthier.”

It’s worked because stars such as Snoop Dogg, Usher, Tiffany Haddish and others have been featured on the restaurant’s Instagram account raving about being “sluttified.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Slutty Vegan ATL (@sluttyveganatl)

Cole said all of her marketing has been via word of mouth and she has never paid a celeb for an endorsement.

“This entire business was just created out of pure intentions and love,” said Cole, who added that many of the celebrities have reached out to her.

“[Celebrities] wanted to try the food because they heard so much great things about it and it wasn’t forced. It was so organic, it was so authentic. And that’s the beauty of Slutty Vegan.”

CORY BOOKER ON ANIMAL RIGHTS, VEGANISM, AND HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Exposing the Big Game

In this VegNews exclusive, Senator Cory Booker—who just announced his 2020 presidential run—opens up about his hopes for legislative change when it comes to animal welfare, the one thing each of us can do in order to be part of a forward-thinking society, and just why he’s so passionate about what he eats.

by JASMIN SINGER

Unlike most Senators, Cory Booker is a household name. The first African-American United States Senator from New Jersey, this former Mayor of Newark is now making waves in the nation’s capital for being an outspoken advocate for a slew of social justice issues including women’s rights, affirmative action, and animal advocacy. Booker—who just announced that he’s running for President of the United States for 2020—is as hellbent on fighting for the underdog as he is on finding the perfect vegan cheese. VegNews Digital DirectorJasmin Singer sat down with Senator Booker to discover his hopes for legislative change when it comes to animal welfare, the one thing each of us can do in order to be part of a forward-thinking society, and just why he’s so passionate about what he eats.

VegNews: When and why did you go vegan?
Cory Booker: I think my journey started in 1992. I was just coming off from playing varsity football for Stanford, about to start to play varsity basketball for Oxford, and I really believed what Gandhi titled his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. So, I tried to experiment with his vegetarian diet and see how I felt. And my body just took off; it was like somebody lifted off a twenty-pound weighted vest. My sleep patterns got better, I felt more energy, better recovery after workouts. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I will never go back to eating meat. I started becoming a vegetarian, but then, it made me insanely curious, like why is my body reacting this way? I just started reading about health and fitness. I found the data that began to reaffirm my vegetarianism. In fact, it led me to more about our environment and cruelty to animals. I began saying I was a vegetarian because, for me, it was the best way to live in accordance to the ideals and values that I have. My veganism started then. I started to cut back on milk and dairy, which includes cheese. I always felt like giving it up cold turkey was going to be too hard for me, but eventually, you know, twenty years later, I remember eating eggs and it was almost like my conditioning had changed. I think so many of our likes and dislikes are childhood memories or family traditions, and you associate the foods you’re eating often with such good emotions—but now, suddenly, eating those eggs for me was something that didn’t align with my spirit, and I could feel it. I finally just made a decision that I was going to become vegan. I remember my last non-vegan meal was Election Day, November 2014.

VN: Many people in your position may play it a little closer to the vest to avoid the kind of defenses so many people display when they find out you’re going vegan. Do you think being vegan for the animals hurts you or helps you politically, or maybe neither? And do you care?
CB: None of us want our government or elected officials preaching to us and telling us what we can or can’t eat. This is the United States of America, and I, for one, believe in our freedom to choose. So, I don’t want to preach to anybody about their diets; that’s just not how I live. But I am who I am. I want to live my life authentically and I don’t want to be one of those people that quiets when I’m excited to have food. I’m like every American: I want to talk about food. We love talking about food, and we love posting our food on social media. I’m not sure if any of my friends aren’t posting on Instagram something they love to eat. I’m not going to somehow mute that fundamental aspect of who we are just because I’m an elected official. The reality is, I just want to live my life in accordance with my values with an unapologetic authenticity. I think that’s what we want from our elected officials. We want authentic people, we want people who are not contorting themselves to fit into what voters might want. We all feel that, we’ve all encountered that before. So, I am who I am. And I remember when I was running for mayor of Newark, a friend of mine who is a Black guy, grew up in an African American community, and he was just laughing at me and goes, “You know, I don’t know if any African American community is going to elect a guy that doesn’t eat ribs.” This was when I was vegetarian. I laughed, you know, and I said, “You know, the great thing about Newark and the great thing about Americans is folks just want to feel you. They want to know your heart and they want to know your spirit, know that you come at it with good intentions.” That doesn’t mean we always need to agree with one another, but I think we like folks who are real. That’s who I am. In all my views, I just want to put my truth out there, and if folk believe in that, if folk want to support that, great.

VN: Taking into account what is reasonably realistic, what would you like to accomplish legislatively for animals and veganism?
CB: You know, look: I think that what we see happening in America is an awareness growing about the negative impacts that our current food system have on animals, and it’s great to see that consciousness and how people are demanding a change. You see very powerful corporate interests trying to fight against that change, when we, as Americans, don’t want to be engaging in activities that don’t support our fundamental ideas of justice and freedom. So, legislatively, I want to continue to be a part of a movement of folk who are fighting against corporate interests that are undermining the public good and the public welfare. So, I’m going to continue supporting bills that are about public health, whether it is pumping in all these antibiotics into animals that are literally threatening the safety of Americans. I believe that Americans do care about the cruelty to animals, and that’s why you see public movement to stop pig crating, which is harmful and violates our collective values as a country. I think that corporate power shouldn’t be snuffing out competition. This why I’ve been standing up. And we shouldn’t be trying to hurt industries—whether it’s the almond milk industry, dairy industry, or Veganaise or Just Mayo which has literally been under attack by the egg industry because they don’t like the competition. They shouldn’t undermine that. So, there’s a lot of bipartisan support for animal welfare bills, including some legislation I have to limit animal fighting. The testing of chemicals on animals is a big victory that I was able to have across party lines. So, I think there’s a lot of legislation we could be doing to stop sort of corporate power from reigning over the power of individuals to have freedom of choice, to see more compassion, to see a focus on public health. There’s momentum to doing the right thing legislatively, and I will continue to be part of a leadership that fights for these things and makes them happen.

VN: Do you think food policy will be a part of that?
CB: I think it has to be a part of it. You see the planet earth moving towards what is the Standard American Diet. We’ve seen this massive increase in consumption of meat produced by the industrial animal agriculture industry. The tragic reality is this planet simply can’t sustain billions of people consuming industrially produced animal agriculture because of environmental impact. It’s just not possible, as China, as Africa move toward consuming meat the same way America does because we just don’t have enough land. The number-one reason for rainforest destruction now is animal grazing land. We see greenhouse producing gases produced; the devastating impact is just not practical. The numbers just don’t add up. We will destroy our planet unless we start figuring out a better way forward when it comes to our climate change and our environment. So when you start seeing places like Duplin County and the severe health impact that the industrial pig farming is having there—literally, people that are living in those communities can’t open their windows, can’t run their air-conditioning, can’t put their clothes out on the clothing lines. Where they have respiratory diseases, there are high rates of cancer because of these massive pig farms where the farmers themselves are now being treated more like sharecroppers than small business people. It is grounding down the livelihood, the environment, the health and safety of folks. And all to do what? To produce pork that is being exported back by a Chinese company, Smithfield, being exported back to China. China is treating us now like a colonized country by outsourcing all of their pollution onto the United States. It’s just not sustainable as their demand for these products grows and the power of the industrial pork industry grows. It’s trampling the rights of others. We have to figure out a sustainable way. This doesn’t mean, in any way, getting rid of animal farming, but in many ways, it means lifting up the voices of small farmers again. Lifting up the voices of midsize farmers who are being beaten and killed by this corporate consolidation that’s taken over, and I mean that metaphorically, beaten and killed, of American farming as we know it because of the incredible power of these large corporate animal agriculture monopolies. It’s just crushing our ideas of family farms, crushing our ideas of the power of the American farmer. It’s something we have to start talking about. It’s small farmers who are treating animals with better care and compassion, who are treating the environment in a more sustainable way that really speak to the farming traditions of our country being destroyed economically because of this corporate consolidation that is unsustainable. So I think that we have a lot of work to do to start fighting again this Big Ag, industrial agriculture that has deep pockets and powerfully influential in places like Washington, but I don’t believe the status quo is going to continue indefinitely because I just think that we know that we’re starting to see the ill that this is having to farm labor, small farmers, to our environment, to the health and safety of folks. So my hope is that these bipartisan efforts are going to continue to facilitate change, and perhaps, help us get back to sustainable farm practices that can prevent against the ills that are so harmful on so many levels.

VN: One of the things we get excited about at VegNews is when these small animal farms transition to produce plant-based food. We’re seeing more and more of this—dairy farms are turning into hemp or almond farms; Elmhurst Milked recently transitioned from being the oldest dairy in New York State to being completely plant-based, for example. This is a way of maintaining the small farmer mindset and bringing in plant-based agriculture, and elevating that. To that end, we’d love to know a little bit more about your veganism. Can you talk a little about the day in and day out of your veganism?
CB: Yeah, but I just want to say something because you hit a really great point there. There’s a guy, Buckminster Fuller, who said—and I’m paraphrasing here—you never change things by fighting what exists in reality; to change something, you gotta build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. That’s the deal here. American consumers should not be told what to eat, but if you provide viable alternatives, in some cases, that taste even better—and if people have more information, if we consumers are informed about whatever it is—the dangers of the overuse of plastics all the way to the conditions in which animals that we are consuming are being treated. I think if they’re given viable options, whether it’s milk that tastes great … I’ve seen incredible vegan cheese shops popping up across the country, and my friends who are lovers of cheese just can’t tell the difference. You have pizza: I was at the New Jersey VegFest, and Screamer’s Pizza is just phenomenal. My non-vegan friends love it. One of my favorite comfort food vegan places is HipCityVeg, and I started going to it in Philadelphia. They now opened here in DC, and there’s often a line out the door in the Philadelphia one, and I asked people, “Are you vegetarian or vegan?” And they say, “No.” They just love the food. When alternatives like that, like Champs Diner in Brooklyn … It’s one of my favorite places to go eat vegan comfort food. You know, there are lines outside the door and everybody that goes here isn’t vegan, they just love the food. I took Gayle King, the CBS news producer. I posted this online. She was so skeptical, so hating on vegan food. When we choose restaurants, it’s always me saying, “Let’s make sure there are some vegan options for me, Gayle,” when we go out to eat. This time I took her to Avant Garden and she was blown away. I loved when she put the first forkful of the different dishes we tried, just to look at her face. She just couldn’t deny how incredibly good it was. So for me in Newark, there’s Blueberry Cafe that I love in our city, and that’s got amazing vegan food. I just met a guy that told me he’s opening up another vegan restaurant in Newark. I think it’s going to be called The Greedy Vegan. Just, the options are incredible. I just see the growth of vegan brands, the growth of vegan food. Even big meat mobiles like Tyson Foods, for example, they’re investing in all the meat alternatives that are coming because they see this space growing, and it’s not growing because vegans are growing out there. The growth of vegans in America is not proportional to the growth of vegan options that are out there. What’s happening is that Americans are just making the choice for health reasons, they’re making the choice because of their environmental consciousness, they’re making the choice because it tastes incredibly good. I just believe in freedom. Eat what you want, but do everything you can to eat in accordance with your own values, your own views, whatever they are. And eat for taste. The great thing for me, that I’ve found, as a plant-based eater for over 20 years and a vegan for the last five, is that the food options are just getting better and better and better.

VN: If you could give one piece of advice to those wanting to contribute and make a difference for the animals in our current political climate, what would it be?
CB: Well, before I do anything, I just want to make sure to mention a couple more of my favorite places because now you’re making me feel guilty. Philly is one of my favorite vegan cities, so I almost want to do a vegan tour of places in America because there’s a great diner in New Jersey that doesn’t get enough play: The Rutherford Diner. It has vegan pancakes, vegan stuffed French toast. It’s just amazing in New Jersey, one of my favorite places in my own state. In Philly, Vedge. Here in DC, Shouk and Fare Well are just incredible places. When I went to the Asbury Park Vegan Fest, I was hearing about places I haven’t been to. So your last question …

VN: Yes, and you’re making me hungry. If you could give one piece of advice to those wanting to contribute and make a difference for the animals in our current political climate, what would it be?
CB: Let your voices be heard. We live in a democracy where people have to understand our democracy is not a spectator sport. You can’t just get caught up in a state of sedentary agitation and see things that really bother you and not do something to change that. If you’re not voting or confronting your congressperson or your senator on your strong views, then you are actually contributing to the very things you find wrong and unsettling. The opposite of justice is not injustice, it’s inaction. So this is a competitive space down here, the policy space. There are very powerful, wealthy large corporate interests working to do what many of them have done for generations. Destroying our environment, undermining the public interest. And they’re down here shaping tax legislation, shaping regulations. We need you in the game. And if you have views—I don’t care what your views are, liberal or conservative, pro-animal compassion or heck, whatever your issue is—you gotta participate in this democracy. I think that people who care about animals, we’re the majority in this country who care about animals. I’ve seen our country move with its heart. Often, the challenge is just not knowing what’s going on. Again, so much about life is about being engaged, being knowledgeable, finding out what’s going on and then being an activist that lets your voice be heard. So I’m hoping that we start seeing more and more people who are making this an issue they’re voting on. It’s something that, again, I’m proud to stand up here in Washington with non-vegans, with a vow of meat-eaters who agree with me that we should be compassionate and stop animal cruelty, who agree with me that the overuse of antibiotics is one of greatest threats to humanity because of super viruses, that agree with me that we have a real environmental challenge if more and more people are going to be eating what is considered now to be the Standard American Diet. So my advice for anybody is to get informed, get more engaged, fight local laws. Like ag-gag laws, which are the most outrageous things I’ve heard of, trying to block people from knowing what’s going on in industrial animal agriculture. So we’re literally at a point where people are trying to take away fundamental freedoms, freedom of speech, freedom to know, freedom for consumer information. That’s what going on right now. The only way that’s going to stop, the only way we’re going to bring more transparency to government, transparency to society, more compassion, greater health, greater wellbeing, is if we have active, engaged citizenry who are willing to stand up, to speak up, to rise up for the values we all hold dear and treasure.

A portion of this interview was originally published in the September+October 2018 issue of VegNews Magazine.

Jasmin Singer is the Digital Director for VegNews, the cohost of the Our Hen Housepodcast, and the author of the memoir, Always Too Much and Never Enough.

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