I grew up in Gateshead in the northeast of England, which is still known as the whitest area of the country. This was the early ’80s when the word “Paki” was used as abundantly as “Hello.”

The racism started on my first day at school. Up until that point, the only language I spoke was Bengali. I was quickly shunned as some weird brown girl who didn’t make sense. I learned to hide in the corner library in the nursery to get away from the looks, laughs, and taunts.

An outsider in my own community

However, the truth is that these feelings of being an outsider started long before my first day at school. I was an outsider within my own community and even my own family.

When I was eight months old, my parents took me to Barcelona. Within a day, I developed a terrible fever. Once it died down, my skin was several shades darker than my family’s.  

I was in my 30s when I discovered my mother had left me in the sun too long on that fateful day, and I’d suffered heatstroke. In her defense, most people were not aware of the dangers of the sun back then.

Now much darker than the rest of my family, my parents would hear comments from various “aunties” and “uncles” about how difficult it would be for them to get me married. By the time I was a toddler, I already felt like I didn’t belong in my community or family. 

Looking back now, I’m astounded by the cognitive dissonance. If you’ve watched the 2006 movie This Is England you’d have an accurate depiction of what life was like in the ’80s for ethnic minorities who were routinely targeted by white skinheads.

You’d think my own community, who knew what it felt like to be outsiders, taunted and intimidated by natives for attributes they cannot control, would be sympathetic to me. Unfortunately, they didn’t make the connection – in the same way a vet doesn’t see any hypocrisy in saving a dog’s life while eating a bacon sandwich.

Eating meat to fit in with white people

My family and I were Hindu and therefore vegetarian. The school canteen had no vegetarian options. My siblings and I were the only children who went home for lunch. The food itself made me feel like an outsider.

When I turned 13, my parents felt I was old enough to decide whether I remained vegetarian or chose to eat meat. Within an hour, I’d eaten a Big Mac. 

I don’t remember being curious about the taste of meat. I ate that burger because it made me feel less of an outsider. Eating meat made me feel like I could fit in with white people. 

Addicted … to drugs and to fitting in

That feeling of “achievement” would become my downfall. I’d become obsessed with fitting in. When I left for university and fell in with a group of students who liked taking recreational drugs, I’d inevitably join in.

As with the burger, I don’t remember any desire for speed or ecstasy. I still get asked if I ever feared the consequences of drugs. I didn’t. All I saw was my route to fitting in.

I used recreational drugs so often that my university kicked me out and I lost my place in the halls of residence. I ended up on the streets and then in a homeless shelter. But I was too ashamed to go home and face my parents’ disappointment.

None of this mattered. The sad reality was I was addicted to something far more addictive than drugs – the feeling of belonging. 

Getting clean was tough, not just because of the physical withdrawals, but the reappearance of those old feelings of being an outsider that the drugs masked. 

Rescued by a cat called Isha

In 2010 I rescued a cat called Isha from a local shelter. When Isha came into my life for the first time, I could see the connection between my experiences and what she had experienced in her short life. 

As a non-pedigree tabby and the runt of her litter, her market value was low. She was abandoned for attributes that she had no control over, much like I had no control over my skin color or race.

I also realized how lucky she was as a cat in a country where she was classified as “pet” and not “food,” much like how my race worked for me when quotas needed filling.

This cat had such a profound effect on me. Over the next couple of years, she helped me open my eyes to the speciesism inherent in our society and turned me vegan. I may have rescued her, but she also rescued me.

Writing my way to success

Books have always been a solace for me. Those times hiding in the library as a young child seeded my love of reading and writing. When I was 16, I won a scriptwriting competition and co-wrote an episode of Brookside. 

Due to my addiction and losing my place at university where I was studying media, my professional journey has been diverse, including working in the National Health Service and Her Majesty’s Prison.

But I found my way back to writing and have forged a successful career as a content writer, copywriter, ghostwriter of seven nonfiction books, and now as a book consultant and publisher. 

Turning racism and colorism into opportunity

Unlike in my childhood, I’ve witnessed how my skin color and race could sometimes be advantageous throughout my career. Twice I was informed that my race – not my abilities – was why I was selected for top positions. I’ve also lived in communities where I was relatively light-skinned compared to others and therefore deemed attractive. 

Ten years ago, after becoming vegan, I finally started to appreciate my experiences with racism and colorism. They were designed to help me intimately understand how it feels to be boxed up, labeled, and reduced to one or two attributes.  

I learned to love my most painful experiences as they set me on my current trajectory as The Vegan Publisher with a mission to empower vegan experts, influencers, C-suite executives, and entrepreneurs to end the exploitation of animals, humans, and the environment, one book at a time.

So thank you to all those who called me “Paki,” who advised me to use whitening creams and gleefully informed me I’m only there as a box-ticking exercise. You’ve unleashed a vegan monster. 

Now, I don’t need to fit in, because, in the wise words of Dr. Seuss, I was born to stand out.

Mitali Deypurkaystha is a book consultant and founder of The Vegan Publisher specializing in business books for vegan and plant-based entrepreneurs, experts, consultants, and C-suite executives. Her new book, The Freedom Master Plan: Put Your Mission, Movement, and Message on the Map, details proven book writing and leveraging strategies that dramatically increase profits and build additional income streams so vegan businesses thrive.

The post I Started Eating Meat To Fit In With White People appeared first on Plant Based News.

The heat came from Switch4Good, a non-profit working to dismantle the dairy industry due its health and ethical implications. 

The charity took out a half-page ad in The Seattle Times on Sunday (January 23). Here, it shared an open letter that takes a swipe at Starbucks for profiting off “dietary racism.”

“Globally, more than 90 percent of people of color are lactose intolerant, meaning they cannot digest dairy. In the US, 36 percent of all people are lactose intolerant. Therefore, the cow’s milk in Starbucks’ beverages makes one in three Americans sick—mostly people of color,” reads part of the letter, addressed to Starbucks’ CEO Kevin Johnson and global chief inclusion and diversity officer Dennis Brockman.

The letter continues: “Bottom line: people of color are disproportionately and unjustly penalized by Starbucks’ minimum 70-cent upcharge (in the US) for drinks made with non-dairy milk.

“When most people of color have to pay extra—or make themselves sick by consuming regular dairy milk—charging them more for non-dairy milk is a form of dietary racism. Even if it’s unintentional racism.”

Starbucks UK ditches vegan upcharge

It’s not the first time Switch4Good has drawn attention to the issue. In December, the non-profit staged a campaign that involved the release of a fake Starbucks website and press release.

Posing as Starbucks, Switch4Good declared the coffee chain was ditching the plant milk surcharge over dietary racism concerns. 

The real Starbucks quickly stepped in and the campaign was shut down. But not before thousands of people saw and celebrated the fake announcement. 

Then, just three weeks later, Starbucks announced it was finally dropping the vegan surcharge across the UK. The move kicked off on January 5, 2022 and applied to all of its 1,020 sites in the UK.

“Coincidence? We doubt it,” Switch4Good said in an email to Plant Based News (PBN). 

The non-profit applauded the “bold yet very smart move.” Now, it’s urging Starbucks to follow suit globally. 

“Just imagine the goodwill, boost to your brand, increased relevance, and moral high ground Starbucks could claim if you announced a similar policy in the United States,” the open letter reads. Starbucks has around 9,000 locations in the US alone. 

“Or everywhere you do business,” the letter continues. “In fact, this could be part of a broader call to action to other global food brands. That is true leadership.”

Later in the ad, the authors reiterate: “Eliminating the non-dairy surcharge throughout your global network … will forever be heralded, respected, greatly appreciated, and stand as a compelling example for other companies to follow.

“Of course, doing the right thing is always worth it, despite incremental and affordable cost. This generous and easily achievable policy would help to protect your customers’ health, promote dietary justice, support your commitment to sustainability, and create massive and invaluable goodwill among your customers and constituents.”

Campaign supporters 

The open letter’s placement in The Seattle Times was strategic. Not only is the publication based in Seattle, where Starbucks was born, but the Sunday print version of the paper attracts around 650,000 readers in just a day. Meanwhile, The Seattle Times website receives 32 million page views a month.

A wealth of medical professionals, creatives, athletes, and businesspeople signed the open letter. This includes the director of Women of Color for Equal Justice, Jo St. George; the founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Neal Barnard; and critical care physician and racial justice speaker Milton Mills.

In the letter, Mills is quoted as saying that “dietary racism clearly parallels environmental racism, and often creates financial barriers that exclude people from making healthier food choices. Dietary racism impacts potentially every person of color in America.”

Academy Award-winning director Louie Psihoyos and The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan also signed their names, along with Dotsie Bausch, an Olympic medalist and executive director of Switch4Good. 

In a statement sent to PBN, Bausch said: “What’s dietary racism? When 90 percent of people of color and a third of the U.S. population are lactose intolerant, yet US school lunch programs don’t offer non-dairy milk and coffee shops charge more for dairy substitutes.

“When you have to spend extra to avoid getting sick from milk just because of who you are. The time is NOW to provide these folks non-dairy options and eliminate upcharges.”

You can read the letter in full and read more about Switch4Good’s campaign here

The post Starbucks CEO Urged To Do The ‘Right Thing’ And Ditch Vegan Milk Upcharge Worldwide appeared first on Plant Based News.

Headed by co-directors John Lewis and Keegan Kuhn, the film highlights the link between diet, institutional racism, disease, poverty, food deserts, and government corruption. 

The documentary investigates why African Americans are twice as likely to die from diabetes than white Americans, and why black and Indigenous People of Color are dying from COVID-19 three times more than white Americans. 

‘We must all take action’

The film has attracted supporters across multiple fields.

Eleven-time NBA All-Star and vegan Chris Paul is an executive producer of the documentary. Paul adopted a plant-based diet in 2019, and consequently, saw a ‘career resurgence’, a press release says. The athlete then helped lead the Suns to their first NBA final appearance in nearly 30 years.

Vegan musician Billie Eilish is also an executive producer. The Grammy Award-winner also went vegan in 2019, citing animal products’ impact on health and animal welfare as her motivation.

“I want people to see this film,” Eilish said in a statement sent to Plant Based News. “It is so important to help all of us understand the depth of the issue, and that we must all take action to change the food system.”

Ne-Yo, Mya, Dame Dash, Tabitha Brown, John Salley, Derrick Morgan, Maggie Q, Cendric the Entertainer, and doctors Milton Mills and Neal Barnard feature in the movie. New York City Mayoral candidate Eric Adams will also be interviewed, among others.

Where to watch

They’re Trying To Kill Us will be released at 11am EST on November 11. Those interested can watch the film exclusively on its website. It costs $20 to download the documentary. 

The film’s launch will be a ‘Cooperative Release’, giving documentary participants, supporters, and select influencers access to the film’s purchase page. There, they can divide the profits 50/50 for the first week of release. Further, the filmmakers are handing the first $1,000,000 raised directly to charity.

The post Celebrity-Backed Vegan Documentary To Expose Racial Inequality In The Food System appeared first on Plant Based News.

She has also had a glowing acting career, in-between encouraging thousands to go plant-based. Passionate about family, animals, and the climate, Maggie details her vegan journey on the Plant Based News Podcast.

She spoke about social justice, systemic racism in the vegan community, and the importance of educating people about a healthy lifestyle.

Maggie on the PBN Podcast

The episode delves into the following topics:

• 00:03:05 Discovering vegetarian and vegan lifestyles
• 00:06:25 Should we tell children where their food comes from?
• 00:09:08 The challenges of eating healthily in the US
• 00:19:32 Childhood and adolescent interests and ambitions
• 00:24:36 Raising children vegetarian
• 00:28:49 Carnism vs. veganism
• 00:32:32 Billie and Finneas embracing the importance of veganism
• 00:37:58 The US Election
• 00:43:02 Donald Trump, misinformation and conspiracy theories
• 00:48:00 The harmful effects of social media
• 00:50:15 Tips for a happy marriage and a balanced family
• 00:53:22 Finding calm within the pressures and distractions of work and social media
• 00:59:08 Acting achievements
• 01:05:58 Support + Feed
• 01:09:57 The importance for white vegans to be vocal about systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement
• 01:13:43 VAAO / They’re Trying To Kill Us
• 01:17:39 Stranded on a desert island

‘Deep personal beliefs’

It is Maggie’s strong beliefs that keep her motivated. Meat is an ‘inedible substance’ for her.

She added: “That comes from a belief. If you do something from a belief that is not strictly related to health – because we are going to be less caring about our health than we are the belief of not being cruel – and, destroying the planet and causing agony and pain and suffering.

“That is pretty easy for me to follow through with. So I don’t find it hard… I have deep personal beliefs about the suffering of animals.”

Maggie Baird’s plant-based story

For Maggie, animals have always been close to her heart. She grew up in Colorado, Denver, and is the daughter of a hunter and fisherman. Processed foods were new and exciting during her childhood, but education around health was scarce, she explains.

However, she remembers never wanting to eat meat. Her parents were concerned for her health since being ‘indoctrinated’ by information spread by the meat and dairy industry.

‘I was apologetic’ about being a vegetarian, she says, ‘it was a fringe thing’, ‘we were seen as annoying’.

Since then, she’s been vegan for over a decade and has gradually introduced a plant-based diet to her family as well. She raised both her children, Finneas and Billie, vegetarian. The pair are now vegan.

Listen to the full podcast episode below

Health

Maggie also shared her family’s experiences of improved health since ditching meat and dairy. With cholesterol problems in her genetics, she says she has to ‘practically not eat’ to secure low levels. A lifelong ‘nightmare’ health problem of her husband Patrick was cured when he gave up dairy. And Billie’s health improved too.

“Isn’t that scary that my parents didn’t know that about themselves? They were eating dairy.”

“It’s such common sense that the thing you put in your body every day all day long is going to have the biggest impact on your health. You eat food all day and yet doctors don’t prescribe that as the thing you should be looking at.”

However, Maggie thinks nutritional education among doctors and in society as a whole needs to be improved.

‘Systemic’ racism and privelege

Online, Maggie is outspoken about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I was quite shocked, I was naive. I did not realize that there was a part of the vegan world that was not aware of systemic racism and not involved. You cannot separate food insecurity from systemic racism. You can’t separate the climate crisis from systemic racism.

“It is intersectional and it is really important that people start to acknowledge that and speak out about it. People of color, BIPOC communities are vastly over affected by all of these issues and there is white privilege in being vegan. And we do have to acknowledge that.”

Access to fresh produce is one example of why being vegan for some communities is difficult, she explained.

“I think we have a tremendous racism problem in our country. And it’s deeply embedded in our society. People don’t want to be uncomfortable and it’s horrifying to think about the society we’ve participated in. If we don’t acknowledge our own privilege and address the inequities in our society we can’t ever really make ultimate change.”

Support + Feed

Whilst on tour with Billie, the family enjoyed vegan food from a variety of restaurants before it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon returning home, Maggie felt concerned for both small-scale plant-based businesses as well as people in poverty.

‘I thought, why don’t we just find a way to get food from these plant-based restaurants, and then people could donate and we could take it to people who need the food’, she said.

Within five days, the website was set up and within a week they began delivering food. Support + Feed now stretches over four cities.

She said: “The basic premise was we’d feed people facing food insecurity through plant-based restaurants, helping to keep those restaurants open and addressing the climate crisis. What we realized as we grew is that of course food insecurity… is a horrendous issue in this country.”

This includes a lack of access to healthy food, she added, across BIPOC communities in particular.

The charity has fed over 60,000 people already and has helped look after the small businesses and their employees.

Acting career and inspiring Billie and Finneas

In addition to inspiring her family and building networks of support across the US, Maggie has had a glowing acting career. Moreover, she co-wrote and co-produced an award-winning movie, Life Inside Out. It was ‘a labor of love’ but a high point of her career. And she starred on screen with her son, Finneas. 

‘I wanted to give them an example that you could make something happen’, she said. Being an actor is determined by others, but she wanted to prove to her children that they could tell their own stories.

For more information about Support + Feed, visit the website 

You can listen to the full podcast episode here

The post ‘You Cannot Separate Food Insecurity From Systemic Racism’, Says Maggie Baird appeared first on Plant Based News.

The ex-professional made the announcement on the latest episode of The Rematch podcast, hosted by Etan Thomas. 

Speaking about the celebrities who have offered Floyd’s family help, after he was tragically by police killed last year, Jackson said: “Kyrie Irving bought them a house. Lil Wayne’s manager bought them a Mercedes-Benz [and] Barbra Streisand gave them stock in Disney.”

Reports also say that Irving gave the family the money for the house around five-six months ago. Irving has yet to comment on the news. However, he regularly uses his platform to call out instances of police brutality, such as the death of Breonna Taylor.

Black Lives Matter

The death of Floyd sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Vegan F1 champ Lewis Hamilton was one of many celebrities to speak out about the Black Lives Matter movement. 

He wrote on Instagram: “This past week has been so dark. I’ve failed to keep hold of my emotions. I have felt so much anger, sadness, and disbelief in what my eyes have seen…

“The injustice that we are seeing our brothers and sisters face all over the world time and time again is disgusting, and MUST stop.

“So many people seem surprised, but to us unfortunately, it is not surprising. Those of us who are black, brown, or in between, see it every day and should not have to feel as though we were born guilty, don’t belong, or fear for our lives based on the color of our skin. 

“Will Smith said it best: racism is not getting worse, it’s being filmed. Only now the world is so well equipped with cameras has this issue been able to come to light in such a big way.”

“It is only when there are riots and screams for justice that the powers that be cave in and do something, but by then it is far too late and not enough has been done.”

The post Vegan NBA Star Kyrie Irving Bought A House For George Floyd’s Family appeared first on Plant Based News.

Experts from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) are urging the USDA to rework the document – which aims to guide food choices for the next five years.

It has set out three requests:

1. Delete dairy promotions, since dairy products increase cancer risk, while nondairy calcium sources help prevent cancer. 
2. Avoid equating ‘protein’ with meat, as there are abundant sources of protein without meat’s fat and cholesterol. 
3. Increase emphasis on plant-based foods, which are associated with reduced risk of obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. 

Increased cancer risk

PCRM states breast cancer death rates are 40 percent higher among Black women compared with white women. Similarly, it says Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer than other men and twice as likely to die from it.

The new guidelines continue to recommend three servings of dairy a day. However, research shows this can increase breast cancer by up to 80 percent. 

Moreover, the guidelines ‘follow the meat-industry-friendly practice of giving ‘protein’ its own food group, despite the fact that protein is a nutrient, not a food’. 

‘A racially tinged promotion of dairy’

“Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released the Guidelines too hastily. They need to be pulled back and redrafted,” said Susan Levin, MS, RD, CSSD, director of nutrition education for PCRM. 

“The Guidelines maintain a racially tinged promotion of dairy products, which are far less healthful than other calcium sources and have been shown to increase the risk of prostate and breast cancer, both of which are particularly deadly in the Black community, as well as an inappropriate emphasis on meat, rather than healthier foods.”

The post Doctors Call Out ‘Racial Bias’ In US Dietary Guidelines For Promoting Dairy appeared first on Plant Based News.

The brand has partnered with former NFL star and activist Colin Kaepernick to launch its ‘Change the Whirled’ ice cream – which features a caramel sunflower butter base with fudge chips, graham cracker swirls, and chocolate chip cookies.

‘Systemic oppression’

Ben & Jerry’s says the partnership is to celebrate Kaepernick’s ‘courage work to confront systemic oppression and stop police violence’ against the Black community. 

This follows Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the National Anthem back in 2016 during a football match, to bring light on police brutality and racism in the US. 

A portion of the ice cream sales will go to Know Your Rights – an organization that aims to ‘advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders’. 

‘Challenging the anti-Black roots of policing’

In an online statement, Kaepernick said he was ‘honored’ to collaborate with the ice cream giant. 

He added: “Their commitment to challenging the anti-Black roots of policing in the United States demonstrates a material concern for the wellbeing of Black and Brown communities. 

“My hope is that this partnership will amplify calls to defund and abolish the police and to invest in futures that can make us safer, healthier, and truly free.”

The post Ben & Jerry’s Partners Colin Kaepernick To Launch New Vegan Ice Cream appeared first on Plant Based News.

Anti-racism isn’t just about changing how we interact socially, it also extends to the choices that we make as consumers and the brands that we choose to support. 

When it comes to fashion, the supply chains are polluted by companies that are not only exploiting our planet but also exploiting BIPOC across the globe.

Maximizing profits

The fast fashion industry operates with a model that keeps their workers poor and producing in conditions that are unsafe, in order to maximize profits. This situation is propelled by Western consumers who want cheaper clothes and brands that want to make larger profits. 

The fast-fashion supply chain has created a global environmental justice dilemma that is not only impacting the environment, but also hurting marginalized people and their communities.

Bad for the planet, worse for the people?

Environmental Racism is a concept used to describe environmental injustice that occurs within a racialized context. In the textile and garment industries, the environmental and occupational burdens associated with mass production and disposal of cheap clothing or fast-fashion, is shifted from high-income countries to the under-resourced, including low income, low-wage workers, women.  

The disproportionate impact experienced by those who produce and dispose of our clothing, including BIPOC, cannot be ignored.

The production of textiles and garment assembly are inherently hazardous, and often takes place in areas with cheaper labor, directly impacting workers who are predominantly BIPOC. 

The dyeing of textiles, for instance, results in untreated wastewater from dyes often being discharged into local water systems, releasing heavy metals and other toxicants that can seriously impact the health of nearby residents, animals, and the local environment.

It is also common that occupational and safety standards in these places are not enforced due to poor political infrastructure and organizational management. Workers are subjected to respiratory hazards such as cotton dust and synthetic air particulates due to poor ventilation, and musculoskeletal hazards from repetitive motion tasks.

Systemic racism within the fashion industry

When it comes to key players within the fashion industry, there is a lack of diversity and representation of BIPOC. At fashion’s most influential trade organization, the invite-only Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), less than four percent of the 500 members are black. 

In recent years, at New York Fashion Week, fewer than 10 percent of designers have been black. According to Lindsay Peoples Wagner, the editor in chief of Teen Vogue, this disproportionate representation is due to many reasons – financial barriers, social obstacles, colorism, bias, and plain old racism.

How can we help on a personal level?

We can start by valuing the clothes that we already own. This means taking care of them and repairing when needed, as well as, keeping them for as long as they last – not until the next trend arises.

We can seek out ethical fashion brands that are not only inclusive, but who also offer higher-quality items that will last a lifetime. We can also purchase garments second-hand and be mindful about how we dispose of our clothing when we no longer need it.

Approximately 85 percent of the clothing Americans consume (3.8 billion pounds annually), is sent to landfills as solid waste. That amounts to nearly 80 pounds per American per year. 

Taking the time to personally pass garments on to friends or people in your community is one way to ensure that your used garments have a second life. Donating to second-hand shops should be seen as a last resort as only 10 percent of clothing given to thrift shops are actually sold. The remaining garments are sent to landfills or shipped to other countries – the US alone ships over a billion pounds of used clothes per year to other countries.

It’s Time for Change

This Is Your Brain On Plants is a sustainable collective that is working to disrupt the mainstream through socially conscious lifestyle, fashion, and art. With a commitment to using apparel as a powerful vehicle for activism, the graphic prints on its latest t-shirt DROP 005 It’s Time For Change, inspire thoughts and conversations. 

The artwork depicts individuals holding activism signs with powerful, thought-provoking messages inspired by actual signs seen at recent BLM protests world-wide. This t-shirt will see 100 percent of profits going to charities that directly benefit the BIPOC community and help fight racism.

View this post on Instagram

We are proud to announce our upcoming DROP005 – “Time For Change” T. 100% of the proceeds from this release will be donated directly to charities that help fight Racism and benefit BIPOC communities. It’s a double sided print on upcycled, hand died t-shirts. Stay tuned for more info!!

A post shared by THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON PLANTS (@brainonplants) on Aug 23, 2020 at 11:49am PDT

Sustainable production

With an eye on the most sustainable production methods possible, the team at This Is Your Brain On Plants has ensured that both the environmental and human impact for every product that we produce is always considered. 

The t-shirts used for this activism shirt have been directly diverted from landfills and upcycled locally in Toronto, Canada. They are hand-dyed and printed using water-based, vegan, non-toxic inks.

It’s Time For Change double-sided print will be live Saturday, September 12 at 12 noon EST.

The post Fast Fashion Is Racist: It’s Time For Change appeared first on Plant Based News.

Beyond Meat has partnered with Social Change Fund – a non-profit created by NBA stars Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.

The charity started in ‘response to the continued issue of racial injustice’ and aims to ‘fight disparities in Black communities and beyond through initiatives tied to social justice, education, and health equity’.

‘Racial inequalities in nutrition’

In a statement sent to Plant Based News, Beyond Meat’s founder and CEO Ethan Brown said: “We are honored to join in partnership with Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony in support of the Social Change Fund. Beyond Meat is dedicated to serving broader social goals, using what’s on the center of the plate as a critical starting point.

“And we are excited to support and work with the Social Change Fund initiative to address racial inequalities in nutrition access and health outcomes in America.”

View this post on Instagram

As part of our commitment to creating lasting, systemic change for Black communities, we are partnering with the newly formed non-profit Social Change Fund. This non-profit was created by Beyond Ambassador @CP3, @dwyanewade, @carmeloanthony, and a group of Black industry executives in response to the continued issue of racial injustice. Our goal has always been to use food as a vehicle for change. Together, we can help increase access to nutritious and delicious food, and fight racial inequality. #GoBeyond Learn more – link in bio.

A post shared by Beyond Meat (@beyondmeat) on Jul 22, 2020 at 7:35am PDT

‘Committed to progress’

Paul, who is an investor and ambassador of Beyond Meat, said: “I’ve been a longtime supporter of Beyond Meat and am excited to welcome them as a founding partner into the Social Change Fund.

“Like the Social Change Fund, I know that Beyond Meat is committed to progress for our communities. I look forward to all the good that we can continue to do together.”

You can learn more about the Social Change Fund here

The post Beyond Meat Partners NBA Stars To Fight Racial Inequality appeared first on Plant Based News.

A new documentary starring prolific advocate Bad Ass Vegan (aka John Lewis) will focus on racism, disease, and food justice.

The film, titled They’re Trying To Kill Us, is the follow-up to the smash-hit movie What The Health.

Produced by Keegan Kuhn (Cowspiracy, What The Health) and John Lewis (Badass Vegan, Vegan Smart), the film ‘focuses on food (in)justice told through the lens of Hip Hop and urban culture’.

‘Disproportionately higher rates of chronic disease’

In a statement sent to Plant Based News, the filmmakers revealed that the film shows co-director John Lewis travel across the States ‘seeking answers to why Americans of Color suffer from disproportionately higher rates of chronic disease than their European American counterparts’ while ‘examining the intersections of food, disease, race, poverty, institutional racism, and government corruption’.

He interviews cultural influencers, doctors, researchers, politicians, attorneys, professional athletes, activists and experts in the field of food justice. In doing so, he ‘begins to unravel a story of collusion that has kept millions of Americans sick, while the industries responsible make trillions of dollars’.

The movie also documents Lewis’ upbringing and experience being adopted at birth from his drug-addicted birth mother, and how he went from growing up as an overweight child in the violent region of Ferguson, to becoming a prominent health and wellness advocate promoting compassion.

View this post on Instagram

?#plantbaseddrippin @badassvegan with brother @officialgreymusic on the set of my documentary @hungryforjusticefilm. My bro was dropping some food for thought! I hope you all are ready for this much needed story relating social injustice with food justice and nutrition deserts. ?: @jcthedp Track?: PBD Artist?: @officialgreymusic #peacelovepandas?????

A post shared by They’re Trying To Kill Us (@theyretryingtokillusfilm) on May 10, 2018 at 7:17am PDT

Hip hop

According to the filmmakers: “The film utilizes the incredible influential power of hip hop to weave together an impactful story of deceit played out on the American people through an in-depth investigation into those profiting and perpetuating sickness.”

Hip Hop has a greater influence on global culture more than any other art form – with the purchases of millions of people around the world being influenced by what Hip Hop artist say, wear, drive, drink, and eat. Therefore, as more and more influential Hip Hop artists adopt a food-conscious lifestyle, it has the potential to radically shift the world they speak to.

“Their global influence has a real possibility of combatting chronic disease, minimizing climate change, reducing healthcare costs, ending starvation and promoting compassion,” say the filmmakers.

‘Twice as likely to die’

“When John and I discovered that African Americans are two-times more likely to die from diabetes and a host of other chronic diseases, we knew there was a bigger story that wasn’t being told,” said Keegan Kuhn.

John Lewis added: “If you’re not hungry for justice, it’s because you’re full of privilege.”

The film is set to complete filming this Summer, with the release date to be decided.

You can find out more about the film here

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