Right now, a completely animal-free car does not exist.

Aside from the obvious leather interiors, carmakers often use animal products to build everything from tires to the frame. In the former, animal fat toughens the rubber, and in the latter, it lubricates the steel.

But, in line with public opinion, car manufacturers are making changes.

Cars get more vegan-friendly

According to PETA’s vegan car guide, Honda, Citroën, Dacia, and Ford now offer vegan interiors in a number of models.

In 2020, Bentley revealed its new electric car concept (the EXP 100 GT), which featured interiors made with grape leather.

At the time, the company’s design director Stefan Sielaff acknowledged that people’s attitudes towards animal products were changing.

He told Robb Report: “Maybe you eat everything organic, sustainable, vegan, animal-free – and yet we’re using 15 hides of leather for our cars. This is obviously the extreme, and things change bit by bit, but some people will want a car that better aligns with their belief system.”

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More recently, Mercedes-Benz announced that its new electric concept car (the VISION EQXX) features mushroom and cactus leather. It also includes vegan silk in the interior.

The Vegan Society’s senior insight and policy officer Louisianna Waring believes it’s “highly encouraging” that Brits are interested in vegan cars.

She said: “The automotive industry is taking steps in a more ethical direction. But products from animals can still feature throughout the manufacturing process.”

“It’s pleasing to see that 70 percent of consumers are revving up to see fully vegan cars hit the road in the future.”

The post 75% Of Brits Want Vegan Cars, According To New Study appeared first on Plant Based News.

In calls to the company’s toll-free number, employees said Starbucks would start charging the same for drinks made with plant-based milks. Reps claimed various timelines including “in two weeks” and “an approximate date of May 4.”

Recordings of the calls were submitted to PBN anonymously. To protect the identities of the employees, PBN is not releasing the audio files.

Callers were told to watch for an announcement about the switch on Starbucks’ social media channels.

However, at the time of writing, no such change has been publicized.

Recordings of other reps confirmed the change was being discussed or “on the table,” due, at least in part, to a number of complaints about the added charge. 

“They got quite a bit of pushback for it,” one representative told a caller, saying she was aware the company planned to drop the non-dairy surcharge, but she saw “nothing on paper” about an official date. 

The pressure is on

Starbucks has been under a growing amount of pressure to drop the additional cost, with actor James Cromwell and former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney the latest to call for change.

In December, anti-dairy nonprofit Switch4Good and corporate hoaxers The Yes Men pulled off an elaborate prank claiming Starbucks was dropping the non-dairy upcharge based on the prevalence of lactose intolerance in people of color. The headline-grabbing shenanigan included a realistic-looking but fake website and video. 

Weeks later, Starbucks dropped the plant-based upcharge in the UK, followed by France, Chile, and the Netherlands. It’s not clear whether Switch4Good’s stunt played a role in the decision, but the charity has continued pushing for US locations to follow suit.

Switch4Good published an open letter in the Seattle Times, cosigned by nearly two dozen organizations. It also conducted a hyper-targeted digital media campaign aimed at Starbucks executives, and engaged members of the company’s board of directors by email. 

An opportunity

“Ironically, Starbucks is known for creating smart, planet-friendly policies around so many of its initiatives, like giving 10 cents back to customers who bring in their own reusable cup,” said Switch4Good executive director Dotsie Bausch. “This is another opportunity for the company to show leadership.” 

It has been argued that because plant-based milk production costs more than cow’s milk – particularly in the US where dairy production is heavily subsidized by the government – food businesses (like Starbucks) must pass those costs onto the consumer.

But Bausch notes that Starbucks gives away millions of gallons of free dairy cream every year in its approximately 9,000 US stores.

“If they wanted to save money, they could stop giving away free cow’s milk. As things stand now, people who can’t digest dairy, or don’t for ethical or environmental reasons, are subsidizing lactose lovers.” 

But Starbucks’ recent decision to remove the upcharge from hundreds of its international locations is a good sign, Bausch says.

“If this is what their customer service reps are telling people, it’s clear that public pressure is having an effect,” she added. “So please, please, keep those calls and emails coming, and let Starbucks know that it’s wrong to charge extra for healthier and more sustainable options.”

“It’s wrong for health, for dietary equity, and for the environment.” 

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Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but plant-based foods have a considerably lower impact. In 2018, one of the biggest ever food production studies revealed that going vegan was one of the most impactful choices a person could make for the benefit of the planet. 

The new study from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg was published in the journal PLOS Climate.

Researchers gave more than 250 participants nine hypothetical menu designs. All had the emissions impact of each option clearly labeled.

For some dishes, the label indicated a “high emission” option (i.e. a salad with beef) or a “low emission” option (i.e. a salad with falafel). There was also a third, “medium emission” choice for some (a salad with chicken, for example).

Encouraging sustainable food choices

The researchers suggested that adding climate labels to menus was one of the “easiest things” restaurant owners can do to encourage more sustainable food choices.

They stated: “If we want more climate-friendly restaurant visits, highlighting dish components on a menu can really be an important parameter because it communicates what is normal and recommended.”

Some restauranteurs have already added climate labels to menus. Lou Palmer-Masterton, who owns the small vegan restaurant chain Stem & Glory, started including carbon emission scores on menus last year.

For example, Stem & Glory’s Affogato dessert contains a shot of espresso and dairy-free vanilla ice cream. It features a “high” rating. But most of its options range from “very low” to “low” on the carbon intensity scale.

Palmer-Masterton told the BBC: “Even though all our products are plant-based, I was still curious about the impact they have on the environment. This movement is exploding right now, and it makes sense.”

The post Carbon Footprint Labels On Menus Encourage Diners To Choose Plant-Based Foods, Says New Study appeared first on Plant Based News.

The finance titan handed the farm a six-figure sum, which critics say directly helped Madox grow its operations and consequently, increase the number of animals in Madox’s firing line.

Now, a coalition of climate scientists and animal advocates are urging HSBC to come good on its promise to “take responsibility” (one of the banking giant’s core values), and divest from animal agriculture altogether.

The problem with Madox Farm

Non-profit Animal Equality UK and a host of co-signatories penned a letter to HSBC about the matter. It was sent to the corporation yesterday afternoon. 

Animal Equality UK’s executive director Abigail Penny, writer George Monbiot, actor Peter Egan, author Eleanor Boyle, professors Tim Jackson and Julia Steinberger, and special advisor to the Wealth Economy Project, Dimitri Zenghelis, used the letter to drive home the importance of divesting from animal farming.

In February, a confronting BBC Panorma documentary placed Madox Farm and its practices under a microscope. At the facility – based in Carmarthenshire, South Wales – Animal Equality investigators discovered extreme violations of animal welfare standards.

Employees were filmed striking cows with shovels, kicking them in the face and udders, and choosing to let animals “die in agony” rather than intervene with veterinary care, the letter says.

But documentary viewers were also shocked by standard dairy industry practices. Cow-calf separation, for example, whereby a newborn calf is removed from their mother within days, hours, or even minutes of being born, so that her milk can be sold for human consumption. 

The common practice causes “undeniable psychological torment” for millions of cows and calves every year, the letter says, adding that “suffering on this scale is unfathomable.”

The letter highlights how intensive dairy farming has seen cows selectively bred to produce 40 percent more milk than they did a few decades ago, “leaving one-third [of cows] unable to walk at all.”

This too was documented at Madox, a Red Tractor-assured site, which is also backed by P&O Cruises and British Airways.

HSBC’s links to animal cruelty

This is part of why the letter’s signatories felt “disdain” upon learning that HSBC had given Madox a hefty sum.

Madox used these funds to build a 9,600-square-foot facility and increase its herd to more than 650 cows at any one time, the group says. It’s a project that HSBC was “passionate” about and “proud” to support, said HSBC UK’s deputy head of agriculture, Euryn Jones, at the time. 

But the letter maintains that because of the partnership, HSBC is “directly responsible for condemning more cows and calves to experience this anguish.”

“This troubling footage begs a troubling question: where is your oversight of these farms you help fund? Why was this abuse happening under your watch? And, most importantly, what is your next move?” the letter reads.

Animal farming and the climate crisis

Madox isn’t the only farm to receive funding from HSBC, and this is part of a wider problem, the letter stresses.

The financial services giant maintains that it is committed to protecting “communities, businesses, and the natural environment from the damaging” climate emergency. Yet, in mid-2021, HSBC launched a £1.2 billion fund especially for the agricultural sector, including animal farming.

The move clashes with HSBC’s sustainability commitments, the letter highlights, since animal agriculture is a significant driver of the climate crisis. 

The sector is the leading cause of global acidification and eutrophication, as well as land and water use. It’s also responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Further, animal farming is to blame for up to 91 percent of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, and is heavily linked to biodiversity loss and antibiotic resistance too.

‘Put your money where your mouth is’

As a result, HSBC’s funding efforts must see an upheaval, the letter says.

“Animal welfare is an emerging investor issue. The escalating ESG risks associated with supporting intensive animal agriculture, from labour to water risks throughout supply chains, can no longer be ignored,” the letter states.

“The good news is, you can accelerate us to a brighter future. Please, divest from animal agriculture and instead support farmers in their transition to arable farming and rewilding of their land.”

The signatories ask that HSBC – which pulls in roughly US$50 billion in revenue a year, and holds nearly $3 trillion in assets – uses its position and power to “leapfrog society forward.”

“Put your money where your mouth is … our planet – our home – urgently needs action, not words.”

“We hope that we can count on you.”

The post Exclusive: Dairy Farm That ‘Tormented’ Cows Heavily Funded By HSBC appeared first on Plant Based News.

DiCaprio’s investment comes as Neat Burger gets ready for a US expansion. The chain currently has eight locations in London but will be opening a new store stateside later this year, in New York City.

After that, the plant-based burger chain hopes to open a further 14 stores in the US. Locations in Italy and the Middle East are also in the works, as well as a line of products for grocery store sale.

Neat Burger is all about changing the status quo in the food industry. Right now, the meat industry contributes to a multitude of environmental issues; it’s responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the world’s biggest drivers of deforestation.

But plant-based ingredients tend to leave a much smaller footprint. According to the Good Food Institute, plant-based meat production emits between 30 and 90 percent fewer greenhouse gases than conventional meat, for example.

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Leonardo DiCaprio on changing the food system

DiCaprio is known for his commitment to environmentalism.

As well as Neat Burger, the actor has invested in a number of sustainable brands, including vegan snack company Hippeas. And in 2016, after winning the Best Actor Academy Award for his role in The Revenant, he seized the opportunity to talk about the climate crisis. 

He said in his acceptance speech: “Climate change is real, it is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.”

The move had a big impact. The following day, Google searches for “climate change” rose 261 percent.

Now, DiCaprio says he is investing in Neat Burger to “disrupt the food system with sustainable alternatives.” He said in a statement: “[It’s] one of the key ways we can make a real difference in reducing global emissions.”

He went on to label Neat Burger’s approach to food as “pioneering,” and added that it’s a “great example of the type of solutions we need moving forward.”

The post Leonardo DiCaprio Invests In Lewis Hamilton’s Vegan Burger Chain appeared first on Plant Based News.

For example, Dutch cell-based meat brand Mosa Meat can create 80 beef burgers using just one cow cell sample. According to the food-tech startup, the result is “indistinguishable” from conventionally produced burgers.

Together with university professors, NGOs, and other startups and industry players, Mosa Meat helped to form a consortium called Cellular Agriculture Netherlands. The consortium put forward the funding proposal to the government.

The money will go towards the sector’s overall development, which includes education around cell-based meat and furthering innovation. The funding is the first part of the Netherlands’ larger growth plan, which will see between €252 and €382 million invested in cellular agriculture. 

A fast-growing industry

Mosa Meat isn’t the only cell-based meat company in the Netherlands. Like Mosa Meat, Meatable takes samples from animals, like cows and pigs. It uses them to grow real meat, without harm, in only a few weeks.

Around the world, the cultured meat sector is taking off. By 2030, the global market is predicted to surpass a value of $12 billion. In Singapore, regulatory approval for cultured meat has been granted, and cell-based chicken has already been served in a restaurant.

“Cultured meat is a fast-growing industry,” said Daan Luining, the co-founder of Meatable, in a statement. “It’s important to invest and support education and research across all areas from universities to research labs as well as informing the wider population about this dynamic industry.”

“This is an exciting next step in the development of the cellular agriculture ecosystem, supporting this innovative new industry like so many other emerging industries before it, and one that will be beneficial to us all.”

The post Dutch Government Backs Cell-Based Meat With €60 Million Investment appeared first on Plant Based News.

Phasing out wet wipes everywhere

Boots is not alone. Tesco and Holland & Barrett have also banned plastic-based wet wipes. And action is being taken at a governmental level too.

Introduced last year by Labour MP Fleur Anderson, the Plastics (Wet Wipes) bill seeks to prohibit the manufacture and sale of all wet wipes containing plastics across the UK. The bill has started its journey in the House of Commons and will undergo its second reading next month.

During the first reading, Anderson said: “As a mother of four children, I completely understand the pressures that parents are under and the difficulties that can bring when trying to cut down on plastic and make the right choices for the environment.”

“I know that parents want to do the right thing and all I am saying is that we can make it easier on them and on everyone who relies on the use of wet wipes every day.”

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But now the museum is embroiled in a fresh dispute, as it faces calls to stop accepting donations from the oil industry.

Culture Unstained has written to the British Museum’s board of trustees regarding its links to BP. The organization consists of cultural heritage experts, museum industry workers, and climate scientists. And, counts Sir Robert Watson, the former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change among its members.

One of the world’s biggest oil and gas firms, BP is a sponsor of the British Museum. It has supported its Stonehenge exhibition for six years. But Culture Unstained maintains it is unacceptable for the museum to continue accepting the donations.

Culture Unstained states that the museum “clearly falls short of the scale and ambition of corporate responses that are now required.” The British Museum is evaluating whether to renew its deal with BP.

Moving away from oil industry donations

The museum isn’t alone in accepting money from the oil industry (which emits roughly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions).

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the University of Oxford accepted at least £1.6 million from oil companies in 2020 and 2021. In the five years prior to 2020, it accepted £11 million.

But it is possible for these institutions to end their relationships with fossil fuel companies.

As Culture Unstained highlights, a number of UK cultural organizations have stopped accepting donations from oil industry giants. These include the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery.

Per the Guardian, the letter continues: “The British Museum would be isolated both in its continued acceptance of sponsorship from a fossil-fuel-producing company and its lack of a clear ethical stance on this issue.”

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And we’re not just talking about a bean patty stuffed in a bun with some limp lettuce.

Not in 2022. These chains are offering vegan beef burgers, chicken, pepperoni, and more. And people should get used to it, says leading restaurateur James Lewis, because vegan fast food is the future.

Lewis made the comments in reference to Burger King’s Leicester Square location in London, which recently made its menu 100 percent vegan for one month. The idea was to find out just how popular meat-free fast food is, and to assess which of its new vegan options were most popular with consumers.

Per the Guardian, Lewis, who runs two successful vegan restaurants in London alongside Michelin-starred chef Alexis Gauthier, believes it’s only a matter of time before fast food menus all over the country are totally vegan.

The UK’s vegan fast food scene

He said: “Fast food is 100 percent the best area to switch to vegan. The chains are often sneered at by people but they are setting the trends here.”

“There’s no point starting a vegan chain because once McDonald’s figures out how to make a good vegan burger, they will think: ‘What’s the point in the cost of keeping all these animals when we can make it just as good and grow it in the ground?’” he added.

At first, Lewis’ prediction seems extreme. But McDonald’s has already hinted that following the success of its McPlant burger, more vegan options could be on the horizon.

Amid the launch of its first-ever net-zero location in Shropshire, McDonald’s spokesperson Beth Hart said: “I can’t speculate on what the McDonald’s menu will look like in the future, but I think it will look very different. We might see more plant-based items on the menu. It’s not so much about influencing choice but offering alternatives.”

Along a similar vein, back in 2019, Greggs CEO Roger Whiteside revealed the chain was working on plant-based versions of all of its bestsellers, after the successful launch of its vegan sausage roll.

Since then, Greggs has launched vegan steak bakes, chicken, sausage sandwiches, ham and cheese baguettes, and sausage, bean, and cheese melts.

“Not too long from now, people will be getting their burger and it’ll be a vegan one and that’ll be the norm and they won’t think any different,” said Lewis.

The post Leading Restaurateur Says Fast Food’s Future Is Vegan appeared first on Plant Based News.

The vegan meat start-up – which claims to be the fastest growing plant-based company in Europe – launched its second Equity for Good Rebels crowdfunding campaign via Crowdcube earlier this week.

With a just €20 minimum to invest, Heura said it wanted to allow a greater number of “Good Rebels” to join the movement, and help boost development of its meat-free Mediterranean chicken, beef, and pork.

Upon opening up the campaign, Heura shot through its initial goal of €1 million in just 30 minutes. More than 4,500 investors rallied together from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, to name a few, to secure a piece of the action.

Nearly half of those investing were between 18 to 35. And more than 42 percent were women, despite the fact that just 10 percent of women have a stocks and shares ISA, compared to 17 percent of men.

Shaking up the food system

Heura CEO and co-founder, activist Marc Coloma, recognizes a great deal of promise in the results of the campaign.

“The response to the Equity for Good Rebels crowdfunding campaign is a proofpoint that as a global community, we can and will uproot the failing food system,” Coloma said. “We will leverage this milestone to further increase availability to healthy, plant-based foods that better align with the values and needs of today’s society.”

“The mantra ‘it has always been this way’ is weaker than ever,” he told Plant Based News. “We are showing there is another way of doing business, and it’s clear that the public is ready to see those changes too.”

Indeed, consumers have thrown their support behind Heura, and not just in the investment sphere. In 2021, the start-up saw its sales double. Meanwhile, its global points of sale (POS) surged by 333 percent, with products now available from more than 13,000 locations in over 20 countries.

Heura will use the latest injection of funds to build the Heura Lab 2.0, create new and innovative technologies, and boost its product development and distribution. The company expects to design up to 10 new products this year, with a view to offering realistic animal meat substitutes that are nutritionally and environmentally superior.

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