News
The number of news found: 13.
09/27/2018 UK: THE VEGAN SOCIETY DEMANDS VEGAN FOOD OPTIONS ON EVERY PUBLIC SECTOR MENU
As a part of their campaign 'Catering for everyone', The Vegan Society is targeting English, Scottish and Welsh governments with petitions asking them to make all public sector institutions provide at least one vegan food option on their daily menus. Veganism is a protected belief in those countries under the Equality Act 2010, but many hospitals, schools, councils and prisons still fail to provide vegan food, meaning many vegan children and patients often go hungry. The number of vegans in Great Britain has quadrupled in the last four years, making this issue more noticeable. Many people are missing out on free meals and are being denied access to suitable food when they are depentent on the state to provide for them. That is not a matter of people being picky, since for vegans, avoiding participation in animal abuse is a fundamental moral conviction which is protected by law. They are calling for their citizens who believe that every vegan deserves to be catered for in a public sector setting to participate in the petition. (thevegansociety.com)
09/26/2018 MULTIPLE COMPANIES ARE DITCHING BADGER HAIR
Badger hair is often used in the production of shaving brushes, as well as make-up and paint brushes. After PETA published a shocking video showing how these protected animals are illegally hunted and killed in the wild using cruel methods, as well as locked in tight cages where they are brutally beaten with various items including chair legs before being killed, many companies have pledged to ditch badger hair. One of the first companies to drop the product was Procter & Gamble, saying they were very disturbed to learn of these practices. They were followed by Bonanza and Beau Brummell. PETA urges shoppers and retailers to ditch products made from animal hair and to stick to soft and luxurious synthetic bristles. (plantbasednews.org)
09/25/2018 THE WORLD'S MAJOR CHEMICAL PRODUCERS ARE TAKING STEPS TOWARD ELIMINATING ANIMAL TESTING
The Institute for In Vitro Sciences has partnered with German BASF, the world's largest producer of chemical ingredients, as well as Swiss brand Givaudan, the world's largest company in food flavour and fragrance industry to validate a new animal-free testing method. Scientists at BASF and Givaudan have developed the Kinetic Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (Kinetic DPRA), a non-animal test to predict allergic reactions in the skin known as sensitization. Kinetic DPRA has the potential to go beyond a yes/no answer and predict the potency of a sensitizer, which is required by some regulatory agencies. Until now the only way to predict potency classifications was through animal testing. BASF and Givaudan will conduct tests over the remainder of 2018 and if all goes well, it will be submitted to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2019.
(iivs.org, livekindly.co)
09/24/2018 EARTHLING ED TO OPEN A VEGAN DINER
Well known vegan activist Earthling Ed is opening a non-profit diner in Central London. Unity Diner will offer an array of tasty vegan dishes. The money raised will be used to support SURGE, animal rights movement campaining to end all animal oppression. The plan is to use the profits to fund vegan advertising campaigns in London and across UK, fund the development of The Surge Sanctuary and produce mini-documentaries. (plantbasednews.org)
09/21/2018 3.1 MILLION MEATLESS MEALS TO BE SERVED IN UK SCHOOLS
110 UK primary schools joined the ProVeg UK's School Plates programme which plans to serve 3.1 million meatless meals to students within the next 12 months. Among the changes are compulsory weekly meat-free day and daily meatless, preferably vegan options. Descriptions of veggie menu items are also being altered, worded to be attractive to students, while red meat has been completely removed from menus. Encouraging plant-based foods consumption is meant to reduce childhood obesity, allergic reactions, food borne illnesses and establish healthy eating patterns. Besides reducing costs to schools, plant-based meals are suitable for all and better for the environment. (livekindly.com)
09/20/2018 COMPETITIVE RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM FOR PLANT-BASED AND CLEAN-MEAT DEVELOPMENT
The Good Food Institute, a food advocacy group which promotes inovation in food production that does not negatively impact people, animals and the planet, launched this week a competitive research grant program for projects that focus on research in plant-based and clean-meat. The proposals can be submitted by November 21, 2018. Sectors including academia, government, industry and nonprofits are all eligible for application. Total project budget should not cross $250000. (www.gfi.org)
09/19/2018 LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO BAN THE SALE OF FUR
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to stop the sale of fur, moving forward to become the largest city in the world to do so. The decision was made in an unanimous vote Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council and is now pending the legalization by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer. Earlier this year, San Francisco also banned the sale of fur, and other California cities including West Hollywood and Berkeley have done the same. Tuesday’s win in Los Angeles was the latest advancement for animal rights activists who have been making inroads with fashion designers to stop using fur in recent months. Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo have pledged to stop using fur in their collections. More recently, Burberry decided to stop using real fur starting with Riccardo Tisci’s first collection and end its practice of destroying unsalable products with immediate effect. (wwd.com)
09/18/2018 EXPERTS RECOMMEND A 50% REDUCTION IN EU MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTION
On September 13, the Foundation for Rural Investment Support for Europe (RISE) released a report on farmed livestock in the EU. In their report entitled “What is the Safe Operating Space for EU Livestock?”, economist and former EU Commissioner for the environment Allan Buckwell and environmental scientist Elisabet Nadeu demonstrate that EU livestock is not currently operating within safe boundaries for environmentally sustainable production. The report also highlights the adverse impact of current EU livestock production on animal welfare. One key recommendation by the authors is that the EU cuts livestock production by 50%, thereby endorsing NGOs’ call for halving meat and dairy production by 50% by 2050 – including Eurogroup for Animals’ “50x50 Strategy”. According to Dr Nadeu, one way of decreasing the negative impact of livestock production is to reduce meat consumption and shifting to alternatives, including cultured meat and plant-based protein. (www.eurogroupforanimals.org)
09/17/2018 TEXAS UNIVERSITY DEBUTS VEGAN CHARCUTERIE
Rice University in Houston, TX launched its vegan charcuterie lunch program for the fall semester and beyond.The new offerings were developed from scratch by the school’s senior executive chef Roger Elkhouri and include lunch meats such as turkey, corned beef, pastrami, and roast beef, and cheeses such as provolone, pepper jack, smoked cheddar, dill havarti, and a paprika-spiked cheese ball. “A plant-based diet is good for everybody,” Elkhouri said, “and it’s good for the environment, too.” Elkhouri spent more than a year developing the new offerings – using wheat, mushrooms, and smoke flavoring for the meats and allergen-friendly coconut milk for the cheese – and offers specials such as barbecue brisket and Italian sausage. “You’re dealing with extremely talented and sophisticated students here,” Elkhouri said. “They’re always asking questions and you have to be on your toes, so what we try to do is get out ahead of them. Four or five years down the road you’ll be seeing ‘plant-based’ everywhere. We’re pioneers.” (vegnews.com)
09/14/2018 Invite Prada to drop fur from its collections!
London fashion week starts today and one of the good news is that none of the participating designers will use fur in their collections. Recently Burberry announced their fur free policy and now consumers all over the world are actively asking Prada's fashion house to permanently remove fur from their collections as well. The global campaign is launched by international coalition Fur Free Alliance, whose member is Animal Friends Croatia. You can join the campaign by signing a petition at the Care2 web site (bit.ly/2NbkUxO), sending a letter through the web form at www.furfreealliance.com/prada-fur-free or by making a short, clear and kind phone call of the Prada office in London (during the current Fashion Week that runs from September 14 to September 18, 2018) asking them to stop using fur in their collections: +44-20-7399-2030
09/06/2018 WELCOME TO THE 11TH ZEGEVEGE FESTIVAL!
The 11th ZeGeVege Festival of Sustainable Living is taking place tomorrow on Friday, September 7 from 8am to 9pm and Saturday September 8 from 8am to 7pm at the main Zagreb square. ZeGeVege is a part of the international Veganmania event held in more than 15 European cities and is successfully organized in Croatia by the non-profit Animal Friends Croatia association with the support of many institutions and volunteers. In these two days Ban Jelacic Square will be a host of more than a hundred domestic and foreign exhibitors of healthy food, organic products and cosmetics not tested on animals, various lecturers who will share their experience and knowledge about the different aspects of veganism, animal rights, ecology and sustainable living, as well as the experts in cooking who will have workshops. The exquisite ZeGeVege atmosphere will also feature an entertaining program that will consist of a variety of dance numbers, animal rights workshops and programs. Join us!
09/05/2018 HARRY POTTER PUBLISHER RELEASES NEW ANIMAL-RIGHTS BOOK
Bloomsbury Sigma, one of the world's largest book publishers—and the publisher of the Harry Potter series—will release a new animal-rights book in September 2019. Grilled: Turning Adversaries to Allies in the Fight to Change the Chicken Industry is written by the US Executive Director of Compassion in World Farming and forthcoming President of Mercy for Animals, Leah Garcés, and centers around the fight for better conditions for farmed animals. In this new tome, Garcés features stories on whistleblowing rural farmers, chicken tycoons, activists, venture capitalists, and laboratory meat scientists. "Leah's story of how she is achieving demonstrable change … improving the lives of millions, perhaps billions of animals in the process, is simply irresistible," Bloomsbury Sigma's Jim Martin said, "and I'm proud to have the opportunity to bring it to a wide audience." (vegnews.com)
09/03/2018 SERENA WILLIAMS CREATES VEGAN CLOTHING LINE TO EMPOWER WOMEN
Plant-based tennis champion Serena Williams has launched vegan clothing line Serena to inspire confidence in women pressured by society to seamlessly juggle career and family responsibilities. "[I am] introducing Serena, my first independent clothing line for all the ladies out there being awesome," Williams says about the brand. "My designs are inspired by strong, sexy, sophisticated, sassy, sure, smart, stylish, silly, and spontaneous women who are living their best lives, or making it up as they go—kinda like me." The 100-item line features athletic wear such as sports bras, high-waisted briefs, and lounge pants, as well as denim pieces, jackets, stretchy pencil skirts, bodycon "goddess" dresses, printed t-shirts, and hoodies featuring uplifting words such as "slay" and "royal." "Every woman's success should be an inspiration to another," says the tennis star. "We're strongest when we cheer each other on." (vegnews.com)
The number of news found: 13.
