plant-based milks in schools

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Politics & Law

MEPs Disagree That Plant-Based Milks Should Be Offered in Schools in “Mind Boggling” Fail

Members of European Parliament have failed to support drastic changes in school meal funding, which would have included offering plant-based milks to students. In a newly published report, the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee has not acknowledged the need for change, instead suggesting that conventional dairy products should be promoted through educational campaigns. This is in spite of a petition with tens of thousands of signatures calling for plant-based milks to be offered, along with campaigning from organizations such as ProVeg, The Vegan Society, and The Green REV Institute. A compromise amendment to the report does mention a need for “alternative diversified products” for those with allergies and intolerances, but fails to specify what is meant by this; the statement could be referring to lactose-free milk. There …

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LikeMeat Chick'n/ Chicken Wings

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Society

Sales of Plant-Based Wings Grow as Americans Expected to Consume 160M Vegan Wings for Super Bowl

A new report by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) shows that an estimated ten million Americans will consume about 160 million plant-based wings during this year’s Super Bowl. In addition, brands like Blackbird Foods report soaring demand for new vegan wing products as the segment continues to undergo expansion and innovation. Every year, Americans consume an enormous amount of party foods, including pizza, nachos and dips, during football’s biggest night. Perhaps the most popular dish of all is chicken wings – about 1.4 billion wings are eaten annually during the game.  But plant-based wings are steadily gaining ground as more Americans turn to a growing range of vegan wing options.  To estimate vegan wings’ popularity, CIWF estimated that roughly 6% of the U.S. population consider …

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school-scheme-EU

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Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

7 Out of Ten Citizens Say EU Should Fund Milk Alternatives in School Canteens

72% of participants in a public consultation, as presented yesterday by the European Commission, said that the EU should fund plant-based milk alternatives in school canteens. The organisations ProVeg International and Compassion in World Farming are calling on the EU to follow this recommendation in its ongoing review of the scheme that provides healthy food to schoolchildren. The ProVeg petition and social media campaign with the hashtag #schoolmilk, urging the EU to include plant-based milk in school meals had already exceeded 40,000 signatures back in June, reinforced by additional campaigning by The Vegan Society this September on World School Milk Day. Olga Kikou, Head of Compassion in World Farming EU, states: “These are excellent results that must pave the trajectory of the EU scheme funding …

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Climate Change Sign No Planet B

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Charity & Campaigns

Ahead of C40 Summit, 200 Groups Call For Urgent Plant-Based Transition

Ahead of the C40 World Mayors Summit, a coalition of almost 200 groups and businesses have signed an open letter demanding a faster plant-based transition and endorsing a global plant-based treaty as a solution to address the climate crisis.  Veg Climate Network, Plant Based Treaty, Better Food Foundation, Future Food 4 Climate, Compassion in World Farming, Humane Society International, and Pro Veg International are among the groups that signed the letter.  Anita Krajnc, the global campaign coordinator for Plant Based Treaty, said: “C40 cities are considered leaders in local climate action and can accelerate much-needed progress by implementing best practices such as serving plant-based food at council events and using every policy tool at their disposal, including public information campaigns, procurement, subsidies, investment, divestment, taxation, community gardens, and fruit …

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COFE EU

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Politics & Law

EU Citizens Tell Their Leaders to Shift to a More Sustainable Food System

The Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE) has called for a shift to sustainable diets, plant-based eating, and increased animal welfare. The citizen-led EU initiative enables people from across the bloc to propose ideas, with a transition to a more sustainable food system high among citizens’ concerns. The COFE is based on a series of discussions featuring citizens and EU representatives, from which the urgency to shift to a more sustainable food system has arisen. The conference heard about the importance of promoting plant-based diets during the discussions, including fostering knowledge and creating awareness on how reducing the consumption of animal products promotes climate protection and the preservation of the environment. As well as organic farming and sustainable agriculture, according to Compassion in World …

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Veal Cow Compassion in World Farming

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Society

Animal Ag Lobbyists Defeated as European Parliament Vote Paves the Way for an End to Factory Farming

The European Parliament has voted to proceed with its Farm to Fork Strategy, putting plans in motion for an environmentally-friendly food system with higher animal welfare standards. The move has been opposed by agribusiness lobbyists, but MEPs voted in favour of the plan which may eventually put a stop to some of the horrors of intensive animal agriculture.   “This strategy has the potential to bring our food system back within planetary boundaries by moving away from intensive livestock farming and towards more plant-based foods” – Jasmijn De Boo, ProVeg International When in place, the Farm to Fork Strategy would trigger a shift away from intensive factory farming, backed up by the EU’s recent historic commitment to phase out cages in animal farming throughout the bloc. …

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Compassion in World Farming

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Society

Historic Commitment by the European Commission to Ban Cages in Animal Farming Across the EU

In a landmark ruling, the European Commission has made a historic commitment to phase out cages in animal farming throughout the EU. Cages for hens, mother pigs, calves, rabbits, ducks, geese, and other farmed animals will be phased out by 2027 at the latest. “It feels like one of these moments in history when the tide is turning” Driven by the ‘End the Cage Age’ European Citizens’ Initiative supported by the Compassion in World Farming group, over 1.4 million citizens across all EU member states signed the petition, applying insurmountable pressure for change. This is the first successful initiative providing a voice for the 300 million farmed animals in the EU spending their lives in cages, pens, or stalls that make it hard or impossible …

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Jane Goodall

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Sustainability / Environment

Dr. Jane Goodall Tells EU: “Tsunami” of Animal Products is Overwhelming Nature

An international group of over 60 scientists has called on the European Commission to shift its funding for food advertisements away from animal products and towards healthier and more sustainable plant-based diets. Among them is the world-renowned ethologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute. In a letter to the Commission, the scientists note that recent Commission policy documents such as the Farm to Fork strategy for a healthier and more environmentally sustainable food system and the Beating Cancer plan recognize the need for a shift to more plant-rich diets. “We are calling on the Commission to reform its EU farm products promotion policy so that it provides support and incentives for the crucial …

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Compassion in World Farming

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Society

EU Parliament Demonstrates Overwhelming Support to ‘End the Cage Age’ in Warmly Welcomed Hearing

In a three-hour public hearing this morning on the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age‘, which was signed by 1.4 million people across all EU member states, EU institutions received overwhelmingly that it is time that the EU abolished the cruel practice of imprisoning hundreds of millions of factory farmed animals in cages each year, as part of the run-up to an official European Commission response to the issue.

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Plant Based Foods Association

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Company News

Rachel Dreskin Announced as New CEO of PBFA

The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) has announced that Rachel Dreskin, previously Executive Director of Compassion in World Farming US, will be joining the association as its new Chief Executive Officer. A graduate of Northeastern University’s School of Business with a dual focus in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Rachel has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies to incorporate and strengthen animal welfare within corporate sustainability programs. Rachel also serves as board member of Global Animal Partnership and the Regenerative Organic Alliance, has guest lectured at top US universities like Stanford, University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Delaware. “I am so excited to be sharing the news of PBFA’s CEO hire with our members, collaborators, and friends. In the time that I’ve spent with her …

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EU Commission

Health

EU to Stop Promoting Red and Processed Meat in Newly Published Cancer Plan?

This week, the EU Commission published a new plan to fight cancer, stating a commitment to encourage a “shift to a more plant-based diet, with less red and processed meat and other foods linked to cancer risks and more fruit and vegetables.” Compassion in World Farming says to vegconomist that an earlier leaked version was more ambitious and indicated a phasing out of the promotion of red and processed meat. Between 2016 and 2019, the EU allocated EUR 138.7 million to advertising campaigns promoting meat and meat products, including the controversial “Beefetarian” campaign. CIWF says that this is nevertheless a good step in the right direction and will hopefully help with cancer prevention as well as the obvious other benefits in terms of animals and …

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