Super Vegan News - October 8, 2020

Time for some super vegan news:

• Walmart is putting a spin on the cucumber challenge. The retail giant will reduce its plastic footprint by switching to a plant-based peel around its cucumbers, made by Apeel Sciences. For every 500,000 cases shipped of the edible produce peel cucumbers, Apeel will eliminate the equivalent of 820,000 single-use plastic water bottles and reduce greenhouse gases at the equivalent of planting 790 trees.
• In more zero-waste news, England has officially banned plastic straws along with single use plastics, such as cotton swabs. Nearly 5 BILLION plastic straws are used every year in England alone, so the ban will undoubtedly have an instant impact.
• "The Climate Store" in Sweden is bringing awareness to the environmental impact of animal derived-foods by asking its customers to pay with carbon dioxide equivalents. Customers are given a weekly budget of 18.9 kg of CO2e and are challenged to make food choices that have low environmental impact.
• Speaking of low environmental impact foods with a MAJOR social impact, jackfruit is proving itself time and time again. Though jackfruit has only recently gained worldwide notoriety thanks to its shredded meat texture, for centuries, this humble fruit has been revered by Sri Lankans, as it has repeatedly saved the island from starvation and economic devastation, first in 1915 and again during global Coronavirus shutdowns.
• According to the Food Empowerment Project, socioeconomic factors like poverty, living far from a greengrocer and easy access to fast food have made it harder for brown Americans to eat healthily, and yet they are almost three times as likely to be vegan and vegetarian than other Americans! Here are some of the reasons why.
• Back Across the pond, Germany--previously known for its meat-centric diet of bratwurst and schnitzel--is rapidly approaching the point where nearly half of its population is going meatless. Germany may be leading the way in sustainable eating but its premier auto brand is going in the opposite direction...
• Luxury car brands like BMW and Jaguar Land Rover are coming under fire for driving the demand for illegal deforestation and cattle ranching in South American forests. (Jaguars are ironically majorly affected by the destruction of rainforests.) The automotive industry, which uses up to 60 million cow hides (skins) each year, is a major leather buyer from the Brazilian Amazon, where illegal forest clearances are widespread. To get an idea of how much forest is wiped out every day, Earthsight estimated one football pitch was cleared EVERY two minutes in 2019! The leather used in CARS each year could blanket Manhattan three times over.
• This seems like a great time to mention lab-grown human skin, developed to reduce the need for animal testing in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Click here to find out how many drugs fail during clinical testing. Hint: a lot.