“…that LoveSeitan’s products contain only 46.6kg of CO2 emissions for every 100kg of seitan and compared to that, beef releases a massive 6,000kg of CO2 emissions for every 100kg with lamb a close second producing 2,400kg of CO2e emissions per 100kg on an average.”
We love to see it!
More and more people are seeing the benefit of eating a vegan diet in the face of sustainability issues, climate change, and environmental turmoil. We can’t afford to ignore these types of studies or research any longer. Our world depends on it — literally!
That’s why strategically investing in sustainable companies is such a crucial step in being the change we want to see in the world. We want to see a healthy, thriving environment and an informed and passionate society.
What’s the best way to achieve the harmony we’re longing for?
Put your dollars where your passion is.
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It’s honestly no surprise, then, to learn that Impossible Foods Inc. — the maker of the Impossible Burger taking fast food and chain restaurants by storm — is preparing to go public with a valuation at around $10 billion or more, as reported by JaneUnChained.
Impossible Foods Inc. will join Beyond Meat on the New York Stock Exchange, which went public in May of 2019. Two Canadian plant-based food companies — The Very Good Food Company and Modern Meat — also made their debuts on the Canadian Securities Exchange between Beyond Meat’s IPO and today.
One of the most exciting takeaways is this: vegan companies came to play and play hard. Now that vegan stocks are viable, money-making opportunities, we’ll see more visibility to the movement, more adoption, and more options for vegans. Putting our money where our mouth is (literally) is one of the best ways to create change!
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According to a Good Food Institute study released on April 6, 2021, plant-based foods have grown to a $7 billion market in the U.S. this past year, outpacing total food sales between 2018 and 2020 by 2.5 times. Even non-vegans are starting to dabble in plant-based food options, touting the health and environmental benefits.
It’s an exciting moment for veganism as we finally see mainstream recognition, adoption, and habits. The impact isn’t limited to the environment or national health, though. This is creating a massive paradigm shift in supermarkets and the stock market alike.
“Plant-based food sales have been outpacing animal-based food sales by about 5x for several years now,” according to a recent article from Investor Place, and the demand seems to continue to grow.
With Impossible burgers hitting fast food joints like White Castle and Burger King and chains like Red Robin, and vegan-focused restaurants popping up all over the country rather than just on the coasts, it looks like a great cultural shift is taking root.]]>
So, you think you have the next big idea that will revolutionize the vegan market and even attract crossover customers? Awesome! But, without a minimum of funding, even the best ideas struggle to get off the ground. So, how do you find investors and successfully become the next household brand name? Let’s talk about some key tips to get you on the right track.
1) Build your network
If you’re new to the startup world and unfamiliar with how investing works, start by reaching out to trusted friends and colleagues who can help point you in the right direction. Build relationships with people in the investment industry and entrepreneurs who have previously launched startups. Attend conferences and tradeshows when possible, and make as many connections as you can.
2) Prepare a rock-solid business plan
Imagine you’re an investor. Now, answer this question: would you be willing to give money to someone with a great idea but no action plan? You probably answered “No,” because you want to feel confident that you’re not just throwing cash out the window. As an investor, your goal in spending money is making money down the road. Your business plan provides you with credibility and serves as reassurance for potential investors. It should demonstrate your company’s viability and scalability in the marketplace.
3) Do your homework on potential investors
Make a list of potential investors that may be in tune with your startup’s mission, and then take the time to dig deeper. Research their portfolio to see which companies they’ve backed previously. From there, narrow down your list based on your findings. Check LinkedIn for mutual contacts that may be able to facilitate a connection with your target investors.
More and more vegan investment companies are popping up, so those are a great place to start, but don’t discount traditional firms. Since brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have become mainstream, investors are more aware of the money-making potential of vegan products that were formerly viewed as niche.
4) Consider equity crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding is similar to traditional crowdfunding, but instead of pledging a specific amount and receiving a product in return, you receive equity in the company. Asking everyday people to invest in your business allows you to seek out a highly targeted audience. Although securing large lump sums from individual investors on crowdfunding platforms is unlikely, the idea is to draw in high quantities of modest-sized investments. This is also a great way to ensure your investors are on board with your mission. Since your shareholders want to see you succeed (both from an ethical and monetary standpoint), they will likely promote the brand to their friends, family, and social networks. And boom! A grassroots marketing campaign is set in motion!
Being an entrepreneur is not an easy job, and a vision alone won’t revolutionize an industry or make you rich. However, with research, planning, and finding the right people to invest, what was once just a grand idea now has the potential to transform a market. So, let’s take these tips on raising funds into consideration, and go change the world!
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1) Attract people who believe in your mission
The majority of people who choose to invest in your startup through equity crowdfunding will be passionate about the same things that get you out of bed in the morning. These like-minded investors can then act as both formal and informal advisors, helping you determine the best direction for the company as it grows and scales.
2) Receive free marketing
Because your shareholders are on board with your mission, they are also likely to be your most enthusiastic promoters. Not only will they become part of your customer base, but they will also be inclined to act as informal ambassadors for your brand by referring the business to their friends, families, and social networks.
3) Skirt getting a business loan
If your startup already has cash flow but isn’t bringing in enough to expand operations, you may be considering a business loan. However, a successful equity crowdfunding campaign could allow you to forego this step and alleviate the stress of having to make monthly loan payments.
4) Remain the top decision-maker
With a private equity investor, such as a venture capitalist or an angel investor, you may lose the ability to continue calling all the shots throughout the growth of your company. If an individual or company fronts a large sum of cash, they’re likely to demand a say in every major decision affecting the bottom line. With equity crowdfunding, although you will have shareholders, you’re far more likely to retain control of these decisions.
1) You will no longer be the sole owner of the company
As referenced above, with equity crowdfunding, your shareholders each own a small portion of the company. Although there won’t be a VC heavily influencing every move, if full ownership is something you’re set on, crowdfunding is not for you.
2) Convincing people to hand over money for your vision isn’t easy
Getting someone to believe in your mission is the easy part. The real challenge is convincing them to tangibly participate in that vision. The psychology of handing over hard-earned cash with absolutely no guarantee of return on investment can feel risky and downright reckless to many. While these fears can be quelled through a transparent and well-crafted campaign, the process can be more difficult than you may anticipate.
3) Keeping shareholders engaged is hard work
If you succeed in persuading people to invest in your startup, don’t expect them to then quietly disappear. Keeping your shareholders engaged so they continue to champion your business requires regular communication. Updating investors on the company’s progress and fueling excitement about the future is a great way to stay top of mind and keep the door open for soliciting further investments down the road.
4) Making money costs money
Just like any other business, equity crowdfunding platforms have operational costs, and they typically cover those expenses by charging their clients a fee. This could be in the form of commissions, administrative costs, and transaction fees, to name a few. Additionally, since equity crowdfunding is regulated in most countries, you will also incur legal fees. Before deciding whether equity crowdfunding is a viable option for your startup, make sure to work up a cost-benefit analysis. Doing the work only to barely break even can be a significant waste of your time and energy.
Equity crowdfunding is not the perfect solution for all startups. However, it can create opportunities for businesses that may not fit into more traditional models of raising funds. Now that you have a better idea of the advantages and disadvantages of equity crowdfunding, take some time to think these points through before making an informed decision for your startup.
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By now most of us have heard of Kickstarter type crowdfunding where companies collect money from many people online in exchange for a future product or for rewards. By contrast Equity Crowdfunding collects money from many people online, but in this case the people get shares of ownership in the company.
In 2016, the Crowdfunding law went into effect allowing every American to invest small amounts in private companies through Equity Crowdfunding. Under this new law private companies who chose to raise money from the crowd allow anyone, irrespective of income or net worth to buy shares. Investors must, however, be 18 and there are limits on the total amount each person can invest per year using Crowdfunding.
This new law allows companies to raise up to $1,070,000 during a 12-month time period from both accredited and non-accredited investors. All transactions take place on the website of a Portal or Broker-Dealer registered with the SEC.
Only about 2% of the country qualify as accredited investors; meaning their income is $200,000 per year, or their net worth is $1 million. Before Crowdfunding, the general public could only buy shares in public companies. This excluded 98% of Americans from owning shares in private companies.
SEC Regulation D - Private Offerings
Regulation D offerings are how most companies raise money from investors. With this kind of offering, there is no limit on how much a company can raise, but all investors must be accredited.
SEC Regulation A+ - Public Offerings
Sometimes referred to as the ‘mini-IPO’, like Crowdfunding a Reg A offering allows every American, both accredited and non-accredited, to invest. But there two major differences from Crowdfunding:
The club was founded to connect Vegan fans and advocates with Vegan startups needing money to expand. The goal is to accelerate the Vegan economy.
Investing in Vegan companies gives investors the potential of earning a profit in years to come, and also propels us towards a kinder world. Invest to do well, by doing good.
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It was my first time contributing to an equity Crowdfund campaign or investing in a Vegan company! I’d never actually tasted their meals (and I still haven’t!), but their vision resonated with me, and their success as a young startup made me feel that my investment could eventually become lucrative and, most importantly, would contribute to the growth of the Vegan economy, thereby helping animals and the planet.
It was so great seeing how successful their equity Crowdfunding campaign was. They managed to raise £4,503,887 from 1,857 investors from over 30 countries! These included about 10 large investments of £100,000 or more, and many hundreds of smaller ones, ranging from a few thousand pounds, down to just £35.
Whenever I see allplants mentioned online (like in a recent Forbes article I stumbled across!), I feel proud to know that I am part of their journey and have helped in however small a way, towards their goal of helping millions of people eat more plant-based.It’s been really fun to receive emails from the founders of allplants themselves, and see all the conversations amongst investors, big and small, on the equity Crowdfund Portal.
Having been vegan for over 4 years, and having engaged in various forms of activism over the course of that time, I’m delighted to have found this novel way of contributing to this cause I’m so passionate about.
Since I invested in allplants I’ve become quite interested in equity Crowdfunding and the impact it could have on the economy.
You no longer have to be an accredited investor with millions in the bank to own shares in a young company and to help determine which companies merit financial support. This will hopefully lead to a market system driven not only by profits, but also by morals and social responsibility!
]]>Guest Article: This article is written by Richard Lin, CEO and Cofounder of ThryveInside.com
Our stomach bacteria help us break down solid food particles. Their hard work helps ease our digestion. We reward them by feeding them foods they actually enjoy. Thankfully for those living a cruelty-free lifestyle, they like the foods we do!
There’s a lot of roughage in our fruits and vegetables. These dietary fibers are hard for our digestive organs to break down. So, they remain in the system. Our stomach bacteria feast on the carbohydrates in these fibers for energy. These types of foods are known as prebiotics.
Due to stomach bacteria, we aren’t stuck with excess food sitting in our gut. That usually happens when we eat foods rich in artificial sweeteners and processed animal fats. Those types of foods often lead to inflammation that destroys the gut lining.
Our gut bacteria are living beings. Like us, they must release waste into the system. Luckily for us, that waste actually has healing abilities.
Probiotic metabolites range from vitamins to amino acids. However, the most commonly produced metabolites are short-chain fatty acids.
Cells along our gut lining use short-chain fatty acids as electrical currency. They rely on these short bursts of energy to replicate and get rid of dying cells.
One of the short-chain fatty acids that probiotics typically produce is butyrate. Our gut lining is porous. That allows us to absorb nutrients from food digested in the intestines. However, inflammation around the gut makes these holes bigger, which allows toxins to seep in. Butyrate helps clog those holes, reducing inflammation.
Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables should give you adequate prebiotics to feed your probiotic gut bacteria. However, some foods have dietary fibers that are more conducive to healthy bacteria growth.
Some of the most common plant-based prebiotics include:
The key to cultivating a healthy gut is diversity. You want as many stomach bacteria species as possible. Maintaining this balance will stop one opportunistic species from taking over and causing GI problems.
Nourish your gut by providing it with a range of nutrients. Each color represented on a fruit or vegetable means there are unique compounds that benefit bacterial growth. So, be sure to eat the rainbow.
While a plant-based diet is ideal for a healthy lifestyle, it does come with GI side effects. For some, too many plant items can cause a lot of gas. Others might even deal with chronic inflammation.
Unfortunately, some plant-based powerhouses, such as beans and eggplant, are rich in lectins. While there are health benefits to lectins, sometimes these compounds drain other nutrients of their powers. Therefore, lectins may cause inflammation and chronic stomach pain. Learn more about living lectin-free as a vegan here.
If you have gut sensitivities, consider getting a gut health test with Thryve. You send in a sample and they analyze your DNA to inform you of your gut bacteria ratios.
As we mentioned, gut bacteria have specific tastes. So, an abundance of one type may give some clues as to which foods might be causing GI triggers.
Thryve’s database also gives you food recommendations to enhance your gut bacteria diversity. You can optimize your options to reflect a plant-based diet.
Here are 100 recipes you can find in the Thryve database:
Get these delicious options and more at thryveinside.com.
]]>Vegan meal ordering platform 'allplants' fundraised £3.4 million in what media outlets call 'UK's biggest ever vegan crowdfunding round' on investment platform Seedrs.
The initial goal was £2 million. However, this amount was raised in 48 hours - to which 'allplants' went on to raise another £1.4 million.
Out of the 1,824 investors in this round, 76% (~1,386) were non-vegans. When polled about why they invested, 75% said one of the reasons 'was to support sustainable businesses benefiting the planet.'
'Allplants' is a London-based vegan company founded in 2017 by vegan brothers Alex & Jonathan Petrides - currently using these funds to expand their flavor options to provide over 60,000 plant meals a week to customers.
Among their notable investors, there are high profile individuals including Anne-Maire Huby, co-founder of JustGiving, and Amit Gudkha, co-founder of Bulb Energy.
Ann-Marie Huby, Co-Founder of JustGiving, added: "Sometimes a business comes along that makes you sit up and take notice. allplants is one of those for me. No gimmicks, just real, super fresh and delicious meals created and constantly improved with near-fanatical zeal by a team of rare talent. If it continues to listen to customers as brilliantly as it has so far, allplants will be unstoppable."
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For all the right reasons, many people are shifting their behaviors towards more sustainable lifestyle choices; recycling and composting, to using more eco-friendly modes of transportation. But daily food habits also contribute to our impact in the environment, and as it turns out, they do so in a major way.
Business Insider crunched the numbers to measure all the resources needed to make a quarter-pound of beef. Here’s the breakdown for reference (this does not include energy to cook the beef):
Another interesting source we can look at was presented in the documentary ‘Six Degrees’ on National Geographic. In it, they do a deepdive into this same question(you can check their exact math here) and estimated 3 - 6 kg (or 6.6 lbs - 13.2 lbs) of CO2 emissions per every cheeseburger consumed.
Combining these two expert sources, we can estimate that between 4 - 13 lbs of CO2 emissions are released every time people consume a cheeseburger (depending on which type of burger, of course).
A good ballpark average to keep in mind, then, would be 9 pounds of CO2 emitted per burger meal consumed.
How is Vegan food more sustainable?
In contrast, by consuming a vegan diet researchers from Oxford revealed that we can reduce our carbon footprint by up to 73%. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for why this is:
In a nutshell, we could feed more people by ‘cutting out the middle cow’, if you will, and producing food that inherently releases far less carbon in its production. Even the top researcher from this study went vegan after the first year of conducting the project because he understood it was the most powerful action he could take to lower his carbon footprint.
Yet another groundbreaking study was released in 2017, titled “The climate change mitigation gap: education and government recommendations miss the most effective individual actions”, and was addressed by popular Vegan Youtuber ‘Mic The Vegan’.
Mike is known for debunking myths about plant-based diets and using critical assessment to back up his arguments through sound scientific studies.
This study listed, in order, the best individual choices that people can take to mitigate their carbon emissions. ‘Hav[ing] one fewer child’ was the most eco-friendly action, among others like ‘recycling’ , ‘car-free lifestyle’, and even ‘adopt[ing] a plant-based diet’. However, Mike pointed out that some data points from the study were not accurate and compared them to FAO metrics. You can watch the video here to check his math, but here at VegReady we went ahead and compiled the most important individual decisions we can all take to reduce our carbon damage:
Image credit: VegReady, source: Wynes, S., & Nicholas, K. A. (2017). The climate mitigation gap: education and government recommendations miss the most effective individual actions. Environmental Research Letters, 12(7), 074024.
In closing
It is everyone’s responsibility to take care of our fragile planet and do our part to curb climate change. Our current lifestyles will invariably have some negative effects; yet we have the knowledge and resources to consciously decide to implement lifestyle choices that can massively reduce the impact of our day-to-day living. And if we can all live our best lives while living vegan, and thereby have the greatest impact on reducing our contribution to climate change, it’s our opinion that all of us owe it to the planet, and all current and future Earthlings, to get started!
Feel free to share this blogpost and sign up to our newsletter to check out more articles like these!
Resources:
Poore J., Nemecek T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science. 2018;360:987–992.
Wynes, S., & Nicholas, K. A. (2017). The climate mitigation gap: education and government recommendations miss the most effective individual actions. Environmental Research Letters, 12(7), 074024.
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(Hint: to fix the early-stage investment ecosystem).In this interview I speak with a leader in the plant-based movement about founding both VeganInvestors.com and NextWaveImpact.com
She’s my good friend, Alicia Robb.
Alicia founded an Angel Group to find, support, and invest in early-stage scalable companies, which contribute to a more sustainable and compassionate world.
Feel free to watch the video interview or read the text interview below.
Mark (VegReady CEO): Why don’t you start by giving us a little update on what you’ve been up to and what you’re working on?
Alicia: Quick summary of me: I started an early-stage Venture fund investing in women-led and minority-led companies that will have an impact. I got into Venture Capital in a different way than the traditional path. I'm actually an Economist by training with my PhD in Economics -- but I focused on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance.
I started at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors doing small business financing. Then I moved to the Kauffman Foundation to do entrepreneurial finance which is where I got into research and policy around crowdfunding, angel investing, and Venture Capital.
My new fund is called NextWaveImpact.com, it tackles the problem in the Venture Capital world that over 97% of the people on the funding side are white men funding other white men. Our goal is to create a more inclusive ecosystem by investing in women and people of color (as of today they get less than 3% and 1%, respectively of Venture Capital). Our fund also trains the new wave of women and people of color on impact investing.
Mark: In addition to being more fair, hasn’t it been shown that inclusivity of minority and women executives produces better outcomes for growing companies.
Alicia: Certainly. Diverse teams with diverse leadership and diverse boards do better. And we need to make sure that all good ideas get funded.
Mark: Tell us about your Angel group VeganInvestors.com and how grew out of Next Wave Impact?
Alicia: As you know, the difference between an Angel and Venture Capitalist is that the former invests his/her own money, and the latter invests other people’s money.
Next Wave is a Venture Capital fund focused on impact investment and is sector-agnostic. We do have a vegan company in our portfolio, but it’s not our main focus.
I’d love to have a Vegan Venture fund, but as of right now, I only invest my personal money into vegan-led vegan companies. So that’s why I wanted to start a vegan angel group of like-minded investors so that I could co-invest with other people that also want to invest in vegan-led vegan companies. In other words, VeganInvestors.com focuses on funding early-stage vegan companies in their pre-seed or Seed Round, while my Venture fund might invest at a later phase.
The other reason I started VeganInvestors.com is because Angel Investors like me, need to diversify and therefore like to write small checks (say, $5-$10 thousand) for many companies. But Many entrepreneurs require the minimum investment in their early-stage rounds to be $50-$100 thousand, and at that level it’s hard for an individual to diversify into dozens of companies. So, we aggregate small investments from a number of angels into a Special Purpose Vehicle that makes the investment with the company. That way the total amount meets those thresholds and there is only a single entry into their capitalization table. This cleaner cap table is preferred by entrepreneurs and later-stage investors alike.
Mark: For any interested Angels, where can they learn about your group and either join or request to be invited?
Alicia: They should go to VeganInvestors.com where it’s free to register and they will get invited to our bi-monthly presentations where we invite 2 companies to pitch. That way, they can start getting involved with our Angel group.
Mark: Now, let me ask you about your fund Next Wave Impact fund. What’s the size of and how do you see it going over the next couple of years?
Alicia: Our fund is structured a little bit differently than others. We grouped together 99 early-stage investors, all women (and 25 are women of color) because our mission is to diversify the investment ecosystem to create more inclusivity and prove it produces superior returns as well as positive impact. We have an investment committee of nine that mentors and trains investors that are newer -- so it’s learning-by-doing fun.
Our Investor Education page has materials and Webinars, short briefs that teach all about cap tables, dilution, due diligence, you name it! The idea is that the fund’s members participate through all the processes of an investment -- from screening to due diligence -- to investment on a volunteer basis. So it's a way to really learn how to do it without doing it on your own. And the big bonus is you're getting a diversified portfolio through learning-by-doing. And not only that, because our 99 women are spread across the globe we’re able to source deal flow from sectors and geographies that most funds cannot reach.
Mark: I wanted to hear your thoughts on Crowdfunding. Does it fit in with your plan to close the gender and minority gap in the investment ecosystem?
Alicia: Yes. Certainly there’s advantages and disadvantages - personally, I’m a huge fan for reward-based Crowdfunding when it’s used for pre-purchase models. That's a great way to show product market fit and more investors are asking for entrepreneurs to do Crowdfunding because of this. (I know VegReady did this). Debt crowdfunding [and equity Crowdfunding], are used by more Main Street businesses that aren't going to have an exit [through acquisition or IPO]. Crowdfunding in general is a way to merge human capital with financial capital. Certainly it democratizes access to investments for the public to invest in early-stage. But it’s not necessarily always the best for entrepreneurs. It is also another path for small Investors to ‘get their feet wet’ who don’t want to invest $25,000 in every deal. [Typical Crowdfunding minimum investment is $50]
Mark: Are there any surprises in the Alicia Robb world that we should be watching for? Is there another book in your future after ‘The Next Wave’ which details the need for funds such as yours?
Alicia: ‘The Next Wave’ was actually my fifth book. Someday I’ll probably write another one, but they’ve all been co-authored with my amazing co-authors. Right now I’m really excited about the idea of creating new investment models to address inequalities in the world of investing. We’re looking to focus more for pre-seed investments into Founders of color, and really get them to the point where they’re investable by later-stage funds like ours.
Mark: What’s the management going to look like in this scenario?
Alicia: Great question. So, we expect the Investment Committee to be one thirds to one half women of color. And I think the entrepreneurs are really looking for that as well because you know besides our checks they are actually wanting the human capital that comes with our money. Having 99 connected business women ready to reach into their contacts to help you succeed is a strong asset for growing companies needing introductions to great talent, strategic partners and potential customers.
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* Responses have been edited for length and style.
**Image credit: VeganInvestors.com
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“I don't want to educate the vegans. I want to educate the non-vegans. And so that's what Animal Hero Kids is about: to open people's hearts to thinking about other animals." - Susan Hargreaves, Founder of Animal Hero Kids
Welcome to the second installment of Vegan Heroes! This time, I interviewed the Founder of Animal Hero Kids, Susan Hargreaves. She is a 40+ year activist and leading influencer in the plant-based community.
Her book “Animal Hero Kids - Voices for the Voiceless”paved the way for creating Animal Hero Kids. Their mission is to empower youth to spread veganism in order to change the world for the better.
Feel free to either watch the full video interview or read our text interview below.
Mark Perlmutter: Tell us about your journey to where you are now and explain your idea for kids to be change agents.
Susan Hargreaves:
When I was nine, my aunt worked at an egg hatchery and she said ‘Susan, because you love animals so much. I’m going to take you to work with me today so you can see all the baby chicks’. So, my nine-year-old self went to this big warehouse where I saw all these industrial bins and conveyor belts and all the male chicks being gassed and suffocated. I looked to the adults in the room expecting them to help the chicks, but they just continued sorting, didn’t really pay attention to me... it was just business as usual. And I thought, ‘I will always want to help other children and teens not feel helpless in the face of animal abuse’.
Since 1980, I’ve been doing outreach, presentations in schools, free education programs, vegan fairs…. And I can cater my programs to any age from preschool right up until college or university with a variety of programs.
Mark Perlmutter: Explain to our viewers/readers the story behind your book (Animal Hero Kids - Voice of the Voiceless) that inspired the organization you lead today.
Susan Hargreaves: This book has hundreds of stories about kids who have helped animals.
For instance, it was 20 years ago when I gave my first award at a school during an assembly. And at the end of each assembly, the schoolchildren get to keep an Animal Hero Kids card, like a pledge card to take with them.
The following week, one of the boys who had kept the pledge card saw a morning dove that was bleeding by a bush and his friends said “who cares about the stupid bird, we've got to get to school, who cares?” And he said to himself, “if I don't help this bird, who will?”. He looked at his Animal Hero Kids card he knew exactly what to do because the card outlines how to help animals. He got a box, cut holes in the box, put the bird in the box, walked the box to school, and then they knew the number to call!
Mark Perlmutter: I would love to learn how you encourage these young activists that are part of Animal Hero Kids, and how and where they perform their animal advocacy.
Susan Hargreaves: Actually, this July, I was in London for the ‘Paul McCartney Young Veg Advocate’ award. We also have the Animal Hero Kids ‘Kind to All’ award. In essence, both awards are given to a child who is helping all species of animals. And then, we have the Creative award category: for someone who will create a song, a rap, even an idea of video, piece of art that inspires compassion.
Speaking of which, we have some beautiful winners in that category that are also featured in the Animal Hero Kids book. One of them is a song written by a young team in China who was working against the ivory trade, and they wrote a song titled “This Ache” which is about a mother elephant speaking to the hunter. Not only that, but at every Animal Hero Kids award ceremony, we sing this song. So it’s a way to honor their efforts.
Most of the work our young advocates do is done in schools through presentations, using the book as a tool to guide others into spreading veganism and helping every kind. We give away the book after each presentation and our presentations are free: we even pay for the kids and their guardians to come to get the award.
Mark Perlmutter: I found a picture on Facebook of you and AHK president Vegan Evan. Tell us a little bit about the other two people and also I think most of us are curious: how does a non-profit organization have a nine year old president?
Susan Hargreaves: Tori Washington is the vegan bodybuilder in the picture, and in the person in the cow costume is Sean Russell. This picture was taken as we were doing a promo for the Animal Hero Kids ‘Vegan Mac-and-Cheese’ Challenge To Save The Earth’. What’s great about the challenges we do is that we try to involve as many people as possible. So for this challenge we got seven restaurants do vegan mac-and-cheese. And: hosting this event we had kids, bodybuilders (Tori was included) judge each dish they prepared.
Actually, our first president was seven, his name is Dominic! And I met Evan when he was five. This is about kids being empowered to say what they want and not think ‘oh you’re just kids’. We also have numerous co-presidents over in Brazil, Canada, England, and the United States and you can see them on our Facebook Page (Animal Hero Kids) and even some of them collaborating with organizations like Million Dollar Vegan.
Mark Perlmutter: I watched the video interview of Vegan Evan, and he speaks quite confidently. I was very impressed.
SH: You know, kids are way more brilliant than adults give them credit for. My background is in early childhood education, so I know how smart three year olds are. The average adult, therefore, is really shocked at eloquence, but they also question ‘okay, is this really the kids talking or are you telling them what to say?’.
It is obvious to anyone, just speaking with Evan, and all our co-presidents that they’re just speaking from their heart. And then to say that someone else is telling them what to say is denigrating the independence, individuality, and intelligence of that child.
Mark Perlmutter: Exactly. It’s about encouraging others to be activists for the right causes. Speaking of which, would you tell us if there were any particular events or situations that inspired your activism?
Susan Hargreaves: When I was in grade seven in Toronto, I learned they were clubbing seals in Canada to produce castoreum and the media was trying to hide it. So I decided to organize a walkout in my school and we shared this walkout with other schools and it was like mayhem.
I was very active in the Canadian Animal Rights Network and did a lot of direct action and undercover investigations in stockyards and slaughterhouses in the 80s. One of them was at Caleb St. Clair in Toronto (stockyards). I was posing as an agricultural student and I couldn't help any of the animals I saw. They didn't have any water and they were there all weekend in the stockyards after traveling and having electroshock burn marks all over their bodies.
There's always one particular animal- one that you can't forget when you wake up at four o'clock in the morning and for me, that was this goat that was standing up looking straight into my eyes. Calling, just calling and standing right up on his legs looking straight into my face. And I thought: ‘how can I come back and get this goat and put him in my van?’.
And I also had mentors like Alex Herschaft from Farm Sanctuary. I remember that, as a vegan in the 80s, nobody knew what the word ‘vegan’ meant and I would say I was ‘totally vegetarian’ or ‘complete vegetarian’. And actually Alex and I co-hosted the American Meetups with free vegan food for the people interested.
So, obviously, as the founder of Animal Hero Kids, I'm not going to be encouraging children to chain themselves to doorways and things, because that would be dangerous for the children, and Animal Hero Kids is more about education and kindness to all. It's an irrefutable fact that if a child has rescued an animal (no matter what species that animal is) everybody thinks it’s wonderful. And so it's a mainstream message that is not intendedt to educate the vegans. Instead, I want to educate the non-vegans. And so that's what Animal Hero Kids is about: to open people's hearts to thinking about other animals,
Mark Perlmutter: For any non-vegans transitioning, or any family with a young person, how do you think they might support him/her into coming to their own positions, actions on the subject of animal treatment?
Susan Hargreaves: In Animal Hero Kids, we strongly believe in helping a young person come into their own decision: we do not want to push a child to do something they don’t want to do. Either way, as far as having children, we have to give them the facts and be honest, without traumatizing them. That’s why I wrote the Animal Hero Kids book and we are currently working on a documentary with the same name, geared towards children in 430 schools. This is because kids want to hear about factory farming, the link between climate change and animal-based agriculture.
You know, kids haven’t been trained to think of this as normal. Once they find out what’s happening to animals, they’re shocked. They’re not adults that have thought ‘Oh, everything is fine’ and they have been cultured doing this for many years. For instance, Genesis Butler, the 2014 Paul McCartney AHK award winner, was six when she asked her mom what was on her plate and kudos to the mom who answered honestly. She’s been involved with animal advocacy for years now and everyone at Animal Hero Kids teach each other and they also learn from what they read in the book.
Mark Perlmutter: In closing, what can people do to help other Animal Hero Kids get involved and what can the other kids do that want to get involved? Give us some ideas on that.
Susan Hargreaves: What people can do is go to AnimalHeroKids.org, click on the button that says ‘Join Us’ that will direct you to all of our volunteer guidelines and requirements.
I want to make sure that people realize that we're all about positive education and bringing all the kids together, so there might be a child that lives in a small village in Alaska that finds the ‘Animal Hero Kids - Voices For The Voiceless’ book in his/her school library (and also on the website). This happened (...) and next thing you know: her mother calls and says that her daughter wants to help sled dogs in Alaska.
So now, the mother and the girl has never even heard the word ‘vegan’ before. That’s okay. It's okay for the child to call up when he/she's seen the book, and he/she wants to be an animal hero. And so you wouldn't believe the number of kids that come in because they want to help dogs, they want to help cats and, eventually, they find out what's happening to all animals.
***
Animal Hero Kids is also looking for sponsors for the book. You can help sponsor the book by promoting it in a number of ways. For instance, you can promote it to you alma mater, make it available in to you local community, and even publicize it through your business. If you do so, someone from the organization will visit you to give a presentation!
Here at VegReady, we encourage anyone that wants to reach out to Susan Hargreaves to send her an email at susanh@animalherokids.org if you’re interested in an education program that involves presentations, school assemblies or showing their documentary and overall sharing all these engaging stories not just from the Animal Hero Kids book but from the speakers themselves. It’s time to empower youth to heal this world.
*Questions and answers have been edited for lenght and style
Image Credit: AnimalHeroKids.org
]]>In our first edition, we'd like to introduce you to Dr. Steven Smith, Founder & CEO of the All-Vegan Supermarket Vegan Fine Foods.
As a long-time vegan, Steven set out to create a place that vegans could shop and dine confidently without having to read labels and research ingredients.
Steven also aimed to foster an environment where anybody could come in, feel welcome, and enjoy a wholesome meal and experience plant-based products.
The greatest part of it all: Steven reports that over 50% of his customers are non-vegan, which demonstrates the rapidly growing demand for plant-based products among all diners alike.
"Starting to go vegan in 1997: While searching for plant-based alternatives, I had to go to multiple stores to find the products I wanted. On top of that, I spent an incredible amount of time reading product labels to make sure all the ingredients were plant-based. Doing this every week turned out to be a problem. I knew others were experiencing the same challenges in finding quality vegan products in traditional grocery stores.
The seed was planted. I knew the solution: an all-vegan grocery store where customers would find a variety of products that were certified vegan, providing a sense of relief and comfort to vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians. That was the birth of Vegan Fine Foods. It was time to develop the plan."
-Steven Smith, Founder & CEO of Vegan Fine Foods
Located on the corner of SW 2nd Street and SW 4th Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Vegan Fine Foods offers a 100% Vegan Shopping Experience.
The business is separated into three main categories:
1. Vegan Fine Foods - 100% Vegan Everything. The store's stock has an array of over 4,000 vegan grocery items including vegan snacks, vegan cheeses, mock meats, ice creams, and more! Customers no longer have to wonder if the foods they buy are are vegan or not.
2. Vegan Fine Cafe - Their on-site vegan café includes a wide selection of menu items including smoothies, açaí bowls, salads, burritos, burgers, sandwiches, hot plates, and much more.
3. Vegan Fine Body - This new all-vegan and cruelty-free health & beauty care boutique is now an integral part of Vegan Fine Foods. It offers customers a variety of high quality products including vitamins, supplements, superfoods, body care, hair care, facial care and make-up. The first location is right next door to the Vegan Fine Foods market in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
After selling $1.2 million of vegan products at their first location, Vegan Fine Foods has plans to expand through franchising opportunities, e-commerce, and its own branded line of Vegan Fine Foods products.
1) Expand Vegan Fine Foods: They have plans to introduce delivery services, hold more events, and market their business to grow their flagship location.
2) Vegan Fine Foods Online: With the investment money they are currently raising, they are building out a full-service ecommerce store where they will be selling vegan grocery items, health and beauty care products, and other vegan accessories. This will offer national and international shipping.
3) Vegan Fine Franchising: With plans to reach 100+ locations nation-wide, they feel it is best to allow other entrepreneurs to bring a Vegan Fine Foods to their city.
4) Vegan Fine Products: To increase their impact, they plan on releasing their own line of Vegan Products, including Vegan Fine Wines (pictured below).
Investing in Vegan Fine Foods:
In 2019, Vegan Fine Foods opened the doors for Accredited and Non-Accredited investors alike through their WeFunder Crowdfunding Campaign. For as little as $100, customers, investors, and fans can help Vegan Fine Foods achieve their ambitious growth plans of opening more than 100 franchise locations across the U.S.
Here at VegReady
We are dedicated to disrupting the food system and making healthy, plant based meals available at the click of a button. We're proud to support activists like Steven who are working to make veganism accessible to everyone.
Feel free to subscribe to our email newsletter to get notified of our newest list of Vegan Heroes.
Location:
330 SW 2nd Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
If you’re looking to grow your stock portfolio, think plant-based.
Right now, across the globe, the vegan market is exploding. With growing concern for the environment, health, and animal welfare, the rise of veganism is unstoppable. According to The Economist, a staggering 25% of Americans aged 25-34 identify as vegetarian or vegan. This varies greatly from the national average of vegans, which is currently 6% (up from .5% just two years ago). Because millennials are driving this global shift, it is abundantly clear that veganism is indeed the future. As The Economist so clearly states, “Where millennials lead, businesses and governments will follow.”
It’s no surprise that The Economist and Forbes both declared 2019 the year of the vegan. Investors, celebrities, and consumers alike have taken notice of this drastic shift in demand. "Investors and entrepreneurs are capitalizing on a global shift in the way meat is produced. The market opportunity here is massive," said Bruce Friedrich, executive director at the Good Food Institute.
Plant-based meat companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are prime examples of this. Beyond Meat had the most successful IPO so far this year, its stock price soaring 163% in the first day. Even more shocking, Tyson Foods, the largest meat distributor in America, recently increased their 5% shareholding in Beyond Meat to a larger undisclosed figure. Beyond Meat has also attracted prominent investors including celebrity investor and billionaire Bill Gates and Oscar winning actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio. They have also successfully built multi million dollar partnerships with global food chains including Burger King, Dunkin', TGI Fridays, Denny’s, and KFC. Their company is now valued at about $4 billion.
Their largest competitor, Impossible Foods, has decided to offer their meatless meat patty at all US Burger King locations after a successful test run in August.
Similarly, McDonald’s has introduced the McVegan, Domino's has started offering vegan cheese for their pizzas, and countless other restaurants have begun offering vegan options.
A 2018 study by The Plant Based Food Association revealed that the vegan food industry has seen dollar sales grow by 20% in the last year with sales topping a staggering $3.3 billion.
As consumers salivate over alternative meat products that taste just like the real thing, investors are salivating over what some predict could become a $35 billion plant-based meat market.
It seems that going vegan could be both the healthiest and wealthiest investment you ever make.
To stay up to date on vegan business, subscribe to the VegReady newsletter
Though you may not realize it, many of the candies you love are already vegan!
With all of the goodies suitable for vegans, there’s no reason to miss out on any Halloween festivities.
Keep in mind, however, that several candies do contain ingredients derived from animals. Beware of spooky ingredients this Halloween with our comprehensive list of vegan candies.
Creepy ingredients to look out for:
Here, we’ve compiled a list of candies that are free of animal products. Many of these are “accidentally vegan”, meaning they happen to not contain any animal products but were not intentionally produced to suit vegans.
Note: The fun-sized versions of Laffy Taffy are vegan-friendly. But, be cautious with the larger versions, as they contain eggs.
Note: Many of YumEarth's other products are vegan, but check individual packaging to be safe.
Have no fear, chocolate lovers. Below, you will find several options that will satisfy your sweet tooth. No witchcraft here!
No Whey Foods has several options to choose from including many fall favorites: peanut butter cups, chocolate squares, and more! Sign up for their email list and get 10% off your order today.
Note: Only the dark chocolate version are vegan
Note: Go Max Go is an all-vegan brand and their products are delicious!
Note: All of Enjoy Life's products are vegan and allergy friendly
Available at Whole Foods and Stop & Shop
So there you have it: 25 candies suitable for those on plant-based diets.
We hope you found something on this list that fits your fancy. So go grab your favorite candy bar, let your inner child come out, and boogie down to the monster mash!
What are you cooking up in your cauldron this Halloween?
]]>The main critique that individuals on a plant-based diet hear is “where do you get your protein?”.
My inner response is, “where do cows get their protein?”. The answer is, “from plants!”.
Did you know that all protein is originally made by plants? That’s right, all protein is created by plants! It’s not necessary to consume animal products to get adequate amounts of protein in your diet.
You see, only plants have the ability to take nitrogen from the air, break those molecules apart, and incorporate that nitrogen into amino acids and make protein. (This is explained in depth in the documentary What The Health, which we encourage you watch!)
So, when we consume animal protein, we are simply eating recycled plant protein. You could even call it ABC protein… Already Been Chewed.
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, physician, former Olympic champion, and author of The China Study, says “Grains are loaded with protein…. Beans are loaded with protein… Vegetables are loaded with protein.” Though some of these foods aren’t complete protein sources by themselves, eating a well-balanced plant-based diet does provide plenty of complete protein.
If you’ve seen The Game Changers, you know that many of the world’s best, strongest athletes are on a plant-based diet. Patrik Baboumian, Germany’s strongest man, said “Someone asked me, ‘How could you get as strong as an ox without eating any meat?’ to which he replied, ‘Have you ever seen an ox eat meat?’” In fact, the largest, strongest terrestrial animals on the planet are all herbivores. The myth idea that vegans are protein deficient is just that: a myth.
Several studies have shown that vegans have, on average, higher blood protein content than most meat-eaters out there. The main reason is that because we don’t consume animal protein, our liver does not have to fight the inflammation caused by it -- and therefore our plant-sourced protein gets distributed more efficiently.
So, it turns out that protein is not a huge concern for vegans, despite what you may have heard. As long as we follow the Academy Of Nutrition & Dietetics’ guidelines, we’re in good shape.
Nevertheless, protein is a very important macronutrient that provides the body with energy for physical activity, promotes muscular formation, and repairs muscle tissue.
While there is some amount of protein in virtually all foods, here, we have compiled a list of concentrated protein sources within the plant kingdom.
Seitan is a popular protein source for those on a plant-based diet. If you’ve never heard of it before, don’t be scared off by it’s name! Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten, the main protein found in wheat. Unlike many soy-based products, it resembles the look and texture of meat when cooked. Often referred to as ‘wheat meat’, seitan contains about 25 grams of protein per 100 grams.
Quinoa is a popular choice among healthy eaters. Suitable for any diet, quinoa is gluten-free, has 8 grams of protein per 100 grams, and contains sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source. This superfood is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E, and various beneficial antioxidants. This is why it is the main dish in many of our VegReady meals.
Lentils are protein-rich legumes. Whether you buy red, brown, or green lentils, just one cup provides 24 grams of protein! When combined with a whole grain, lentils provide the same quality protein as meat! They are also a great source of fiber and phytonutrients that cannot be found in animal derived foods.
There are many kinds of beans and they are all equally delicious! Whether you like kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, white beans, or chickpeas, the benefits of these protein-packed plants are endless! Not only are they an excellent source of fiber, protein, and B vitamins, they also help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Per 100 grams, beans provide around 20 grams of protein!
Tofu, tempeh, and edamame are all made from soybeans. According to healthline, soybeans are considered to be a complete source of protein. This means that they provide the body with all the essential amino acids it needs.
All three of these are good sources of iron, calcium, and other beneficial vitamins and nutrients. 100 grams of tofu contains 9 grams of protein, 100 grams of tempeh contains 19 grams of protein, and 100 grams of edamame contains 11 grams of protein.
Did you know just one cup of green peas has 8 grams of protein? They’re also a vitamin powerhouse! No wonder peas were favored by the ancient Egyptians, who buried them in their tombs for use in the afterlife. Go vegan: Give Peas A Chance
At 17 grams of protein and 37 grams of fiber per 100 grams, chia seeds deserve some recognition. These little seeds are a great source of iron, calcium, selenium, and magnesium, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. Chia seeds are also incredibly versatile! When you soak chia seeds in liquid, they become gelatinous and can be used for puddings and even as an egg replacer for baked goods.
One cup of cooked oats provides 6 grams of protein. They are a very nutritious food packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. A bowl of freshly cooked oats topped with some nuts, seeds, and fresh fruit is a great way to start your day off right!
We are very fortunate to live in an era where plant-based alternatives are so widely accessible. Not only can you brew some up on your own, but every grocery store has a huge variety of non-dairy milks now! Some of the VegReady team’s favorites are almond, cashew, and oat milk, but you can also buy soy, coconut, rice, walnut, hemp, flax, macadamia, peanut, hazelnut, and banana milks too! One glass of non-dairy milk can have as much as 10 grams of protein in it! Many of these cow milk alternatives are also available with both chocolate and vanilla flavoring. What a time to be alive.
Nuts are a fantastic source of protein, fat, and fiber. While each nut has different protein contents, one cup of mixed nuts yields about 27 grams of protein! When most people hear the word ‘fat’, they run; but it’s important to note that most of the fat in nuts is monounsaturated as well as omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat. Though they do contain minimal amounts of saturated fat, nuts also have several vitamins and minerals including magnesium and vitamin E.
So there you have it: 10 nutritious sources of vegan protein. Comment and let us know your favorite protein-packed meals!
]]>Whether you just went vegan or simply want to refresh your memory, we’ve compiled a list of food products to avoid if you’re trying your hand at a vegan lifestyle.
Though it’s important to check the nutrition label on a product’s packaging to make sure it’s vegan-friendly, oftentimes, shoppers can be misled by tricky marketing and hard-to-read labels.
To prevent being misinformed about the origin of an ingredient or product, continue reading to learn the seven foods vegans choose not to eat. We invite you to take this as an obvious, yet organized list of the basics of vegan eating habits.
Remember: Our vegan values are put to the test at least three times a day during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So it’s important for us vegans to be consistent in our commitment to respect our friends in fur and feathers.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Let’s start with the most obvious one: meat! Meat usually traces back to a slaughterhouse where- to use meat industry lingo- animal flesh is ‘harvested’.
Livestock animals vegans don’t eat:
Poultry largely refers to domesticated birds and is a major source of protein for most of the American population (and also a major source of bad cholesterol!).
Poultry includes:
While there are over 100 breeds of fish, the most popular sea creatures consumed by Americans are:
These animal products account for over 90% of the fish and most of the seafood consumed in the U.S alone.
The ethical concern vegans have with fish is that, even though they cannot display facial gestures like most land animals, given their possession of a central nervous system, they feel pain and suffer just like other animals.
Ethical vegans are also concerned with the millions of beautiful (and often endangered) animals who get caught in the crossfire such as dolphins and sea turtles. The industry views the unintended death of these animals as “collateral damage”.
This is one of the main products that separates a vegetarian diet from a vegan diet. Vegans do not eat dairy products or anything that comes from another animal. To be more specific, vegans choose not to drink the milk, milk powder, milk serum, or cheese that comes from:
Cattle produce over 80% of the world’s milk production -- followed by buffaloes with 14%, goats with 2% and sheep with 1% -- and they require massive amounts of feed, water, and land. Vegans argue these resources could be used instead to produce plant crops to feed the world population and transition towards a more sustainable model of production.
For those who follow the Standard American Diet (appropriately named SAD diet), it is likely you consume eggs every day. If you could trace back your fried egg breakfast to its source, you’d find they come from poultry like chickens or pigeons. Eggs come to be eggs because they’re meant to contain a baby chick, pigeon, ostrich, etc. within them. The shell protects the baby and the yolk sac helps as nourishment until he or she hatches out of the egg shell. In particular, vegans ditch:
Many vegans choose not to eat eggs because of the brutal conditions egg-laying hens live in, not to mention the ethical concerns with taking away something so intimate from an animal. Eggs are also a high source of cholesterol and thus cannot be legally labeled as “healthy” or “nutritious”, which raises a lot of health concerns among the plant-based community.
This one may seem odd to most people, but the way honey is produced is...let’s say, not very fun for the bees. We’ll let you form your own opinion by watching this video -- but bee vomit doesn’t sound like much of an attractive selling point, does it?
It takes the full longevity of at least eight bees to produce one teaspoon of honey. It’s hard to imagine the cumulative work of a lifetime being used for just one bite.
PETA has a very long list of animal-based ingredients to avoid such as gelatin and bone char (both derived from the bones and/or cartilage from animals) and this is usually what turns so many people away from a plant-based diet. When non-vegans look at their list, vegan diets may seem very restrictive. However, vegan alternatives are everywhere and the plant-based market is exploding. Flexitarians: hang in there and don’t give up on making strides to becoming 100% vegan!
In our next article, we will carefully select some of the elements of PETA’s list and give an insight about each and why vegans choose not to eat them. We’ll call it Vegan 102! Stay tuned!
So there you go: seven foods that vegans don’t eat.
Are you or a friend having trouble approaching a fully plant-based diet?
Sign up for our email list to find out our best tips and tricks on transitioning to a plant-based world!
Flexitarians often follow a vegetarian or vegan diet for the most part, but not quite 100% in either case. While they do incorporate minimal amounts of meat, dairy, and eggs into their diets, they seek to reduce (and in some cases, even eliminate) their demand for animal-derived foods. There are many tools available to those looking to begin their plant-based journeys such as Meatless Mondays and TryVeg Tuesdays.
Here at VegReady, we realize that not many people decide to go vegan overnight. Attempting an “all-or-nothing” approach with any lifestyle change usually poses as a roadblock and often results in backsliding. Although some people can transition in one day, most people can’t. Know yourself, embrace your differences, and don’t be afraid to try something new.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” -Chinese Proverb
We find that a majority of our customers are on a quest to reduce their animal product intake after learning of the health, environmental, and ethical implications surrounding modern-day factory farming.
While VegReady meals are 100% vegan, we recognize that many of our customers identify as flexitarian and eat a number of plant-based meals each week.
So, if you’re ready to become a bit more conscious about your food choices, you’ve come to the right place! Here, we will explain in layman’s terms what you can do to adopt a flexitarian diet.
Because it’s not as strict as a vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian diet, flexitarians are still considered to be on an omnivorous diet. This means flexitarians can still consume animal products such as:
Of course, even vegans understand that everyone loves pizza and other traditional fast foods, so don’t feel as though you have to abandon your favorite foods forever. Take flexitarianism as an opportunity to explore vegan and vegetarian alternatives such as dairy free cheese and and to get in touch with delicious, plant-based cooking!
Get to know, for example, the 9 best plant milks that are widely available and inexpensive. You may be surprised to learn that many ethnic cuisines are suitable for plant-based dishes. The great thing about becoming more food-conscious is that we understand where our food comes from and know how to live compassionately toward out fellows in fur and feathers.
We encourage you to consider flexitarianism as a tangible step towards an easy transition if you or your friends are looking to live a happy, healthy, and cruelty-free life!
VegReady meals are another tool for those just beginning to explore plant-based eating. Because all of our meals are pre-cooked -- with no cooking, heating, or refrigeration needed -- just open, eat, complete! Make sure to sign up for our Vegan Angel Project to receive two meal boxes for free and #GET2GIVE1 to a loved one!
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Social Investor Terry Mollner, Previously an 18-Year Board Member of Ben & Jerry's Invests in VegReady and Joins Our Team on Our Board of Advisors
‘The world’s going toward vegan. I was never expecting to invest, but companies like VegReady present an opportunity I just couldn’t pass on. I’m sure this is the first building block to something special.”
This is what Terry Mollner, founder at Trusteeship Institute, Calvert Social Impact & published author on Responsible Investing, said in a statement to VegReady.
Terry has over 40 years of experience in Social Responsible Investing, and has even mentored Beyond Meat’s Seth Goldman.
This is no run-of-the-mill wealthy individual. Terry is actually interested in bringing value to the plant-based transition and hence why, even after retirement, he’s bringing back his know-how & investments to young up-and-comers like VegReady. All with the intent to disrupt the ready-meal industry.
Terry was the key negotiator in Ben & Jerry’s sale to Unilever, who then asked him to keep his role as a Board Member to insure the success of the acquisition. With this in mind, he definitely has a thing or two to teach the next generation food company, VegReady about Social Responsibility.
VegReady wants to follow the steps of Beyond Meat and others in creating successful Vegan companies.
To give a quick insight into what VegReady offers, we’re a Vegan Ready-Meal company which is actually Ready To Eat. Yes, no cooking or refrigeration needed anymore. And it’s healthier than most options out there, especially if you’re a fast-food lover.
Terry is a longtime friend of our Founder & CEO, Mark Perlmutter. With a team of digitally nomadic millennial activists, our company has the best of both worlds. Our goal is to remove 1,712,454 animals from the food chain yearly by making delicious, affordable and easy plant meals for 2 million meat-eaters to enjoy twice a week.
For those who don’t know, Mark is 68, vegan, activist, creator of the vegan documentary ‘Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes In 30 Days’, viewed by 2 million people.
However, Mark felt he needed something so convenient to soar high on the food industry and thus make more people embrace plant-based: and that’s how VegReady started.
By working with food engineers the idea for a pre-cooked, delicious, non-perishable mealboxes came to him, VegReady was finally a hit. A ready to eat meal would help solve the problem faced by millions of Americans when trying to take the first step.
As we progressed, we got funded in Kickstarter & Mark went to Peru (the first country to ban GMO imports) to begin production of these affordable, plant-based meals. They contain delicious, healthy Peruvian grown quinoa and vegetables.
“I’ve seen most Americans struggle with all-or-nothing diets, and those really don’t help them succeed. But anyone can replace just two meals per week, it’s much easier than changing every meal. VegReady is healthy fast food. And with my colleague Terry we’re on a mission to make the world better.”
You would be surprised with how many leading vegans relate to this mindset. That’s why we have been endorsed by Cowspiracy’s director Keegan Kuhn, PETA founders, MFA, F.A.R.M Animal Rights Conference, Happy Cow & many others. With this milestone, we’re one step closer to building a company that makes right: using real food with no suffering to change people's food habits for the better.
As Mark understands that ‘the best parts of capitalism need to embrace activism’, VegReady is excited to bring Terry and other investors on board to help this company grow.
Our customers may become volunteer brand ambassadors to help spread the word among their friends & family.
Take a look at our meals at: www.VegReady.com
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Ever wondered how our body changes internally when we get a chronic disease?
This NIH project mapped the microbes of hundreds of people for up to 4 years.
Here’s the scoop.
With a 10:1 ratio of microbes to human cells, it’s not uncommon that scientific research is linking health and disease with the microbiomes inside each of us.
In layman’s terms, the solution to health is possibly within ourselves and we CAN do something about it.
One initial way to go about understanding this solution is taking a look at what is potentially the largest study by the US National Institute of Health on the interaction between microbes, humans and disease: ‘The Human Microbiome Project’ (HMP).
*For the sake of this article, microbiome is understood as a collection of microbes.*
The HMP has been in the works since 2007. t has now paved the way to a fascinating question: can we crack the two principle struggles of chronic disease—early diagnosis and treatment—by tinkering with the microbiome?
The HMP released large datasets and findings on 3 main diseases, based upon research carried out by three prestigious US universities. Here’s the breakdown.
This study demonstrated that microbiomes tend to remain stable until some external event breaks our immunological balance - say, getting hit by a case of the flu. The group composed of healthy individuals matched their body reactions with their microbiome, setting up a resistant immune defense. However, the other two groups had a relatively slow response and fewer reactions occurred in their microbiome.
These findings could be used to map microbial reactions to other diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.(according to the NIH).
In this study, the microbiome of individuals with IBD changed significantly when their diseases flared up, yet their microbiomes stayed within normal boundaries when their diseases were dormant. With this in mind, the researchers were able to track which microbial communities in IBD patients are key in the development of the disease.
Microbes have a crucial symbiotic relationships with our health,andthey even get passed along generations ( even more so than genes!). Looking at female health, the vaginal microbiome has been associated with risk of preterm birth - as it changes in composition during the first trimester.
One section of this study found that a particular type of bacteria (Lactobacillus) tends to dominate the vaginal microbiome at the expense of other microbes. And low levels of this type of bacteria were correlated with premature birth. According to the NIH, this is an important model as it allows us predict risk and accordingly apply crucial interventions.
Now that the data is in - thanks to the volunteers of this mammoth project - it’s possible to make impactful determinations,like assessing which subsets of a population need to be on the lookout for early diagnosis and treatment for a number of serious chronic diseases.
Not only chronic diseases need to be checked, psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety are also linked to changes in our microbiome (specially in our gut), and findings from this research can guide interventions for these disorders as well . That being said, medicine is in the midst of a revolution: instead of curing only one part of the body or one symptom at a time, practitioners are addressing patients as microbial wholes. 70% of diseases are caused by lifestyle changes, and it’s important to embrace industry revolutions in line with the ‘Food As Medicine’ movement.
Nowadays, doctors are embracing the idea of becoming teachers (honoring the latin origin of the word ‘doctor’) and sharing these crucial ideas with their patients in order to prevent & treat a disease. As an example of this, take a look at the countrywide chapters of ‘Walk With A Doc’.
One of the lead researchers from Harvard, Dr. Curtis Huttenhower, said in a statement he made to Singularity Hub: “Everyone’s a snowflake, as far as the microbiome is concerned”. However, by tracking changes in one person’s multiple individual microbiomes, we could one day catch a multitude of diseases before any other symptoms and stop them!
In fact, even our food can be matched to our snowflake-ish microbiome. One day we hope to make this ambitious dream come true, one tasty meal at a time.
Stay tuned for that and so much more.
]]>But before we go in depth, I'm happy to do a recap for the newcomers:
Not only can fully-grown humans get infected, but 'newly acquired T. gondii (ref. Toxoplasma) infection in a pregnant woman can be transmitted to the fetus and may cause mental retardation, blindness, epilepsy, and death'.
Given that toxoplasma is known to manipulate the behavior of their hosts, this means that - if unaddressed - it could be passed down by generations and harm people's health.
This is a serious issue - as a foodborne illness, it's extremely associated with lifestyle choices, such as diet. And the sad thing is that the brain cysts formed by Toxoplasma cannot be treated with antiparasitic drugs yet, according to Dr. Greger.
So, what's left for us? Prevention. Which is the main focus of this article.
I'll list you a few suggestions that I picked up from Dr. Greger's videos on Toxoplasmosis.
Folates are very rich in beans & greens like lentils and spinach, plus other compounds like lysine, which help with cognition, learning & memory.
Just as a reminder, this parasite is dormant within you, it's benign, but you can prevent it from triggering by eating more of these foods.
Since cooking is also a problem for a third of Americans, we decided to do the cooking for you and provide you a better meal than fast food, made out of plants and whole foods. And we include lentils and spinach in our meal plans.
We don’t like to brag, but we are not shy about what’s on our resume: we have been endorsed by multiple plant-based doctors and we are on the path to be as convenient as possible so everyone can eat better and prevent diseases like the one in the blog post.
You can use the code JUNE2019 and get 15% off your first purchase and start now!!
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]]>That's a scary name for a brain parasite, if you ask me. That being said, the idea of a ‘brain parasite’ is scary in and of itself!
What's more scary, though, is that this particular foodborne brain parasite has already infected 25% of all adult Americans. And yet, like me, I’d bet you've never heard of it!
Now for a touch of good news: being infected by this parasite is typically a benign condition… that is, so long as your immune system keeps it at bay. Some studies have found it in people with HIV/AIDS, for instance, - a disease that compromises the immune system
But that doesn't negate the fact that, when sufficiently triggered, it can lead to psiquiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and even suicidal tendencies.
But before I propose any serious correlation that might get me in trouble with the scientific community, let's look at this basic assumption: parasites can alter the behavior of hosts, right?
Scientists have seen this with ants who become infected by so-called 'enslaver' funghi, which come to control the ant and lead it to bite the ground, allowingthe fungus to emerge from the ant's head and become easily dispersed by the wind.
Uhm...okay?
Dr. Greger from nutritionfacts.org suggests that toxoplasma could perform parasitic manipulation in more complex organisms, in an effort to increase its likelihood of getting caught by predators. Here's another example:
We know mice and cats have a natural prey-predator link. Hence, mice are averse to cat odours.
Enter, toxoplasma. The condition favored by this parasite makes the mice attracted to cat odour, and so the parasite gets transmitted when mice get eaten.
Not only that, toxoplasma has been taken as a motor-impairing parasite: making the mice unable to escape when stalked by predators.
If you've been following this article, you might have a clue: it makes you more likely to take risks. Specifically, they boost your dopamine*levels, making you more willing not to care about getting into a traffic accident, consume large quantities of alcohol, and even attempting suicide.
According to nutritionfacts.org, Toxoplasma (or Toxoplasma Gondii) contains an anzyme that is capable of producing dopamine that is then released into our brain tissue. High levels of dopamineis a key symptom for Schizophrenia disorder & 50 studies have supported this relationship.
So maybe it is better for our own good to keep this parasite at bay, even if we already have it within ourselves. You can also check the playlist I compiled about Toxoplasmosis and its effects on the brain!
In the next part of this blog post, I will discuss some possible foods (and other daily activities) you can do to avoid triggering this latent and unknown (yet not ver popular) parasite. Stay tuned!
The statements written in this article do not reflect VegReady's opinion nor views in the matter of neurological conditions.
]]>What’s the deal with the gut and the brain? Just to paint the landscape for you:
So there is evidence to suggest that our brain can be protected by a healthy biofilm, aka the bacteria lining our gut wall.
But to build a solid biofilm, the Scientific Advisor at Whole Foods Market, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, suggests we avoid food with a high glycemic content - this includes white sugar & flour, since they cause a sugar spike in the blood, which damages the brain and can lead to mental illness.
That pizza (even that vegan pizza) you're gonna have this week isn't looking so appetizing after all, is it? The bad gut bacteria will be happy after eating it, but you won't.
Glucose and insulin spikes come from of sugar-loaded foods, including sugar-loaded processed foods and also natural foods such as bananas, honey and agave syrup.
But there's an amazing, easy solution.
He calls this a ‘Nutritarian Diet’. The best part is that because these foods thicken our biofilm, it becomes strong enough to resist sugar spikes in the blood, which otherwise damage the brain and cause inflammation!
To sum up, THIS IS BACTERIA FOOD - you are what they eat, give them a treat!
Dr. Fuhrman recommends eating 4 foods everyday that feed our bacteria, increasing our good biofilm which reduces the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream. These are: onions, green veggies, beans & mushrooms.
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Since you got to this part of the post, we want to reward you with half a meal for free if you share this article - do it again on our next article and you'll earn the full meal on us!
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If your bad bacteria out number the good ones, they can pave the way to mild depression or severe conditions such as autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, dementia. It all comes down to a simple statement: “the bacterial diversity in your gut, plays a role in brain health”.
You can think of it as a minute by minute tug of war between superheroes & villains: the superheroes are the good microbiome bacteria that help you regulate brain functions, digestive control, fat storage, and hundreds of processes we have yet to discover.
While the villains are the bad bacteria who interfere with healthy brain electrical activity, which can lead to degenerative diseases and brain tissue injury.
As explained in a previous post, the food we eat plays a crucial role in determining which bacteria rule our gut. Since vegetable fiber is the perfect food for your good bacteria to thrive, help your superheroes and eat your fiber-loaded veggies (and nuts)!
PD: We will be releasing a part II of this blog post in order to bring more detail into what specific foods can provide us with the necessary compounds for brain health optimization. So stay tuned with VegReady!
]]>- James Okoshken, Marketing Director at VegReady
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So there was I, minding my own business in the peaceful surroundings of Kennedy Park in Lima Perú, when I stumbled upon a big crowd of people and a couple of photographers.
My vegan spidey sense was tingling...and it delivered, kind of.
From a distance I was able to spot a 4 ft. 5' individual dressed as Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones (GoT). I should've known better.
I don't know how it happened (it was Sunday and maybe my weekly dose of B12, taken each Monday, was running low) but I was truly convinced it was the real Tyrion Lannister - or at least the actor who plays him on GoT!
I'd say there was a crowd of at least 50 people surrounding the Peter Dinklage doppelganger. I decided to dive in and in doing so made an utter fool of myself... I later found out everyone but I knew it was only a look-a-like -- and neglected to tell me 😯
As soon as I was 2 feet from the photographers, within earshot, I asked them, with a shaky voice and sweaty palms, 'please let him endorse my product, I know he's vegan too!'. Having successfully grabbed their attention, I started to tell them about our MealBoxes (I always keep one in my backpack) and eventually… he agreed to take ONE picture (without speaking a word to me... I should've known).
The picture I walked away with was worth my making a fool of myself , and, to be honest, he really ‘GoT’ me, so I applaud him on his stellar performance as a Tyrion Lannister cosplayer (his ig handle is @omarmilla_z).
The most interesting part: while he might not be vegan, he agreed to take a picture with our plant-based meals because he believed that'd be something the real Peter Dinklage would do.
With all that being said, and with my gullibility exposed for the world to see, , if you happen to know anyone from the real Peter Dinklage’s PR team, please send him this story. I think he’d appreciate the humor of it all, , and who knows, perhaps he’ll pity me, love our business, idea, and team up with VegReady to share our vegan message? All said and done, this may just be the perfect story to get our beloved cast member join us for some VegReady activism!
]]>Our customers often start with a couple meals a week and move on to a fully plant-based diet. Just ‘getting started’ and figuring out how and where to eat is often the hardest part of a vegan or plant-based transition, and our meals make that process as easy as possible!
If you’ve been with us long enough, you might know that our team is driven by action above all else. We love sharing information, but our primary goal is to empower people to effectively transition to a plant-based diet, or help others do so, by giving them - and allowing them to gift or give coupons for - the easiest plant-based meal.
We encourage people to send our meals to their pre-vegan loved ones as a way to help them get started, as we believe a gentle and loving nudge can be all it takes for someone to begin their plant-based journey
In fact, we see this is a crucial tool for vegan activists to help others, as it’s the action item so many pre-vegans need when they express interest in beginning a vegan journey but perceive the difficulty of finding plant-based meals or changing their habits as too great an obstacle.
Our team is comprised of 4 dedicated vegan activists and entrepreneurs whose sole purpose is to create a service that can help the vegan movement. With that in mind, our team never misses the chance to attend 'Cubes of Truth'* and share with curious pre-vegans the ethical foundations of veganism.
I attended the latest Cube of Truth in Lima, Perú, held at the famous Kennedy Park. I always travel with a VegReady MealBox to impress my vegan friends and share with them our success in helping pre-vegans get started on their journey. This is a picture of me and my friend Sol, who coordinated the event
The thing I love the most about these experiences is that I get to hear people’s perspectives and in doing so continue to learn effective ways in which to communicate with both trust and understanding. That way, pre-vegans view my arguments as logical and sensible, rather than extreme. The key to effectively communicating the ultimate message of veganism, is finding common ground and showing generosity, understanding, and love. Gifting someone a meal, or offering them a coupon is giving them that crucial sense of understanding as well as an action item they can follow up on after their eyes and hearts have been opened by the images and truths they’ve just seen.
We hope to one day be a key tool for vegans to help their pre-vegan friends try vegan. So with more people in the know, food can turn into activism ☮️
*For those who don't know, a 'Cube of Truth' (CoT) is a gathering that most activists from Anonymous For The Voiceless organize to help people question their life choices with respect to animal rights. In essence, activists form a cube holding screens that play footage depicting factory farming and the animal agriculture industryand answer questions from people that approaches said cube.
]]>The major difference is that DNA is fixed at birth , you always have the same genes; but it’s actually our gut microbiome that causes expression of some genes and not others. This expression - caused by changes in our microbiome - is examined further in the field of Epi-Genetics.
Besides turning on and off different genes for expression, gut bacteria also happens to play a key role in producing important regulatory compounds. For instance mood regulators and neurotransmitters like Serotonin, Dopamine which if absent lead to depression.
If your gut bacteria can change your mood, you can literally have a 'gut feeling'.
So it’s easy to see why taking non-specific antibiotics isn’t a good idea unless really needed, because it can actually lead to imbalanced microflora and negatively affect our mental state.
The easiest way to feed your flora is eating root vegetables with resistant starch (like sweet potatoes and onions) that make it to the lower bowel undigested. There our Microflora eat it and thrive, producing happy hormones for us. Maybe it’s their way of rewarding us for eating foods that feed them.
That’s a symbiotic relationship we see in all successful species. So feed your flora and it will feed you!
]]>Did you know that VegReady meals stay fresh for over 12 months?
Our All-Natural Process uses a 150 year-old canning technique mixed with innovative technologies developed by military scientists!
In layman's terms..
Our meals stay fresh without refrigeration similar to a glass jar of tomato sauce.
First, we place our foods into air-tight, sealed containers.
The meals are heated to the appropriate temperature within this sealed container.
As long as it remains sealed, it stores in your cabinet for up to 12 months (from production date - not necessarily delivery day), at any point you can simply open, serve, and enjoy.
Unlike most products on supermarket shelves that contain dangerous chemicals, VegReady’s natural food-preservation process keeps your food fresh and ready without harmful ingredients.
The end-result: Just open and eat!
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