Veg-net and the Vegan Business Tribe’s Battle of the Brands competition returns for 2025

From theplantbasemag.com

UK plant-based networking event Veg-net, in partnership with the Vegan Business Tribe, is bringing its Battle of the Brands competition back this year.

Taking place on 4 June 2025 at the Radisson Blu London Stansted Airport, Veg-net connects plant-based challenger brands with key UK and European retail buyers such as Ocado, GreenPro International, Suma and the Vegan Wholesaler.

Battle of the Brands provides one plant-based business with an opportunity to secure a delegate place at Veg-net worth £1,750, including ten pre-arranged meetings with buyers, plus a one-on-one coaching session with a judge.

Plant-based F&B brands looking to break into retail or scale beyond their first listings can enter the competition by submitting a 60-second video and entry form via the Vegan Business Tribe’s website. Applications close on 3 March 2025, with finalists announced in early March.

Three finalists will compete in a live ‘Dragon’s Den’-style final on 18 March 2025, pitching to a panel of industry experts: Joe Hill (One Planet Pizza), Mirrin Lewis (the Vegan Society), Chris Kong (Better Nature Tempeh) and Keith Lesser (Vegan Accountants).

Two runners-up will win a half-price ticket to the event plus a free coaching session. All entrants will gain access to early bird pricing for Veg-net. No membership with Vegan Business Tribe is required, and videos don’t need to be professionally produced.

Last year’s winner, Louisa Mitchell from plant-based meal brand Wildly Tasty, said: “I was blown away to have won the competition and the free place at Veg-Net – such an incredible opportunity to meet with so many buyers face-to-face, network with food founders and raise awareness of Wildly Tasty”.

She added: “It was an absolute bonus to receive a coaching session from Andy Shovel, [founder of This], too. This is an opportunity not to be missed by a vegan business owner, whatever stage of the journey they are at.”

One Planet Pizza’s Joe Hill commented: “We are especially looking for brands that not only taste great but also bring clear health benefits, feature functional ingredients or tap into current consumer trends. We want to find brands that will make retailers take notice – products that stand out for their taste, nutritional value, convenience or ability to meet the growing demand for healthier plant-based swaps.”

The Plant Base is returning as an official event partner for Veg-net 2025.

https://www.theplantbasemag.com/news/veg-net-and-the-vegan-business-tribe-s-battle-of-the-brands-competition-returns-for-2025 

New Platform ‘FoodFacts.org’ Combats Nutrition Misinformation

From plantbasednews.org

With misinformation and disinformation rife on social media, FoodFacts.org is here to share the truth 

The Freedom Food Alliance (FFA) has announced the launch of a new platform, FoodFacts.org, which aims to combat nutrition misinformation in the digital age.

The lines between fact and fiction are “increasingly blurred,” according to the FFA. Following the news that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be ending third-party fact-checking on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, there has been growing concern about the rise of false information on social media.

FoodFacts.org is dedicated to “providing accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information about the food we consume.” Its central feature is an AI-powered chatbot that can answer a wide range of questions regarding food, nutrition, and myth-busting. A team of experts also contributes regular articles dedicated to combating misinformation and disinformation in media, covering issues such as seed oils and the recent social media allegation that oats are “unhealthy.”

“Food is one of the most fundamental aspects of human life, and yet it remains one of the most misunderstood,” said FFA founder Robbie Lockie in a statement. “FoodFacts.org is here to cut through the noise, debunk myths, and give people access to trustworthy, science-backed information.”

About the Freedom Food Alliance and FoodFacts.org

Freedom Food AllianceThe Freedom Food Alliance was set up to combat nutrition misinformation

Founded by Lockie – the cofounder of Plant Based News – in 2024, the FFA was set up to combat misinformation and disinformation in the global food industry. It previously published a major report detailing how the animal agriculture industry is spreading falsehoods via publicity campaigns, which is having a considerable and negative impact on global food systems and the environment.

For the FFA, accuracy is “paramount,” and Lockie is working with several nutrition experts to ensure the most up-to-date and precise information is available. The platform goes further, aiming to educate its readers on the issues of misinformation and disinformation, how to recognize them, and the dangers they pose to society.

“Our starting point as fact-checkers is to address and correct widely circulating claims that could harm people’s health and well-being. But our mission extends beyond the correction of inaccuracies,” said Dr. Elise Hutchinson, Ph.D., lead researcher and cofounder of FoodFacts.org. “We analyse and expose the broader narratives that tie these claims together and make them persuasive, helping our readers understand the mechanisms behind misinformation.”

Visit FoodFacts.org for more information.

https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/food/foodfacts-nutrition-misinformation/

Las Vegas named second best city in US for vegans and vegetarians. See who's No. 1.

From eu.rgj.com

As it turns out, they don't call themselves Las Vegans for nothing.

Las Vegas was named the second best city in the country for vegan and vegetarian food by Buycycle, a blog focused on all things cycling.

Buycycle based its study on plant-based restaurants per capita. Las Vegas, which has 507 vegan eateries, was beat only by Portland, Oregon, for density of meat-free food opportunities.

Forbes also named the Southern Nevada city as a top destination for vegan food last year, and WalletHub ranked Las Vegas high on its list of best vegan cities in the country in 2025.

Here's a look at Buycycle's list of the best vegan and vegetarian destinations in the country and what animal product-free restaurants locals recommend.

What are the most vegan- and vegetarian-friendly cities in the U.S.?

Buycycle's list of the most vegan and vegetarian eatery dense cities in the U.S. are ranked below.

It's worth noting Buycycle used the population of the urban cities within city limits, not the major metropolitan area. That means Las Vegas' population does not count Henderson, Paradise or the other various towns and unincorporated areas we commonly refer to as Las Vegas.

1. Portland, Oregon: 639 restaurants for a city with 622,882 population
2. Las Vegas: 507 restaurants, 665,640 population
3. San Francisco: 593 restaurants, 788,478 population
4. Seattle: 571 restaurants, 759,915 population
5. Atlanta: 366 restaurants, 514,465 population
6. Washington, D.C.: 420 restaurants 681,683 population
7. Denver: 438 restaurants, 716,234 population
8. Tampa, Florida: 244 restaurants, 408,510 population
9. Miami: 247 restaurants, 460,289 population
10. Minneapolis: 222 restaurants, 423,250 population
11. 
    

Highly rated vegan and vegetarian restaurants on the Strip

• Crossroads Kitchen has been featured in Forbes, Yelp and City Cast Las Vegas for its vegan fine dining experience. According to Forbes, Crossroads, which is in Resorts World, is the first ever fully plant-based upscale restaurant. The menu features vegan caviar, grilled lion's mane steak and eggplant filet. Location: 3000 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
• Sinatra is one of the restaurants in the Wynn that was highlighted on Las Vegas Reddit boards as the casino with the best vegan options, as long as visitors are OK with a more expensive experience. Sinatra offers various plant-based options including a vegan chick'n parmesan and mushroom agnolotti. Location: 3131 Las Vegas Blvd.
• Din Tai Fung in the Aria offers vegan buns, vegan wonton soup and a variety of vegan greens. Din Tai Fung was named in Yelp's vegan fine dining in Las Vegas list and featured in Conde Nast Traveler. Location: 3730 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
• Truth & Tonic in the Venetian has options including vegan banh mi sandwiches and red lentil hummus toast. The restaurant was featured in Las Vegas Restaurant Week and Visit Las Vegas. Location: 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Level 4, follow the signs for the Canyon Ranch Spa.
• Slice of Vegas in the Mandalay Bay has a full vegan menu that has typical pizzeria bar food like buffalo cauliflower bites and half Sicilian non-meat lovers pizza. Slice of Vegas was mentioned on Reddit and Vegas Means Business. Location: 3930 Las Vegas Blvd., Suite 120.
• 
  

What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?

A vegetarian does not eat the flesh of an animal, but may eat animal by-products such as milk, cheese or eggs. Vegans do not eat animal flesh or any animal by-products.

https://eu.rgj.com/story/life/food/2025/02/17/what-u-s-city-has-the-most-vegan-vegetarian-restaurants-per-capita/78472222007/ 

Bafta Guests Served Vegan Caviar As Part Of More Sustainable Menu

From plantbasednews.org

The luxury food can be made without fish eggs

Caviar made from seaweed instead of fish eggs was served at the Bafta Awards as part of the charity’s efforts to promote sustainability.

Around 2,000 guests were served a three-course menu at the Southbank Centre in London after the awards ceremony. The caviar came in reusable tins featuring the Bafta mask, served with sourdough bread.

The Baftas served around 2,000 guests a dinner that included vegan caviar - Media Credit: Peter Vallance / Alamy Stock Photo

There were other plant-forward items on the menu, including pickled or parfait organic mushrooms from Sussex as the starter. The meat-free option for the main was roast crown prince squash and zero-waste root vegetable bhaji.

Bafta promotes sustainability in the film and television industry through its albert programme. Albert provides tools and guidance for the industry to reduce its environmental impact, including how to create content that promotes climate action.

More sustainable caviar

Rimma Bondarenko / Alamy Stock PhotoFamous chefs including Aleix Gauthier and Kirk Haworth have made caviar from seaweed

Bafta guests are not the first to have enjoyed vegan caviar. It is becoming a more common alternative, with several producers and restaurants such as Gauthier Soho offering it for sale. Plant-based chef Kirk Haworth won the fish round of Great British Menu with seaweed caviar.

Caviar made from fish eggs, known as roe, is often regarded as both cruel and unsustainable. European sturgeon are on the brink of extinction due to their eggs being harvested for caviar, as the fishes are killed to extract their eggs. There are regulations in place that are supposed to protect wild sturgeon and help their numbers recover. But genetic testing of caviar samples from Eastern Europe have revealed that half of commercial caviar has been harvested illegally.

Farmed sturgeon is often described as more sustainable, with some farms being “no-kill” producers. But this still involves handling the fishes, including making incisions to get their eggs out.

https://plantbasednews.org/culture/events/bafta-vegan-caviar/

BrewDog & Impossible Foods Bring Plant-Based “Chicken” Fillets to UK Pubs

From vegconomist.com

BrewDog has launched a new plant-based menu in collaboration with Impossible Foods, Available from February 17 to March 31, the menu features a variety of plant-based dishes made with Impossible Foods’ latest product, the Impossible™ “Chicken” Fillet.

“What could be better than plant-based ‘Chicken’ Fillets, paired with a great pint?”

The menu includes plant-based alternatives to traditional pub fare, such as cheeseburgers, tacos, and loaded fries, along with the Impossible “Chicken” Fillet. This product, designed to replicate the texture and taste of conventional chicken, follows the company’s previous plant-based chicken offerings. Impossible Foods states that the fillet is high in protein, contains zero milligrams of dietary cholesterol, and has a lower environmental impact than its animal-based counterpart.

© Brewdog

Noel Clarke, SVP of international at Impossible Foods, stated, “We make food for people who love meat, and our new ‘Chicken’ Fillet is no exception. It’s juicy and tender like the animal chicken you know and love, but better for the planet,” as reported by Retail Times.

To promote the new menu, BrewDog is running a limited-time deal where customers who pre-book under the “NEW MENU: IMPOSSIBLE (V) BUY ONE GET ONE £1” offer can purchase a second menu item for £1. The goal of the promotion is to encourage customers to try the plant-based options at a discounted price.

This collaboration is the latest in a series of plant-based partnerships for BrewDog. The company has previously worked with brands such as THIS to offer plant-based skin-on vegan chicken wings, as well as TiNDLE and Quorn to expand its meat-free menu options.

Lauren Carroll, chief marketing officer at BrewDog, noted that consumer interest in plant-based options continues to grow. “We know lots of our beer-loving customers opt for plant-based meals, so we wanted to make it even easier to make the switch through this hook-up with Impossible. What could be better than plant-based ‘Chicken’ Fillets, paired with a great pint?”

The plant-based menu will be available at 48 BrewDog locations across the UK for the duration of the promotion.

https://vegconomist.com/gastronomy-food-service/brewdog-amp-impossible-foods-bring-plant-based-chicken-fillets-uk-pubs/ 

Identical twin study reveals whether vegan or meat-based diets are healthier

From thebrighterside.news

A recent study, conducted in collaboration with other researchers, reveals just how quickly a vegan diet can improve cardiovascular well-being

The saying "You are what you eat" has never been more relevant, especially when it comes to cardiovascular health. While plant-based diets have long been associated with heart benefits, new research from Stanford Medicine has provided compelling evidence of their impact.

A recent study, conducted in collaboration with other researchers, reveals just how quickly a vegan diet can improve cardiovascular well-being.

Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found that adopting a vegan diet for just eight weeks can significantly enhance heart health. The findings offer promising news for those looking to make dietary changes to protect their cardiovascular system.

By focusing on diet alone, the researchers sought to remove many of the confounding factors that typically make nutrition studies difficult to interpret.

To achieve this level of precision, the researchers designed an innovative study that minimized the influence of genetics, lifestyle, and upbringing. Many diet studies struggle to separate these variables, making it hard to determine the true effects of dietary choices on heart health. The Stanford team took an approach that allowed them to isolate the impact of diet itself.

They recruited a unique group of participants: identical twins. With nearly identical genetic profiles and similar childhood environments, these twins provided an ideal test group. The study ran for eight weeks and involved 22 pairs of identical twins, totalling 44 participants.

Each pair of twins was assigned to follow different diets—one twin adhered to a strictly vegan diet, while the other continued consuming an omnivorous diet. This approach ensured that any observed health differences could be attributed to diet rather than genetic or environmental factors.

Participants were drawn from the Stanford Twin Registry, a database of fraternal and identical twins who volunteer for research studies. By selecting twins from this registry, researchers had access to a controlled study group that allowed for an exceptionally rigorous analysis of dietary effects on cardiovascular health.

Twin pairs Carolyn Sideco and Rosalyn Moorhouse, Aleksandra Shaichai and Mariya Foster, and Jean Jacquemet and Janet Hurt participated in a study examining the effect of a vegan versus omnivore diet on cardiovascular health. (CREDIT: Lisa Kim)

Both diets were carefully constructed to be health-conscious, emphasizing whole, plant-based foods such as vegetables, legumes, fruits, and whole grains while avoiding sugars and refined starches.

The vegan diet was entirely plant-based, excluding all animal products like meat, eggs, and dairy, whereas the omnivore diet included a variety of animal-sourced foods, including chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, and dairy.

During the initial four weeks, participants were provided with 21 meals per week, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, delivered by a meal service.

For the subsequent four weeks, participants prepared their own meals, with guidance from a registered dietitian who was readily available to offer advice and answer questions regarding their diets. Participants also meticulously documented their dietary intake, ensuring accurate data collection.

Notably, the study showcased the feasibility of transitioning to a healthy diet within a relatively short timeframe. A striking 21 out of 22 vegans adhered to the diet, highlighting that anyone can make the shift to a vegan diet and experience significant health improvements in just two months.

The findings of the study unveiled the most substantial improvements within the first four weeks of adopting a vegan diet. Participants following the vegan diet exhibited noteworthy reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, insulin levels, and body weight – all of which are key indicators of improved cardiovascular health.

LDL-C, often referred to as "bad" cholesterol, plays a crucial role in heart health. The study reported that baseline LDL-C levels for vegans averaged 110.7 mg/dL, compared to 118.5 mg/dL for the omnivore participants.

Visual Abstract. Cardiometabolic Effects of Omnivorous vs Vegan Diets in Identical Twins. (CREDIT: JAMA Network)

By the end of the eight-week study, LDL-C levels had decreased to 95.5 mg/dL for vegans and 116.1 mg/dL for omnivores. It's important to note that the optimal healthy LDL-C level is less than 100 mg/dL, and this study's results indicate that even participants with already healthy levels experienced significant improvements.

Furthermore, participants following a vegan diet exhibited a remarkable 20% reduction in fasting insulin levels. Elevated insulin levels are a known risk factor for the development of diabetes, making this reduction particularly significant.

In addition to improved cholesterol and insulin levels, the vegan group also experienced an average weight loss of 4.2 pounds, further bolstering their cardiovascular health.

Median Change From Baseline to 8 Weeks in Primary and Secondary Outcomes Between Vegan and Omnivorous Diet Arms. (CREDIT: JAMA Network)

Dr. Christopher Gardner, the senior author of the study, emphasizes that these findings have substantial implications for the broader population's health. While he acknowledges that not everyone may choose to adopt a strictly vegan diet, he suggests that taking steps in a plant-based direction can be a powerful way to enhance cardiovascular health.

Gardner, who has maintained a "mostly vegan" diet for the past four decades, believes that incorporating more plant-based foods into one's diet can yield significant benefits.

Beyond the immediate cardiovascular advantages, Dr. Gardner points out that a vegan diet can offer additional perks, such as increased gut bacteria and a reduction in telomere loss.

These effects are associated with slowed aging within the body, suggesting that dietary choices can play a pivotal role in longevity.

The positive changes observed in LDL-C levels, insulin levels, and body weight in just eight weeks provide compelling evidence that shifting toward a plant-based diet can be a key strategy for enhancing heart health.

As Dr. Gardner aptly notes, it's not about going strictly vegan; it's about taking a step toward a more plant-based, heart-healthy lifestyle. In doing so, individuals can reap the manifold benefits of improved cardiovascular health and potentially extend their longevity while savouring the diverse and delicious world of plant-based cuisine.

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/identical-twin-study-reveals-whether-vegan-or-meat-based-diets-are-healthier/