The rise of plant-based athletes

From meer.com

By Prachi Makwana

How vegan and plant-forward diets are reshaping modern sports performance

For a long time, the sports world had a vision when it came to eating, and a lot of it depended on “steak and eggs”. So if you wanted to be fast, strong, or resilient, having animal protein and having lots of it was needed. The current landscape has been shifted. A lot of talk and work on green machines has been in full swing. It is called a lot of things – "Green Machine”, “Plant Powered”, etc.

Does it work? Is there a science backing it? Will it be enough? There are multiple questions. Let's look into it.

Is it a trend, or have there been changes made even by elite athletes for performance?

It is far more than a trend; it is a strategic move. With ethical concerns regarding animal welfare, climate change has a very significant drive; one of the primary reasons for the surge in this regard is performance longevity. Athletes are no longer looking at just how they feel during a game but also the morning after. Modern competitors have realised that a plant-centric diet can reduce systemic inflammation, leading to something like “cleaner recovery”. When the career depends on our body’s ability to bounce back daily, any dietary change can give you an edge or become a competitive necessity.

A big question: protein. How can an athlete build class muscles without meat?

One of the most common myths is that sports nutrition is to get the maximum amount of protein; meat should be preferred. Protein originates from plants. Animals become the middlemen in the form where they concentrate the amino acids. For an athlete, focus is not just on “protein” but on the amino acid profile. To build muscle, the body needs essential amino acids, most particularly leucine, which acts as the on switch for muscle protein synthesis. While animal products are dense in leucine, athletes can achieve the same results by combining multiple plant sources in their diet for daily consumption.

Do we get a specific edge that plants provide us over animal products?

Yes, but it mostly comes to the antioxidants and microcirculation. When an athlete trains, there is a phenomenon that could be like “rusting” of cells. This is created by oxidative stress in the cells when they train. Plants are packed with antioxidants and nutrients that animal products would lack. Also, many plants are high in natural nitrates, which, when converted to nitric oxides, help in relaxing the blood vessels. This is a natural vasodilator in foods like beets and spinach. Improved vasodilation means better blood flow, which in turn means more oxygen to the body. A lot of endurance athletes who focus on their VO₂ consumption and overall stamina are moving towards a plant-based diet for these reasons.

Does a plant-based diet help with injury recovery?

For any injured athlete, inflammation is a big challenge to fight to heal better. Diets that are high in saturated fats and processed meats are inherently pro-inflammatory. This can lead to lingering joint pain and slower healing of soft tissue. A plant-based diet is naturally anti-inflammatory. When we flood the system with vitamin C, vitamin E, and various polyphenols, it gives athletes more space to retain their C-reactive protein (CRP) levels – a marker for inflammation. Lower inflammation does not just mean faster healing from a sprained ankle; it means less noise in the body, allowing the nervous system to focus on the performance rather than fighting the internal fire.

What are the biggest drawbacks or risks for an athlete going vegan?

Going plant-based is not just dropping the meat; any athlete who just eats simple foods without the proper balance of nutrients will fail. But the major concerns to follow up on:

• Caloric density: Plant foods are high in fibre but low in calories. And athletes tend to burn 4000 to 5000 calories a day. In these cases, they could find themselves accidentally in an energy-deficient zone because they will feel full before they have eaten enough. They would have to rely a lot on energy-dense foods.

• Micronutrients: There will always be certain nutrients that are harder to find in plants. A lot of them need to be combined with something to unlock that absorption. For example, for athletes, vitamin B12 is a must and must be supplemented. Iron is a concern, while plants do have plenty of iron, but it is a kind that is not absorbed easily. So to unlock the absorption, athletes need to pair it up with vitamin C.

• Creatine: Creatine is essential for producing explosive power and naturally found in red meat. A lot of times, athletes who would go for plant food choose to supplement it with synthetic creatine to maintain that explosive power.

Is it an all-or-nothing game? Does being vegan 100% need to be necessary to see its benefits?

No. Many elite trainers have started advocating more for a “plant-forward" or "flexitarian" approach. It basically means adopting a plant-based diet partially, in whatever they are comfortable with. This flexibility gives athletes the opportunity to customise their diets according to the needs of the hour. So they can get the anti-inflammatory benefits of the plants while having animal protein. Travel schedules or the local environment can make eating plant-based food a little difficult. The mindset of being a perfectionist needs to be changed to How can we enhance our performance?

How does the future look?

As it is a new start, more personalised data will be expected to see where an athlete’s blood markers are checked to see their plant-based intake. There is also a leap seen in clean-label plant proteins. A lot of the athletes are looking for minimally processed, fermented plant proteins that are easy on the gut. The world is now becoming more conscious of the environmental footprint of sport; shifting to plants is now not just about a gold medal but ensuring that there is still a world left to compete in.

Conclusion

Vegetarianism and veganism in sports have now evolved from just becoming a quirky lifestyle to making it a high-performance strategy. While it does require more planning and deeper understanding of biology, the rewards it gives – faster recovery, better heart health, sustained energy – are in the process of being included in the new normal.

https://www.meer.com/en/107863-the-rise-of-plant-based-athletes 

BOSH! launches new plant-packed grain bowl range at Tesco

From veganfoodandliving.com

By Helen Greaves

BOSH! has expanded its ready-meal line-up at Tesco with three vibrant new grain bowls packed with up to 17 plant varieties per pack

BOSH! is encouraging UK shoppers to eat more plant with the launch of three new nutrient-dense grain bowls in Tesco stores nationwide.

The new range of chilled ready meals (priced at £4.75 each) offers a lighter, wholesome alternative to the brand’s popular ready meals and pizzas. With it, founders Henry Firth and Ian Theasby have placed plant diversity front and centre, explicitly listing the number of plant varieties on each pack.

Along with the plant point score, the packs prominently display other nutrient claims, such as protein content and the benefits of added vitamins, helping shoppers easily make good choices for the gut health and general wellbeing.

Photo © BOSH!

What’s in the new BOSH! grain bowls?

The three new recipes combine bold global flavours with impressive nutrition. The Mediterranean Orzo & Beans bowl boasts a massive 17 plant varieties alongside high zinc content, fibre, and protein.

For those craving Asian-inspired spices, the Thai Sweet Potato Grains option packs in 10 plant varieties offering high levels of protein and fibre, while the vibrant Korean Firecracker Grains packs in nine plant varieties alongside niacin, fibre, and protein.

The launch is a direct response to growing consumer demand for lighter, nutritionally dense convenience food options. In a statement about the range, Firth and Theasby explained: “We have always wanted for BOSH! to be a business with customers at the heart of everything we do. Quite simply, that was the inspiration for this latest range.

“We listened to what our customers want: plant-based, full of flavour, nutritionally dense, convenient meals.”

The new range calls out the health benefits of plant-based food prominently on the labels. Photo © BOSH!

The BOSH! range in Tesco

The launch of the BOSH! grain bowls builds on the brand’s rapid retail expansion, which has followed its initial entry into Tesco in October 2025 with eight chilled ready meals, including popular dishes like Goan Chickpea Curry and Ultimate Bean Chilli.

BOSH! credited the overwhelming success of that initial launch as the springboard for introducing its lighter grain format to the UK’s largest supermarket chain.

Since starting out as a digital recipe video platform in 2016, Firth and Theasby have built a massive plant-based empire, selling over one million cookbooks and amassing over four billion video views online. The duo continue to champion health and wellness across their wider media presence, including their weekly podcast, BOSH! Food and Health, which releases new episodes every Thursday.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/bosh-launch-grain-bowl-range-plant-count/ 

Wondering About a Vegan Diet? (Infographic)

From peta.org

Want to know how to be healthy and cruelty-free? No worries—eating vegan is easy! Get all your answers and more with PETA’s “Wondering About a Vegan Diet?” infographic, and don’t forget to share this infographic on Facebook. 

https://www.peta.org/features/vegan-diet-infographic/?category_name=peta-latino

USA: PETA Names Top 10 Restaurants Offering Vegan Sausage for Oktoberfest

From peta.org

As Oktoberfest celebrations return across the U.S., PETA is raising a stein to restaurants that are making the festivities friendlier for animals by serving delicious vegan sausages. From meat-free bratwurst and currywurst to house-made seitan specialties, these spots are proving that compassionate eating never means sacrificing flavour.

Here are PETA’s picks for the nation’s top spots for vegan sausages this Oktoberfest season: 

1. Dat Dog

New Orleans, Louisiana
Oktoberfest meets Mardi Gras with the Vegan Banger, a vegan bratwurst on a toasted sourdough bun and topped with sauerkraut, dill relish, grilled onions, tomatoes, and Creole mustard.

2. Gerhard’s Brats

Minneapolis, Minnesota
This brat-focused food truck and catering vendor serves up a Field Roast Vegan Sausage piled with classic toppings such as sauerkraut, diced onions, hot peppers, and Düsseldorf mustard.

3. The Vanguard

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Start out with the Vegan Brat, crafted from house-made seitan, then topped with kraut and onions, or take it a step further by adding some vegan cheese sauce. They also offer a Vegan Chorizo Sausage seasoned with smoked paprika, chipotle, and oregano, topped with tomato, onion and jalapeño.

4. Hollerbach’s German Restaurant

Sanford, Florida
Add the Wegan Wurst, a Beyond Meat sausage, to a variety of dishes or get it as part of the Vegan Wurst Teller, an entrée of two vegan sausages served with sweet red cabbage and fries. Be sure to check out the entire vegetarian menu with clearly marked vegan options!

5. The German Knodle

St. Petersburg, Florida
Order the award-winning Vegan Mushroom Sausage with a side of Sauerkraut and fries. Want to add a little spice? Get the Vegan Curry Sausage, or celebrate Oktoberfest to the fullest, and get both.

6. Urban German Wursthaus

Portland, Oregon

The savoury Vegan Wurst is served in a soft pretzel bun and topped with tangy alongside a pickle spear, giving this classic German-inspired meal a compassionate twist. Don’t forget the vegan Schnitzel Bites!

7. Hofbräuhaus Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio
At this Bavarian-style beer hall, compassionate guests can order a grilled vegan bratwurst on a vegan-friendly bun with Düsseldorf mustard, served with a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

8. Fassler Hall

Tulsa, Oklahoma
It’s hard to pick between the Beyond Bratwurst topped with kraut and Dijon mustard, and the Beyond Spicy Italian Sausage served with grilled peppers and onions. We say bring a friend so you can try both or go back for seconds.

9. Leavenworth Sausage Garten

Leavenworth, Washington
Feast on the smoky and flavourful Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausage, piled high with vegan toppings like sauerkraut, relish, banana peppers, jalapeños, ketchup, and onion from the condiment bar, while wandering the streets of this Bavarian-themed destination.

10. The Schnitzel Garten

Eagle, Idaho

Rounding out this year’s winners is the Vegan Wurst, which features two Beyond Meat bratwursts served with sauerkraut and a side of your choice (make sure to ask for the vegan options). Order the Small Sausage Plate made vegan if two brats are just too much.

Frankly, we think you can celebrate Oktoberfest without harming anyone, like pigs who enjoy listening to music, and cows who can form close bonds and grieve when they lose loved ones. The meat industry painfully mutilates pigs and cows and crowds these individuals onto filthy feedlots before slaughter. Leave pigs and all other animals off your plate this Oktoberfest and year-round. Can’t make it to any of these spots? Look for vegan sausage from Field Roast, Beyond, and others at your local grocery store and make your own Oktoberfest platter at home. Complete the meal with a vegan-friendly beer.

https://www.peta.org/lifestyle/food/vegan-sausage-restaurants/?fbclid&pl=46_10_0

Most UK Meat-Eaters Find Factory Farming Unacceptable, Vegan Society Survey Suggests

From vegconomist.com

Factory farming of animals for food is unacceptable to 65% of UK adults, according to the second edition of The Vegan Society’s Empathy Index, a survey in which 82% of the 2,000 respondents eat meat. Those figures mean that, at a minimum, more than half of the meat-eaters surveyed object to the system that produces most of the UK’s meat. Citing Compassion in World Farming data, the charity states that 85% of UK farmed animals are factory farmed.

The UK charity added two farming questions to the index this year. The second found that 23% of respondents consider organic animal farming unacceptable. The factory farming result is close to recent research by Project Phoenix, which found that 67% of UK adults see factory farming as morally wrong or concerning. The same research found that 96% of UK adults either do not know how many animals are factory farmed or underestimate the number.

Image: Joachim Suss on Unsplash

Opposition to cosmetics testing climbs

The index was first run in 2024 and has used the same method in both waves. A nationally representative sample rates 29 forms of animal use on a four-point scale, from “completely acceptable” to “completely unacceptable.” Between 2024 and 2026, opposition to testing cosmetic ingredients on animals rose from 84% to 87%, a statistically significant increase. Among female respondents the figure was 90%. Testing medicines on animals was considered unacceptable by 71%.

Home Office figures show 2.54 million procedures on animals in the UK in 2025. That was the year the government published a roadmap to phase out animal testing. The Vegan Society says many products marketed as cruelty-free still contain animal-derived ingredients, such as collagen, keratin and beeswax. The charity has studied this labelling problem in its earlier consumer research on vegan cosmetics.

The largest change in the index concerned greyhound racing. The share of people who find it unacceptable rose from 55% to 60%. The Welsh and Scottish parliaments passed bills to ban the sport in March 2026.

Wool and horse riding remain widely accepted

Hunting deer is now unacceptable to 77% of respondents, up from 74%. Hunting foxes with dogs is unacceptable to 87%. The three least accepted activities were dog fighting, bullfighting and fox hunting with dogs, all of which are illegal in the UK.

At the other end of the scale, the three most accepted uses were riding horses, using animals in film and TV, and wearing sheep’s wool. The number of people who find zoo visits acceptable also rose, from 77% to 79%. Meanwhile, 85% of respondents called themselves animal lovers and 3% did not.

“The forms of animal use that we track in the Empathy Index are not all the same; some cause much greater suffering than others. However, we want to challenge the idea that animals exist to satisfy the needs and wants of humans,” the Vegan Society said.

https://vegconomist.com/studies-numbers/most-uk-meat-eaters-find-factory-farming-unacceptable-vegan-society-survey-suggests/ 

Vegan Summit Budapest Opens to International Audience After Sold-Out 2025 Debut

From vegconomist.com

Vegan Summit Budapest will add live Hungarian-English interpretation, international speakers and a jury-selected awards programme for its second edition, which takes place on November 7, 2026, at the Europa Event Center in the Hungarian capital. Organisers expect more than 1,200 attendees and over 30 exhibitors.

The inaugural summit in November 2025 sold out with more than 1,000 attendees, according to the organisers, who describe the event as Europe’s largest vegan summit by attendance. This year’s edition comes with increased capacity and a larger exhibition area.

Image supplied

Exhibitors from outside the food sector

The 2026 exhibitor list includes telecommunications, automotive and financial services companies alongside producers of plant-based meat, dairy and egg alternatives, food retailers, cruelty-free cosmetics and personal care brands, household goods suppliers and wellness companies. English-speaking staff will be available at every stand so international visitors can sample and buy products.

Organisers say the summit is designed for an audience wider than the vegan community. In a survey of ticket buyers for the 2025 edition, at least half said they did not identify as vegan.

Image supplied

Speakers and awards

The programme combines talks and panels with workshops, cooking sessions, tastings, health screenings and consultations. Speakers include world-record-setting vegan strongman Patrik Baboumian, who will address stereotypes about plant-based diets and athletic performance, and Julia Weibel, farm animal welfare specialist at PETA Germany, who will discuss vegan organic farming and present the organisation’s plan for phasing out livestock farming. Tobias Leenaert, co-founder of ProVeg International, will give a talk titled “The Psychology of Eating Meat.” Hungarian experts and public figures complete the line-up.

A jury including representatives from V-Label Hungary, WWF and Prove will choose winners in four flagship categories, who will receive the newly created Auré Planté Award. Sixteen further categories, among them Plant-Based Meat Alternative of the Year and Vegan-Friendly Restaurant of the Year, will be decided by public vote, with all winners announced at the event.

For every ticket sold, 500 HUF (around €1.40) will be donated to Noé Animal Shelter, which provides long-term care for rescued animals, including farmed animals.

Image supplied

Hungary climbs vegan search rankings

The organisers cite a 2026 analysis by Chef’s Pencil, which found that Hungary rose from 29th to 11th place globally for vegan-related search interest between 2016 and 2025, the largest improvement among the countries analysed. The report identifies Budapest, with its growing number of fully vegan restaurants, cafés and plant-based businesses, as the centre of the country’s vegan scene.

“This year we are reaching another important milestone: we are building a European-level, cross-border event in Budapest. Last year’s stronger-than-expected international interest made it clear to us that there is demand for the Vegan Summit to be open to an international audience as well.

“Accordingly, this year we are expanding with international speakers and attendees, while also increasing capacity, exhibition space and the range of programmes,” said Eniko Toth, lead organiser and marketing director of Vegan Summit Budapest.

https://vegconomist.com/fairs-events/vegan-summit-budapest-opens-international-audience-after-sold-out-2025-debut/ 

UK: La Vie launch ‘revolutionary’ new tofu nuggets and teriyaki bites

From veganfoodandliving.com

French brand La Vie is bringing home more than faux bacon as it expands into ‘natural’ tofu products

La Vie is launching a “tofu revolution” across the UK, expanding its range of realistic pork-style alternatives with new, more “natural” proteins.

Known for its bold branding and patented fat technology, the brand is launching two new products which transform tofu into a tasty chicken alternative.

La Vie’s Tofu Pan Fry Teriyaki and crispy Tofu Nuggets are designed to fit seamlessly into everyday meals, from stir-fries and wraps to quick work-from-home lunches. Providing a wholesome protein source and ready to eat in around seven minutes, they aim to maximise convenience for midweek cooking.

Images © La Vie

Where to buy La Vie tofu nuggets

La Vie’s new tofu range is available now through Tesco and Ocado nationwide.

La Vie Tofu Pan Fry Teriyaki (RRP £3.70 for 240 grams) features pre-diced tofu paired with a sweet and salty glaze sachet, designed to make preparing beautifully marinated tofu at home effortless. It packs 17 grams of protein per 100 grams.

For fans of a crunchy treat, La Vie Tofu Nuggets (RRP £3.90 for 180 grams) offer 13 grams of protein per 100 grams and come coated in an extra-crispy cornflake crumb. Air-fried in seven minutes, they provide a planet-friendly alternative to fast-food drive-thru staples.

In typical La Vie fashion, each box includes a collectable cardboard ‘Lil Buddies’ animal toy to assemble at home.

Why La Vie is tackling natural protein swaps

Following a summer of extreme weather, La Vie says that making simple dietary swaps remains one of the most effective ways to lower individual carbon footprints. The brand hopes to encourage millions of easy plant-based swaps with familiar chicken-style products that appeal to vegans, flexitarians, and more.

In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Nicolas Schweitzer, Co-founder of La Vie, explained that the company aims to challenge existing perceptions of tofu: “Rather than asking consumers to completely change the way they eat, we’ve taken familiar chicken occasions and made them easy to recreate with tofu.

“From crispy nuggets to Pan Fry Teriyaki, it’s tofu designed to be delicious and genuinely easy to cook. We’ve spent years making plant-based food more fun, and this launch is about removing the barriers that can make tofu feel like hard work.”

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/la-vie-launch-new-tofu-nuggets-teriyaki-bites-uk/