Swapping Animal Protein for Plant Protein, Not Cutting Protein Overall, Linked to Weight Loss in New Randomized Trial

From pcrm.org

Secondary analysis of a 36-week cross-over trial finds that shifting protein source from animal to plant, on a low-fat vegan diet, tracked with weight loss, while a Mediterranean diet with similar animal protein intake showed no change 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Overweight adults who traded animal protein for plant protein on a low-fat vegan diet lost weight in a randomized, cross-over clinical trial, while a Mediterranean diet, despite comparable emphasis on fruits and vegetables, produced no significant change in either protein intake or body weight, according to new research published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.

The findings, from a secondary analysis of a trial conducted by researchers at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, suggest that where dietary protein comes from may matter more for weight management than how much of it people eat.

“Patients are constantly told to worry about getting enough protein,” said Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, senior study author and director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “What this trial suggests is that the more useful question isn’t how much protein you’re eating, but where it’s coming from. When our participants shifted from animal to plant protein, the weight came off, without anyone counting calories.”

Photo: Getty Images

How the Trial Worked

Researchers followed 62 overweight adults in Washington, D.C., who were randomly assigned to a low-fat vegan diet (fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, with no animal products) or a Mediterranean diet modelled on the PREDIMED protocol (rich in vegetables, fruit, legumes, fish, nuts, and extra-virgin olive oil, with lean white meat favoured over red meat) for 16 weeks. After a four-week washout period, each participant crossed over to the other diet for another 16 weeks. Neither group was told to restrict calories. Fifty-two of the 62 participants (84%) completed the full 36-week trial, and three-day food records were analysed at each study visit by a registered dietitian.

Key Findings

• On the vegan diet, total protein intake fell by an average of 33.3 g/day, animal protein fell by 47.7 g/day, and plant protein rose by 14.4 g/day, all significant shifts. None of the three changed significantly on the Mediterranean diet.
• Across both diets, participants whose animal protein intake fell the most, and whose plant protein intake rose the most, lost the most weight. Changes in total protein and animal protein correlated positively with weight change (more protein, less weight lost), while changes in plant protein correlated negatively (more plant protein, more weight lost).
• Reductions in four specific amino acids—isoleucine, lysine, methionine, and tyrosine, which are all more concentrated in animal protein—also correlated with greater weight loss.

The parent trial, published in 2022, found that participants lost an average of 6.0 kg (about 13 pounds) on the vegan diet, with no significant weight change on the Mediterranean diet. This new analysis digs into why: It’s the first to link that weight loss specifically to the shift away from animal protein and the specific amino acids that go with it, rather than to a drop in protein intake overall.

Why It Matters

More than a third of adults worldwide are now overweight, and diet is a first-line target for treatment. Popular advice often centres on hitting a protein target, without much attention to source. These findings add to a growing body of evidence—including a 2025 meta-analysis linking higher animal protein intake to greater obesity risk, and prior trials of plant-based diets for weight loss—suggesting that the amino acid profile of a diet, not just its protein or calorie count, may help explain why plant-based eating patterns tend to support weight loss.

“This doesn’t mean protein is the enemy,” said Dr. Kahleova. “It means the source matters. Shifting the balance toward beans, lentils, tofu, and whole grains—and away from meat, dairy, and eggs—gave our participants a metabolic and a weight benefit they didn’t get by simply eating more vegetables on a Mediterranean-style diet.”

https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/swapping-animal-protein-plant-protein-not-cutting-protein-overall-linked-weight

Future Food Quick Bites: Burger King Royale, Vegan Chocolates & SuperYou Protein

From greenqueen.com.hk

By Anay Mridul

Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Burger King’s Vegan Royale offer, The Undairy Co.’s dairy-free chocolates, and the cost of UPF labelling.

New products and launches

As part of its ongoing partnership with The Vegetarian Butcher, fast-food chain Burger King is offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal on 250,000 Vegan Royale sandwiches to UK customers who purchase one of the former’s products in supermarkets. The purchases must be made before November 22, and shoppers can redeem the burger offer until December 31. 

Courtesy: The Undairy Co.

UK chocolate brand The Undairy Co. has launched the Icons Selection Box, a plant-based take on Mars’s Celebrations chocolate mix, featuring seven options that resemble Dairy Milk, Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Biscoff truffles, and the Cadbury Creme Egg.

Speaking of vegan chocolate, Cornwall-based Buttermilk has launched a Caramel Choc Biscuit Fingers bar in the style of Twix at Morrisons, priced at £1.50 per 50g.

Courtesy: HappyVore

HappyVore, France’s best-selling meat alternative brand, has expanded its plant-based cordon bleu range with a tomato version, after it became the “biggest launch” in the country’s vegan deli category, according to its founder.

Indian pet food brand Drools has rolled out 100% Veg Gravy, a plant-based wet food for dogs, designed to be served as a complementary food or mixed with dry kibble to add moisture, aroma and variety.

Fellow Indian start-up SuperYou, co-owned by Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, has made its US debut, launching its fermented yeast protein powder at Walmart, and soon on Amazon.

US woman-owned wellness start-up Mujo Co. has teamed up with Rubisco protein maker Plantible Foods to launch a vanilla protein powder combining the latter’s duckweed-derived protein with yellow pea protein and coconut MCT oil. It delivers 22g of complete protein per 30g, and will begin shipping next month for $45 per 450g pack.

Meanwhile, US frozen food company Blackbird Foods‘s plant-based pepperoni pizza has landed on the shelves of select Target stores.

And New York-based Sweet Vegan has kickstarted its fifth annual Harvest Basket Giveaway, bringing together 16 brands to offer one winner a box of vegan food, desserts, beauty, wellness, fashion, dining experiences, and lifestyle products worth over $3,500.

Company and finance updates

US fermentation start-up Superbrewed Food has hired former Kerry Group and Nuritas executive Rizwan Khan as its new CEO, who will take over from co-founder Bryan Tracey (who now serves as company president). It has simultaneously announced results from a consumer trial of its Thrvia postbiotic, with 89% of participants showing improvement in their overall digestive health scores after four weeks.

Courtesy: Superbrewed Food

Californian precision fermentation start-up The Every Company has secured a new US patent covering advanced ovalbumin (the main protein in egg whites) compositions and food applications across a range of microbial strains (such as Pichia pastoris, Trichoderma reesei, and Aspergillus niger). It is the firm’s 65th granted patent globally.

Israeli precision-fermented dairy start-up Imagindairy has appointed Paul Kollesoff as its executive chairperson. He previously had senior leadership roles at Glanbia Nutritionals and Perfect Day (where he founded consumer brand The Urgent Company).

Copenhagen-based mycelium protein start-up Tempty Foods has been recognised as the Danish Food Start-up of the Year 2026 by the Danish Startup Group.

US rubisco protein startup Fudi Protein and cultivated meat media supplier Deco Labs have won the pitch competition at Bezos Earth Fund‘s second annual summit by the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at North Carolina State University, securing $75,000 each.

Russian dairy processor Milk Logic (formerly Danone’s subsidiary in the country) has acquired Poligrin, the parent company of the 5Yes! brand of plant-based milk, preserving the latter’s product recipes and team.

Research and policy developments

French precision fermentation start-up Verley has secured its first US patent, covering the microparticulation of its animal-free beta-lactoglobulin protein.

If the UK Parliament replaced 30% of its meat, fish and shellfish purchases with plant proteins like legumes, nuts and tofu, the government could save £216,000 a year in food procurement costs, according to analysis by Humane World for Animals.

The UK’s Alternative Proteins Association has published a best-practice guidance document for conducting novel food taste trials, drawing on insights from the Food Standards Agency‘s cultivated meat sandbox programme.

Algal oil and yeast protein have been named the top ingredients for use in alternative pet food by the Centre for Feed Innovation and the Pet Sustainability Coalition.

A large-scale study of 1,305 cats by the Griffith University School of Environment and Science in Australia has found that felines fed a vegan diet have a 34% lower chance of being assessed as overweight.

As the US government weighs up how to define ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a University of Chicago analysis suggests that mandatory UPF labelling could impact nearly three-quarters of packaged food products in the country and cost them $14.2B – and that doesn’t include an extra $1B a year in lost revenue for domestic agriculture and $7.7-8.7B in increased annual food import costs.

Finally, speaking of weight and UPFs, a study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has revealed that eating more meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products was linked with weight gain even when they were minimally processed, while similarly processed plant-based food – like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans – had the opposite effect.

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/future-food-quick-bites-burger-king-royale-vegan-chocolates-superyou-protein/

Six Months After Veganuary, 82% of Participants Have At Least Halved Their Animal Product Consumption

From vegconomist.com

Ahead of World Vegan Day on November 1, Veganuary has published the results of its follow-up survey on Veganuary 2026. Of the respondents who were not vegan before taking part, 82% say they have cut their consumption of animal products by at least half six months after the campaign.

The survey was sent to 343,459 people who took part in Veganuary 2026 and received the organization’s 31-day series of support emails. 1,730 responded.

A third remain fully vegan

According to Veganuary, 35% of respondents who were not previously vegan still follow a fully vegan diet. Another 33% have reduced their consumption of animal products by more than 75%, and 14% by 50–75%.

Those who did not stay vegan remain open to the idea. 92% say they are likely to try a vegan diet again in the future, and 91% would take part in Veganuary again.

Image: Farhad Ibrahimzade on Pexels

Health and kitchen benefits

Among respondents who have eaten a plant-based diet since taking part in Veganuary, 77% report an improvement in at least one aspect of their health, and 63% report better overall health. Other benefits include more energy (53%), improved mood (52%), and better skin and a desired change in body weight (44% each). In addition, 61% say they feel more inspired when cooking.

“Many people try Veganuary for the sake of the animals or the climate — and then realize that the change is good for them personally, too,” said Mirjam Schmitt, spokesperson for Veganuary Germany.

Lasting impact on brands and products

Veganuary also continues to drive product innovation. More than 1,100 new products and menu options launched for the 2026 campaign, and 56% of respondents say they discovered new brands or products during Veganuary that they still buy regularly six months later.

Around 30 million people worldwide tried vegan during January 2026. Veganuary will launch its 2027 campaign in December. “Veganuary 2027 is just around the corner, and we will continue to inspire and support millions of people to try veganism throughout January and beyond,” said Estefanía Lozano, interim director of Veganuary Spain.

https://vegconomist.com/society/charity-campaigns/six-months-after-veganuary-82-participants-halved-animal-product-consumption/ 

Your Friendly Vegan: Let’s talk about dairy

From dailycollegian.com

By Lucy Peterson

Justifying the dairy industry is easy when we are so far removed from the animals themselves 

I was spreading my favourite butter alternative onto a bagel the other day when I got to thinking about the dairy industry. People often ask, “What’s so wrong with consuming dairy? Cows produce milk anyway, right?”

While producing milk is natural for cows, we must consider why cows make milk in the first place. To produce milk, a cow must give birth in order to jumpstart the mammary gland. Nursing then stimulates oxytocin, which causes the muscles around the milk-producing tissue to contract, releasing milk into the teat for the calf. Naturally, calves wean over seven to 14 months, gradually shifting to grass and adult life.

In factory farming, however, the baby is separated from their mother and mechanical milking begins within a day or two of birth. When separated prematurely, both the mother and the calf display signs of distress through excessive pacing, calling out in search of one another and many other physical signs of agitation. Calves specifically are less likely to have healthy social relationships with other cattle and are more fearful of handlers when they are separated so young.

At birth, mother cow and calf bond, forming a lasting connection proven to foster social stability and psychological and physical development. Similar to humans on this front, cows form structured social groups, clear hierarchies, long-term friendships and have distinct personalities. They communicate through complex vocalizations and body language, have preferred companions within their herds and show affection through social grooming. Hierarchies within the herd are decided from grooming contributions and seniority (in terms of age and lived experience). Cows who spend their youth together are able to form trusting lifelong bonds.

While we may not participate in mutual grooming or live in herds, these ideas and attributes of cow populations are eerily familiar to human social structures. We all understand care, mentorship and social bonds, whether it be in our families, friend groups or communities here at the University of Massachusetts. The importance of having a senior mentor or guardian, like a mother or a trusted adult, are understood facts of life. So if all these are the same, can we justify the exploitation of cows for their milk just because they communicate differently than us?

When a cow and its calf are separated, mothers become depressed after experiencing such an intense hormonal shift throughout pregnancy and childbirth only to be taken from their child. They are milked mechanically multiple times daily, and when their dairy supply drops they are reimpregnated, continuing a cycle centred on exploitation. Calves either enter dairy production themselves or are raised in the meat industry.

As a feminist, I struggle with this industry built on exploiting female reproduction. Motherhood exists within every living species. Whether it is a turtle that lays eggs she will never see again or a chimpanzee that raises her child years beyond birth, all female organisms share the magical ability to create life.

Indeed, in human society, women suffer; the patriarchy often monetizes and oppresses female biology. Having grown up in the most liberal northeastern corner of the United States where conversations about bodily autonomy, consent and educational resources surrounding gynaecological health were readily available to me, I choose not to fund reproductive exploitation and the suffering of any female being.

Simple swaps like soymilk lattes, vegan butter or dairy-free ice cream offer accessible ways to reduce demand for this system. Why fuel the rhetoric that it is acceptable for humans to exploit women across the globe no matter their species, when there are easy and practical alternatives?

It is difficult to wrap our heads around suffering and exploitation when it is so ingrained into our society and we’re so far removed from it. When you go to the grocery store to buy milk, you can’t see the cow getting separated from her child to produce it. You just see a label, nutrition facts and a price tag. How can we blame people for not understanding the consequences of the food they eat when they were never taught to? But for the most of us who get our food from the store, we have the choice to refuse the option that fuels oppression and suffering.

For me, veganism is both a diet and a form of protest — it is being a part of a movement to dismantle a narrative that not only promotes the abuse of each other, but also of nature. Veganism is about educating yourself on the system that fuels our society while making little changes and steps in the direction that reduces suffering. It is finding new recipes, picking the plant-based option and thinking about the treatment of the animals you’re getting your food from before consumption.

https://dailycollegian.com/2026/10/your-friendly-vegan-lets-talk-about-dairy/

Can a vegan lifestyle save the rainforest?

From veganfoodandliving.com

Tony Wardle explores life beneath the rainforest canopy and explains why shifting to a plant-based diet is the fastest way to halt catastrophic habitat loss

I could tell you that rainforests are vital to all life, that they’re still being felled, and that they’re central to controlling global heating. On the other hand, I could start by describing what wondrous, awe-inspiring visions of beauty they are.

I’ve visited several rainforests in different parts of the world, but my six months in Costa Rica allowed me to get up close and intimate.

Sitting in a little organic café on the edge of the forest, a magnificent blue jay swirled beneath the awning and landed on my head, demanding some of my breakfast, while a troop of capuchin monkeys ordered theirs by loudly rattling the loose corrugated roof sheets.

The hidden wonders of the rainforest

Walking into a rainforest can be very deceptive, as nothing much seems to be happening beneath its soaring canopy – a cloud of midges perhaps, the tinkling of a stream, the distant call of a bird. And then a blood-curdling howl of an animal that sounds like a cross between The Lion King and King Kong; the loudest animal on the planet. Terrifying, unless you know that it is a little creature weighing no more than 11kg at its heaviest.

The howler monkeys’ calls can travel for miles, but get too close and they’ll hurl sticks at you from the upper branches, urinate on you or poo into their hands and throw it at you – and believe me, their aim is unerring.

Then you dislodge a stone on the path to reveal what looks like a little worm, but is in fact the highly venomous banded coral snake. But fear not, its fangs are set so far back that the only way you could get bitten is if you thrust your little finger down its throat.

Howler monkeys are the loudest land animals in the Western Hemisphere; their roaring calls can be heard up to 3 miles away. Photo © Tim/AdobeStock

Move some leaves on a tree trunk, and you might reveal a bright-green dart frog with brilliant red eyes, or scan the tree canopy carefully to see a motionless sloth suspended beneath a branch with her baby clinging to her fur.

Proceed slowly and quietly, and you’ll certainly see white-nosed coatis, related to raccoons, and black iguanas galore. You’re unlikely to see a tapir or a jaguar, but they’re there. And then the silence is suddenly pierced by a raucous, high-pitched gaggle of noise as a flock of scarlet macaws hurtle through the treetops like a gang of teenagers looking for mischief, the beauty of their plumage almost breathtaking.

And, like me, you might be lucky enough to walk out of the forest onto a golden Pacific beach at twilight and see tiny baby turtles digging their way out of their nest and scuttling towards the tide line; the timing dictated by their DNA to avoid vultures and gulls.

Preserving the future of our rainforests

It’s hardly surprising that an estimated 50 per cent of the world’s plant and animal species reside in rainforests that demand just six per cent of the planet’s surface.

In the 1950s, in order to obtain a loan from the World Bank, Costa Rica agreed to its demand to slash down its forests and graze cattle instead. It quickly realised its mistake and placed forest preservation and reforestation at the heart of its development programme.

It has now created 30 national parks and 25 per cent of its land area is devoted to forests. This includes cloud forests and dry forests, but tropical rainforests predominate.

In the Amazon, cattle ranching drives roughly 70% to 80% of forest loss. Photo © whitcomberd/Adobe Stock

Sadly, no other Central and South American countries have followed its example, although Brazil is now dedicated to ending the wholesale destruction of the Amazon. That destruction was, and still is, driven by the demands of animal agriculture.

It’s usually initiated by the creation of roads to allow useful felled timber to be extracted, while smaller trees and undergrowth are slashed and burnt. Big agriculture then takes over and develops grazing, mostly for cattle or to sow vast areas of soya crops. Deforestation does not happen by accident, but by design.

The truth about soya

Don’t let anyone try to embarrass you because you eat soya; some 80 per cent of all the soya produced is used as fodder for farmed animals that provide meat, dairy and eggs and much of the remainder is used as padding in meat pies, pasties and pet food. The soya in most vegan products largely comes from Europe, so it isn’t you who’s the problem; it’s meat eaters!

The destruction of rainforests is not just about the extermination of plant and animal species; its impact is much wider. Yes, they do produce some of our oxygen, but much less than people believe. In truth, only around 16 per cent is from the Amazon, the great majority coming from phytoplankton in the oceans (and yes, we’re trashing them as well).

Despite what some people might think, vegan soya products are not to blame for deforestation. Photo © naito29/Adobe Stock

All forests are carbon sinks, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it away. Rainforests are nature in perfect harmony. Every bough, every tree and every leaf that falls to the forest floor is naturally composted to provide food for the shallow roots of even the greatest trees and is joined by the excreta of forest animals.

Every creature that dies is either eaten by others or forms part of this extraordinary, never-ending recycling scheme.

When forests are destroyed, centuries’ worth of carbon is released into the atmosphere in a matter of hours, and a vital carbon sink ceases to exist. The forest litter is shallow and, when turned to agriculture, it quickly requires a battery of chemicals to keep it productive until eventually even that fails and what was a vibrant, thriving ecosystem is well on the way to becoming desert.

What we eat matters

The problem seems intractable, so what on Earth is the solution? You are!

In 2006, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) published a massive report entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow which, in apocalyptic language, identified that livestock for meat and dairy was among the most significant causes of almost all the planet’s catastrophic environmental problems, including biodiversity loss, deforestation, the spreading of deserts, the loss of soil fertility, and nitrogen pollution.

It identified livestock’s contribution to global heating gases at 18 per cent, but later research has increased that figure to 20 per cent.

Choosing certified sustainable products is one of the ways we can help to conserve the diverse wildlife that calls the rainforest home. Photo © Pedro/Adobe Stock

What was extraordinary was that the FAO had spent almost its entire existence encouraging farmers to produce more, bigger, better animals. The gamekeeper had turned poacher.

As a vegan, you play no part in this devastation of our planet’s life support systems, and you should be rightly proud of that. Governments and producers talk about all kinds of half-hearted interventions to slow the rot, and they simply don’t work. There is one intervention that is guaranteed to work, and you’ve already identified it – hooray for that.

3 ways to take action for the rainforest

1. Choose sustainable products

Look for certified products such as FSC-certified wood, sustainable palm oil and shade-grown coffee to reduce demand for goods linked to deforestation.

2. Encourage others to eat more plants

Reducing consumption of beef and other products associated with land clearance can help lower pressure on rainforest ecosystems.

3. Support conservation efforts

Donate to, volunteer with or raise awareness for organisations working to protect rainforests, restore damaged habitats and support indigenous communities.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/why-vegan/go-vegan-save-the-rainforest/

Buttermilk Is Launching A Vegan Twix

From plantbasednews.org

Buttermilk's Caramel Choc Biscuit Fingers bar is coming to UK supermarkets 

Buttermilk is launching a vegan Twix.

The dairy-free chocolate brand’s new Caramel Choc Biscuit Fingers bar is thought to be the first Twix-style vegan chocolate bar to arrive at major supermarkets in the UK.

Writing on Instagram over the weekend, Buttermilk called for fans to guess what the newest plant-based chocolate bar from the company will be. Since then, Morrisons has listed Buttermilk’s Twix-style Caramel Choc Biscuit Fingers bar on its website.

According to the Morrisons listing, Buttermilk’s latest sweet treat includes two gluten-free biscuit fingers “layered with caramel” and coated in dairy-free milk chocolate.

Fans celebrated the news of a vegan Twix in Buttermilk’s comments on Instagram. One person wrote, “If it’s a Twix you can take all my money!” Another wrote, “Woohoo, a vegan Buttermilk Twix!!! Love your coconut bar and can’t wait [to] try this one.”

Buttermilk’s Caramel Choc Biscuit Fingers bar has an RRP of £1.50 per 50g.

Plant Based News (PBN) reached out to Buttermilk for more information.

Buttermilk has ‘re-imagined’ the UK’s favourite chocolate bars

Adobe StockButtermilk’s range includes vegan versions of Kit Kats, Mars Bars, and Crunchies

Buttermilk started as a small fudge shop in Padstow, Cornwall, over fifty years ago.

In 2018, the company set out to create its own plant-based chocolate, and has since “re-imagined” British favourites like the Kit Kat Chunky, Mars bar, Snickers bar, Bounty, and Crunchie with plant-based, gluten-free, and palm oil-free ingredients.

Buttermilk’s chocolate bars are available from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons, Amazon, and the Vegan Kind Supermarket.

https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/food/buttermilk-is-launching-a-vegan-twix/