Quote:Meat Loaf vows to go vegan for Veganuary... but he won't rebrand

• HARRIET BREWIS 
  
  
• 1 day ago 
  

US rock star Meat Loaf has gone vegan for Veganuary but he won’t be changing his name to a plant-based alternative, fans may be relieved to know.
The ‘Bat out of Hell’ singer, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, refused to rebrand himself as “Veg Loaf” while ditching meat as part of a Frankie & Benny's restaurant campaign.

The 72-year-old agreed to promote the chain’s new range, which includes a vegan hot dog, calzone and “cheesy” potato skins. 

However, he told the Daily Star: “When Frankie & Benny’s first approached me to rebrand to Veg Loaf I said no way in hell.

"But, I’d do anything for our planet and dropping meat for veg, even for just one day a week, can make a huge difference.”

The man who penned ‘I would do anything for love’ is no stranger to plant-based diets, having previously renounced meat for 11 years.

He told the Mirror a harrowing restaurant experience in 1981 changed his attitude to food for more than a decade.
"I ordered rabbit and they served it with its head on, no ears and its eyes closed,” he said.
"I said, ‘Take this away and I want vegetables and a salad,’ and from that moment I became vegetarian for maybe 11 years.”

He added: "People should try and have two meatless nights a week. If everyone had a meatless night, that would save 1,600 people per steak - just multiply that!"

He eventually returned to an omnivorous diet after health reasons forced him to lose weight.
“I stopped because I wanted to lose weight," he said. "The carbohydrate diet worked to a point, I lost 30lb but it went right back on. I lost 70lb on the low-fat no-sugar diet.

“You don’t need calories, you need a lifestyle change… and less fat.”

Frankie & Benny's director of strategy explained their choice of celebrity endorsement, saying: "We wanted to encourage diners to swap Meat for Veg this January, so who better to sign up than one of the most recognised artists on the planet.
"Funnily enough, our new video isn't far off the original real-life pitch to Meat. While we couldn't convince him to rebrand to VEG LOAF, we're just delighted he's the headline act for our new vegan menu and helping spread the word on the benefits of tucking into our meat-free dishes."

Quote:Singapore approves lab-grown 'chicken' meat
Published12 hours ago

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IMAGE COPYRIGHTEAT JUST
image captionEat Just chicken nuggets
[b]Singapore has given regulatory approval for the world’s first “clean meat” that does not come from slaughtered animals.[/b]
The decision paves the way for San Francisco-based startup Eat Just to sell lab-grown chicken meat.
The meat will initially be used in nuggets, but the company hasn’t said when they will become available.
Demand for alternatives to regular meat has surged due to consumer concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment.
According to Barclays, the market for meat alternatives could be worth $140bn (£104bn) within the next decade, or about 10% of the $1.4tn global meat industry.
Plant-based meat options such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are increasingly found on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.
But Eat Just’s product is different because it is not plant based, but instead grown from animal muscle cells in a lab.
Breakthrough
The company called it a "breakthrough for the global food industry" and hopes other countries will now follow suit.
Over the last decade, dozens of start-ups have attempted to bring cultured meat to market, hoping to win over conventional meat eaters with the promise of a more ethical product.
Two of the largest are Israel-based Future Meat Technologies and the Bill Gates-backed Memphis Meats, which are both trying to enter the market with affordable and tasty lab grown meats.
Singapore’s Shiok Meats is working on lab grown crustacean meats.
While many have touted the environmental benefits, some scientists have suggested it might be worse for climate change under some circumstances.


Challenges ahead
[b]By Mariko Oi, BBC News Singapore[/b]
The boss of Eat Just called it "one of the most significant milestones in the food industries" but challenges remain.
Firstly, it is much more expensive to produce lab-grown meat than plant-based products.
Case in point: Eat Just previously said it would sell lab-grown chicken nuggets at $50 each.
The cost has since come down but it will still be as expensive as premium chicken.
Another challenge for the company is the reaction of consumers.
But Singapore's approval of Eat Just's product will likely attract competitors to set up operations in the city state, and it could also prompt other countries to approve it, too.


Safe ‘novel food’
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said an expert working group reviewed data on Eat Just’s manufacturing control and safety testing of the cultured chicken.
“It was found to be safe for consumption at the intended levels of use, and was allowed to be sold in Singapore as an ingredient in Eat Just’s nuggets product,” the SFA said.
The agency said it has put in place a regulatory framework for “novel food” to ensure that cultured meat and other alternative protein products meet safety standards before they are sold in Singapore.
“I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe,” said Josh Tetrick, the Eat Just co-founder in a media release.
No antibiotics were used in the process, and the chicken had lower microbiological content than conventional chicken, the company said.
“The first-in-the-world regulatory allowance of real, high-quality meat created directly from animal cells for safe human consumption paves the way for a forthcoming small-scale commercial launch in Singapore,” Eat Just said.

(12-05-2020, 10:05 PM)cranefly Wrote: stick someone else with the bill.