VegNews Magazine

the great reset

WE DID IT, dear VegNews readers—we made it to the halfway point of what may be the most unusual year in modern history. Air hugs and elbow bumps! As we shift from a sheltering-in-place spring to a cautiously optimistic staycation summer, it feels like we’re making a giant leap into an entirely new era. And in a way, we are. This year has been challenging, emotional, and perplexing, all at once. But as I reflect on 2020’s tumultuous first six months, I also feel a sense of gratitude. After all, if it wasn’t for COVID-19, would we be having a global discourse on whether eating animals makes sense in the 21st century? And would greenhouse gas emissions have plummeted worldwide? Reframing the negatives of life during a pandemic as positives is…

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contributors

TABITHA BROWN Ask Tabitha, p.86 Where I live: Los Angeles, CA Veg for: 2½ years My go-to summer smoothie: Pineapple, strawberries, banana, avocado, chia seeds, and orange juice Favorite backyard snack: Watermelon with a pinch of salt Fantasy travel destination: Fiji What’s on the grill: Zucchini, red and yellow peppers, pineapple, avocado, asparagus, and mushrooms World’s best vegan city: Maybe I’m biased, but Los Angeles! TAYLOR WOLFRAM The Buzz on Getting Buzzed, p.78 Where I live: Chicago, IL Veg for: 11 years My go-to summer smoothie: Frozen banana, frozen cherries, spinach, peanut butter, cocoa powder, and almond milk Favorite backyard snack: Watermelon Fantasy travel destination: A trip across Spain What’s on the grill: Beyond Sausage Brats World’s best vegan city: It has to be Portland, OR EDDIE GARZA Elote Love, p.68 Where I live: Los Angeles, CA Veg for: 17 years My go-to summer smoothie: Mango, pineapple, banana, fresh basil, and coconut…

how billie eilish’s mom is saving vegan restaurants

WHEN THE NEWS OF COVID-19 first started trickling in, the eventual grip it would have on the world was unimaginable. But in the face of historic levels of adversity, millions of emergency and essential workers have sprung into action, with individuals around the globe stepping up to the plate to help. With restaurants experiencing devastating losses and countless frontline workers pushed to the limit, Maggie Baird knew she had to do something. The Los Angeles-based actress, environmental activist, and mother of vegan Grammy Award winners Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell also happens to be a vegan of more than a decade herself. So in order to help some of her favorite plant-based LA restaurants, she started Support + Feed, an initiative that allows people to financially support vegan eateries through donations…

$100 billion

The amount of money that would be made available for farmers to transition away from factory farming and toward plant-based agriculture, thanks to proposed legislation by vegan Senator Cory Booker and co-sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren. The Farm System Reform Act would ban the opening of any future large-scale factory farms and dismantle the largest ones by 2040, setting aside $100 billion over 10 years to aid owners of these operations to move toward “a more sustainable and humane system.”…

all hail, non-dairy queen

Ice cream lovers, rejoice: Dairy Queen, the iconic soft-serve ice cream chain, has debuted its very first vegan ice cream bar. The Non-Dairy Dilly Bars launched at locations in Louisiana before a nationwide rollout, and consist of vanilla coconut milk ice cream enrobed in a chocolate shell. The new non-dairy option follows Baskin Robbins’ addition of vegan ice cream flavors to its menu in 2019 and Ben & Jerry’s rollout of six new non-dairy flavors earlier this year, making more than 25 percent of its product line vegan. PLANT-BASED OPTIONS ARE COMING TO MCDONALD’S, according to CEO Chris Kempczinski. Explaining that the billion-dollar company first assesses customer demand bef ore committing to permanent menu items, Kempczinski says vegan options in the US are “just a matter of when.” Meanwhile, in other…