Monthly Hopium Injection #13
2024-05: No Meat May was a big month for the bulls!
Hey, friends! 👋
This month, we’re welcoming 19 new people to our community! As we regularly watch the world commit mass atrocities to animals, hopelessness can be a common feeling among us. I’m here to give you a shot of the other side - here’s what we all keep coming back for:
Ho·pi·um
The Vegan cocktail of “hope” and “opium,” prescribed as a healthy dose of optimism, without the need for clinical trials… Because here, the evidence speaks for itself.
This is a hopeful showcase of a VEGAN WORLD coming - a compilation of the most uplifting Vegan news from the last month. All here. All NOW.
You ready? Let’s hit it!
🐮 Bullfighting Soon to Be Globally Obsolete
After 500 years of cruelty, the years of campaigning led by animal rights activists finally resulted in an outright ban of bullfighting in Colombia.
Just a few days earlier, the Spanish Government abolished the €30,000 national bullfighting award, making bullfighting a lot less relevant.
Only 1.9% of the Spanish population attends these displays of violence and 59% of the Spanish, French, and Portuguese population call for a bullfighting ban in their country.
At this rate, we’ll all live to see the days of bullfighting come to an end!
🇺🇸 Maryland Bans Use of Animals in Circuses
In another victory for animals in “entertainment,” Maryland banned the use of elephants, bears, and primates in circuses and traveling shows.
5 years ago, 54% of US citizens favored laws to prohibit the use of wild animals in circuses. It seems like public opinion is quickly catching up to law!
🇮🇹 Italy Bans Puppy Yoga
Puppies for Yoga get little food, water, or rest. This is to prevent defecation, peeing, or sleeping during long “working” hours. This is the unseen reality of the puppies in this cruel industry. On grounds of animal welfare, “puppy yoga” is now banned in Italy.
🇬🇧 UK Bans Live Animal Exports
If puppy yoga sounds stressful, imagine the same thing, but for days in a hot crate on a boat. For decades, animal rights activists have campaigned against this holocaust-like practice. Finally, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses born in the UK and Australia will now be spared from being exported. Next step? Ban their murder!
🇬🇷 Greece Protects its Marine Wildlife
Greece becomes the 1st country in the EU to ban bottom trawling in its marine protected areas. The destructive practice will be phased out by 2030, with an additional €780 million going towards marine protection. This is awesome news for the sperm whales, Cuvier's beaked whales, striped dolphins, and endangered monk seals who call the South Aegan Sea their home.
🇮🇳 India Rules Animals Are More Than Property
A reckless driver killed an innocent Buffalo and injured another. In some parts of the world, a payment to their “owners” would suffice. However, in a landmark case, India’s Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that animal rights outweigh private settlement. With such a large Vegetarian population and such aspirational laws around animals, India may be the first country to ban the killing of animals!
🇧🇪 Belgium Protects Animals in Constitutional Amendment
After years of animal rights campaigns, a paragraph was finally added to article 7a of Belgium’s constitution:
"In the exercise of their respective powers, the Federal State, the Communities, and the Regions, ensure the protection and well-being of animals as sentient beings."
Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Egypt, Brazil, India, and now Belgium, all enshrine animal sentience in their constitutions. I’ll continue to report on these countries as they align their eating habits with their laws!
🚫 No Meat May Sees Record Breaking Sign-Ups
In it’s 12th year, No Meat May saw a record-breaking 33% increase in sign-ups from 2023, with >76,000 unique participants!
Anyone here converted because of this campaign? It’s doing great!
🇬🇧 Lancaster University Transitioning to Vegan
Plant-based Universities have had an incredible few years, with Lancaster University being the 12th university to transition to Vegan catering! Will your university be next?
🇪🇺 Lidl Wants Shoppers to Eat Vegan
Following a study which found that 42% of Belgians would purchase Vegan alternatives if they were cheaper, Lidl Belgium dropped prices of their plant-based products to the point of price parity!
Not only that, but Lidl Netherlands started to place plant-based alternatives right next to their slaughter-based counterparts, leading to a 7% increase in their sales!
If you read last October’s post, you’d know that these strategies have already been implemented in Germany. Now, two more EU nations are going to benefit! While I’ve always liked having our own plant-based corner of the grocery store, these moves are best for the non-Human animals.
🇺🇸 NYC Teaches Prison Chefs to Cook Vegan
The US treats prisoners like we treat the animals in factory farms: like shit. Rates of diabetes and hypertension among prisoners are higher than the average person, and 90% of them want more fresh fruits and vegetables. Now, the New York City Mayor launched a $100k initiative to teach chefs of Riker’s Island Prisons how to cook healthy plant-based meals.
Mayor Eric Adams is leaving no one behind in his initiative to turn NYC Vegan. First schools, then hospitals, now prisons. Everyone - including the non-Human animals - benefits from eating more plants!
🌱 Multi-Billion $ Retailers Make Vegan Push
Walmart is releasing over 300 new products under their new private label brand, Bettergoods. This marks the company’s largest food launch in 20 years! With the majority of them plant-based and priced under $5, eating Vegan just got a whole lot easier.
The largest Dairy company on planet Earth, Lactalis, just released their first line of plant-milks in Canada. If this isn’t confirmation that dairy is dead, I don’t know what is!
🛒 Cultivated Meat Sold in Store for 1st Time
Singaporeans can now buy GOOD Meat’s “GOOD Meat 3” at ~$20 per lb (~€4.00 per 100 g) from at the frozen section of the premium meats specialist Huber’s Butchery.
It’s official - cultivated meat is now available to “the masses.” If I had to guess, the US is next! Let’s see if my prediction that we’ll be able to buy it by 2030 comes early... At least you can already buy Cow-free dairy milk in all 50 states!
🇺🇸 Majority of USA Open to Trying Cultivated Meat
Contrary to perceived doubts about taste and health, a report by the Purdue Center for Food Demand Analysis & Sustainability found that around 60% of consumers are willing to try cultivated beef, chicken, and pork in restaurants, while around 30% are unwilling.
If they’re willing, they can change!
🐶 Cultivated Meat for Pets Reaches Price Parity
From Vegconomist
“BioCraft Pet Nutrition, a manufacturer of cultivated ingredients for pets, says it has achieved a commercial price of $2.00 to $2.50 per pound of cultivated meat, making it competitive with premium meat for pet food.”
It looks like the Dogs and Cats we live with will be getting cultivated meat first, anyways! Since food for pets is one of the largest contributors of other animal deaths, this is a huge win.
🧬 AI Team Creates Amazon.com, but for Proteins
Shiru just launched a platform, proteindiscovery.ai, that has cataloged >33 million molecules by sequence, metadata, performance, and functional use. The best part? It allows users to easily purchase proteins for food, agriculture, personal care, and advanced material applications.
Brb, ordering some casein-mimics for my homemade protein-rich Vegan cheeze.
🎭 Major Art Gatherings Going Plant-Based
The Cannes - one of the largest film festivals in the world - just banned Cow flesh from their menus. They’ll be replacing it with more plant-based options!
The Met Gala is a prominent fundraising event for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. Lots of famous Americans attend the Met Gala to look good, and now they’re eating good too. From cultivated cheese to plant-based burgers, there was a larger selection of plant-based foods this year!
🚗 More Cars Have Vegan Interiors Than Ever Before
From Tracy Reiman for PETA
“More carmakers than ever are recognizing the demand for animal-free options and meeting it by using inventive materials—from cork to discarded fishing gear.”
While I’m sure cost plays a role, it’s pretty hopeful that cars aren’t just going Vegan, but are trying to be more sustainable too! See PETA’s list of >100 automotive brands that may offer Vegan interiors.
I think
, fellow Vegan writer, is going to like this one! She talks a lot about the Vegan lifestyle and items beyond our food, so if news like this interests you, you should check out her Substack, !✊ Plans for Slaughterhouse Stopped By Activists
Apna Bazaar tried to get permits to build a slaughterhouse near Jacksonville, FL, USA, but a group of animal rights activists complained at the city’s hearing, leading to the CEO apologizing and withdrawing his application.
I doubt his reaction means he’ll “take his business somewhere else,” but I’m hopeful he came to the realization that a new animal killing factory isn’t wanted in any big city. Another win for non-Human animals!
Feeling the Hopium now?
Jokes aside, how are you feeling about the new format - is it easier to read? Let me know in the comments!
As always, I am grateful for your time and attention - thank you.
Be Vegan,
Dani
What do you think about the new format? Is it easier to read? Let me know here!
While I was in the Netherlands, I noticed the EU parliament elections coming up, so here's a bonus PLANT-BASED ELECTION GUIDE for all my EU friends: https://www.euroveg.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/EVU-Plant-Based-Politics-EU-2024-ELECTION-GUIDE.pdf