By Kat Smith 

The time for plant-based meats is now and we’re seeing innovations from both the old and new schools of vegan food. Beyond Meat recently introduced the Beyond Burger, a plant based patty made from pea protein that turns from pink to brown when you cook it and has an uncanny meat-like flavor. The Impossible Burger, also known as “the burger that bleeds,” might just “change the whole game,” according to Momofuku’s David Chang. There’s also Memphis Meats, a company that is working to create “clean meat” made from animal cells in a lab. We’ve seen meat-free cold cuts from The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis and Monk’s Meats, another vegan butcher whose brick-and-mortar will soon grace the streets of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
To say that all of the innovations happening in the vegan food world is exciting would be an understatement. But let’s not forget about the good ol’ classics, like seitan.
Seitan, which is made from vital wheat gluten might sound new, but it’s been a staple meat substitute in East Asian cuisine for centuries. Seitan is also what’s used to make the meat in London’s first (and only) vegan fried chicken restaurant, Temple of Seitan, which will be opening its doors to customers in January 2017. That’s plenty of time to start planning your trip to London — and believe us, after looking at the photos below, you might just want to move there.

Source:http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/vegan-fried-chicken-shop-is-opening-in-london/

By MARLENA AHEARN 

​I just celebrated my first vegan holiday and let me tell you, it was the most delicious meal I’ve had in a long time. When you’re starting out vegan, there's a lot of pressure around your first holiday. How will you explain your ethical meal to relatives? What will you eat? I get questions all the time about what it’s like to be vegan (Oh, you can’t eat that? No, I just won’t) and how it’s even possible to celebrate a holiday sans meat, cheese, or dairy. The truth is it’s not hard at all, and really, you get so much more flavorful (and healthier!) dishes when you’re cooking vegan because you’re not relying on tons of heavy and processed cheeses and meats. Instead, you are using incredible flavorful plant-based ingredients, spices (and probably a good helping of vegan butter, too).

When it comes to the holidays, it’s all about the sides anyway. Yes, there are absolutely vegan roast/meat substitute options out there that are actually really good, but I managed to get away with making a ton of sides for Thanksgiving and even my uncle went back for seconds (thirds). Celebrating a holiday with a vegan menu is a wonderful way to get in the holiday spirit. Compassion and love for all things on this earth are two main pillars for ethical vegans — so why not save a life this holiday and go meatless? To inspire your vegan holiday and make your mouth water, here are 23 totally vegan-friendly side dishes for you and your guests.

​1. Vegan Spinach Mac And Cheese

​OK I lied. Mushrooms get me pretty excited too. Using vegan butter and nixing the top layer of asiago, this Love and Lemons mushroom and polenta dish is to die for. Use mini ramekins to make portions side-appropriate, but honestly you know you’re going to go back for more of this. Get the recipe here.
​
4. Vegetable Lasagna Casserole

​Not sure what the meaning behind this tradition is, but the majority of the people I know always have lasagna on their holiday table. Instead of a meat and cheese filled option, try Averie Cooks’ version with zucchini, carrots, and a layer of vegan cheese. Get the recipe here.
​
5. Broiled Green Beans with Roasted Lemon Gremolata

Part of a great meal is having a variety of colors and textures. For a vibrant green addition to your table, try A Better Happier St. Sebastian’s blistered green beans with a lemon-parsley finish. You can also add dried cranberries or apricots for sweetness and added color. Get the recipe here.

​6. Vegan Mushroom Gravy

​Gravy is one of those things that can be hard to replicate without the drippings from whatever meat you make — which kind of gross if you think about it. This mushroom-based gravy from Fo Reals Life is vegan, gluten-free, and just as flavorful as traditional gravy. Using herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage with the meaty-texture of mushrooms makes this a must-make dish. Get the recipe here.

7. Cauliflower-Stuffed Portobello Caps

​Swap out the parm for some nooch in this Big Girls Small Kitchen recipe for a perfectly portioned vegetable addition to your meal. You could easily make this the main event by using larger mushrooms, but depending on the size available at your grocery these make perfect side dishes. Get the recipe here

8. Green Bean and Mushroom Tart

Did you know that most store-bought puff pastry sheets are vegan? It’s cheaper for companies to use vegetable shortening than butter, so you can make vegan flakey treats as much as you want. Skip brushing the crust with an egg wash, and let the puff pastry do it’s thing. Top with ground cashew-nutritional yeast “parm” instead of bleu cheese and enjoy A Spicy Perspective’s savory green bean and mushroom tart. Get the recipe here.

9. Kale and Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing

Stuffing is the most wonderful, carby comfort food ever — and it’s easy to make vegan. Love and Lemons adds colorful kale, dried cranberries, and meaty mushrooms to the classic dish. Get the recipe here.

10. Cranberry, Apricot, And Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf

If you’re looking for a lighter option to stuffing, try Oh She Glows’ fruit and nut pilaf recipe. Instead of heavy bread options, a rice pilaf is full of fiber and perfectly balanced tartness from the cranberries. This can easily be made gluten-free too. Get the recipe here.

11. Vegetable Couscous and Cheeze Sauce

Oh She Glows makes it easy to incorporate any vegetables into this cheesy couscous. Even if you’re just trying to use up what’s in the back of your freezer, this creamy couscous is a perfect addition to any holiday table. Get the recipe here.

12. Grilled Green Onions With Walnut Romesco

ReadMore::https://www.bustle.com/articles/198923-23-vegan-holiday-side-dishes-for-2016-to-treat-yourself-impress-non-veg-guests

​People still baulk at the notion of synthetically coloured salmon, but are we missing the point?

The salmon lovers of our nation were left reeling after ABC's Four Corners revealed a widespread use of chemical colouring in the Tasmanian salmon industry. Footage of lead investigator Caro Meldrum-Hanna holding up a commercial salmon pigment chart that they'd "managed to get [their] hands on"—the gradient colour swatch used by salmon companies—became the unofficial poster of the salmon dyeing debate.

Following the report, there was an outpouring of fury from the Australian public, with concerns over the chemicals used and a general feeling of deception about the practice's existence.

​But while many consumers and consumer groups, including Choice, are shouting for more transparency in the industry around the labelling of synthetically coloured salmon, the question remains: is coloured salmon actually bad for us to eat? And should we be encouraging the industry to abandon the practice in place of a chemical-free farmed salmon—one with a decidedly less appealing white-ish-grey flesh?

9Kitchen spoke with Huon Salmon's group technical manager David Whyte and leading dietitian and creator of the Shape Me Kickstart program Susie Burrell to get their take on the controversial colouring agents and how they're affecting the salmon—and, by default, the humans—who consume it.

Do farmers dye their fish to make them look fresher?
While many food experts and manufacturers, including Huon Salmon, would argue that the practice of artificial salmon colouring is hardly the "closely guarded industry secret" Four Corners spoke of in their exposé, there's no denying that many Australians remain unwittingly oblivious to the practice—a fact that became patently obvious in the ABC report aftermath.

The chemical in question, interestingly, can be found in nature. "Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring antioxidant, meaning that it helps to protect cells from damage," Burrell tells 9Kitchen. "The functionality [of synthetic astaxanthin] is the same—a synthetic compound will have exactly the same effect in the body as naturally occurring.

"Salmon as a species metabolises this compound which gives the fish its rich pink colour. It is a natural process which occurs when fish consume a diet of algae and krill, which is simply mimicked with farm fish so they are receiving the same nutrients they would in nature, and their body is metabolising astaxanthin as it would in nature."

But does the practice go beyond cultivating a fish with visual appeal? According to Whyte, it's linked directly to the health of the farmed fish, which in turn effects the salmon's colour, taste and texture.

"Astaxanthin is essential to the salmon natural reproductive cycle and functions as a provitamin, being converted to vitamin A. Salmon are unable to make astaxanthin themselves, needing a dietary supply for these vital functions. It just happens to have a pink pigmentation to it, which in turn impacts the salmon flesh," Whyte says.

Are we better off leaving out the colouring agent (astaxanthin)?
Superficial concerns aside, is there a benefit to scrapping the chemical added to salmon feed altogether? In short, no—in fact, ditching it could actually have a disproportionately adverse effect on the fish according to Whyte, who manages the company's feeding systems. "Given its health benefits in salmon feed, it is poor practice to make feeds for this species without astaxanthin, and it is not natural for salmon to be depleted of this nutrient," Whyte says, adding salmon are not naturally white fleshed and thus farmed salmon are not naturally white fleshed.

Is wild salmon better for you?
Wild-caught Australian salmon is available—it's not as readily available or sustainable as its farmed contemporary, but if you have a good fish monger and are willing to only devour it in small amounts, the option is there. But are there any differences from a nutritional perspective?

"Nutritionally, not a lot [of difference between wild-caught and farmed], simply because farmed salmon is fed a diet that seeks to maximise the fish's natural nutrition and mimic what they would be fed in a wild scenario," Burrell says.

"In the same way the fatty acid profile differs in the beef we eat depending on diet, so too does the fatty acid profile differ depending on diet, and major farmers will give their fish a diet that keeps their fatty acids as similar to that of wild salmon as possible."

Why not use a naturally derived astaxanthin in salmon feed?
With the recent announcement of Australia's largest producer Tassal Salmon making the switch to a naturally derived source of astaxanthin by 2017, it begs the question: are there benefits to going natural over synthetic?

Tassal cited "a growing consumer preference" for a natural feed source, rather than any nutritional advantages, adding that sourcing a sustainable and reliable natural source had been a complex task for the company. 
Burrell's take on synthetic versions of the nutrient is that not only are they absolutely safe for human consumption (both directly, via supplements, and indirectly, via eating salmon), but they're necessary due to "availability and environmental sustainability"—large scale aquaculture farms rely on these nature-identical versions of the compound.
Whyte says that while Huon Salmon also recognises a customer and consumer preference for a natural, algae-derived version, algal cultivation can be a water-intensive process and not, in his opinion, as sustainable as the current method.

"The ability to make an identical version of this nutrient increases the ability of the industry to sustainably grow without impacting other industries or depleting naturally occurring, but limited, resources.

"Apart from the smaller carbon footprint [as a result of using a synthetic version], the salmon doesn't care where the astaxanthin comes from, so there is no biological benefit from one source versus another. The same is true of most animals, for example–the vitamin C that we might take in supplements is fully synthetic, it's not extracted from oranges or other fruit, but our bodies will use it regardless."

Source: http://kitchen.nine.com.au/2016/11/30/16/10/the-truth-about-farmed-salmon-colouring

​Sweet corn flakes, cookie sandwiches, salty pita chips... your favorite supermarket junk foods taste like delicious nostalgia, pure comfort in a box. They also probably have just a hint of the weed killer glyphosate, because it was found in tons of popular cereals and snack foods. Surprise! 
OK, so no one can really taste glyphosate in foods like Cheerios, but it's some potent stuff. It's the key ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, and the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer labeled it a possible carcinogen in 2015. Now, glyphosate has been found in alarming levels on some of the most popular packaged food brands, thanks to an independent study from Food Democracy Now's Detox Project. 
The group looked at 29 pantry staples, and tested them for traces of glyphosate. Of the foods sampled, Cheerios was the most saturated with the herbicide at 1,125.3 parts per billion. Party snack staple and hummus' better half, Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips, scored second highest with 812.53 ppb. 
You probably didn't need advanced laboratory tests for weedkiller to tell you these foods aren't exactly healthy, but Cool Ranch Doritos, Oreos, and Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies all returned remarkably high glyphosate parts per billion scores.
Chemical used to kill weeds is perfectly safe for you, says EPASo some of the tastiest foods in the world contain a widespread herbicide. Big deal, you once ate that slice of pizza that had fallen cheese side down on the sidewalk, and you're still fine! How bad could a little weedkiller be?
Not bad, according to the EPA; the agency claims glyphosate has "low toxicity" for humans, although it's still undergoing a review. An EPA report from 1993 suggests a daily intake of 2mg per kilogram of body weight would be safe. The European Food Safety Authority, on the other hand, suggests only a max intake of 0.5 mg per kg of body weight (it's clear who has the better agriculture system). 
In general, something that's used to kill a species of plants is probably not the healthiest compound to eat in large quantities, and should we really be relying on recommendations from 1993? Ross Perot says, "No!"
Considering glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide, it would make sense that amounts of it wind up in some of your favorite foods. Unfortunately, the FDA doesn't currently test for it, meaning there's no limit or standard for what's acceptable. How are you supposed to navigate all those parts per billion on your own? The agency did add glyphosate to the other list of pesticides it tests for in early 2016, but it suspended testing efforts because of technical and logistical complications. Your health and safety can wait, people! 
The Government Accountability Office has already taken the FDA to taskfor its lax pesticides testing, but there's not exactly a clamoring in the government for more careful regulation of America's food supply. In other words, it's not just crazy "detox" weirdos who have a problem with glyphosate; the government itself thinks America does a bad job testing for it and protecting its citizens. And even though defenders of Roundup will tell you it's completely safe, put them on the spot and you may find them singing a different tune. 

Source : www.thrillist.com/health/nation/pesticides-food-organic-natural

By Megan Thomas, CBC News  Posted: Nov 30, 2016 4:45 PM PT

​'This is not something that is normal,' says B.C. Salmon Farmers Association

Three humpback whale entanglements at B.C. fish farms in recent months, two of which resulted in deaths, have whale researchers and the salmon farming industry concerned.

A juvenile humpback died last weekend after it became trapped between the inner and outer containment nets at Greig Seafood's Atrevida salmon farm in Nootka Sound.

The death comes just two weeks after another dead humpback was found stuck in equipment at an empty Marine Harvest Canada fish farm on B.C.'s Central Coast. In that case, the whale became entangled in an anchor support line at a site north of Bella Bella.

• Humpback whale found dead near Klemtu, B.C., says aquaculture company
• Humpback rescued from fish farm ropes by fisheries officials​

​
A third humpback whale was rescued from the same spot in September, but it has not been spotted since, and it's not clear if it survived the injures it suffered.

The cluster of incidents has fish farm operators worried, said Jeremy Dunn, executive director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.

"The farmers are quite upset. This is not something that is normal, and they want to take every step they can to ensure this doesn't happen," he said.
​
More entanglements likelyBut whale researchers warn more entanglements are likely because of the growth in the number of humpback whales on the B.C. Coast.

"Three humpbacks entangled in fish farm gear in the last two and a half months. Is this new? Yes, because humpbacks are back in numbers that are unprecedented," said Jackie Hildering, a humpback researcher with the Marine Education and Research Society.

The juvenile humpback was freed from several ropes at the Marine Harvest aquaculture site in Klemtu, B.C. by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with help from the company and the Kitasoo First Nation. (Philip Charles)

Humpbacks are particularly at risk from fish farm equipment because they do not have bio-sonar like toothed whales, Hildering said. This makes it less likely they will avoid the equipment when they're diving for food.

• Researchers fear B.C. coast becoming dangerous for returning whales

Fish farm industry leaders plan to meet with experts from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) next month to discuss the recent entanglements and work on ways to prevent them, Dunn said.

"The experts are telling us there are significantly more humpback whales in the environment, and our farmers need to learn more about the whales," he said. "If DFO determines that there should be some changes made to the infrastructure of the farms, I think our members will certainly do that." 
​
But Hildering said finding solutions could prove challenging because humpbacks feed on species such as herring and krill that are often plentiful in areas where fish farms are located.

Source: ​http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/humback-whale-deaths-1.3874915

​According to Forbes, Tyson Foods has started a venture capital fund to invest in plant-based and sustainable protein options.

On Monday, America’s largest meat producer announced that it had launched Tyson New Ventures LLC, a $150 million venture capital fund. The company said the fund will focus on companies that are developing "breakthrough" technology and business models.
Just last month, the company announced a 5-percent stake in fast-growing vegan protein company Beyond Meat.
Tyson’s executive vice president of strategy, Monica McGurk, stated:
We believe we can accelerate the growth of startups through our capabilities in such areas as food and culinary research and development, sourcing, insights, customer relationships and distribution. By doing so, we hope to materially advance the state of the U.S. and global food system.
Tyson isn’t the first big company to invest in the vegan movement. Earlier this year, General Mills created its own VC arm and has since invested in vegan cheese company Kite Hill.
With an estimated 12 percent of millennials identifying as faithful vegetarians, this is truly a wise investment in the future. Meat consumption in the U.S. fell 15 percent in 2015, while sales of vegan protein products exploded. In fact, plant-based proteins are expected to make up a third of the protein market by 2054.
Join the growing number of people who are taking a stand for animals, the environment, and their own health by transitioning to a plant-based diet.
Click here to order your FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide.

Source:www.mercyforanimals.org/the-countrys-largest-meat-company-just-started

BY ROSANE OLIVEIRA ON JULY 14, 2015

You can’t escape talk (and marketing!) of antioxidants. From skin creams to nutritional supplements, antioxidants are constantly touted as a miracle cure for everything from looking younger to reversing chronic disease.

But what exactly is an antioxidant?

How does it really contribute to your health?

And most importantly, what is the best way to get your antioxidants—diet, supplements or both?

Let’s tackle these questions and more.

Antioxidants and Free Radicals
Antioxidants prevent and repair the damage caused by free radicals in the body. To fully understand antioxidants we need to understand what is a free radical.

Free radicals are metabolic (waste) products that form when the body turns food into energy. They can also be created by your body’s immune system to fight an infection or as a response to environmental agents such as stress, air pollutants, radiation, cigarette smoking, drugs or other chemicals. Both inevitable and inescapable, free radicals become problematic when they are produced in quantities greater than the body can handle.

Free radicals come in a variety of shapes, sizes and chemical configurations but they all share one thing in common which is a hunger for an extra electron. Free radicals are chemically unstable and react with nearby molecules to ‘steal’ this extra electron (to gain stability), altering the structure and function of those molecules. The “attacked” molecule loses its electron and becomes a free radical itself, which starts a cascade reaction that ultimately results in damage to cells. For example, free radical damage can harm your DNA resulting in mutation into cancerous cells.   It can also increase the likelihood that LDL (otherwise known as a ‘bad’ cholesterol) gets trapped in an artery wall. It is therefore hardly surprising that free radicals have been linked to a number of chronic diseases including cancer, strokes and heart disease.