Vegan Forward?

When British chef and perennial vegan-hater Gordon Ramsay starts developing a recipe for vegans, it’s probably time to acknowledge this is a trend catching on. Ramsay’s vegan bacon recipe on TikTok has over 3.3 million views and his official website now features a vegan section. Also, when a contestant in his new TV series served honey to a vegan, Ramsay reportedly sizzled, “We can’t serve honey to vegans. Period.”

Another chef rising to the vegan challenge is Charity Morgan. With the help of her husband, ex-Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan, Charity convinced 15 Titans to go plant-based. As she told ESPN: “When they realized that their production didn't go down, their stats didn't go down, they didn't die on the field, they were like ‘sign me up.’” The players believe the vegan food improved their performance, boosted their energy and helped them lose weight and recover faster. In her new cookbook “Unbelievably Vegan,” she debunks the idea that vegan food doesn’t taste very good.

This chef truly knows international flavor. Ixta Belfrage was born into the food traditions of Italy (where she spent her childhood) as well as Brazil (her mother's homeland) and Mexico (where her relatives have lived). Drawing on these diverse influences, she has emerged as the new “queen of fusion.” And if you want to get into vegan cooking, well, that’s as easy as roasted butternut squash. You can simply start with one of her new vegan recipes from The Guardian.

As Gordon Ramsay knows, honey ain’t vegan, period. But the company MeliBio is trying to change that. Based in the San Francisco area, MeliBio is using precision fermentation and plant science to produce bee-free vegan honey. Someone thinks it’s sweet, as MeliBio recently received seed funding totaling $5.7 million to scale its product. This is good not only for vegans but also for bees and the planet. In fact, the United Nations has adopted the preservation of bees as a key sustainable development goal.

Scientists say environmental pressures could fall by more than 80% if humans regularly eat lab-grown meat and ground-up insects instead of conventional meat, dairy and other related animal products. Other proposed alternative foods include egg whites from lab-grown chicken cells, seaweed and edible algae, as well as protein powders made from mushrooms or microbes. Though convincing huge numbers of consumers to embrace these foods could take many years, alternative foods are making progress. For example, in 2020, Singapore granted approval for the sale of meat grown from animal cells, and some believe the commercialization of cultured meat in Europe and the U.S. is inevitable.

When you’re desperate for an espresso but you’ve already had two or five or six, there’s an alternative: the Red Espresso. Carl Pretorius invented this drink in his desire for all the intense flavors of a coffee-based drink but with none of the jitters. He experimented by packing leaves of rooibos (a regional South African tea) into his espresso machine. With almost six times the antioxidants of coffee and offering a host of cancer-fighting properties, Red Espresso makes it worth taking a break from regular java.

The Carlos Watson Show, season 4!

In the 1840s British pharmacist Alfred Bird was so distressed by his wife’s allergies to egg and yeast that he set about making egg-free custard and yeast-free bread. The result? A miracle: the very baking powder that’s in your kitchen today. He was only trying to sweeten life for his beloved, but then a dinner party guest enjoyed the egg-free custard so much that he convinced Bird to take his powder to the market. It now sees constant use worldwide.

The invention of the humble cornflake comes with quite a backstory. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a vegetarian, invented his famous cornflakes in 1894 for the patients of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. Kellogg, who was deeply Christian, believed that certain vegetarian foods, including his cornflakes, helped to prevent immoral passions. This begs the question: If it’s excitement we’re seeking, should we steer clear of the cereal bowl?

Frenchman Auguste Escoffier, born in 1846, was the most famous chef of his day. He was so captivated by the Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba that he invented a dessert in her honor, naming it the Peach Melba. Around the same time, after the singer fell ill, Escoffier devised a cure: very thin slices of toasted bread, known as Melba Toast and they became a staple in her diet.

Do you think it’s worth trying veganism to help protect the environment?

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