April 2022 – Greener By Default at the University of Victoria

PCRM, April 1, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Trends in prediabetes among children aged 12 to 19 doubled in the last 20 years, according to a survey study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. According to data from the U.S. government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999-2018, 1 in 5 children has prediabetes. This trend, NHANES reported, stayed true across socioeconomic and other variables such as weight, household food security, race, and age.

In a message today to NHANES Director Ryne Paulose-Ram, MA, PhD, the Physicians Committee, a nonprofit group of 17,000 doctors, outlined key steps to curb this approaching health epidemic.

“Despite the prediabetes crisis among young people, there has been no large-scale, meaningful response from health leaders,” says Adjunct Professor of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and President of the Physicians Committee Neal Barnard, MD, FACC. “Physicians Committee medical staff are prepared to assist in implementing the following strategy, which is a solid start to a response commensurate with the crisis at hand.” …

[ … Read more at PCRM ]

Critics say trial in Leicester Square is ‘manipulative’ but expert says fast food ideally suited for plant-based dishes

Helena Horton, The Guardian, April 14, 2022

All fast food will eventually become vegan, a leading plant-based restaurateur has said, after Burger King trialled making one of its flagship restaurants completely meat-free.

The Burger King outlet in Leicester Square, London, has been offering only vegan food for a month to test its popularity. This includes a plant-based version of its Whopper burger, as well as a “chicken” katsu burger and vegan nuggets.

Burger King said it would reintroduce meat options at Leicester Square but was exploring rolling out some of the most popular dishes from the trial in branches nationwide. In the meantime, the Vegan Royale, Vegan Nuggets and Plant-based Whopper will remain on the menu across all restaurants as standard, it said.

James Lewis, who works in marketing and product development for the vegan restaurant 123V on Bond Street, London, said this was part of a growing trend….

“Fast food is 100% the best area to switch to vegan,” Lewis said, adding: “The chains are often sneered at by people but they are setting the trends here. There’s no point starting a vegan chain because once McDonald’s figure out how to make a good vegan burger, they will think: ‘What’s the point in the cost of keeping all these animals when we can make it just as good and grow it in the ground?’

“Not too long from now, people will be getting their burger and it’ll be a vegan one and that’ll be the norm and they won’t think any different.”

Burger King has set a target of a 50% meat-free menu by 2030….

[ … Read more at The Guardian ]

Month: April 2022

In Response to a New Study Revealing Approaching Diabetes Epidemic Among American Children, National Physicians Group Provides Roadmap to Curb Crisis, Improve Health of Young People

Burger King ends all-vegan London branch trial amid prediction trend will become norm

Critics say trial in Leicester Square is ‘manipulative’ but expert says fast food ideally suited for plant-based dishes