EARTH DAY 2022 – INVEST IN OUR PLANET
Earth Day 2022 is here. What can you do to help our struggling planet? You guessed it, eat more plants.
Animal agriculture is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry is a top 5 emitter of pollution and greenhouse gases, causing more carbon emissions than all of transportation (all cars + trucks + trains + planes) combined! Cutting back or eliminating animal products is one of the best things we as individuals can do to help lower carbon emissions. This step in the right direction will help to curtail the devastating consequences of climate change — like more severe weather patterns that lead to calamitous storms, fires and record-breaking droughts.
Go plant-powered to shrink your FOODPRINT this Earth Day and beyond!
For some great alternatives to animal products here are the VegNews 2022 Veggie Awards winners:
Best Vegan Burger: Beyond Meat
This beefy vegan burger has gone where no plant-based burger has gone before: the Golden Arches. After infiltrating 600 US McDonald’s restaurants, it’s clear the Beyond Burger is at the helm of the future of food.
Best Vegan Sausage: Beyond Meat
When it comes to adding an extra bit of oomph to pasta or fajitas, VegNews readers are turning to Beyond Meat’s plant-based links in Original, Hot Italian, and Sweet Italian flavors.
Best Vegan Seafood: Gardein
Crispy, golden-fried crab cakes dipped in saucy vegan remoulade and flaky fish filets perfect for baja tacos? Oh yeah, sea life as seafood is so over. Pescatarians, time to level up!
Best Vegan Bacon: Sweet Earth
Next time someone says “but bacon,” simply show them these hickory-smoked strips that are ushering in a better breakfast revolution. Between mile-high BLTs and big brunch platters, one question remains: crispy or chewy?
Best Vegan Chicken: Gardein
Vegan chicken is all the rage, and Gardein’s cluck-free offerings are fueling the frenzy. Want in on the trend? Choose from the brand’s classic tenders, Mandarin orange chicken, gochujang wings, and, most recently, extra meaty filets.
Best Vegan Jerky: Louisville Vegan Jerky Co.
Ten years after founder Stanley Chase III accidentally overcooked his barbecue soy protein, this company has quietly become the vegan king of jerky. And now, it has its first Veggie Award to prove it.
Best New Vegan Product: Beyond Chicken Tenders
When your vegan chicken tenders get picked up by KFC, you know you’re doing something right. And Veggie Award voters agree: Beyond Meat’s make-at-home version deserves this year’s win.
Best Artisanal Vegan Cheese: Miyoko’s Creamery
Between elegant cashew cheese wheels, robust pub cheese spreads, and one-of-a-kind liquid mozzarella, this gone-mainstream vegan creamery is proving that anything dairy can do, plants can do better.
Best Staple Vegan Cheese: Violife
Parmesan wedges for pasta night, Mexican-style shreds for Taco Tuesday, and Mediterranean cheese blocks for weekend grilling—yep, there’s a Violife cheese for every cuisine and day of the week.
Best Vegan Milk: Oatly
Six years after its US debut, this oat-based alt milk still reigns supreme. From a billion dollar IPO to a nationwide Starbucks launch, Oatly’s plant-based power is proving to be oat of this world.
Best Vegan Butter: Earth Balance
This buttery spread first appeared on grocery store shelves in the late ‘90s, and 24 years later, Veggie Award voters agree: this tub of vegan spreadable gold is still on permanent rotation.
See the rest of the award winning veggie products here!