NEWS: Money spent on developing plant-based meat alternatives results in far greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than if the same investment was made in any other eco-initiatives, said Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Last week, fake meat makers THIS released a video showing vegans taste-testing what they were told were animal products for a “social experiment”. The bizarre advert was the latest in a disturbing anti-vegan marketing trend, following in the footsteps of plant-based brand Oatly, but was there something even more sinister going on? Andrew Gough writes.

For many vegans, our love affair with the humble chickpea knows no bounds. Where would we be without our hummus, fresh falafel or chana masala? Chickpeas are an important and more sustainable source of protein for those who refuse to eat animals, but now a new study aims to show they could in fact feed the world and eliminate hunger completely.

In response to the recent revelation that some Subway tuna sandwiches contained no trace of tuna DNA, plant-based ‘seafood’ brand Good Catch has taken to the streets of London in its OurWay food to hand out free fish-free subs in a direct challenge to the sandwich chain.

Farmers in Australia are ‘uniting’ to demand that the government step in and stop vegan food brands from using terms like ‘meat’, ‘chicken’, ‘beef’ and so on with accusations of misleading marketing and a lack of transparency. They want people to know the truth about where their meat comes from, but not the whole truth.

Producers of broiler chicken products have no reason to be concerned about the forthcoming launch of Beyond Meat’s plant-based poultry range, the chairman of the Russian National Meat Association said in comforting tones, ignoring forecasts from Deloitte of a 10 per cent growth in the plant-based food sector per year in Russia.

It’s long been a criticism of vegan diets that our ‘fake meat’ products are too expensive when compared to the original cruelty-ridden versions. But no longer it seems, at least at Co-op with the announcement that it will slash prices to create parity between items like its plant-based burgers and sausages and the versions non-vegans buy.

Several industry reports released in the last fortnight, concerning the onward march of the plant-based food sector, have generated some truly attention-grabbing headlines. There is no denying that the increase in products is great news for consumers who choose not to eat animal products some of the time, but as ethical vegans, are we celebrating a little too much?