Wagamama and Starbucks Among Winners of PETA’s 2017 Vegan Food Awards

For Immediate Release:

26 September 2017

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

WAGAMAMA AND STARBUCKS AMONG WINNERS OF PETA’S 2017 VEGAN FOOD AWARDS

Trailblazers Honoured for Meeting Growing Demand for Plant-Based Foods

London – As the number of British vegans has increased by 360 per cent in the last 10 years, the market for meals, snacks, and beverages free of meat, eggs, and dairy “products” is stronger than ever – and PETA is recognising some of the most exciting new plant-based offerings with its fifth annual Vegan Food Awards.

Twenty-four categories are included in this year’s awards, and here are just some of the winners:

Best Dairy-Free Cheese: Mouse’s Favourite  Camembert Style

Mouse’s Favourite specialises in artisanal, handmade cheese, and the Camembert Style is sensational.

Best Vegan Meat: Veggie Kitchen Meat Free Meatballs

Veggie Kitchen produces a line of vegan meats exclusively for Farmfoods, which has over 300 stores across the UK.

Best Vegan Pizza: Pizza Express Vegan Giardiniera

You can now add delicious vegan mozzarella to any pizza at Pizza Express, but our favourite is the Vegan Giardiniera, topped with olives, asparagus, artichoke, and onion.

Best Vegan Sandwich: Starbucks Kale, Jalapeño, and Slaw Wrap

Coffee giant Starbucks has come up with a tasty vegan option for lunch – this tortilla wrap filled with crushed corn, kale, and jalapeño bites mixed with a raw slaw, spinach, and a hot chilli jam.

Best Vegan Menu: Loungers

Loungers’ vegan menu offers everything from a full English breakfast to burgers, wraps, and chocolate cake in over 90 locations nationwide.

Other winners include JD Wetherspoon (Best Vegan Noodles), Linda McCartney Foods (Best Vegan Sausage), Quorn (Best Vegan Fish), Ben & Jerry’s (Best Vegan Ice Cream), Sainsbury’s (Best Vegan Ready Meal), and Wagamama’ (Best Vegan Curry).

“The demand for delicious, cruelty-free fare is higher than ever, and forward-thinking businesses are responding with everything from animal-free meatballs to egg-free mayo,” says PETA’s Dawn Carr. “PETA’s Vegan Food Awards honour this year’s most progressive new vegan foods.”

In addition to sparing animals daily suffering and a terrifying death in today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, vegan meals are “greener”, as the United Nations has said that a move towards a vegan diet is necessary to offset the worst effects of climate change. Vegans are also less likely to suffer from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than meat-eaters are.

Interest in vegan living is at an all-time high. Google Trends reports that searches for the word “vegan” are now more than twice as prevalent as those for “vegetarian”, and orders for PETA’s free vegan starter kit have surged in the past few years – from approximately 28,000 in 2014 to 35,000 in 2015 and 70,000 in 2016.

A copy of the PETA Vegan Food Awards logo is available here . To read about all the winners, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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