December 30, 2015 (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) Plant-based diets stole the spotlight in 2015. Top advisors to the U.S. government voted for a vegan diet, a veggie burger was voted “best burger in the world,” and prominent figures from Miley Cyrus and Adele to the president of the American College of Cardiology sang the praises of plant-based diets.
1) When the World Health Organization Declared that Red and Processed Meats Cause Cancer: A large-scale international review published in Lancet Oncology in October concluded that red and processed meats are linked to cancer.
2) When a Veggie Burger Took the Top Prize: Where’s the beef? Not in the best burger in the world, according to GQ Magazine. In November, the magazine crowned New York City’s vegan Superiority Burger as best burger. The veggie burger’s win represents a shift in consumer preferences over the past year. More and more, people are pushing the beef off their plates. At the same time that McDonald’s closed more than 700 stores this year, demand has increased for plant-based fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, like New York’s By Chloe and the West Coast’s Veggie Grill. Even a former McDonald’s CEO has left beef burgers behind: In November, Don Thompson joined the board of a veggie burger start-up company.
For the full inspiring list see “source” above.