Early trials of every approved Covid-19 vaccine involved giving them to animals. Ethicist Ben Bramble explains why vegans have a legitimate right to be upset about this – but why they should get the vaccine regardless. Some of my vegan friends are reluctant to get the Covid-19 vaccine. These vaccines do not contain animal products, … Read more
Oat milk is so hot right now, so we bought a whole bunch and conducted a good old-fashioned blind taste test. Here are the results. Non-western cultures have always known milk doesn’t have to come from a mammal’s mammary gland, but in New Zealand, dairy-devoted nation that we are, we’ve taken a while to catch … Read more
Hints for a happy, healthy vegan life as the AM Show host prepares to adopt a plant-based diet for the next 12 months. In July, MediaWorks broadcaster Duncan Garner was very confident that come election time, Labour wouldn’t receive enough votes to govern alone. So confident that he said if they did, he would do … Read more
Plant-based food producers ‘stigmatise and demonise’ traditional agriculture, according to Jones, but those working in the new industry say it should be seen as an opportunity, not a threat. NZ First minister Shane Jones’ suggestion that plant-based food must be “stopped in its tracks” has been labelled concerning, negligent and anti-competitive by proponents of the … Read more
The rise of ‘plant-based’ diets seems like a win for those who decry eating meat. But some vegan groups claim the halfway step of vegetarianism is ineffectual if you really care about animal cruelty, climate change, or your own personal health. An article in the Guardian last year asked “Why do people hate vegans?”, suggesting … Read more
Summer reissue: An urban farm in Auckland has been raising cows for meat for years. This time, they decided to involve the community in the process – but the backlash was so intense, the plan was canned. Alice Neville talks to those involved about what went down, and what we can learn from the saga. … Read more
Like it or not, plant-based meats are coming to a burger near you. Does this spell the end for animal agriculture, or just a shift in attitudes? This fake meat business might seem like a hot new trend, but China has been doing it for 1000 years or so. Mock meat, or fanghun, was developed … Read more
New research has found a third of New Zealanders are actively reducing their meat consumption or have cut it out entirely. What’s this nonsense? Meat and three veg all the way for us Kiwis, surely? Apparently not – a newly released study found 31% of New Zealanders can be categorised as flexitarian or meat-reducers, while a … Read more
Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! If the latest stats are anything to … Read more
Covering Climate Now: The Spinoff crew who took on climate change with a vegan diet for the week reflect on the highs, the lows, the pies and the fries. Check out the introductory post and midweek update for the full story. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Just how much of an impact would a shift to vegetarian diets have on the battle to halt climate change, asks Mirjam Guesgen. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Kiwi cuisine is replete with meat: fish and chips, meat and three veg, steak … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Vegan lube? Faux feather strokers? Condoms made by employees paid the living wage? Emily Writes delves into the world of having ethical sex. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! There are many upsides to being vegan, but when it comes to … Read more
Covering Climate Now: A midweek update from the Spinoffers who have ditched dairy (and eggs, and meat, and fish…) for the week. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Read this for the background on what this plant-based palaver is all about, and this for … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Connecting your everyday choices at the supermarket to a crisis half a world away might be a hard concept get your head around, but we all have power to effect change, writes Hannah McGowan. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! In … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while). The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on climate change, … Read more
A pair of innovative Kiwi startups have partnered with a Kiwi burger behemoth to bring two delicious, nutritious and under-appreciated local ingredients to the people. Long gone are the days when a burger strictly equalled a meat patty, a bit of limp lettuce and a sad slice of tomato or two between a couple of … Read more
An urban farm in Auckland has been raising cows for meat for years. This time, they decided to involve the community in the process – but the backlash was so intense, the plan was canned. Alice Neville talks to those involved about what went down, and what we can learn from the saga. A sprawling, … Read more
Stories linking cases of extreme child neglect to plant-based diets are peddling dangerous rhetoric, writes Jai Breitnauer. When I read about the malnourished toddler in Sydney this week, who at 19 months was so severely starved she looked like a newborn baby, I was heartbroken and outraged. But I also felt something else – anger. … Read more
Restaurateur Ganesh Raj details the future-of-food epiphany that led him to the conclusion that once the meat-mad dinosaurs are gone, the world will be a better place. My task was clear. Immerse myself in an alternative universe. One where there might never be meat, as we know it, again. A world where farms would disappear, … Read more
Cultured meat could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. So why is it such a hard sell? Matti Wilks is a postdoctoral research associate in psychology at Yale University. The world is in the grips of a food-tech revolution. One of the most compelling new developments is cultured meat, also known as clean, cell-based … Read more
Can New Zealand afford for the world to give up meat eating, and go fully vegan? Can the planet afford for that not to happen? Here are the key issues around whether or not the world should make that choice. This piece by Emma Cropper was originally published on Newshub. While some have declared 2019 … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Jihee Junn taste tests Magnum’s new dairy-free ice cream. Being lactose intolerant (along with about 90% of the east Asian population), there are few things I miss more than chowing down on a nice cold Magnum. Growing up, my … Read more
EAT-Lancet’s edict that we should eat only half a bacon rasher a day and one egg a week has upset pretty much everyone. Where does it leave New Zealand’s farming-based economy? The release of the EAT-Lancet Commission’s report last week kicked off a global debate on food, health, and what we should be eating to save … Read more
Why do we act like the idea of reducing our meat consumption is an assault on the very backbone of the nation? This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title A Life Less Meaty Vegans are one of the few groups it’s still widely acceptable to hate on. So worthy, we complain. Talk about … Read more
Environmental limits, changing tastes and a redefined social licence are driving consumers away from animal proteins. In part two of a series on the rise of veganism, Daniel Eb looks at what New Zealand must do to get on board. There is a sense of impending transformation ahead for agriculture in New Zealand. The world’s … Read more
Restaurant dining can present even more complex issues than daily decisions at the supermarket or at home. But what responsibility do chefs have to inform and shape their diners’ eating habits? Nowadays, ethical eating is often presented as a truism: we are told we should all be making ethical food choices, not only at home … Read more
The Spinoff partnered with UMR to survey the attitudes of our readers, and the nation as a whole. Today, how much meat is the country eating? And is that changing? You’ve probably got stereotypes in your head about vegetarians. You’ve definitely got stereotypes in your head about vegans. But would it surprise you to know, … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Duncan Greive gets amongst a new fake mince from the deep south. As someone who loves the delicious taste and texture of animal meat, but has spent most of the past 25 years living as a vegetarian, fake meat … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Haman Shahpari, co-founder of vegan, low calorie, halal certified ice cream brand WāHiki Creamery, which has recently signed a deal to enter the Chinese market. ONE: How did WāHiki start and what was … Read more