Friday is World Vegan Day, a day to celebrate all things 100 percent cruelty-free and plant-based.

World Vegan Day was established in November 1994 in celebration of the United Kingdom Vegan Society's 50th anniversary and as a way to kick off World Vegan Month. More recently, experts have noted that veganism is on the rise across the United States, with health and eco-conscious millennials as the driving force behind the upward trend.

"For the past half-century, veganism has been a minority within a minority," wrote The Economist last December for its "The World in 2019" report. The analysis used data from a 2015 survey which found that just over three percent of Americans were vegetarianand less than one percent were vegan. The Economist also predicted that 2019 would be the year that the lifestyle would find itself introduced not as an alternative, but a mainstream lifestyle, largely thanks to younger adults.

"Interest in a way of life in which people eschew not just meat and leather, but all animal products including eggs, wool and silk, is soaring, especially among millennials," the outlet noted. "Fully a quarter of 25-to 34-year-old Americans say they are vegans or vegetarians."

In July, the Plant-Based Food Association (PBFA) working with the Good Food Institute issued a report highlighting some of the financial implications of the recent uptick in Americans leading a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

According to the report, U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods have increased by 11 percent over the last year, making it $4.5 billion industry. The plant-based meat category alone is worth more than $800 million, the PBFA wrote.

"Plant-based foods are a growth engine, significantly outpacing overall grocery sales," Julie Emmett, PBFA's senior director of retail partnerships wrote in a company statement. She continued: "We are now at the tipping point with the rapid expansion of plant-based foods across the entire store, so it is critical for retailers to continue to respond to this demand by offering more variety and maximizing shelf space to further grow total store sales."

In recent years, celebrities and other high-profile public figures have come forward to share their vegan lifestyles. Famous vegans include Bill Clinton, Beyonce, Natalie Portman, Ariana Grande, Venus Williams, Mya and many others.

Actor and vegan Jessica Chastain once summed up the lifestyle, saying "I guess it's about trying to live a life where I'm not contributing to the cruelty in the world. ... While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here."

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World Vegan Day 2019 Statistics: Plant-Based Diets On The Rise in the US - Newsweek

Veganism used to be about health and animal welfare. But the goal posts of a growing plant-based diet movement have shifted, with people increasingly motivated to ditch meat for the sake of the planet.

Read more:Do vegans help prevent climate change?

With around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock farming, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, a "new" veganism has emerged on the back of the climate crisis.

In the UK alone, supermarket sales of plant-based substitutesfor animal products many of which claim to be low carbon have grown 31% in the past two years.

Faux animal products boomed in 2019. California-based Beyond Meat hadthe biggest public share offering of the year in May, as its value rose nearly 500% (quarterly sales reported this week also tripled year-on-year).

Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown, who is also a biochemistry professor at Stanford University, wants his plant-based substitutes to drive all livestock farming out of business by 2035. Hetold the New Yorker last month that "we see our mission as the last chance to save the planet from environmental catastrophe."

Set to become a face of the past?

But are these highly processed, plant-based vegan meat brands the best way to reduce livestock emissions and combat land degradation?

Climate savior?

A spate of reports, including by the IPCC and John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, has stressed the planetary benefits of cutting animal products from our diets.

A Beyond Meat-commissioned life-cycle assessment by the University of Michigan, meanwhile, claims the company's faux burgers, sausages and minces created from pea or mung bean isolate, coconut oil and beetroot juice extract among numerous additives require 90% less carbon gas emissions, 99% less water, 93% less land and 46% less energy than equivalent animal-based products.

Yet such meat alternativesemit around five times more greenhouse gases than unprocessed sources of plant proteinaccording to Marco Springmann, a senior environmental researcher at Oxford University. "They're somewhere between unprocessedlegumes, and chicken," he says of the climate impact of highly engineered, meaty vegan products.

Read more:Opinion: The IPCC is right, if we want food, we have to look after our land

"If you look at it purely from an environmental perspective, they would still make a big contribution to mitigating climate change," Springmann told DW, "just not as big a contribution as moving to an arguably more healthy diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, some nuts and seeds, whole grains, minimallyprocessed beans and lentils."

There might be more to humble beans and lentils than meets the eye

Legumes like beans and lentils are the ultimate climate-friendly source of minerals and proteins. They require no greenhouse-gas-emitting fertilizers because they fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. The best thing for the planet would be to eat beans and lentils as they are, or, if you want something in a burger form, to simply crush them at home and make your own veggie burger, said Springmann.

Still, Caterina Brandmayr, senior policy analyst at UK-based Green Alliance that has written a report calling on government to fund low-carbon food innovations such as plant-based meat and even lab-grown meat, says if meat lovers were willing to switch at least part of the time, it would go some way to helping climate mitigation.

The key here is satisfying a broad range of eating patterns and demands for taste. "We need to respond to a wide spectrum of preferences, to enable, as much as possible, a wider range of people to benefit from the health and lower environmental impact that plant-based eating can provide,"Brandmayr told DW.

Vegan junk food?

Springmann is the co-author of a reporton the climate and health "co-benefits" of dietary change which argues that transitioning toward plant-based diets could limit food-related greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% by 2050, and reduce global mortality by up to 10%.

This latter metric points to another problem with meat substitutes, which Springmann equates to "still pretty much junk food." Nutrients are lost through processing of the base pea isolate and many of these productshavehigh sodium levels the Impossible Burger sold at Burger King packs more salt that the real meat Whopper Burger.

Read more:Meat-loving Kenya sees veganism trend

Brandmayr is confident faux burgers can improve their health credentials as recipes evolve. "It is still something to be welcomed," she said, suggesting such products could help confirmed carnivores transition to plant-based diets.

But the mania for creating that authentic meat taste means potentially unhealthy and unsustainable ingredients are added.

Springmann points to the heme iron molecule used to create the meaty taste in the Impossible Burger which is derived from plant sources using GMO. Heme iron, normally only present in meat, has been implicated as being part of the reason why red meat intake increases the risk for colon and rectal cancers, Springmann says.

New vegan future

San Francisco-based brand Just has been offering plant-based alternatives to meat and other animal productsfor over five years. Its liquid egg, used for everything from scrambles to French toast, is made primarily from high-protein, non-GMO mung bean protein isolate.

UK-based Moving Mountains burgers also promote a "plant-based meat that requires less land, water and produces less greenhouse emissions." But does the high processing negate some climate benefits?

Can Beyond Burgers and the like shift entrenched meat consumption?

Just Egg claims to use 98% less water, 86% less land, and to have a 93% smaller carbon footprint than conventional animal sources. But while the premium-priced productappeals to new vegans, the energyrequired to process such legumes into an isolate might seem questionable when you consider that theyalso losefiberand nutrients along the way

Read more:Vegans march in Germany to 'give animals a voice'

Faux meat is a favorite of"flexitarians," who salve their conscience by choosing the occasional fake meat Impossible Burger at Burger King or the Beyond Meat version now being trialled at McDonalds. That might be the first step to full veganism, but with no sign of these fast food chains taking the real thing off their menus, for now it looks like little more than a complement to mass meat consumption.

The recent adoption of vegan meat options at these global chains seems to be partly a response to a demand by global investors in January that the fast food giants significantly reduce the emissions and water usage of their meat and dairy suppliers.

It's something. But if new vegans really want to fight the climate crisis, maybe they should go old school and return to ancient tofu and tempeh-basedmeat substitutes created of course from non-GMO sources.

With climate concerns growing, many people are trying to reduce their environmental impact. Increasingly, they're turning to plant-based meats and investors are taking notice. When Beyond Meat debuted on Wall Street in early May, share prices more than doubled the first day. "Investors recognize a huge business opportunity," Bruce Friedrich, director of the Good Food Institute, told AFP.

Backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, meat alternatives including Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger, seen here at left, use new food technology and ingredients like peas, fava beans and soy. Unlike earlier veggie burgers, these meatless patties are said to taste, look, smell and even "bleed" like real meat (the secret is beet juice). They can also be healthier.

But eating less meat isn't just a healthy decision. A 2018 WWF report said cutting animal products from diets would be a "relatively easy and cheap way" to fight climate change. A study by the University of Michigan found the Beyond Burger generates 90% less greenhouse gas emissions, requires 46% less energy to produce and has far less of an impact on water scarcity and land use than a beef patty.

Beyond Meat is already sold in thousands of US supermarkets and restaurants, and major brands are also looking for a piece of the action. Nestle launched its take on the beef patty in Europe in April, and Unilever took over Dutch plant-based meat producer The Vegetarian Butcher in late 2018. Burger King is rolling out a Beyond Meat option US-wide, and McDonald's is testing its own vegan burger.

Industrialized soy crops have been flagged as a contributing factor to widespread deforestation. As Brussels-based environment group Fern points out, more than 1 million square kilometers of land are used to grow soy, almost three times the size of Germany. Only a very small percentag of this, however, is used in meat alternatives. Most goes to animal feed.

There are also nutritional concerns about these highly processed foods. Leading brands can have more than double the saturated fat and as much as seven times the amount of sodium as a lean beef burger. And environmental groups are worried about Impossible Burger's inclusion of GMO yeast, which adds a meaty flavor. Excessive consumption has been linked to cancer but that goes for real meats too.

In Europe, meat alternatives may soon have to be sold as "discs," "tubes" and "slabs" as opposed to burgers, sausages and steaks. The EU Parliament's agriculture committee recently backed a move to ban producers of vegetarian food from using terms that usually describe meat. The full parliament will vote on the measure after the EU elections in late May.

Author: Martin Kuebler

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Vegan meat: The future of planet-saving plant-based eating? - DW (English)

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This weeks vegan news: Paul McCartney releases an anti-vivisection music video, and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard urged the National Institutes of Health to end animal testing. A study showcased in the popular documentary The Game Changers reveals that eating vegan food boosts erections up to 500%. James Cameron wants to give Viagra a run for its money by sharing the message of eating plant-based.

Irelands University College Cork has embarked on a Smart Protein project to create vegan products. The University of Sheffield has made sustainability classes mandatory. New research shows that one dairy farmer leaves the industry every week.

Swiss animal rights politician Meret Schneider has been elected to the National Council.Walmart is discontinuing the sale of live fish. The U.S. Air Force is adding Beyond Meat to the menu at military bases across the country. IKEA UK is ditching turkey in favor of a meat-free Christmas menu.

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The BEST ERECTIONS Are VEGAN| Vegan News

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This week's vegan news: Paul McCartney releases an anti-vivisection music video, and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard urged the National Institutes of Health to end animal testing. A study showcased in the popular documentary "The Game Changers" reveals that eating vegan food boosts erections up to 500%. James Cameron wants to give Viagra a run for its money by sharing the message of eating plant-based. Irelands University College Cork has embarked on a Smart Protein project to create vegan products. The University of Sheffield has made sustainability classes mandatory. New research shows that one dairy farmer leaves the industry every week.Swiss animal rights politician Meret Schneider has been elected to the National Council.Walmart is discontinuing the sale of live fish. The U.S. Air Force is adding Beyond Meat to the menu at military bases across the country. IKEA UK is ditching turkey in favor of a meat-free Christmas menu.

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The BEST ERECTIONS Are VEGAN - LIVEKINDLY

The company said this new conscious candy adds breadth to the Fruittella brand, which also includes the successful Better For You sugar-free and less sugar ranges.

The jungle themed jellies sport the vegan approved stamp from the Vegan Society, contain all natural colours and flavours and are gluten free.

Diego Pol, Fruittella brand manager, said: We know that there is a huge demand for vegan sweets, but often the taste and texture suffers when gelatine is removed. Weve worked to make sure our new Fruittella jellies have the same great taste that people expect of any Fruittella product. The feedback from consumers has been second to none, with the taste and texture in the top 5% of all products weve ever tested.

Fruittella Koalas and Fruittella Sour Snakes are available in standard 120g bags and exclusively in the convenience channel as 1 ($1.29) price marked 100g bags. The NPD will be supported by the brands biggest campaign in the UK in recent years, with a new TV ad, Video on Demand and social media activity taking place.

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Fruitella launches new vegan range of jellies in the UK - ConfectioneryNews.com

The Magic City, known for its nightlife, beaches, and Cuban sandwiches, is now famous for its plant-based cuisine.

Miami has just been named the top vegan hot spot in the United States.

The ranking comes from a study by Hayes & Jarvis, a U.K.-based travel company. Though Miami wins for most vegan-friendly city in America, Dublin was awarded most veg-friendly in the worldone-fifth of the Irish city's restaurants offer vegan options.

Initially, Hayes & Jarvis explored the 50 most visited cities in the world for its survey. The company then analyzed TripAdvisor data to search for restaurants by cuisine and ratings. To be eligible for the final ranking, each city needed to contain a minimum of 500 restaurants. According to its website, Hayes & Jarvis analyzed data "between July 30 2019 and August 1 2019 to find the cities with the highest proportion of a particular restaurant's cuisine." The result is based on which cities boast at least 100 vegan-friendly establishments and have thehighest proportion of them. Dublin was found to be the top vegan-friendly city in the world.

Next, the company turned its attention to the United States to find the nation's best cities for vegan dining. According to Tonje Odegard of the content marketing agency Verve Search, a new survey, conducted last week, explored vegan options in 250 cities across America. As with the world survey, U.S. cities with at least 100 vegan-friendly restaurants were considered to be included in the Top 10.

Miami with nearly a quarter of its eateries offering at least one vegan option on the menu came out on top. Charleston, South Carolina;Scottsdale, Arizona; Savannah, Georgia; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Orlando; New Orleans; Las Vegas; and Salt Lake City round out the U.S. Top 10.

Planta South Beach's chef de cuisine, Benjamin Goldman, says he's known all along the Magic City's plant-based food scene is thriving. "It's not a surprise that Miami, considering how eclectic and open-minded the community is, has become the most vegan-friendly city."

Goldman says vegan dining has come a long way from the once-stereotypical wheatgrass shots and sprout sandwiches. "Chefs who have not always cooked vegan, like myself, are using their approaches from nonvegan restaurants to re-create really good food out of plants. This is not something the plant-based community was used to in the past, so its a huge advantage."

Goldman says a plant-based lifestyle can be both delicious and beneficial for people and the planet. "It's about eliminating the footprint and honoring the body."

He says Planta, which OpenTable named one of the Top 50 restaurants for vegans nationwide, appeals to both vegans and nonvegans. "Planta is at the apex of vegan dining because not only is it a great restaurant with awesome food, but it offers a fun ambiance and superior service."

Planta is only one of many innovative plant-based restaurants in town. Plant Miami at the Sacred Space in Wynwood specializes in dishes using local produce, and the VShops is a completely vegan food hallin Coconut Grove. Miami is also home to the Seed Food & Wine Festival, set to return for its sixth season November 7 through 10 with a host of dinners, a tasting village, and many other events.

Laine Doss is the food and spirits editor for Miami New Times. She has been featured on Cooking Channel's Eat Street and Food Network's Great Food Truck Race. She won an Alternative Weekly award for her feature about what it's like to wait tables.

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Miami is the Most Vegan-Friendly City in the United States - Miami New Times

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Several years ago, Audrey Barron and her coworkers would joke about her someday opening her own caf.

But then she did.

The accomplished personal chef took what was once the two car garage attached to the building where she used to work and transformed it into Ezras Enlightened Caf--- the go-to vegan/vegetarian eatery in Broad Ripple Village.

We are plant-based, were gluten-free. We are focused on non-GMO and were focused on food thats bright, flavorful. But I really want people to walk away feeling better than when they walked in, said Barron.

When Barron opened Ezras Enlightened Cafe, she was pregnant with her son, Ezra, who was the inspiration behind opening the restaurant.

Thats the whole reason I opened this place was inspired by my sonI was inspired by children, she said. I saw a need in the community for a place to go where families or anyone could go and feel comfortable ordering from the menu and not have to kind of pick and choose.

And when it comes to location, she said there was no question in her mind that Broad Ripple was the perfect place open her business.

I live near here [and] my children go to school near here. Its kind of like our village, our community theres a lot of people that live and come here and are open-minded and interested in health and well-being and it just is a good fit, she said.

Ezras Enlightened Cafe is gluten-free, dairy-free, processed sugar-free, non-GMO and specializes in serving live/raw food that is sourced locally. They even grow their own veggies and herbs on their regenerative urban farm. They are focused on being as organic as possible and are mostly vegan with the exception of local raw honey.

Were focused on food thats bright [and] flavorful, said Barron. But I really want people to walk away feeling better than when they walked in.

Over the last several years, Barron says shes seen an influx in people who have done research that brought them through the doors of Ezras seeking healthy, plant-based foods to fit their health and/or lifestyle needs.

Some folks are coming in with maybe Celiac Disease, their children have autism perhaps, people who are battling things like cancer and then also people who really love food and are vegan and gluten-free, she explained. We have regular customers who have been eating here for years and attest to our food helping them live the life that they want to live.

But you dont have to be vegan or vegetarian to enjoy the food here.

We have heard so many people say, I eat meat or Im not vegan and I love your food! and I had no idea it was going to taste this good, Barron said with a smile.

Some of their most popular menu items include their freshly-made soup of the day, granola bowls and tasty lunch bowls like the Nacho Mama Bean Bowl, Rosemary Sweet Potato Bowl and their top-selling Buddha Bowl.

Its got our signature honey spice kale so we source our honey from a local bee-keeper here and kind of massage the kale with olive oil and honey and then its got carrots and beets and these falafels that we make every week, a tahini dressing and people just love that, she explained.

Head over to their Wellness Bar for a sip of something thats as tasty as it is good for you.

Our juices are always organic and our smoothies are some of the best around, said Barron. We dont use any ice [and] were always using organic and really fresh ingredients.

Try a fresh smoothie like their Health Nut, Buddha Belly or Strawberry Seduction or opt for an herbal tonic latte or elixir shot.

It gets kind of like Harry Potter-ish if you will were kind of mixing things up for people, she said. Its really all with the purpose of helping people feel really good so they can get a little shot, they can get an almost cappuccino-esque drink that doesnt have any coffee but will leave them feeling really good and nourished.

Head right to their dessert case to check out one of the sweet treats that they are known for. Some of their most popular offerings include Key Lime pie, chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, cookies, brownies and even CBD-infused options.

When it comes to sweets, Barron said their muffins are always incredibly popular.

Weve got a carrot muffin [so] if youre wanting that Fall flavor, theyve got that kind of carrot spice flavor goingon, she said.

One thing that you may notice is that Ezras doesnt offer a kids menu. But thats all by design, because Barron created a menu that is intended for individuals of all ages to enjoy.

I walked in the other day and there was a child that was just fully immersed in a donut and a brownie and just loving life, she said.

Four Things You Need to Know AboutEzras Enlightened Caf:

For more information about Ezras Enlightened Cafe, check out their website by clickinghere. To see more photos and reviews by local Yelpers, check out theirYelp profile. You can also connect with them viaFacebookandInstagram.

While in Broad Ripple, check out these other healthy hot-spots within walking distance of Ezras Enlightened Cafe:

The Garden TablePublic GreensGood Earth Natural Food CompanySoBro Caf

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A plant-based diet helps to "feed" the "good bacteria" in our gut. [Photo: Getty]

People in their seventies may benefit from going vegan, an expert has said.

Professor John Mathers from Newcastle University claims swapping meat and dairy for a plant-based diet helps feed the good bacteria in our gut.

These bugs typically decline with age as the gut barrier becomes leakier, allowing substances from the digestive tract to enter the bloodstream.

This may trigger inflammation, which has been linked to everything from dementia and heart disease to cancer.

READ MORE:Should you go vegan for your health?

Speaking at the House of Lords, the professor of nutrition said: A plant-based diet may be more healthy in old life.

It provides the carbohydrates for good bacteria to grow.

Fruits and vegetables are rich in indigestible ingredients called prebiotics.

These act as the fertiliser for the growth of bacteria in our digestive tract.

Prebiotics are different from probiotics, which specifically introduce new bugs into the gut, like some yoghurts.

Dr Marina Ezcurra, from the University of Kent, added: Bacteria in the gut are linked to age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular conditions, and cancer.

As we get older, gut microbes are more likely to release molecules into the bloodstream, which affects our tissues.

A strong microbiome strengthens the gut barrier against leakage that leads to inflammation.

Prebiotics are said to be more powerful than probiotics for long term health.

They change the pattern of organisms in the gut, which continues for some time after a person has stopped consuming prebiotics, Professor Mathers said.

READ MORE:Meat eaters can now get paid to go vegan

Leaky gut syndrome is not officially recognised as a condition.

However, some claim the immune system reacts to substances that have escaped out of the porous bowel and into the bloodstream.

According to the NHS, certain conditions and drugs can make the intestine more permeable, however, there is little evidence it causes any significant, widespread problems.

For those considering going vegan,the health service adds they should be able to get most of the nutrients they need from a varied and balanced diet.

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Their diet should be made up of at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, as well as dairy alternatives, beans and lentils.

However, vitamin B12 is only found naturally in meat and dairy.

Vegans therefore rely on fortified cereals, drinks and yeast extract, like Marmite.

With veganism not being for everyone, Professor Mathers admits the benefits likely vary from person-to-person.

Diet advice is complex, he said.

We know little of the nutritional needs of old people aged 75 or over.

It depends on any conditions they have and the drugs they take, which lends to a more personalised approach.

READ MORE: Adding a lemon to your drink might not be vegan and people are confused

Whether you choose to go plant-based or not, adding more protein to your diet could keep you strong into old age.

The elderly struggle to build muscle so they need more protein to maintain muscle mass, Professor Mathers said.

Vegans can up their protein intake by adding lots of beans, lentils and other pulses to their diet.

Meat, fish and eggs are also rich sources.

While changing your diet in later life may seem overwhelming, the experts stress you cannot underestimate the benefits it could have.

Ageing is damage to the big molecules in our body, like DNA and lipids, Professor Mathers said.

Food influences the processes in cells and tissue that repair that damage.

Nutrition is fundamental.

And the effects could be almost immediate.

Diet changes the microbiome dramatically, Dr Ezcurra said.

If you alter your diet it influences the species in your gut in four days.

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Going vegan in your seventies could ward off disease - Yahoo News

Russell Brand has defended Lewis Hamilton against comments calling him a hypocrite.

In a recent Instagram Story, Hamilton wrote about the climate crisis. He said, Im sad right now with the thought about where this world is going, and asked his friends and followers to give up meat and dairy to go vegan.

He said,it is the only way to save our planet today.

However, Hamilton drives racing cars for a living, and Formula One is an industry that, as a whole, is a while away from becoming carbon neutral.

Hamilton has said he plans to be carbon neutral himself by the end of the year, but the nature of his sport prompted many to speak up and label the athlete a hypocrite.

In Brands view, whether or not Hamilton is hypocritical is irrelevant because most of us are. Hes trying to communicate, said Brand in a new YouTube video.Why wouldnt he communicate?

It really just highlights the impotence that we all share,he continued. Operating within systems and cultures that, in a sense, yield continually to the invisible power of commerce.The comedian and podcast host added, none of us can make a significant difference as individuals.

But that doesnt mean we shouldnt try. Its great sentiment to do those things, he adds. Brand himself follows a plant-based diet. He has been a vegetarian since he was 14 and an on-off vegan since 2011.

In Brands view, real change will only happen at the level of global regulation. Countries will have to pass laws against using single-use plastic or fuels that harm the planet.

He believes its the current system that makes people unable to see Hamiltons point of view.

We can all see armageddon, we can all see the apocalypse, but we cant see Lewis Hamiltons carbon-neutral, vegan, wonderland. Because its very difficult to envisage that when our current systems seem so immobile, he said.

He added, Lewis Hamilton is doing his best. Hes alright. I met him before a couple of times and hes a nice bloke.

In his view, accusations of hypocrisy are a way of trying to exclude a person from a conversation. He said, if the price of entry to the public debate is personal perfection, then were [expletive].

The price should be a shared aspiration to improve the world, he added. To create a better collective, to create ideals for us to move towards being forgiving towards one another when we inevitably slip.

Surely thats what we should be doing instead of condemning individuals, he continued.

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Russell Brand has spoken up for Lewis Hamilton amidst backlash calling him a hypocrite. The Formula One driver recently asked his followers to go vegan to save the planet.

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Plant-based diets have many health benefits, from better heart health to lower risk of certain cancers. But eschewing meat and other animal products may not really improve your sex life, according to available evidence.

Meat-eating is often associated with masculinity in popular culture. We call muscular men "beefy," and words like "sausage" often euphemize male genitalia.

However, a growing number of advocates and experts hypothesize that it's actually a plant-based diet that best supports erection size and staying power.

The new vegan-friendly Netflix documentary, "The Game Changers" (produced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, and James Cameron) dedicates a scene to exactly that topic, claiming that after a single plant-based meal, 3 young men found their erections lasted three times as long and were nearly 10% stronger.

Anecdotally, vegans have stronger, longer lasting erections but there's no evidence to back that up. Crystal Cox/Business Insider

The film features Dr. Aaron Spitz, urologist and author of "The Penis Book," a comprehensive medical guide to the human member.

In the movie, Spitz conducts a brief test on three male college athletes, measuring the girth, strength and duration of their erections over two nights as they sleep. The first night of the test, each of the men are given a meat-based burrito, and the resulting effects on their overnight erections is measured. The second night, the men are given plant-based burritos.

After eating the plant-based meal, all of the men showed an 8% increase in erection hardness, and a 300 to 500% increase in the amount of time their erections lasted, compared to the meat-based meal.

"This is not a scientifically validated study, but the results that we're seeing are very exciting," Spitz said in the film.

It turns out that those claims are supported by a rather flaccid body of evidence. Although anecdotal evidence is promising, there aren't yet any rigorous scientific studies to show a meat-free diet makes a difference on erections.

Vegan and vegetarian diets are typically low in saturated fat and cholesterol, which are plentiful in beef, pork, and dairy products. Healthy blood flow is also directly related to healthy erections high blood pressure, cholesterol, and other vascular problems linked to meat-eating have also been linked to erectile dysfunction.

It's true that better cardiac health can improve overall blood flow, which may lead to better erections, said Dr. Seth Cohen, urologist at NYU Langone Health.

"The harder your heart has to work to pump blood to your organs and everywhere else, the less actually makes it to the penis." Cohen told Insider.

But it's too early to say how, or if, plant-based diets affect sexual health, since the research just hasn't been done, he said.

"There really isn't any good data to say that a vegan diet will improve your erections," Cohen added Research slated for late this year aims to prove the virility of a plant-powered erection. gLuBeR/Getty Images

A new study to test how veganism directly affects men's sexual health has been scheduled for late 2019 or early 2020, led by Dr. Robert Ostfeld of Montefiore Medical Center. The research is funded by the Purjes Foundation, a nonprofit created by financier Dan Purjes to promote the health benefits of a plant-based diet.

"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first and only research of this kind," Purjes told Insider via email. "To be clear, there are many anecdotal stories that are similar, but not clinical trials or other rigorous scientific studies."

Purjes said he hopes the trial confirms the hypothesis that a plant-based diet can help with erectile dysfunction, paving the way for more rigorous studies that could eventually bring the research to a mainstream audience.

Any future testing, Cohen added, would have to not only need to include more than three participants to be scientifically valid, but also account for other variables such as exercise, sleep, and other healthy lifestyle markers.

Diet does have a significant impact on health. What's good for the rest of your body is also good for your sex life for example, a 2004 study found a healthy diet and exercise could help mitigate erectile dysfunction in obese men.

However, the study doesn't specify a vegan diet, just one that's high in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats and cholesterol. Other types of diets that fit this description like the Mediterranean diet, which includes fish have also been linked to improvement of erectile dysfunction. Exercise also plays a major role, according to the research.

"Diet and exercise together are the key to success. If you have someone that's eating a poor diet with a lot of meat and saturated fats and things to eating more vegetables, of course it'll be good for you," Cohen said. "Is it going to take your erections from zero to hero? I don't know."

Julia Naftulin/INSIDER

Your most recent meal may also have an immediate impact on your well-being; a small study found that eating a single fast food meal constricted the blood flow of otherwise healthy college students.

A healthy diet can include meat, but should also have lots of fresh produce, whole grains, and healthy fats, registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix previously told Insider. And as always, any serious dietary changes should be done gradually and with careful planning.

"You don't have to be a vegan, in this case. Even going from a diet that is very animal product-heavy to one that is more plant-forward would be a good idea," she said.

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A vegan diet can boost erections, according to a new Netflix documentary. Here's the reality. - INSIDER

Its been a big year for plant-based protein. Following White Castle last year, in August Burger King launched its meat-free Impossible Whopper. In April, Del Taco introduced Beyond Tacos, made with plant-based Beyond Meat protein. And in September, McDonalds announced that its first North American plant-based sandwich, the PLT, would arrive in Canada, also featuring Beyond Meat.

In 2018, both plant-based meat companies made headlines for their landmark investment deals. Impossible Foods raised a $189 million venture capital round, and Beyond Meat posted the best first-day IPO performance in nearly two decades, with shares popping 163% on its first day of trading.

According to Nielsen, the plant-based food market grew 20% between June 2017 and June 2018, while total food sales only grew 2% over the same period. In the U.S., the industry is estimated to be worth nearly $4.5 billion, up 11% in value between 2018 and 2019.

So, will the 2020s be the decade that meat becomes obsolete? And what should marketers do about it?

Embrace the Plant-Curious Era

While veganism an absolute rejection of animal-based products is growing, it remains a niche community. But a new consumer cohort is emerging: the Plant-Curious. These consumers dont follow a specific diet, but they are interested (for ethical, health or environmental reasons) in incorporating more meat-free meals in their routine. They are moved by a desire to gradually change their habits, not embrace a new identity. And thats a big difference: For many people, its no longer about whether or not you eat meat, its about how much meat you eat. According to a study by Nielsen, while only 3% of U.S. consumers follow a vegan diet, 39% are actively trying to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diets. The plant-curious consumer, not the vegan consumer, will be the one that makes "vegan" products go mainstream.

Help your audience reconcile "want" and "should"

While conducting an ethnographic study of millennials food habits a few years ago, I was reminded that food is a loaded subject. It is highly emotional, and intrinsically linked to identity and community.

Whatever label people choose or dont choose for their diet, most of us experience a sharp tension between what we want to eat and what we know we should eat.

In my view, brand leaders have a responsibility to champion plant-based food because its healthier and more sustainable - it is truly what we should eat. Recent research suggests that Americans must consume 90% less beef and 60% less dairy in order to bring their carbon footprint to sustainable levels. And in 2015, The World Health Organization classified processed meats including ham, salami, bacon and frankfurts as a Group 1 carcinogen, which means that there is strong evidence that processed meats cause cancer.

But for most of us, meat is associated with reward, community, celebration, strength and in some cases, gender identity. Most cuisines place meat at the center of the meal. Meat is what we want to eat. What brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have understood is that the plant-curious crowd, who are really just U.S. consumers, wants ways to reconcile the want with the should. A burger that is plant-based, low in cholesterol and with a small carbon footprint, but that bleeds and tastes just like a real burger, is exactly that.

Start thinking of meat marketing as luxury marketing

If the Plant-Curious wave does become a watershed moment, we might soon find ourselves in a new paradigm where meat-free is the norm, and meat the exception.

In Meat: A Benign Extravaganza, Simon Fairlie explains that exceptional consumption of meat is actually the most environmentally effective use of resources by human societies, above and beyond pure veganism. Thats because some land will always be more suited to grazing than farming, and because of the agro-chemical benefits of creating food-production systems that leverage both animals and plants. For millennia, thats also how meat was consumed by humans: not as a thrice-a-day staple, but as a special occasion treat that brought the community or the family together.

One day soon, we will come to consider the meat-heavy diets of the 20th and early 21st centuries an anomaly in a food history dominated by plants. If that becomes the case, and if public regulators decide to act on the advice of public health specialists, and make health warning compulsory, the marketing of meat might well end up looking like the marketing of an exclusive champagne: a luxury item, best saved for celebrations, and savored with moderation.

Agathe Guerrier is the head of strategy of BBH LA.

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Vegan to plant-curious: A small shift that could make all the difference - Campaign US