Veganism is on the rise, and some people want Costco to jump on the bandwagon.

Almost 2,000 people have signed a petition for the warehouse retailer to introduce a vegan hot dog to its food court menu. The Change.org petition was started by Scott Hildebrand, who says he has been vegan for eight years and eaten a meat-free diet for over a decade.

Read more: Almost 800 people signed a petition to stop Costco from coming to their neighborhood

"We need to work with companies to make plant-based options more accessible," Hildebrand, who lives near Costco's headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. "Our family, like countless others, are regulars at Costco. I'd love to see them extend plant-based options to the food court, so we can enjoy veggie hot dogs after a Sunday shopping trip."

Costco announced that some stores will start selling a plant-based burger in the next few weeks. The company sparked backlash in July 2018 when it cut its Polish hot dog from its menu in favor of vegan and healthier options like aai bowls and organic burgers.

The Better Than Beef Burger will be sold in some Costco stores soon. Don Lee Farms

"Sorry, but when I feel like a hot dog or pizza, a salad is the last thing on my mind," the petition reads.

The petition also notes the growing availability of vegan and plant-based options nationwide, including Burger King's Impossible Burger, KFC's Beyond Meat fried "chicken," and Ikea's rollout of a vegan hot dog.

The petition is directed toward Costco CEO Craig Jelinek.

A Costco representative did not return a request for comment.

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Almost 2,000 people have signed a petition to add a vegan hot dog to the Costco food court menu - Business Insider

The theme of this years National School Lunch Week, Oct. 14-18, is School Lunch: Whats on Your Playlist. Its meant to tout the fact that todays school cafeterias are serving up the menu items that kids want to eat, with increased choice and customization.

I wonder if that means they are finally going to start offering tasty vegan options. Thats what kids who care about animals and the environment really want.

Schools in California, New York, Miami and Portland, Maine, are scoring high marks when it come to offering vegan options. California schools in Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, Novato, Riverside and Capistrano already offer healthy vegan foods, and a bill that aims to bring vegan options to all state public schools passed the California Assembly Education Committee this spring, 5-0.

If approved by the states senators, the measure will provide funding for schools that serve more vegan entres and offer dairy-free milks. Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the nonprofit organization that co-sponsored the bill, firmly believes that vegan meals are healthier for students and that eating vegan helps foster concern for the environment and the animals we share it with.

Schoolchildren are smart and engaged. They may not be familiar with those exact statistics or the fact that the meat and dairy industries use 83% of farmland and generate 60% of agricultures greenhouse gas emissions even though meat and dairy provide just 18% of our calories and 37% of our protein but they understand that going vegan is the best way to reduce ones impact on the planet.

Thats one reason why New York City is planning to reduce the amount of meat served in schools and other city-run facilities by 50%. Other forward-thinking school districts, including Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Portland Public Schools (PPS), the public school district in Portland, Maine, have recently been offering vegan options as well. PPS recently upgraded its vegetarian lunch choice to a hot vegan entre.

Hopefully, more schools nationwide will begin serving wholesome vegan meals in order to protect the planet and help ward off obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other conditions that are linked to animal-based foods. Its just as irresponsible for schools to serve mystery meat, chicken nuggets and cheese pizza as it would be for them to feed kids nothing but chips, candy and cookies.

Parents send their kids to school to learn more than reading, writing and arithmetic. They also want schools to help foster healthy habits, integrity, ethics and environmental stewardship. Schools can encourage young people to protect the planet and reduce animal suffering by serving vegan foods rather than meat, eggs and dairy.

In celebration of National School Lunch Week, school cafeterias should serve the delicious vegan options that kids want. Then theyll really have a reason to boast.

Heather Moore is a senior writer for the PETA Foundation, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; http://www.PETA.org.

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Vegan options deserve the spotlight - Hawaii Tribune-Herald (subscription)

Las Vegas is about to get its first all-vegan butcher shop and deli NoButcher.

Up until now, Las Vegans have only been able to get their hands on NoButcher eats at restaurants likeVegan Bliss, No Regrets, Cafe No Fur, and Go Vegan Cafe. Come late October, thats about to change.

Inspired by the overwhelming success of selling their Pulled NoPork Sandwich at festivals, co-owners Sebastian Mueller and Alecia Ghilarducci ready to permanently serve up their original, made-from-scratch sandwiches and deli items.

Start drooling in anticipation.

We got our hands on their food pre-opening to get you planning what youre going to eat first.

The sandwich that started it all, the Pulled NoPork Sandwich is on the menu (obviously). The hand-pulled NoPork with barbecue sauce and maple-mustard coleslaw comes stuffed into a ciabatta roll. Hand-pulled because the devices and machines to pull it out didnt live up to Mueller and Ghilarducci s standards, NoPork is a labor of love and treats diners to the perfect pulled texture.

Also on the menu is the Aloha NoRibs Sandwich. Topped with cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, pineapple, and cilantro, the sandwich is a mouthful. The Hawaiian style compliments the NoRibs perfectly.

If you prefer a meal without mock meats, try Mediterranean Roasted Veggie Sandwich. The roasted veggies include peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and garlic with tomatoes, fresh rosemary, and fresh basil. The sandwich is topped with house-made almond NoFeta cheese and placed on a crispy ciabatta roll, or optionally, a soft, almost pillowy, gluten-free bun. Its been hard to find a good roasted veggie sandwich in Vegas, but now theres a go-to option!

And although your large sandwich is going to be satisfying enough, believe us when we tell you that youre going to want to order a side. Find the classic deli comforts in the glass cabinet such as potato salad, lentil salad, and a spring salad option. Now ask yourself, when is the last time you had a good, creamy, classic (vegan) potato salad?

A full combo includes a drink, side, and a sweet surprise for a few bucks more. The sweet surprise? Expect a seasonal treat. Our tasting included yummy sugar-topped pumpkin cookies. Additionally, we got taste their homestyle apple crisp that left us wanting more.

At the moment, NoButcher has a limited menu for their soft opening (which is starting this week with some private events).

We plan on adding another item or two, but we want to keep the menu small, says Mueller. The plan is to focus on a few dishes that are customer favorites. Co-owner Ghilarducci added that she is looking into adding another gluten-free option as well.

NoButcher plans to open in late October, seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Future plans include a breakfast menu and full drive-thru service. While NoButcher original mock meats are no longer available for online purchase, soon youll be able to bring home your favorites straight from the deli case.

3565 S. Rainbow Blvd., 89103, 702-338-9897, opening late October 2019

Kathryn Hartwig is a senior writer for Vegans, Baby. She decided to go vegan almost eight years ago while searching for the perfect diet to compliment her role as a professional dancer. After experimenting with multitudes of fads, she finally found a lifestyle that turned out to be so much more than just a diet. She settled in Vegas with her husband/photographer Daniel, and puppy, Layla, after traveling the world on cruise ships and living in New York City. The family recently welcomed the birth of their first child, a true vegan baby.

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Get ready for all the eats at the first vegan butcher and deli in Las Vegas - Vegans, Baby

@Anuga

Over the past couple of days part of the vegconomist editorial staff attended the worlds largest food fair, the ANUGA in Cologne, Germany. We were very positively surprised how many vegan products were presented there. Beyond Meat, JUST and Moving Mountains were presented by their respective distributors, PHW and Zandbergen, in the middle of the meat halls which took some getting used to for vegans.

Vegan products were also available in practically all of the more than ten halls through which crowds of visitors passed. Frysfrom South Africa presented a new vegan pizza. Planted, a spin-off of ETH Zurich (University) from Switzerland, presented really tasty new meat substitutes. Planty of Meat from Bavaria came up with a delicious sunflower based burger. Viva Maris from Germany convinced us with delicious algae products. There were also many other companies and start-ups from all over the world.

The supporting programme was also impressive. The iFood conference focused on the major food trends. There we were able to talk to Didier Toubia about Aleph Farms. Two floors down at the ANUGA Horizn2050 special event on Monday, alternative proteins were the focus all day long. Representatives from investors such as BlueHorizon, Beyond Meat and A. T. Kearney spoke about the alternative nutrition of the future.

In the corridors we met again and again faces from the vegan industry, entrepreneurs, representatives of NGOs and even from German politics, who want to pay more attention to the topic of alternative proteins in the future.

Despite all the enthusiasm, however, we have to keep our feet on the ground. Compared to the massive offer of conventional food suppliers, vegan offers were in the absolute minority.

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Very Vegan ANUGA - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Courtney Papanicolaou became a vegetarian in 2011 after her dermatologist advised a plant-based diet could help boost her immune system and in turn treat her tinea versicolor, a fungal skin condition that causes discolored patches of skin. She had no intention of changing her diet once she became pregnant with her first child born in 2019 or when she began breastfeeding. (And yes, it's fine to be vegetarian and pregnant.) "I happened to make a very healthy and full-term baby so why would I need meat now?" says Papanicolaou, who lives in Washington, D.C.

Why indeed? Whether it comes as unsolicited advice from a well-meaning family member or a gentle suggestion from a lactation consultant, You're going to need to eat lots of meat to get all the right nutrients, is a common, yet misinformed refrain, mothers that are vegans, vegetarians and even pescartians and flexitarians often hear. Although these women already hear it when they're pregnant, the flack continues during breastfeeding, a time when moms typically need about 450 to 500 extra calories a day.

"Our culture is very focused on meat," says Lisa Doggett, M.D., a family physician based in Austin, Texas. "Some people believe that our bodies need meat, especially women who are breastfeeding. But a growing body of evidence does not favor a meat-rich diet for optimal health." Dr. Doggett, a vegetarian for more than 25 years, breastfed each of her daughters, now 11 and 14, for a year. Throughout her career, she has counseled patients of all ages about the importance of a healthy diet, including when breastfeeding.

Research has found a majority of vegetarian mothers breastfeed and may be doing so at larger rates than non-vegetarian mothers. And a 2019 study published in the journal Nutrients, concluded that well planned vegetarian and vegan diets may be considered safe during pregnancy and lactation, but they require a strong awareness for a balanced intake of key nutrients.

Experts weigh in on what you need to know about vegetarian breastfeeding and how to make sure you are consuming all the right ingredients.

Breastfeeding moms may need more calories, but those don't have to all be protein-based. "I think we have an overemphasis on protein," says Dr. Doggett. "Many Americans get more protein than necessary and protein deficiency in the U.S. is very rare."

Breast milk is made up of a whole host of ingredients, including white blood cells, stem cells, proteins, amino acids, enzymes, hormones, vitamins and minerals water, antibodies, fat, and carbohydrates.A vegetarian can absolutely breastfeed successfully, and her breast milk won't be lacking anything that a meat eating mother's milk has, says Diana Gariglio-Clelland, a Washington-based certified lactation educator and registered dietitian at Balance One Supplements. A vegetarian diet also won't cause a low milk supply any more than a regular diet, as long as Mom is consuming adequate amounts of iron, calcium, vitamin B12, and zinc.

Keep in mind, like any moms, vegetarians may have to adjust their diet while breastfeeding if they notice that, after theyve eaten certain foods, their tot becomes fussy. Since she started breastfeeding her 6-week-old daughter, for example, Papanicolaou has stayed away from dairy products. Aside from not craving them as much, she noticed her daughter vomited on two occasions when she breastfed her after eating ice cream. Sometimes, says Gariglio-Clelland, healthcare providers may suggest a new mother does a trial elimination diet of common allergens, such as wheat, dairy, and soy, if a baby has a suspected intolerance or allergy, but most of the time a mothers diet wont drastically alter her breast milk.

'I think we have an overemphasis on protein,' says Dr. Doggett. 'Many Americans get more protein than necessary and protein deficiency in the U.S. is very rare.'

The reality is vegetarians do need to eat a variety of foods to make sure they are getting the right kinds of nutrients."Continuing prenatal vitamins and eating a healthy, well-balanced diet with lots of different kinds of fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, and often soy, with or without low-fat dairy and eggs, is important," says Dr. Doggett.

But she suggests always talking with your doctor first about your diet when breastfeeding. It's a good idea to inquire about taking a supplemental vitamin B12, something that is recommended for vegans especially, whether they are breastfeeding or not, as B12 is naturally found in animal products. It also worthwhile to ask your doctor to check your iron levels as typically vegetarian diets are not as rich in iron as diets that include meat. To lower your risk of anemia, Dr. Doggett says to incorporate iron-rich foods into the diet, such as legumes, green leafy veggies, and tofu. Then there's zinc and calcium, two other minerals more commonly found in animal products. Look to consume whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts for zinc, and soy, dairy products, beans, and lentils for calcium.

Papanicalaou focuses on consuming all these nutrients and some of her go-to meals and snacks are oats, salads, tofu, and Japanese sweet potato covered in guacamole and tomatoes. "I really don't feel limited," she says.

Experts say vegan and vegetarian moms can certainly breastfeed successfully as long as they are getting all their key nutrients. So make sure to incorporate enough iron, calcium, vitamin B12, and zinc into your diet and Baby will be just fine.

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Yes, You Can Be Vegan or Vegetarian and Still Breastfeed - Yahoo Lifestyle

Ready, set, recipes! Here are our just published, fresh-out-the-mill recipes in one convenient place! These are the top vegan recipes of the day, and are now a part of the thousands of recipes on ourFood Monster App! We have granola, crumble bars, and coleslaw, so if youre looking for something new and delicious, you are sure to find a new favorite!

Source: Buckwheat Granola

This gluten free Buckwheat Granola by Natalie Yonan will give you the perfect amount of crunch for all your breakfast bowls! Put it on top of smoothies, coconut yogurt, oatmeal, or just grab a handful for a snack. Store bought granola can be secretly unhealthy with tons of sugar and very little fiber! A healthy breakfast granola should be the exact opposite!

Source: Oil Free Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri sauce is an Argentinian sauce used in cooking or to put on top of dishes. Its made of garlic, parsley, olive oil, oregano, and red wine vinegar. This Oil Free Chimichurri Sauce by Molly Patrick uses avocado instead of olive oil for a creamy, oil-free alternative!

Source: Zucchini Artichoke Panzanella

Take some bread, some delicious ripe tomatoes, and zucchini and whip up this amazing dish! This Zucchini Artichoke Panzanella byHelyn Dunn not only a light meal, but it makes a great appetizer, as well. You can use either white bread or whole wheat for this recipe.

Source: Simple Red Cabbage Coleslaw

This Simple Red Cabbage Coleslaw by Natalie Martin MS, RD and Lexie Staten MS, RD is aneasy oil-free, plant-based red cabbage slaw with a creamy dressing made with cashews and maple syrup. Great for potlucks!

Source: Healthy Peach Jam Crumble Bars

These Healthy Peach Jam Crumble Bars by Hayley Canning with a Crumb Topping made with all vegan and gluten-free ingredients for an delicious fruity dessert! The texture of these is perfect, chewy but soft in the centre. They have an oaty base, a peach jam centre and a crumb topping. So delicious!

Source: Pumpkin Sheet Cake

This Pumpkin Sheet Cake by Gabrielle St. Claire needs no pitch, because its just all that and more! Its easy, has minimal ingredients, affordable, packs tons of pumpkin, has aesthetic appeal, perf for fall, such a breeze compared to icing a full cake, and will have you reaching for a slice again and again!

Source: Vegan Swedish Meatballs + Apricot Dipping Sauce

Vegan Swedish meatballs? You read that right. These little guys are so tasty and healthy! Traditionally, Swedish meatballs are made from ground beef and pork, fried and then served in a heavy, sour cream gravy with a beef-stock base. Theyre usually enjoyed with Lingonberry jelly. This vegan alternative is made with soy curls and shiitake mushrooms to achieve a tender and light texture. These Vegan Swedish Meatballs + Apricot Dipping Sauceby Helyn Dunn are seasoned perfectly and taste amazing with the homemade apricot dipping sauce.

Source: Easy Autumn Cornbread

Cornbread is the ultimate deep-rooted soul food. This Easy Autumn Cornbread by Wendy Irene has the perfect aroma, texture and taste to satisfy all your senses!

Source: Unicorn Frappuccino

In case you havent noticed, unicorn food is totally trendy right now. So much so, Starbucks just released aUnicorn Frappuccino by Holly Jade but weve got even better news you can make your own, version at home (its basically just a milkshake). All you have to do is grab some fresh strawberries, blueberries, and whatever you want to garnish; we gave you a few suggestions if youre not in a creative mood.

Source: Eggplant Ragout With Risotto

As a lifelong mac and cheese lover, this Eggplant Ragout With Risotto by Stephanie Darby is the perfect grown-up alternative of that classic comfort food. Laden with veggies in the ragout, it makes even this eggplant-averse eater happy. It comes together easily, with minimal clean up, and plenty to serve a crowd. (Or plenty to hoard to yourself for a week of leftovers).

Dont forget to check out these recipes and thousands more by downloading ourFood Monster App, which is available for iPhone! The app has more than 15,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes and subscribers get access to new recipes every day.

For more Vegan Food, Health, Recipe, Animal and Life content published daily, dont forget to subscribe to theOne Green Planet Newsletter.

Being publicly funded means that we get to continue to provide you with quality content. Pleasesupport us!

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From Buckwheat Granola to Pumpkin Sheet Cake: Our Top 10 Recipes of the Day! - One Green Planet

NuGo Nutrition has added to its snacking portfolio in the US with a vegan range of low-sugar protein cookies.

The NuGo Perfect Cookie line is available in four flavours: dark chocolate chip, double dark chocolate, peanut butter and lemon poppy seed.

The 50g, one serving cookie has less than 1g sugar, 10g of plant protein, and 11g of fibre. With no artificial sweeteners, palm oil or margarine, therange is said to be high in MCT oils and natural sweeteners.

Delicious taste was our top priority in creating the Perfect Cookie, so everyone can truly enjoy the classic cookie flavours they crave without the guilt, said David Levine, NuGo CEO.

NuGo Nutrition said the range is the perfect on-the-go snack to satisfy cravings for many lifestyles, including gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free and soy-free.

Last year,NuGo released a range of whole food paleo protein bars made with egg whites, fruit and nuts.

Four flavours are available in the NuGo Egg White Protein Bars range: dark chocolate sea salt, maple pecan, blueberry and peanut butter.

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NuGo Nutrition launches vegan Perfect Cookie range in the US - FoodBev.com

Years of fumbling around with the run-of-the-mill Wetherspoon bean burger have been rewarded as the pub giant is finally launching a vegan burger.

Produced by UK company The Meatless Farm, the new fake meat patty is made from pea, soy, rice protein, chicory root, and carrot fibre, and is gluten-free.

Even better, it'll be in the burger and drink deal, like normal. Jameson Robinson, Wetherspoon's Head of Food, also confirmed to The Tab that "there is a gourmet option too, with added salsa, smashed avocado and 6 onion rings."

The burger is coming to all 880 Wetherspoon's pubs after a successful trial at 40 outlets.

Robinson said: "We are keen to offer vegetarian and vegan pub-goers an excellent choice of meals to enjoy at Wetherspoon. The plant-based burger is a great addition to the menu and we are confident that it will prove popular with vegetarians and vegans as well as those who eat meat."

I ranked every Spoons drink by value for alcohol to save you money

We tried the Wetherspoons Loop: The ultimate British drinking challenge

We went inside the Super-Spoons, the biggest Wetherspoons in the UK

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Spoons is finally getting a proper vegan burger - The Tab

Rather than making purses out of plastic, this small Canadian company has begun making vegan leather clothing items out of apple peels that are recycled from the juicing industry.

The two sisters behind the Toronto-based fashion line SAMARA recently launched their Mini purse, which is the first object made out of their new apple leather.

The designers say they were inspired to develop the material as a means of replacing the petroleum-based materials that are typically used to make vegan leather.

Though the designers told Tree Hugger that they are currently using polyurethane (PU) as a binding agent, they reassured readers that the glue is still a much more eco-friendly material compared to the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that is commonly used in the textile industry.

MORE: Mom Turns $700 into a $65 Million Company After Manufacturer Calls Her a Stupid Woman

As the vegan leather industry is growing, we decided that it was time to raise the bar and start experimenting with other plant-based materials, reads the SAMARA website. Weve been hard at work over the last year, aiming to create our best sellerthe Miniout of apple-based leather.

After many iterations and quality checks, its finally here. Made from apple skins that are by-products of the juicing industry, and some PU that acts as a binding agent, weve designed our newest addition to the Mini Collection: our Apple Leather Mini.

The Mini is now on sale at the SAMARA website for $50 a pop. Additionally, a portion of every purchase made through the companys website helps to send a solar-powered backpack to a child in East Africa.

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Fashion Designers Replace Plastic-Based Vegan 'Leather' With Fabric Made Out of Apple Peels - Good News Network

Its been a big week of news for Portland-area vegans and vegetarians: The city just scored the top ranking in a national survey of vegetarian and vegan-friendly cities; the 15th annual VegFest hits the Oregon Convention Center this weekend; and a Portland vegan chicken sandwich scores big on a national list. Heres a look at each.

Portland has long been known as a place where vegetarians and vegans find plenty of food options at the grocery store and at restaurants. Now the city can brag about being the best city in the nation for vegans and vegetarians, according to a new ranking by the website WalletHub.

The website took a look at the 100 largest U.S. cities, comparing 17 key indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness. Among the metrics were things like how much groceries costs, how many restaurants offer meat-free options, and how easy it is to score a salad.

When it came to affordability, its no surprise that Portland didnt fare well, coming in at 22nd out of 100. But it scored high for the diversity, quality and easy access of plant-based food options (3rd overall), and ranked near the top of the vegan lifestyle category (8th) for our organic farms, community gardens and other factors. The combination of those scores put Portland in the No. 1 spot, ahead of Los Angeles, Orlando, Seattle, and Austin, Texas.

Scoring at the bottom of the list was El Paso, Texas, which is known for its Tex-Mex fare, not easy access to salads.

Visitors of all ages can learn something about plant-based living and eating at Portland VegFest, which has its 15th edition Oct. 5-6 at the Oregon Convention Center.

One of the factors WalletHub looked at for its ranking was the number of vegan and vegetarian food festivals, and Portland has one of the best with VegFest, which turns 15 this weekend at the Oregon Convention Center.

The annual food festival, which is presented by NW Veg, includes motivational speakers, cooking demonstrations, and screenings of documentaries and health-related films.

The big draw is the main exhibition hall, where festivalgoers can sample a variety of food products, ranging from decadent chocolate to vegan cheese, buy vegan clothes and cookbooks, and learn about community groups that are doing good things for animals and the environment. Several vegan restaurants will be on-hand, offering full meals for purchase.

Expect to come away with a bag full of samples and coupons.

VegFest runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday in Exhibition Hall A of the Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.

Unless youve been in a cave, you know this past summer has been about the national chicken sandwich wars. While chains like Popeyes and Chick-fil-A have been duking it out, vegan restaurants across the country have been coming up with their own plant-based versions of the popular sandwich.

This week, PETA came out with a list of the 21 best vegan chicken sandwiches, and North Portlands Homegrown Smoker scored a spot with its Fancy Chikn, which features a smoked piece of faux-chicken topped with tempeh bacon, avocado, arugula, tomato and a spicy chipotle aioli.

Chicken sandwiches from the chains Veggie Grill, Next Level Burger and Native Foods also made PETAs list. All three have Portland-area locations.

-- Grant Butler

gbutler@oregonian.com

503-221-8566; @grantbutler

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.

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Portland is the most vegan-friendly city in the country; VegFest turns 15 - OregonLive