The Co-op said that it aims to reject the unfair pricing of vegan staples in order to create a price parity with traditional animal products.

Co-ops vegan food is now cheaper than ever.

The British retail group just announced a price reduction across 29 products in GRO, its plant-based range, with up to 50 percent off some key ingredients and meals.

The Co-op said that it aims to reject the unfair pricing of vegan staples such as burgers and sausages in order to create a price parity with traditional animal products. It also clarified that the ingredients and quality of its vegan food will not change, and the group has invested an additional 1.7 million into its own-brand range to make the price reduction possible.

While an increasing number of Brits are interested in flexitarianism, the cost of vegan products is a concern for many. According to Jo Whitfield, the Co-op Food chief executive, eating plant-based food shouldnt cost you more money.

Its an industry-wide standard that plant-based alternatives are usually priced higher than their meat and dairy counterparts, said Whitfield in a press release shared with LIVEKINDLY. This disparity is unfair to those following vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian diets.

This price drop will see the GRO range vegan sausages fall from 3 to 1.45, while burgers will now cost just 1.35 rather than 3 more than 50 percent off the previous price.

According to the group, these reductions could save a family who regularly eats vegan foods over 100 every year. By reducing the cost of its vegan food range, the Co-op hopes that more customers will be able to try its meat-free options

Its Co-ops ambition to make our plant-based range, GRO, even more accessible to our members and customers, helping them make decisions that collectively will have an impact on the world we all share, continued Whitfield.

Vegan foods are often more sustainable than their animal-based counterparts. Beef and dairy, in particular rack up huge environmental footprints. This move by the Co-operative Group is part of its broader 10-point-plan for net-zero emissions by 2040.

Emissions from our operations and our own-brand products are where we have the greatest responsibility and can make the biggest difference. This move is a step in the right direction and we encourage other retailers and brands to consider making the change too, added Whitfield.

International chains including Starbucks, Burger King, and Nestl are emphasizing plant-based ingredients and flexitarian options for similar reasons, in addition to catering to the demand for healthy, environmentally-friendly foods.

The Co-op launched the GRO range in January last year with 35 vegan products, following the example set by rival supermarkets Tesco, Asda, and Iceland, all three of which are also increasingly emphasizing the need for affordable plant-based food.

While vegan food is far from accessible to everyone, its possible to eat a plant-based diet on a budget, and studies do show that this can save you money in the long run.

Just last year, a study commissioned by vegetarian brand Linda McCartney reported that British consumers saved 6.7 billion in 2019 by eating plant-based foods instead of animal products.

Either way, the industry is moving fast, and the European vegan market alone has grown by 49 percent over the past two years. Globally, the vegan food market is predicted to surpass $31 billion by the year 2026.

Continued here:

Co-op Cuts the Cost of Vegan Food to Match Price of Meat - LIVEKINDLY

Tickle My Pickle popsicle from Ice Queen Suzette Smith

After running a series of successful pop-ups for years, vegan ice cream maker Rebecca Smith arrived at the vegan mini mall on SE Stark mid-summer of 2020. She took over Scapegoat Tattoo's storefront, just as Food Fight closed their southeast location and left the neighborhood with a frozen vegan soft serve power vacuum.

Ice Queen pops are much better than soft serve, and contain worlds of variety. Smith makes her treats with an assortment of non-dairy milks. Her She's In Parties birthday cake bar uses soymilk to creamy up its base. The Rocky Road mixes chocolate, almonds, and marshmallow into oat milk to achieve a rich approximation of the famous ice cream flavor. And the pia colada is, of course, made with pineapple juice and coconut cream.

The shoppe's waterbase bars are likewise statement-making. The Watermelon Tajin pairs that sweet summer fruit with the emblematic Mexican chili lime seasoning for a flavor combination that's both assertive and refreshing. The lime paleta even comes with a small bottle of Tajin, intended for multiple applications.

Other past creations from Smith include grapefruit and lemon bars containing flower petals from Good Rain Farms and the Mangonada, which married smooth frozen mango with the complex salty/sweet flavors of chamoy. Smith is Chicana and Indigenous, and likes to work both with locally-sourced ingredients and flavors that speak to her cultural experience.

Smith often refers to her Oatchada popa mix of cinnamon and oatmilkas "the popsicle that built it all." It lives up to the buzz. But I keep coming back for all the experiments. For instance, Smith keeps putting stuff inside the bars!

The Tickle My Pickle bar had a full blown dill spear frozen in there. I had my reservations, but the tastes really worked. The salty brine never wavered in its vinegar deliciousness, and that dill wedge surprise had me engaged right down to the personalized Ice Queen popsicle stick.

For now, Ice Queen still feels like a popsicle start-up occupying a former tattoo shop, but Smith muses about one day having a full blown parlor to host her vegan inventions. You can also find Ice Queen bars at local spots like Coffee Beer and Green Zebra Grocery. New flavors are frequently posted to Ice Queen's Instagram. So if you're vegan and you want some newnesseven if you aren't vegan honestlykeep an eye on what Ice Queen has coming down the luge.

Ice Queen, 1223 SE Stark, icequeenyouscream.com

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Takeout Club: Ice Queen Is Spicing Up the World of Vegan Popsicles - The Portland Mercury

Vegan Cosmetics Market Research Report by Product (Hair Care, Makeup, and Skin Care), by Distribution Channel (Departmental Stores, E-commerce, Hypermarket/Supermarket, and Specialty Stores) - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Vegan Cosmetics Market Research Report by Product, by Distribution Channel - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05911845/?utm_source=GNW

Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available.

1. The Global Vegan Cosmetics Market is expected to grow from USD 13,977.33 Million in 2020 to USD 19,373.16 Million by the end of 2025. 2. The Global Vegan Cosmetics Market is expected to grow from EUR 12,255.59 Million in 2020 to EUR 16,986.75 Million by the end of 2025. 3. The Global Vegan Cosmetics Market is expected to grow from GBP 10,895.24 Million in 2020 to GBP 15,101.26 Million by the end of 2025. 4. The Global Vegan Cosmetics Market is expected to grow from JPY 1,491,735.61 Million in 2020 to JPY 2,067,607.22 Million by the end of 2025. 5. The Global Vegan Cosmetics Market is expected to grow from AUD 20,296.94 Million in 2020 to AUD 28,132.40 Million by the end of 2025.

Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Vegan Cosmetics to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Product, the Vegan Cosmetics Market studied across Hair Care, Makeup, and Skin Care.

Based on Distribution Channel, the Vegan Cosmetics Market studied across Departmental Stores, E-commerce, Hypermarket/Supermarket, and Specialty Stores.

Based on Geography, the Vegan Cosmetics Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market including Bare Blossom Skincare & Organics, Beauty Without Cruelty, Billy Jealousy, Debenhams PLC, e.l.f. Beauty Inc., Ecco Bella, Emma Jean Cosmetics, INC, Gabriel Cosmetics Inc., Groupe Rocher, Inika, LOral SA, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Milani Cosmetics, MO MI BEAUTY, Modern Minerals Makeup, Monave, MuLondon Natural Skincare, Natures Gat, Pacifica Beauty, Too Faced, and Urban Decay.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Vegan Cosmetics Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.

The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments

The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Vegan Cosmetics Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05911845/?utm_source=GNW

About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Vegan Cosmetics Market Research Report by Product, by Distribution Channel - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19 - Yahoo Finance

Do you not love heavy metal?!?! Do you not love environmental conservation and the protection of the natural animal world?! If you can relate to any or all of the above, the wickedly evil, sinisterly delicious delights of theVegan Black Metal Chefmay be for you.

Brian Manowitz, aka the Vegan Black Metal Chef, has been entertaining and enlightening the masses with his 'seitanic spells' for well over a decade, with this month marking10 years since the debut episodesince his black metal meets vegan-friendly cooking show hit YouTube.

Manowitz, a musician, actor and all-around entertainer by day, pleather, spikes and corpse-paint belter of the blackened arts by night, sat down with Metal Injection for a look back at his path to a vegan lifestyle, a decade of the Vegan Black Metal Chef, his crowd-funded cookbook (and coming soon followup), the metal/occult scene of his hometown of Tampa, Florida and much more!

Its pretty crazy. I mean, even a couple of years ago I was thinking damn, like this has been going on for way longer than probably anyone expected. But I mean, yeah, its pretty cool. Theten year anniversary of the Pad Thai heard round the world. Im humbled and honored that anyone still gives a damn, honestly.

A lot of the virality and the initial views and probably even some of the views today are still probably a significant amount of what the fuck factor, just like what the fuck is this? But to me the most important thing about the videos is that the food is awesome. The recipes are doable for the masses and the food is awesome. Thats sort of to me like the guiding principles of the Vegan Black Metal Chef stuff is doable veganism for the masses.

Basically about 10 years ago now I kind of said, well, I think my food tastes really good. Its not that difficult to make, and its pretty cheap. Kind of three things that people think veganism isnt. So I was like, well, I want to have a way to show this to people. So I thought about making a cooking show, but cooking shows kind of bore me and put me to sleep. So I just wanted to make the one that I wanted to see and luckily a few other people wanted to see it too.

But in the end, it is really important to me that the food and the recipes and the instruction is awesome, because quite honestly, with vegan stuff you got to have something to prove. Honestly, I've got something to prove so every damn time its got to be spectacular. So thats to me the most important aspect of everything. That's at least the aspect that Im most proud of.

Im thankful that the videos have allowed me to grow as a musician and music producer, because if you watch the first one and you watched the last one, I write, mix, master and record everything that you see there. And the first one, basically I said I can make a passable recording now.

But as like actual music, its cool if you have a memory associated with it, but if it were to just pop on for a random person that has never heard of anything before its just whatever. But Im thankful that the cooking instruction and the humor aspect kind of allows the different aspects of things to not have to be absolutely perfect to provide value to someone.

Basically I should have gone vegan earlier because I had a girlfriend in late high school that went vegetarian. When she first did it, I said you know what? I see that as the right way to go in life, but Im not ready for that yet. And so I didnt do anything. And then about a year passed and I looked back at it and like, well, she didnt die. I was like if I recognize that as the right way to go, then really what am I so afraid of?

I recognized it as a fear within myself. And it wasnt a fear of anything real. It was just this weird, deep seated, conditioned fear of nothing. And I couldnt just be afraid of nothing. I cant just walk around with a fear of nothing in me.

So I faced that fear of nothing and went vegetarian for about a month or so, and thenwent to an animal rights group on campus at the University of Florida that had just started up. They showed a couple of videos, probably some PETA meet your meat videos because it was before the age of YouTube or whatever, and I said, OK, now Im vegan. I havent looked back since.

Thats what I tell people, the hardest part about going vegan is not finding amazing delicious food to eat. Thats actually the easy part. The hard part is overcoming that social conditioning and deep seated fear of nothing that we all have in our brains that we dont even consciously realize until entire paradigms are challenged or changed.

The first thing thats going to happen when you go vegan is your grandmother is going to go, oh, why do you hate me? Youre not going to eat my casserole anymore? And your friends are going to say some stuff and your family. I guess thats one thing that metal helps with is metal kind of has a history of bucking conventions and bucking norms. So maybe it helps you just a little bit along the path of that.

The general response is overwhelmingly positive, but with our brain, were trained to recognize threats more than positive things. I mean, you definitely see some amount of 'die you vegan f***t' or comments like that on YouTube occasionally. Especially over in Europe more so then the United States. Maybe theres a little bit more of the really militant metalheads, but its still a very small set. Like a very small number of people. But your brain picks them out more because thats just how were designed to work.

It wouldnt have happened without the fans or the backers of the Kickstarter. That's absolutely what made the book happen. Maybe it would have happened in some other lesser form in a sense, but yeah, it would not be the book that it is today that Im quite happy about, and I think that people really enjoy, without that. I owe everything to them and hope they like it and I hope they like the fact that it sparked the second printing of it with a traditional publisher.

I had to warehouse them all, and then when I moved to L.A., I had to get pallets shipped to LA and stored in my music studio. And I unloaded the truck with my little hand trucks and went up and down the elevator a million times to put stacks of ten boxes of books apiece in my music studio and ship them out to Amazon and a couple of different stores and wherever. At the end of the day its just hand trucks and moving boxes.

That book I say took about three years, but maybe it would have gone faster if the end vision was perfectly clear from the beginning. But thats just not how it works sometimes. Myself, Im not even that good of a writer, so I had to rewrite each page four or five times until I was happy with it. And like each individual page, pouring over everything, until I was happy with it.

Also that end vision was not there from the beginning. I just had to sort of start going along and be sort of unhappy with things along the way and then try to figure things out and be like, OK, whats the cookbook that I would want to see? And since Im a very multimedia person and Im a very visual person, I needed pictures of every step along the way,

Ive begun writing for that. And some things will definitely change, but at least the basic vision is already pretty clear now.

I was a little reluctant to write a second one, probably because in LA I had significantly less free time, because you have to spend a whole lot of your time making way more money just to live, even though most of the amazing things to do in L.A. are actually free or cheap. You have to just be able to afford to not work to do them. But things are flowing again. A new order of spikes has come in so Im spiking out a bunch of new stuff for some photography (laughs).

Id gotten into metal in general, very young. Like when I was in kindergarten or first grade or something, I had a friend that was like two years older than me and was like check this out! And he gave me aMtley Cre,Dr. Feelgoodtape. And I was like, yeah! Thats awesome! I got into that andSkid Row, like really, really early on. And then that led intoMetallica, and a bunch of old school thrash bands.

I didnt get into black metal until way later, unless you considerKing Diamondblack metal. I didnt really get that much until I think my friend let me borrowDimmu BorgirSpiritual Black Dimensions. And I was like who the hell put this keyboard in all my metal? And then the next day I was like, I wanna hear that again!

There was this place in Tampa that was like one of the most metal places in existence, as I remember it, a place calledAce's Records.And I think some of the people fromObituaryused to work there. It had a couple of owners, but I think eventually this girl named Heather and she had these like giant Rottweilers or something behind the counter. Two or three huge dogs, some Rottweilers or maybe a Doberman or something like that? It was a long time ago, before the age of the internet. It was just like a metal store and had tons of metal shirts and bands and just everything.

Also Tampa has a surprisingly large occult scene. I used to work in various flea markets and things. Thered be four or five occult shops in the flea markets and a recruiting booth for some cult called the Holy Order of RaHoorKhuit. I used to go to these full moon circles at the pagan gathering places. And thered be like a 100-plus people there for these things. Theres another store calledMerlins Booksthat was just like a hub of Tampa's occult scene. A bunch of metalheads, occultists and nerds really.

I used to play a ton as like a local regional band before the Vegan Black Metal Chef stuff. And now Im writing the next industrial black metal album, which will be similar to the first in style. The second album that I put out was more like an electronic industrial album. If I can make this album pretty awesome and hit pretty well, Id love to be playing out with that stuff again.

Actually I plan on re-recording all the old stuff to try to get it a bit more up to snuff in a sense. Id really like to hit the live shows with that again if theres interest in it. And if not then Ill just keep writing more music until there is interest in it.

For the recordings and stuff I do everything. I play all the instruments and do all the recordings. I used to have a keyboardist and bass player and I played guitar and sang and we did drum machines. So I envision it probably being that again, having a keyboardist and a bass player. Once everything is made well see what happens. I dont set all my pieces in motion until I have other foundational things going again. I really enjoy playing shows.

Link:

A Decade of Seitanic Spells: In Conversation with the Vegan Black Metal Chef - Metal Injection

Unilevers LA-headquartered prestige cosmetics brand Hourglass, acquired in 2017, had now transformed its entire colour cosmetics and skin care portfolio to vegan, following the final push on reformulating its red lipstick. The most complex change in the portfolio, Unilever and Hourglass had spent three years working to refine a blend made from existing ingredients that could replace industrys timeless vibrant red that had traditionally been made from carmine crushed female cochineal insects. For every pound of carmine, 70,000 insects were used; translating to around 1,000 per single lipstick.

Jason Harcup, global vice president of R&D for the prestige division at Unilever, said plenty of attempts had been made on non-animal carmine alternatives but all had fallen short on vibrancy.

This [ingredient] has been around for a very long time; its been around for centuries as a dye. So, for a very long time, people have tried to produce it and create it and they havent been able to, Harcup told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.

The fact is, [replacing carmine] is something that has been so coveted for so long, and seemingly unconquerable, but you can if you use good old science and technology. I think thats a learning and inspiration for us and other people as well, he said.

So, how exactly had the teams created a blend that matched carmine?

Unilever had opted to refine a combination of existing ingredients, rather than synthetically replicate carmine with a new ingredient or molecule, which Harcup said would typically result in the wastage of around 99% of materials used to make the lab-alternative.

You dont have to invent a new-to-the-world molecule, he said. So, the whole basis here was using new technology to find novel combinations of things that are good for everybody and the planet. And you get a much better solution. Its a glorified upcycling.

There was a hell of a lot of computational work, he said. Various technologies had been used to better analyse and digitally define carmine red, firstly, he said including reflectance spectroscopy that gave a digitised version of human vision for every colour of the visible spectrum. Once the true colour signature of carmine red had been defined, he said the teams then went ahead on trying to match it by more than 95%.

The resulting blend, finalised with around 175 non-digital experiments after the raft of computerised work, was a potent combination of ingredients that offered more than 97% of a performance match to carmine, Harcup said. And, importantly, this had been achieved thanks to extensive collaboration with more than 30 suppliers across the computational, experimentation, screening, development and ingredient fields.

Asked if Unilever planned to share this innovative blend with wider industry, given how complex it had been to create, Harcup said: Red O is a patent-pending ingredient which we plan to open-source in the coming year.

Because it had been so technically complicated to replace carmine with a vegan alternative far more complex than replacing other beauty and personal care ingredients he said the teams had carefully discussed the importance of making the ingredient more widely available.

We said: hang on a second, this is something that we want everybody to use. So, it is being made available.

And Harcup said given that 18-20% of all colour cosmetics contained carmine red and more than 10,000 product launches containing the ingredient happened in the last five years alone, there was certainly an important scale in terms of the potential a vegan alternative could offer the market. And, he said carmine was not just used in coloured cosmetics appearing in a plethora of other personal care products too.

Carisa Janes, founder of Hourglass and the driving force behind the vegan replacement project, said:Carmine is everywhere, from food and alcohol to paint, medication and lipstick. Creating a vegan alternative felt like an impossible feat at times, but it was such an important step we need to move away from treating living beings as expendable. Were excited to introduce the new ingredient in such an iconic shade of lipstick, a symbol of our commitment to animal welfare.

Harcup said Unilever was also excited about incorporating the ingredient into wider parts of its portfolio over time, particularly given vegan beauty and personal care opportunity. We definitely have that lets spread the love here and get this out as far as we can mentality. And one of the positives about the job I have, is I dont have any barriers doing that.

Excerpt from:

Unilever and Hourglass to open source vegan Red 0 carmine replacement this year - CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com

A power couple disintegrated Monday when billionaire philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce to the public. While not (yet) vegan himself, Bill uses his financial power and influence to change perspectives on how we eatjust as he brought about a revolution in technology by co-founding Microsoft. Hes invested millions in plant-based and clean meat, and hes been vocal about the need to combat climate change by eliminating animal products. Now that hes single, were playing matchmaker. After all, if anything will turn him vegan, its got to be romance. Bill, its time for the Vegan Dating Game. Here are seven eligible vegans we think you should get to know. Impossible Burgers on us.

Gates may think he doesnt need help with his career, but a date with Lizzo may change his mind. With 15.1 million followers on TikTok alone, Lizzo is a force. Having just (officially) adopted a vegan diet last June, shes also single and ready to mingle! Shes posted dozens of vegan recipes through her TikTok platform, and we know shed doctor up a phenomenal Impossible Burger that would win over Gates heart. If she can veganize a McDonalds McChicken Sandwich, she can do anything.

Despite her breakout role in that hit 90s teen film, Silverstone is definitely not clueless. Shes now an entrepreneur with her own supplement line as well as an impressive acting and activism resumfrom starring in American Woman to calling out Starbucks non-dairy milk charge. We only hope she has patience with the fact that Gates isnt vegan yet. Hed have to really put on the charm to not get rejected with a soul-crushing Ugh, as if!

Weve done a ton of sleuthing, and against all odds, it looks like Cox is single. The four-time Emmy nominee and Orange Is the New Black star went vegan in 2017, and since then shes been working non-stop in the business while also juggling her LGBTQ activism. We think shed give Gates a fresh new start to romance and show him how freeing the vegan lifestyle can be.

Having recently detached from her long-time partner, actor Dylan McDermott, Maggie Q is back on the dating scene. Like Gates, shes all about thoughtful activism and strategic philanthropy. She fights for systemic change as a prominent board member of Social Compassion in Legislationan organization that is devoted to public policy advocacy to benefit animals of all kinds. Also, as an action star, were pretty sure shed high-kick any animal product straight out of Gates hands.

This perpetually single vegan rockstar could benefit from a dependable relationship. Morrisseys brash activism combined with Gates solid and calculated philanthropic efforts could prove to be interesting, and perhaps even effective. Wed love to see Morrissey write and perform an original love song to Gates.

Given that her sister, Serena, is also an investor in Impossible Foods, theres a chance Gates and Williams have already met. We imagine Serena bringing Venus along to an exclusive Impossible Foods cocktail party. Surrounded by soft twinkle lights on a rooftop overlooking the city, Gates and Venus hands may have briefly grazed each others as they both reached for a one-bite vegan slider. Sparks fly, but Gates becomes lost in the crowd when his assistant calls him over for a photo op. Lets reignite that spark!

Both Goodall and Gates share a common passion for preserving the planetalready, they have plenty to talk about. While we cant predict whether a romance will bud over climate change discussion or chimpanzees, at least there wont be any awkward silence between bites of juicy Impossible Burgers. Who knows? If they started dating, theyd be the power couple of the century.

Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and fitness enthusiast living in Orange County, CA.

Love the plant-based lifestyle as much as we do? Get the BEST vegan recipes, travel, celebrity interviews, product picks, and so much more inside every issue of VegNews Magazine. Find out why VegNews is the worlds #1 plant-based magazine by subscribing today!

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7 Vegan Celebrities Bill Gates Should Have Impossible Burgers with Now That He's Single - VegNews

Meat and other animal products are rich sources of iron, which sparks concerns about iron deficiency in people following vegetarian and vegan diets. However, there are several suitable sources of iron for these individuals.

Heme iron, which is more abundant in animal products, is easier for the body to absorb. However, people who follow plant-based diets are no more likely than others to experience iron deficiency, providing they eat a wide variety of foods. However, it is important to note that they may experience iron deficiencies if they are not careful in what they eat.

Keep reading to learn more about 10 vegetables that vegetarians and vegans can eat to meet their iron needs, as well as more information on why iron is important.

A persons daily iron needs vary with age, health, and whether they are pregnant or lactating. Adult males aged 1950 years need 8 milligrams (mg) a day, while females need 18 mg. After the age of 50, most adults require 8 mg of the substance. During pregnancy, a persons iron needs increase to 27 mg daily.

Some vegetables that are high in iron include the below.

This fungal delicacy can be expensive as a main course but can serve as a garnish for salads, sandwiches, and other meals for a more affordable price. It offers 6.94 mg of iron per 200 gram (g) serving.

This thin, green root vegetable is one of the most suitable vegetarian sources of protein. Some people also call it the black oyster plant, serpent root, vipers herb, or vipers grass. Individuals can steam 250 g of black salsify to receive 5.5 mg of iron.

Richer in vital nutrients than more water-dense lettuces, such as romaine, spinach is a suitable choice for salads. It offers 4 mg of iron per 150 g serving. Try mixing it with other leafy greens to boost the iron content of a salad even higher.

This bright, rainbow-hued vegetable makes it suitable for salads. Try mixing it with spinach for a lunch rich in iron, or steam and season it on its own for a quick snack. Cooked Swiss chard offers 3.4 mg of iron per 150 g serving.

A person can eat beet greens as a snack or use them to replace other lettuces in a salad. A 100 g serving offers 1.9 mg of iron.

Add canned tomatoes to a salad for some acidic flavor and an iron boost, or try them on a sandwich. They contain 1.57 mg of iron per serving of half a cup.

People can include this uniquely shaped lettuce in salads. Some also like to steam it and eat it on its own. It contains 2 mg of iron per 100 g serving.

Most people serve green cabbage as a side dish. Try it in a casserole for some extra crunch and added iron it contains 0.94 mg of iron per 200 g serving.

Many people eat Brussels sprouts salted, while others enjoy them cooked with garlic in an air fryer or shredded and raw as part of a salad. After steaming, they offer 2.13 mg of iron per 150 g.

Boiled green peas contain 2.46 mg of iron per cup. They make a suitable snack and also pair well with other vegetables. Peas can also add extra texture to an iron-rich salad with Swiss chard and spinach.

Iron is vital for health because the body needs it to produce hemoglobin, a protein that helps red blood cells transport oxygen. Some of its roles include:

A person not getting enough iron may lead to them experiencing iron deficiency. With this condition, an individual may not have any initial symptoms, but as it progresses, they may develop iron deficiency anemia, which can involve the following symptoms:

In severe cases, iron deficiency can become life threatening. People deficient in iron typically have longer hospital stays, worse outcomes when they get sick, a higher risk of heart health issues, and a higher overall risk of dying.

Pregnant people with iron deficiency have a higher risk of negative outcomes such as preterm labor or having a baby with low birth weight. In children, iron deficiency can lead to neurological problems and developmental delays.

While diet plays a role in iron deficiency, it is not the only factor. A persons risk of the condition depends on their age, health, and other factors. Bleeding is also a major risk factor, such as gastrointestinal bleeding from an ulcer or another digestive issue. Menstruation in females of reproductive age can also contribute to iron deficiency.

This is why it is crucial for doctors to assess potential causes of iron deficiency and not just treat the symptoms. Sometimes, iron deficiency is the first symptom of serious bleeding or ulcers. The condition can also appear in people with certain rare genetic disorders, end stage kidney failure, or congestive heart failure.

Individuals may also have a higher risk of iron deficiency after:

Lead exposure in children can also lead to iron deficiency. Parents whose children are iron deficient should discuss lead exposure testing with a doctor.

Learn more about the health benefits and recommended daily intakes of iron here.

Spinach, Swiss chard, and lambs lettuce are some vegetables that contain high amounts of iron.

Iron deficiency is common across many people, with females of childbearing age having the highest prevalence rate, followed by 9% of young children aged 1236 months.

People with the condition may need to take supplements to restore iron levels to optimal levels. In severe cases, they might need an infusion of iron or blood transfusion.

If a person does not get enough iron, believes they may be iron deficient, or has a history of iron deficiency, they should talk to a doctor about strategies for addressing the problem.

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10 high iron vegetables for vegetarians and vegans - Medical News Today

A MAN is being forced to choose between his girlfriend and his cat because she isn't happy about the feline eating mice.

The 22-year-old was offered the ultimatum by his girlfriend of seven months after she claimed the kitty didn't share her vegan values.

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According to the perplexed chap, his girlfriend is "amazing" and says the pair are "super compatible in a lot of ways."

But after several months of dating, she told him that there was no future if he planned on keeping his cat, Mittens, because it "violates the principles of veganism".

On a Reddit thread, the man wrote: "She is an outspoken vegan, and she made it clear at the start of our relationship that it was important to her that any potential (boyfriend) had similar cruelty-free values.

"Me, already being a pescatarian, had little difficulty transitioning to a fully plant based diet.

"My girlfriend was proud of me for going cruelty free and everything seemed well."

He said that the pair became the "vegan couple" on their college campus.

He explained how his girlfriend wasn't warm towards Mittens, but put it down to not growing up with cats.

Throughout the pandemic, the couple decided to spend quarantine together and started talking about buying an apartment together.

But that was when she "dropped the bombshell" and said that she didn't see a future with him if Mittens was involved.

"She said that she believed owning a cat is unconscionable for vegans because they hunt mice and eat meat, and the very act of owning a pet is a violation of vegan principles."

Stunned by her demands, the man told his girlfriend he was not willing to ditch his furry pal as the animal had no choice but to eat meat.

He told her that he buys reputable brands of cat food to even it out. But this still didn't appease his girlfriend, who he claims, advocates for the extinction of domestic cats.

Concerned he was potentially being unreasonable and not wanting the relationship to end over a difference in beliefs, he asked his vegan pals their thoughts.

They reassured him and told him that it maybe isn't about Mittens but that she just wants out of the relationship.

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Fellow Reddit users were horrified by the ultimatum, one person wrote: "She suggested to give it away? It makes no sense whatsoever, will it consume less meat with a new owner?

"Of course not. It's like boasting about your lack of garbage because you dump it in your neighbour's yard," she added.

Another user wrote: "As a fellow vegan, no, this isn't cool. If she truly cared about animals she wouldn't ask you to rehome your cat!"

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My vegan girlfriend is forcing me to choose between her and my cat because eating mice is against her... - The Sun

Photo by Maximalfocus on Unsplash

The game of Go is believed to be the oldest, continuously played board game in the world. It was invented in China, over 2,500 years ago, and is still wildly popular to this day. A survey taken in 2016 found there to be around 20 million Go players worldwide, though they mostly live in Asia. The game board uses a grid system, and requires two players. Each player places either black or white stones on the board, one after another. If player A surrounds player Bs stone(s), then any surrounded stone is removed from the board, and later factors in to player As score. If a player connects a series of stones, the number of squares within that connected series will be at least a portion of the final score for that player. The player with the most points wins.

Of course that explanation of the game was over-simplified, but the game itself actually appears to be simple as well. This is true, in terms of the rules and the goal of the game, however the sheer number of legal board positions is over two times the total number of atoms in the observable universe (Go: 2.1*10, Atoms: 1*10). The incomprehensible amount of moves alone add an extreme level of complexity to the game. On top of that, it was, for a long time, believed that Go required a certain level of human intuition to excel at the game, however the reigning world champion of Go inherently disagrees with this particular assessment.

It was believed not too long ago that a computer would never be able to beat a high ranking human Go player. Its happened in other similar style games, namely chess. In 1997 a computer developed by IBM named Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov, the reigning world chess champ, using the standard regulated time. Deep Blue used a brute force approach. This involves searching every possible move of each piece (both sides of the board) before ultimately choosing which move would give it the highest probability of winning. This was more a big win for hardware; AlphaGo is something completely different.

AlphaGo, developed by artificial intelligence research company Deep Mind, is the result of combining machine learning and tree search techniques, specifically the Monte Carlo tree search, along with extensive training. Its training consisted of playing games, and was carried out by both human and computer play. The decision making is executed via a deep neural network, which implements both a value network and a policy network. These two networks guide the hand of which tree branch should be traversed, and which should be ignored due to a low probability of winning. This greatly decreases the time complexity of AlphaGos operations, while also improving itself over time.

After being acquired by Google, and a couple of new versions, AlphaGo was eventually succeeded by AlphaGo Zero. AlphaGo Zero differed from its predecessor by being completely self-taught. All versions of AlphaGo were trained in part by showing it human played games. AlphaGo Zero however, did not use any dataset fed to it by humans. Even though it pursued a goal blindly, AlphaGo Zero was able to learn and improve until it was able to surpass the all versions of the original AlphaGo in a mere 40 days. Eventually AlphaGo Zero was generalized into AlphaZero.

AlphaGo, and the familial programs which succeeded it, were a major breakthrough in the world of AI. Driven of course by the hard work of many developers, and also due to the self-improvement capability, this is far from the ceiling of AlphaGos full potential. AlphaGo Zero and Alpha Zero further this; due to their lack of human-backed training, the probability is high of a completely generalized AI algorithm, which could be applied to many different and diverse situations, and over a period of time, begin to function at a level of which humans are easily outperformed.

Two more fun facts: Along with Go and chess, MuZero, the successor to AlphaZero, is also capable of playing at least 57 different Atari games at a superhuman level. Additionally, the hardware cost of a single unit used for the AlphaGo Zero system was quoted at $25 Million.

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The Alpha of 'Go'. What is AlphaGo? | by Christopher Golizio | Apr, 2021 | Medium - Medium

Whats the difference between the creative power of game-playing AIs and the predictive AIs most companies seem to use? How they learn. The AIs that thrive at games like Go, creating never before seen strategies, use an approach called reinforcement learning a mature machine learning technology thats good at optimizing tasks in which an agent takes a series of actions over time, where each action is informed by the outcome of the previous ones, and where you cant find a right answer the way you can with a prediction. Its a powerful technology, but most companies dont know how or when to apply it. The authors argue that reinforcement learning algorithms are good at automating and optimizing in situations dynamic situations with nuances that would be too hard to describe with formulas and rules.

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Lee Sedol, a world-class Go Champion, was flummoxed by the 37th move Deepminds AlphaGo made in the second match of the famous 2016 series. So flummoxed that it took him nearly 15 minutes to formulate a response. The move was strange to other experienced Go players as well, with one commentator suggesting it was a mistake. In fact, it was a canonical example of an artificial intelligence algorithm learning something that seemed to go beyond just pattern recognition in data learning something strategic and even creative. Indeed, beyond just feeding the algorithm past examples of Go champions playing games, Deepmind developers trained AlphaGo by having it play many millions of matches against itself. During these matches, the system had the chance to explore new moves and strategies, and then evaluate if they improved performance. Through all this trial and error, it discovered a way to play the game that surprised even the best players in the world.

If this kind of AI with creative capabilities seems different than the chatbots and predictive models most businesses end up with when they apply machine learning, thats because it is. Instead of machine learning that uses historical data to generate predictions, game-playing systems like AlphaGo use reinforcement learning a mature machine learning technology thats good at optimizing tasks. To do so, an agent takes a series of actions over time, and each action is informed by the outcome of the previous ones. Put simply, it works by trying different approaches and latching onto reinforcing the ones that seem to work better than the others. With enough trials, you can reinforce your way to beating your current best approach and discover a new best way to accomplish your task.

Despite its demonstrated usefulness, however, reinforcement learning is mostly used in academia and niche areas like video games and robotics. Companies such as Netflix, Spotify, and Google have started using it, but most businesses lag behind. Yet opportunities are everywhere. In fact, any time you have to make decisions in sequence what AI practitioners call sequential decision tasks there a chance to deploy reinforcement learning.

Consider the many real-world problems that require deciding how to act over time, where there is something to maximize (or minimize), and where youre never explicitly given the correct solution. For example:

If youre a company leader, there are likely many processes youd like to automate or optimize, but that are too dynamic or have too many exceptions and edge cases, to program into software. Through trial and error, reinforcement learning algorithms can learn to solve even the most dynamic optimization problems opening up new avenues for automation and personalization in quickly changing environments.

Many businesses think of machine learning systems as prediction machines and apply algorithms to forecast things like cash flow or customer attrition based on data such as transaction patterns or website analytics behavior. These systems tend to use whats called supervised machine learning. With supervised learning, you typically make a prediction: the stock will likely go up by four points in the next six hours. Then, after you make that prediction, youre given the actual answer: the stock actually went up by three points. The system learns by updating its mapping between input data like past prices of the same stock and perhaps of other equities and indicators and output prediction to better match the actual answer, which is called the ground truth.

With reinforcement learning, however, theres no correct answer to learn from. Reinforcement learning systems produce actions, not predictions theyll suggest the action most likely to maximize (or minimize) a metric. You can only observe how well you did on a particular task and whether it was done faster or more efficiently than before. Because these systems learn through trial and error, they work best when they can rapidly try an action (or sequence of actions) and get feedback a stock market algorithm that takes hundreds of actions per day is a good use case; optimizing customer lifetime value over the course of five years, with only irregular interaction points, is not. Significantly, because of how they learn, they dont need mountains of historical data theyll experiment and create their own data along the way.

They can therefore be used to automate a process, like placing items into a shipping container with a robotic arm; or to optimize a process, like deciding when and through what channel to contact a client who missed a payment, with the highest recouped revenue and lowest expended effort. In either case, designing the inputs, actions, and rewards the system uses is the key it will optimize exactly what you encode it to optimize and doesnt do well with any ambiguity.

Googles use of reinforcement learning to help cool its data centers is a good example of how this technology can be applied. Servers in data centers generate a lot of heat, especially when theyre in close proximity to one another, and overheating can lead to IT performance issues or equipment damage. In this use case, the input data is various measurements about the environment, like air pressure and temperature. The actions are fan speed (which controls air flow) and valve opening (the amount of water used) in air-handling units. The system includes some rules to follow safe operating guidelines, and it sequences how air flows through the center to keep the temperature at a specified level while minimizing energy usage. The physical dynamics of a data center environment are complex and constantly changing; a shift in the weather impacts temperature and humidity, and each physical location often has a unique architecture and set up. Reinforcement learning algorithms are able to pick up on nuances that would be too hard to describe with formulas and rules.

Here at Borealis AI, we partnered with Royal Bank of Canadas Capital Markets business to develop a reinforcement learning-based trade execution system called Aiden. Aidens objective is to execute a customers stock order (to buy or sell a certain number of shares) within a specified time window, seeking prices that minimize loss relative to a specified benchmark. This becomes a sequential decision task because of the detrimental market impact of buying or selling too many shares at once: the task is to sequence actions throughout the day to minimize price impact.

The stock market is dynamic and the performance traditional algorithms (the rules-based algorithms traders have used for years) can vary when todays market conditions differ from yesterdays. We felt this was a good reinforcement learning opportunity it had the right balance between clarity and dynamic complexity. We could clearly enumerate the different actions Aiden could take, and the reward we wanted to optimize (minimize the difference between the prices Aiden achieved and the market volume-weighted average price benchmark). The stock market moves fast and generates a lot of data, giving the algorithm quick iterations to learn.

We let the algorithm do just that through countless simulations before launching the system live to the market. Ultimately, Aiden proved able to perform well during some of the more volatile market periods during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic conditions that are particularly tough for predictive AIs. It was able to adapt to the changing environment, while continuing to stay close to its benchmark target.

How can you tell if youre overlooking a problem that reinforcement learning might be able to fix? Heres where to start:

Create an inventory of business processes that involve a sequence of steps and clearly state what you want to maximize or minimize. Focus on processes with dense, frequent actions and opportunities for feedback and avoid processes with infrequent actions and where its difficult to observe which worked best to collect feedback. Getting the objective right will likely require iteration.

Dont start with reinforcement learning if you can tackle a problem with other machine learning or optimization techniques. Reinforcement learning is helpful when you lack sufficient historical data to train an algorithm. You need to explore options (and create data along the way).

If you do want to move ahead, domain experts should closely collaborate with technical teams to help design the inputs, actions, and rewards. For inputs, seek the smallest set of information you could use to make a good decision. For actions, ask how much flexibility you want to give the system; start simple and later expand the range of actions. For rewards, think carefully about the outcomes and be careful to avoid falling into the traps of considering one variable in isolation or opting for short-term gains with long-term pains.

Will the possible gains justify the costs for development? Many companies need to make digital transformation investments to have the systems and dense, data-generating business processes in place to really make reinforcement learning systems useful. To answer whether the investment will pay off, technical teams should take stock of computational resources to ensure you have the compute power required to support trials and allow the system to explore and identify the optimal sequence. (They may want to create a simulation environment to test the algorithm before releasing it live.) On the software front, if youre planning to use a learning system for customer engagement, you need to have a system that can support A/B testing. This is critical to the learning process, as the algorithm needs to explore different options before it can latch onto which one works best. Finally, if your technology stack can only release features universally, you need likely to upgrade before you start optimizing.

And last but not least, as with many learning algorithms, you have to be open to errors early on while the system learns. It wont find the optimal path from day one, but it will get there in time and potentially find surprising, creative solutions beyond human imagination when it does.

While reinforcement learning is a mature technology, its only now starting to be applied in business settings. The technology shines when used to automate or optimize business processes that generate dense data, and where there could be unanticipated changes you couldnt capture with formulas or rules. If you can spot an opportunity, and either lean on an in-house technical team or partner with experts in the space, theres a window to apply this technology to outpace your competition.

Read more:

Why AI That Teaches Itself to Achieve a Goal Is the Next Big Thing - Harvard Business Review