A Vegan Meat Revolution Is Coming To Global Fast Food Chains -- And It Could Help Save The Planet

A Vegan Meat Revolution Is Coming To Global Fast Food Chains -- And It Could Help Save The Planet

A few years ago, convincing meat-free “meat” was nothing more than a distant dream for most consumers. Meat substitutes in supermarkets lacked variety and quality. Plant-based burgers were few and far between in major fast food outlets – and meaty they were not.

But realistic alternatives to environmentally damaging meat are now big business – and global fast food chains are finally starting to take notice.

Burger King has announced that after a hugely successful trial, it will roll out its partnership with plant-based meat company Impossible Foods across the US. McDonalds recently introduced the similarly meaty Big Vegan TS in its outlets in Germany, one of its five largest international markets.

Condé Nast Sells W Magazine; Sara Moonves Installed As New Editor-in-Chief

Condé Nast Sells W Magazine; Sara Moonves Installed As New Editor-in-Chief

‘W ‘ Style Director Sara Moonves in on the move again, this time into the top slot, replacing longtime W Magazine Editor-in-Chief Stefano Tonchi, as the magazine’s new owners announce their future plans.

Before moving to ‘W’, Moonves worked for American Vogue as a contributing fashion editor and was previously senior fashion director at ‘T: The New York Times Style Magazine’. Sara is the daughter of former CBS Chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation tycoon Les Moonves.

Tonchi has been part of extensive efforts at Condé Nast to sell the publication, but bowed out on Monday when the owners of Surface and Watch Journal acquired W, as well as the license to WKorea, under the newly formed Future Media Group.

"I think he's done a wonderful job at the brand, but from an innovative standpoint and where we are looking to go, I think women's fashion should be seen through women's point of view," Future Media Chief Executive and Chairman Marc Lotenberg told ‘BoF’.

Prada Declares 2021 Sustainability Initiative Converting All Iconic Nylon Bags To Econyl

Prada Declares 2021 Sustainability Initiative Converting All Iconic Nylon Bags To Econyl

Even iconic products like Prada’s famous nylon bags need to advance to retain their original meaning, relevance, and status. Miuccia Prada is increasingly onboard with sustainability, giving up fur a month ago and now pledging to convert the “virgin nylon’ used in her famous bags to Econyl. a regenerated-nylon yarn that can be recycled an infinite number of times. The new fabric is made from reclaimed ocean plastics, fishing nets and textile fiber waste.

‘Willful Recklessness’: Trump Pushes for Indefinite Family Detention As Sanitary Crisis Mounts

‘Willful Recklessness’: Trump Pushes for Indefinite Family Detention As Sanitary Crisis Mounts

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has been tracking about 40,000 expedited family cases “regardless of whether they reflect a priority designation” in order to ensure they are completed “without undue delay” at ten immigration courts in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, and San Francisco. Nearly 8,000 of those cases have already ended with removal orders. These are some of the migrants ICE agents could now target.

The administration has buttressed its push to detain more families by arguing that few of them show up for their immigration court hearings if they are released. At a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on June 11, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan said “family units” accounted for two-thirds of migrants processed at the Southwest border in May, and that 90 percent of families the EOIR was monitoring didn’t appear for court hearings. Several reports contradict this claim.

One case-by-case study of immigration court records showed “as of the end of May 2019 one or more removal hearings had already been held for nearly 47,000 newly arriving families seeking refuge in this country. Of these, almost six out of every seven families released from custody had shown up for their initial court hearing.”

The study further noted that “multiple hearings are [usually] required before a case is decided. For those who are represented, more than 99 percent had appeared at every hearing held.”

Tory Burch Asks Forbes Summit Why The Debate Around Equal Pay For Women Continues

Tory Burch Asks Forbes Summit Why The Debate Around Equal Pay For Women Continues

Forbes considers Tory Burch to be one of America’s richest self-made women, estimating her net worth at $850 million. Judged today by her competence, strategic thinking and brand positioning, Tory Burch, who previously worked at Ralph Lauren and Vera Wang, says that when she launched her lifestyle brand in 2004, she wan’t taken very seriously.

Burch joined ultimate equal-pay activist Lilly Ledbetter to discuss the impact of the gender pay gap in a Forbes Women’s Summit discussion moderated by Cosmopolitan editor Jessica Pels. Ledbetter is known as the Alabama area manager at a Goodyear plant who learned through an anonymous note that she was paid 35%-40% less than men in her same position.

Ledbetter’s case wound its way through the US court system, until the Supreme Court in 2007 overturned a $3 million verdict in her favor, ruling that pay discrimination lawsuits must filed within 180 days of her first unequal paycheck. President Obama effectively nullified the court’s decision in 2009, making the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first new law of his administration. Obama stipulated that the statute of limitations for filing equal-pay lawsuits based on pay discrimination resets with each new paycheck that is part of the discriminatory act.

How Teach for America Evolved Into an Arm of the Charter School Movement by ProPublica

How Teach for America Evolved Into an Arm of the Charter School Movement-Pt 1 by ProPublica

When the Walton Family Foundation announced in 2013 that it was donating $20 million to Teach For America to recruit and train nearly 4,000 teachers for low-income schools, its press release did not reveal the unusual terms for the grant.

Documents obtained by ProPublica show that the foundation, a staunch supporter of school choice and Teach For America’s largest private funder, was paying $4,000 for every teacher placed in a traditional public school — and $6,000 for every one placed in a charter school. The two-year grant was directed at nine cities where charter schools were sprouting up, including New Orleans; Memphis, Tennessee; and Los Angeles.

The gift’s purpose was far removed from Teach For America’s original mission of alleviating teacher shortages in traditional public schools. It was intended to “generate a longer-term leadership pipeline that advances the education movement, providing a source of talent for policy, advocacy and politics, as well as quality schools and new entrepreneurial ventures,” according to internal grant documents.

The incentives corresponded to a shift in Teach For America’s direction. Although only 7% of students go to charter schools, Teach For America sent almost 40% of its 6,736 teachers to them in 2018 — up from 34% in 2015 and 13% in 2008. In some large cities, charter schools employ the majority of TFA teachers: 54% in Houston, 58% in San Antonio and at least 70% in Los Angeles.

Angelina Jolie Speaks Candidly On World Refugee Day As New TIME Contributing Editor

Angelina Jolie Speaks Candidly On World Refugee Day As New TIME Contributing Editor

Activist actor Angelina Jolie is now a monthly contributing editor at TIME magazine.

Editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal announced that Jolie’s essays will focus on topics related to human rights and displacement, issues front-of-mind for the humanitarian who has worked with the UN Refugee Agency for 18 years.

Jolie first official piece was published to coincide with World Refugee Day, June 20, with the title Angelina Jolie: What We Owe Refugees. She argues: "Under international law it is not an option to assist refugees, it is an obligation," she writes. "It is perfectly possible to ensure strong border control and fair, humane immigration policies while meeting our responsibility to help refugees."

Happy Birthday AOC

Anne of Carversville had a birthday this week, 12 years old on June 17. AOC came to life seemingly out of nowhere, inspired by my reading our founding muse Angelina Jolie’s Esquire interview. Reading her thoughts marked a turning point in my life: Smart Sensuality Angelina Jolie: Virtue Considered in Carversville's Country Air.

Angelina is one of the many Winning Women in Action we track on AOC.

Enjoy reading all of Angelina Jolie’s AOC Archives.

Angelina Jolie Archives @ AOC

Mozambique's Niassa Reserve Celebrates One Year Of No Elephant Kills | The Women Of Gorongosa Park

Mozambique's Niassa Reserve Celebrates One Year Of No Elephant Kills | The Women Of Gorongosa Park

Beautiful Girls Meet Animals in Central Mozambique’s Gorongosa Park,

Researching the Niassa Reserve story, AOC found this exquisite video from Mozambique’s Gorongosa Park that’s a total respite — a small escape — from the world’s tragic events on The Guardian website.

Before you watch it, consider that in March 2019, Cyclone Idai devastated the communities around Mozambique's Gorongosa Park. There was no escape, no respite for the people of Mozambique as we steal precious moments with this video.

National Geographic reminded us just now of the cyclone, with the coincidence of a feature story on Grongosa National Park in the May 2019 issue of National Geographic. Click here to learn how you can help on the National Geographic website. Also, Gorongosa itself has information about devastation from the cyclone and how to help.

Net-a-Porter Launches Net Sustain With 26 Brands, Big Plans + Beauty Coming Soon

Net-a-Porter Launches Net Sustain With 26 Brands, Big Plans + Beauty Coming Soon

Online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter has joined the effort to promote significant changes in the apparel industry, with the launch of Net Sustain.

The platform is launching with 26 brands and over 500 products that meet core sustainability criteria determined by Net-a-Porter. The criteria ranges from "considered materials and processes to reducing waste in their supply chain, taking into account human, animal and environmental welfare and aligning with internationally recognized best practices in the fashion and beauty industries."

Landmines in Angola: How African Elephants’ Amazing Sense of Smell Could Save Lives

CHISHURU, A MALE AFRICAN ELEPHANT, INDICATES A TARGET SCENT DURING TRIALS. IMAGE BY GRAHAM ALEXANDER.

Landmines in Angola: How African Elephants’ Amazing Sense of Smell Could Save Lives

By Ashadee Kay Miller, PhD Candidate, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. First published on The Conversation.

For 27 years Angola was gripped by civil war. Half a million human lives were lost and wildlife, too, was decimated to sustain troops. Rhino and elephants became valuable targets – rhino horn and ivory served as currency for arms among rebel forces.

During the conflict elephant populations fled across the border into Botswana, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When the war ended in 2002 animal populations slowly started to return to their pre-conflict grazing grounds. But a huge problem remained: millions of landmines were still in situ and undetonated across Angola. Many elephants were killed and maimed by the explosives as they attempted to recolonise.

Data collected from collared elephants moving through the affected areas showed herds avoiding minefields. This suggested that at least some of the returning elephants had associated minefields with danger. What could this association be based on? Had the minefield-avoiding elephants seen others killed in those areas? Or had they associated the smell of landmines with danger, extrapolating risk to other areas where the odour was present?

We couldn’t answer all these questions. To narrow down our search my colleagues and I set about finding out whether elephants could smell the main component of landmines – Trinitrotoluene (TNT).

New York Is the First City To Fund Abortion Directly. Let's Make Sure It's Not the Last

New York Is the First City To Fund Abortion Directly. Let's Make Sure It's Not the Last

Last week, abortion access advocates in New York made history. When the ink dries on next year’s budget, New York will become the first city in the country to directly fund abortion by allocating $250,000 to the New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF), which supports anyone who is unable to pay fully for an abortion and is living in or traveling to New York state by providing financial assistance and connections to other resources. This funding will help ensure that every person is able to decide when and whether to become a parent regardless of their income, type of insurance, or citizenship status.

In the face of increasing attacks on abortion access throughout the country, New York City’s commitment to funding abortion sends a powerful message—one that activists in other cities and states can push for.

This is an essential step as we work toward ending the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for most abortions. And we know it won’t be the last: Advocates in progressive cities like ours can seize the opportunity to turn supporters into champions, to advocate for policymakers who talk the talk about abortion access to also walk the walk. Even in progressive states, people face barriers to abortion access.

Trump’s Reelection Support is 50-50 in Texas, Biden and O’Rourke Lead the Democrats, UT/TT Poll Says

Trump’s Reelection Support is 50-50 in Texas, Biden and O’Rourke Lead the Democrats, UT/TT Poll Says

Half of the registered voters in Texas would vote to reelect President Donald Trump, but half of them would not, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

Few of those voters were wishy-washy about it: 39% said they would “definitely” vote to reelect Trump; 43% said they would “definitely not” vote for him. The remaining 18% said they would “probably” (11%) or “probably not” (7%) vote to give Trump a second term.

“That 50-50 number encapsulates how divisive Trump is,” said James Henson, who runs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin and co-directs the poll. But, he added, the number is not necessarily “a useful prediction for an election that’s 16 months away.”

Among Republicans, 73% would “definitely” vote for Trump; among Democrats, 85% were “definitely not” voting for another term.

“This squarely focuses on Trump,” said Daron Shaw, professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin and co-director of the poll. However, he said, “it isn’t a matchup with a flesh-and-blood Democrat. It shows Trump’s relative weakness, compared to a generic Democrat in this state.”

Independents were less emphatic than either the Republicans or the Democrats, but 60% said they wouldn’t vote for the president in an election held today, including 45% who would “definitely not” vote for him.

Tom Craig Captures 'Poetry in Motion' As LVMH Stakes Strong Claim In Luxury Hospitality

Tom Craig Captures 'Poetry in Motion' As LVMH Stakes Strong Claim In Luxury Hospitality

British actress, poet and filmmaker Greta Bellamacina boards the Orient Express, headed for Venice in a fashion journey that’s pure ‘Poetry in Motion’. Photographer Tom Craig is behind the lens with styling by Leith Clark for Harper’s Bazaar UK July 2019./ Hair by Sebastien Bascle

Queen Elizabeth Plans Meghan's B-Day Party At Balmoreal As Royals Eye Fall 2019 Africa Trip

Queen Elizabeth Plans Meghan's B-Day Party At Balmoreal As Royals Eye Fall 2019 Africa Trip

Today June 17th, Prince Harry is working with HALO representatives, representatives of the Angolan government, conservation experts and philanthropists worldwide to discuss how clearing landmines from the unique Okavango headwaters in Angola is step one in protecting this precious habitat.

Twice as large as the UK, the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (KAZA) is Africa’s great wild space where Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe converge. At its heart is the World Heritage Site of the Okavango Delta, fed by headwaters rising in the far southeast of Angola. The success of the KAZA is of crucial importance to the development of southern Africa.

Barbados PM Mia Mottley Proposes Museum To Honor Rihanna, The Nation's Famous Daughter

Top: Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. Bottom: Rihanna

Barbados PM Mia Mottley Proposes Museum To Honor Rihanna, The Nation's Famous Daughter

Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley is one shrewd woman. Rihanna supported her candidacy to become Prime Minister in 2018, then joining forces with Motley as Cultural Ambassador for Barbados in September 2018.

PM Motley has raised her own international profile significantly since becoming leader of her country. AOC featured yesterday her role in activating a deliberate, fast-track move towards 100% renewable fuels by 2030. Barbados is joined by Jamaica in the lead and also Dominica in a major drive towards sustainability, now fueled with the activism, money and connections of Richard Branson, who has launched a program throughout the Caribbean post Hurricane Maria.

Now Barbados Prime Minister wants to open a museum celebrating Rihanna and her Work, Work, Work, Work, Work.

Mottley revealed in London that conversations are already underway between Rihanna’s manager brother and the Barbados government on honoring the Caribbean island’s most famous daughter born Robyn Rihanna Fenty , according to The Voice.

The Resilience of Barbados Counters Trump’s ‘Sh-thole’ Remarks

The Resilience of Barbados Counters Trump’s ‘Sh-thole’ Remarks

By J.M. Opal, Associate Professor of History and Chair, History and Classical Studies, McGill University. First published on The Conversation.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, former attorney and future inmate Michael Cohen revealed some of the uglier things Donald Trump said to him during their many years together.

Among the alleged quotes: “Name one country run by a Black person that’s not a sh—hole.” (One wonders how Trump characterized the United States when Barack Obama was President.)

Rarely stated so bluntly, this racist trope is widespread. As always, Trump gives vulgar expression to quiet prejudice, making him sound “honest” to about 40 per cent of Americans no matter how many lies he tells. As Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted after a similar revelation last year, Trump’s straight-shooting bigotry is one thing his fans love about him.

Those who don’t love him need to fight back with specific examples from the real world. Time and again, we need to highlight the big, complex reality that Trump and many of his supporters call “fake news.” Otherwise, his twisted version of the truth will continue to displace objective reality.

Jamaica Leads in Richard Branson-Backed Plan for a Caribbean Climate Revolution

Jamaica Leads in Richard Branson-Backed Plan for a Caribbean Climate Revolution

After hurricanes Irma and Maria tore through the Caribbean in 2017, devastating dozens of islands – including billionaire Richard Branson’s private isle, Necker Island – Branson called for a “Caribbean Marshall Plan.”

He wanted world powers and global financial institutions to unite to protect the Caribbean against the effects of climate change.

That hasn’t happened. So Branson and his government partners from 27 Caribbean countries hope that his celebrity, connections and billions will prod local politicians and the financial community to act.

In August 2018, at a star-studded event at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, Branson helped to launch the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, a US$1 billion effort to kickstart a green energy revolution in the region.

Doutzen Kroes Talks Environment, Humanity, Activism In Xavi Gordo Images For Madame Figaro France

Doutzen Kroes Talks Environment, Humanity, Activism In Xavi Gordo Images For Madame Figaro France

Supermodel, humanitarian, global citizen, adoring wife and mother Doutzen Kroes covers the June 13, 2019 issue of Madame Figaro France. Xavi Gordo captures the Piaget jewelry ambassador and one of the world’s most famous elephant conservation activists interviewed by Marilyne Letertre in Saint-Raphaël, in the south of France. Cécile Martin styles the shoot.

The Little Sisters of the Poor Joined Trump Administration To Attack Contraception Coverage At SC

The Little Sisters of the Poor Joined Trump Administration To Again Attack Contraception Coverage At SC

Conservatives have spent the better part of a decade arguing the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit, which provides insurance coverage for a host of contraception without additional cost or co-pay, violates religious freedom principles. Those efforts have had mixed results. Despite two turns before the U.S. Supreme Court, dozens of lower court orders, and a handful of executive orders from President Trump, the benefit remains in place—but employers who object to it can avoid complying with it.

This week, the Roberts Court will consider taking up a case that could settle the birth control benefit’s fate once and for all.

The case is The Little Sisters of the Poor Jeanne Jugan Residence v. California. Yes, that’s right. The Sisters are at it again.

To understand how yet another case like this could end up before the Roberts Court, let’s revisit for a moment the history of the contraception mandate. Originally proposed in 2012, the birth control benefit requires most employers to include coverage of FDA-approved contraceptives without co-pay in their employer-sponsored health insurance plans. The benefit contains an exemption for religious employers and an accommodation for religiously affiliated employers. The benefit, and the exemption and accommodation, launched a wave of objections and lawsuits that has not yet receded. The first batch of those lawsuits reached the Roberts Court in 2014 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, in which the Court ruled that some for-profit employers could take advantage of the accommodation process.

'Beyond Meat' Investors Chastain, Gates + DiCaprio Launch Best IPO To Date In 2019

'Beyond Meat' Investors Chastain, Gates + DiCaprio Launch Best IPO To Date In 2019

Vegan brand 'Beyond Meat' was the first one in its category to IPO ever. It debuted in May at $25 per share, but rose to $65 by the end of the first day — a leap of 165 percent.

CNBC reported it was the best initial public offering of the year; Beyond Meat “left every other debut in the dust,” including Uber Technologies, which dropped more than 7 percent on its first day of trading.

Several prominent celebs, business leaders and athletes are investors in Beyond Meat, besides spokeswoman Jessica Chastain. Noteworthy moneybags include Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

A plant-based burger patty uses 99% less water and 50% less energy. And that's before we get to the methane fumes when your meat love is beef. TIME magazine writes that supermarket sales of meat alternatives surged 19.2 percent to $878 million for the year ended Jan. 5, according to data from Nielsen.  The TIME article reviews a lot of critical information about the competitive marketplace in meat alternatives brands.