Look! Nothing to see here, Dairy Queen goes non dairy — and more morsels

Welcome to Livin' on the Veg, a weekly newsletter that highlights updates from the world of plant-based food (Relax — it’ll be fun!) If you like what you’re reading, make sure to subscribe using the button above. Would love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

Nature Brands best laid plans seemed to crumble when an outdoor ad campaign buy for people finally able to get out after a long winter was thwarted by a UK lockdown which is keeping people indoors. It doesn't make lemons — rather, EMILY veg sticks — but have made lemonade. A very self-aware new campaign manages to acknowledge misfortune while avoiding the misplaced the self-pity that has tripped up some brands and influencers. "Our first ever poster, seen by a runner and one pigeon. Typical," one of the new ads reads. "When you can’t change your media, sometimes you just need to quickly adapt and have a sense of humour," Managing Director Adam Draper says in a LinkedIn post, adding for good measure: "The first EMILY campaign we hope very few people will see!"

My colleague Yunita Ong reports: China's Starbucks has started serving up a new plant-based menu, joining a wave of interest across the region in greener, more health-conscious alternative meat products. The coffee chain, which has about 4,000 locations across the country, joined forces with Beyond Meat, Omnipork and dairy-substitute firm Oatly. KFC in China also unveiled plans this week to sell mock chicken nuggets, while other Asian chains like Japan's Mos Burger also sell patties made of meat substitutes.

Factoid [?]

"Almost a third of U.S. pork capacity is down, the first big poultry plants closed on Friday and experts are warning that domestic shortages are just weeks away… While hundreds of plants in the Americas are still running, the staggering acceleration for supply disruptions is now raising questions over global shortfalls. Taken together, the U.S., Brazil and Canada account for about 65% of world meat trade." — Michael Hirtzer and Tatiana Freitas fofr Bloomberg

Quote of the Week [?]

"When we presented Beyond Meat to supermarket buyers around 3 years ago, we were flat out rejected. They didn’t listen to us and thought there was no market for it. Now, alternative protein is really hitting the mainstream."

— David Yeung, CEO of Green Monday and "the undisputed king of Asia’s plant-based movement." (Sentient Media) 

Helping Hands [?]

• Amy’s Kitchen recently donated over 150,000 vegan meal products to local Northern California food banks. They've also donated 6,000 masks to local hospitals in support of the medical community. (h/t Symphony Barnes / VegOutLA)

They're not changing their name to Non Dairy Queen, but they are going to start offering a vegan version of the Dilly Bar "at select locations," Anna Starostinetskaya reports for VegWorld. The alt version of the 60-year-old Dilly Bar will be coconut-cream based. PETA is taking a victory lap; Starostinetskaya notes that "The menu update comes after years of campaigning for a vegan option by (the) animal-rights group." Who knows — maybe PETA will also be able to convince Burger King New Zealand to go vegan instead of going bankrupt.

I hope whatever you eat you're taking care of yourself, your families, and each other. Food is a wonderful way to be happy, and to socialize. So break bread with loved ones and be extra kind and generous to the folks delivering your takeout.