Vegan News for March 2026
Is our planet’s future carnivorous, flexitarian or vegan? We looked at the best evidence we could find to determine Where are We Headed?
It’s been a sad time for Maui’s vegan community. Vegan activist Jeremy Jarvis’ public journey with cancer has come to an end. Among many other things, they were always a welcome force at the annual protest against animal cruelty at the Makawao Rodeo.
We recently lost two vegan restaurants, Rainbow Kitchen and Tabay’s Mindful Kitchen. As long as compassionate people exist, veganism will continue, and Maui will remain wonderful place for the vegans who can afford to live here.
In case you missed Lillian Cumic’s presentation on veganizing Hawaiian food sponsored by the Vegan Society of Hawaii, here’s a recap.
EVENTS
April 18: 30th Annual East Maui Taro Festival. Details here.
Ongoing: The Vegan Society of Hawaii offers in-person and live presentations. Check here for the latest.
Moku Roots offers farm-to-table brunches and dinners in Kula. Email mokuroots@gmail.com to be placed on the mailing list.
NEWS AND TRENDS
Veganuary Celebrates 30 Million Global Participants
Global shift to plant-based diets could ‘reshape’ employment in farming sector
HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Vegan toddlers can grow at the same rate as omnivores
Which Ultra-Processed Foods Are the Worst in Driving the Association with Death and Disease?
Vegan diets can cut daily insulin use by almost 30 per cent for people with type 1 diabetes
A Dietitian Ranks 8 Plant-Based Foods With More Protein Than an Egg
The Science and Benefits of Plant-Based Eating
Healthy body weight, regular exercise ‘a big part of the battle’ for reducing cancer risk
High-Quality Low Carb, Low Fat Diet May Lower Cardiovascular Risk
Vegan, pesco-vegetarian diets linked to better kidney function for patients with CKD
RESOURCES
The Future of Food and 14 Organizations Working to Expand Plant-Based Options
2026 Maui Guide to Vegan Fine-Dining
Maui’s Plant-Based Revolution: Six Fully Vegan Spots Worth a Detour
Growing the Future: 13 Ways to Promote Food Independence on Maui
Lillian Cumic’s Vegan Society of Hawaii presentation from December, Veganizing Local Hawaiian Food, is now online.
How Not to Die, a documentary based on Dr. Greger’s bestseller, may be viewed here.
The 25 Best Vegan Documentaries to Stream Right Now
CONNECTIONS
Three Maui vegan Facebook groups are Vegan on Maui, Maui Vegans and Maui Vegan Life. The Vegan Society of Hawaii occasionally holds in-person presentations in Wailuku. In recent years Maui has not been able to sustain vegan meetup groups but check Meetup.com in case a new effort is underway.
THIS MONTH IN VEGAN HISTORY
Vegan Lifter Tops Europe. Sahy Lalime posted a 190 kg raw squat at the European Powerlifting Federation European Classic Championships in Málaga, recorded as a world record performance for her class. It is a clean example of elite strength sport visibility tied to openly vegan athletes. (March 18, 2025)
“Dairy Is Scary” Hits Cinemas. Viva! launched a nationwide cinema campaign built like a short horror trailer, designed to expose standard dairy industry practices to mainstream audiences. The campaign page dates the rollout as starting March 25. (March 25, 2025)
Two Million Plant-Based Hospital Meals Served. NYC Health + Hospitals announced it had surpassed 2 million plant-based meals served since the program began in March 2022, in partnership with Sodexo. (March 26, 2025)
$60 invested in “plant-forward” food system. Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledges $60 million to help build a more sustainable, ‘plant-forward’ food system. (March 2024)
Plant-Based Defaults Show Big Climate and Cost Gains. NYC Health + Hospitals reported 1.2 million plant-based meals served to date and tied the shift to quantified emissions reductions and per-meal cost savings. (March 14, 2024)
Vegan Meals Become the Default in NYC Hospitals. NYC Health + Hospitals began offering plant-based meals as the daily default for lunch systemwide, later expanding further. It is a policy design breakthrough because it relies on defaults and convenience rather than persuasion alone. (March 2022)
Australia Funds Plant Protein “Mega-Hubs.” Australia announced a $113 million package to expand large-scale plant protein ingredient manufacturing in South Australia, framed as building a globally competitive plant-based supply chain.(March 1, 2022)
Vegan Endurance Goes Record-Book Legit. Robbie Balenger set a Guinness World Records mark by running 75 miles (about 120.7 km) across Arizona in 12 hours, highlighted in coverage that foregrounded his vegan diet. (March 21, 2021)
Aquafaba Becomes an “Official” Word. The chickpea brine technique that unlocked reliable vegan meringues and mousses gained mainstream recognition when “aquafaba” entered Merriam-Webster’s new-words list. This is small but real cultural infrastructure, it normalizes a core vegan culinary method in everyday language. (March 2018)
A first for Australia. Alibi, the first hotel restaurant in Australia to serve a 100 per cent plant-based menu, opens. (March 2018)
Fruits and vegetables save lives. University of Oxford researchers find that a worldwide switch to diets that rely more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, result in healthcare savings and avoid climate-related damages of $1.5 trillion (US). (March 21, 2016)
EU Ends Sales of Newly Animal-Tested. The European Union’s “marketing ban” took effect, prohibiting the sale in the EU of cosmetics newly tested on animals, a major structural win for cruelty-free and vegan personal care markets. (March 11, 2013)
Snow is the GOAT. A poll of British doctors names vegan John Snow, MD, pioneering 19th century anesthesiologist and epidemiologist the greatest physician of all time. (March 2003)
Meat causes disease. The British Government admits a link between contaminated beef and “New Variant CJD,” a condition linked to consumption of beef with Mad Cow Disease. (March 1996)
MeatOut Launches a Mass Vegan Challenge Day. The first Great American MeatOut was organized as a coordinated national campaign urging people to try vegan eating for a day on the first day of spring. It is one of the earliest large-scale, repeatable, public-facing vegan mobilizations in the US. (March 20, 1985)
Animal Advocacy Goes Mass-Media. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco, helping catalyze a new era of confrontational, media-savvy animal rights work that later strongly shaped modern vegan culture. (March 1980)
First “vegan” cookbook. Fay K. Henderson produces Vegan Recipes, the first recipe book with “vegan” in the title. (March 1946)
No to dairy: Woodwork teacher and vegan pioneer Donald Watson published the first of a two-part article, “Should Vegetarians Eat Dairy Produce?” (March 1944)