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August 21, 2026
Physicians Committee sues to withdraw dietary guidelines it says meat industry ghostwrote

Vegan Brief August 21, 2026

Doctors sue over 'ghostwritten' diet guidelines; Danone buys Huel

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sued HHS and USDA to withdraw the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines, saying 8 of the 9 panelists who wrote them had financial ties to the meat and dairy industries.

4 top stories 33 sources read 153 articles scanned 6 sides of vegan life
Lead story Physicians Committee sues to withdraw dietary guidelines it says meat industry ghostwrote Read the story

The Quick List

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sued HHS and USDA to withdraw the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines, saying 8 of the 9 panelists who wrote them had financial ties to the meat and dairy industries [117].
Danone's roughly £860 million buyout of vegan meal brand Huel cleared its final UK regulatory hurdle, putting the deal on track to close [118].
Israeli meat producer Soglowek bought 70% of Thai plant-based meat maker Plant & Bean and is funding an expansion that will double its factory's output [108].
Florida investigators cleared roadside attraction Sloth World of criminal neglect despite necropsies showing 57 wild-caught sloths died dehydrated, malnourished and diseased there [124].
A month of vegan eating measurably shifted immune-related gene activity in a new UC San Diego trial, calming inflammation markers even though the changes didn't survive statistical adjustment [114].
The FDA proposed making safety notifications mandatory for new food ingredients, closing a loophole that let companies clear additives without ever telling regulators [93].
The movement today▲Food & Recipes▬Alt protein funding winter▬Dietary guidelines lawsuit▼Activism & AnimalsThe storylines →
Physicians Committee sues to withdraw dietary guidelines it says meat industry ghostwrotePhoto: vegconomist
Innovation

Physicians Committee sues to withdraw dietary guidelines it says meat industry ghostwrote

Read the story →
Also on the board3 more signals
Danone clears final UK hurdle in its roughly £860 million Huel buyoutPhoto: vegconomist
Innovation

Danone clears final UK hurdle in its roughly £860 million Huel buyout

 Meat giant Soglowek buys 70% of Thai plant-based meat maker Plant & BeanPhoto: green queen
Innovation

Meat giant Soglowek buys 70% of Thai plant-based meat maker Plant & Bean

 Florida clears Sloth World of criminal neglect after 57 imported sloths diedPhoto: Conservation news
Activism & Animals

Florida clears Sloth World of criminal neglect after 57 imported sloths died

The Stories: the day’s biggest developments, in the sources’ own words

01▬Dietary guidelines lawsuitStory

Physicians Committee sues to withdraw dietary guidelines it says meat industry ghostwrote

Physicians Committee sues to withdraw dietary guidelines it says meat industry ghostwrote
Photo: vegconomist
“The government allowed the meat and dairy industries to ghostwrite the Dietary Guidelines. They put money in industry's pocket and cholesterol in Americans' arteries.”
Dr. Neal D. Barnard, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine president · [117]
By the numbers
  • 8 of 9panel members who produced the guidelines had financial ties to the meat, dairy, or low-carb industries [117]
  • 3 monthsthe replacement panel took to produce its 90-page report and 418-page appendix, in place of nearly two years of independent scientific review [117]
The full timeline: Dietary guidelines lawsuit →
Fromvegconomist the vegan business magazine
02▲Food & RecipesStory

Danone clears final UK hurdle in its roughly £860 million Huel buyout

Danone clears final UK hurdle in its roughly £860 million Huel buyout
Photo: vegconomist
By the numbers
  • £860 millionvalue of Danone's acquisition of vegan meal-replacement brand Huel, now cleared by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority [118]
  • 17,000+UK retail stores now stocking Huel, up from a direct-to-consumer-only start in 2015 [118]
  • 26.5%growth in Huel's UK sales, to £139.3 million, in its most recent financial year [118]
Fromvegconomist the vegan business magazine
03▬Alt protein funding winterStory

Meat giant Soglowek buys 70% of Thai plant-based meat maker Plant & Bean

Meat giant Soglowek buys 70% of Thai plant-based meat maker Plant & Bean
Photo: green queen
“I know plant-based has seen better days, and we're past the hype – but economically, this is exactly the right time to get in.”
Hagai Stadler, managing partner, AP Partners · [108]
By the numbers
  • 70%stake Israeli meat producer Soglowek now holds in Plant & Bean, funding an expansion that will double the Thai factory's output [108]
  • 85alt-protein companies acquired, merged, gone insolvent, or shut down since September 2024 [108]
WatchPlant & Bean's factory expansion, already underway, is expected to take about a year. [108]
The full timeline: Alt protein funding winter →
FromGreen Queen
04▼Activism & AnimalsStory

Florida clears Sloth World of criminal neglect after 57 imported sloths died

Florida clears Sloth World of criminal neglect after 57 imported sloths died
Photo: Conservation news
“[The deaths] appear to be consistent with a multifactorial animal health incident rather than the result of criminal activity or improper care.”
Aaron Bennet, Orange County Sheriff's Office detective · [124]
“because it shouldn't be possible for that number of sloths to die.”
Rebecca Cliffe, founder, Sloth Conservation Foundation · [124]
By the numbers
  • 57wild-caught sloths, shipped from Guyana and Peru, died at the Florida tourist attraction [124]
  • 20witnesses interviewed by investigators, including administrators, former workers, and veterinarians [124]
FromConservation news

Worth Knowing

Food & Recipes

  • Cook it: Crispy Oyster Mushroom Po'Boy sandwiches use fried, breaded oyster mushrooms in place of seafood, dressed with a quick Thousand Island [87].
  • Australia's certified organic sector topped A$1 billion in annual sales and exports for the first time, up nearly 12% domestically [77].

Research & Nutrition

  • A systematic review found vegetarian diets carry a probable 13% lower risk of total cancer, and vegan diets a 23% lower risk, versus non-vegetarian diets [11].
  • A meta-analysis linked healthful plant-based diets to 21% lower dementia risk in the highest-adherence group, while unhealthful plant-based diets raised risk 24% [19].
  • A crossover feeding trial cut LDL cholesterol 17.9% by swapping a standard American diet for a whole-food, plant-based one in adults with familial hypercholesterolemia [6].
  • The FOOD-1 trial found a plant-based meat diet lowered TMAO, a cardiovascular risk marker, compared with a red-meat diet in a six-day crossover [13].
  • Restaurants that name plant-based dishes differently from their meat counterparts, rather than mirroring the name, roughly doubled how often meat-eaters picked the plant-based option [14].
  • A meta-analysis of controlled trials found plant-based diets significantly lowered C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, versus omnivorous diets [12].

Law & Policy

  • Manitoba's environment minister upheld a permit letting Winnipeg poison Richardson's ground squirrels with an anticoagulant, rejecting Animal Justice's appeal [129].

Innovation

  • A ProVeg analysis found plant-based groceries running up to 30% cheaper than meat and dairy across nine major Dutch supermarket chains [109].
  • Hungary's incoming government is planning to cut VAT on fruit and vegetables from 27% to 5%, with legumes under consideration next [119].
  • BioCheese launched what it calls Australia's first high-protein dairy-free cheese, a pea-protein-boosted cheddar shred now in Coles stores [111].

One Good Thing

Oregon Health & Science University's board voted to start winding down primate breeding and experiments at its research center in Beaverton, after years of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine campaigning and roughly 25,000 Oregonians writing their governor and state lawmakers to demand it [145]. PCRM's Mikalah Singer called the resolution "a significant step in the right direction" and is now pushing the university to set hard milestones for finishing the phase-out [145]. A facility that has bred and studied primates for decades is aiming, instead, to become a leader in non-animal research.

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Lime Dressing

Recipe of the day · Rainbow Plant Life

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Lime Dressing

This bright and zesty cauliflower salad might just become your new favorite way to enjoy cauliflower. It’s shaved paper thin, marinated in lime juice, then tossed in a creamy…

35 min 6 servings 16 ingredients
See the ingredients
  • 1 small head cauliflower, (leaves trimmed (see Note 1))
  • 3 juicy limes
  • Fine sea salt
  • ⅓ cup (80 mL) full-fat canned coconut milk
  • 1 ½- inch piece ginger, (peeled and roughly chopped)
  • 1 small serrano pepper, (stem removed (omit for no heat))
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lemongrass ((optional, see Note 2))
  • 1 ½ tablespoons tamari or soy sauce (tamari for GF)
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons white miso
  • 2 teaspoons agave nectar (or brown sugar/coconut sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ heaping cup (10g) fresh mint leaves
  • ½ cup (8g) fresh cilantro
  • ⅓ cup (47g) roasted peanuts or cashews, (chopped)
Get the full recipe at Rainbow Plant Life →
Today in vegan history A Judge Rules Vegan Butter Can Be Called Butter August 21, 2020 California told Miyoko's Creamery its cashew spread couldn't be called butter, and a federal judge said the state's confusion argument didn't hold up. Read the day in vegan history →