Thanks to the arrival of Sir Paul McCartney who infamously said: “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarian”, California state capital Sacramento is making strides toward veganism. On Tuesday, the city officially passed a resolution declaring that in honor of McCartney, they would support the Meatless Monday campaign by encouraging residents to opt for meat-free meals. The impetus for these efforts is a McCartney concert being held for two nights this weekend at venue Golden 1 Center. In addition to meatless options being offered by the Golden 1 Center during McCartney’s concerts, throughout the month of October, 22 local restaurants will create meatless dishes in tribute to the musician. (vegnews.com)

October 1, 2016 at 11 A.M., at the Zagreb central square, an Animal Friends activist will symbolically turn her body into a piece of meat on the grill to point out the sad reality hidden behind each piece of meat - it's nothing but a sensitive part of the body of a living being reduced to a carcinogenic meal. On the occasion of World Vegetarian Day (October 1) and World Animal Day for Farm Animals (October 2), Animal Friends invites everyone to decide on positive diet changes. The performance is meant to vividly display that anyone's body is not for barbecue and that instead of animal arms, hips and legs we can eat plenty of delicious vegetable foods that are good for our health and the environment. With its transformation into meat, the activist wants to remind us of the difficult position for females in the world of human and non-human animals, as well as in the meat and dairy industries, based on the abuse of the reproductive system of pigs, cows and chickens.

Canadian cattle farmer Mark Lanigan is transitioning his cattle farm into an animal sanctuary called Farmhouse Garden Animal Home, where farmed animals will be able to live out the rest of their natural lives. The 100-acre property which Lanigan previously used to raise animals for slaughter will now serve as a safe haven for nearly two dozen cows, horses, geese, and a guard donkey named Buckwheat. Lanigan is also using the land to plant vegetables to sell at the local farmers’ market along with maple syrup and lumber. The farmer had a change of heart when caring for a newly born calf. “How hypocritical of me to give something so much love, [when] the end thing is so different from that love,” Lanigan says. The farm is currently raising funds to fully transition into a sanctuary, one that Lanigan hopes will eventually house cows rescued from neighboring farms. (Vegnews.com)

In an official statement on August 30th 2016, minister Dario Nakic stated that the Ministry of Health has officially chosen to sponsor the Green Monday campaign. Green Monday is an international campaign being implemented in more than 30 countries around the world, aiming to raise awareness about the importance of healthy nutrition and represent plant food by encouraging the exclusive consumption of foods with plant origins for at least one day a week. After it gained the support of the Cities of Zagreb and Samobor, the Ministry of Agriculture and former Croatian president Ivo Josipovic, now the Ministry of Health supports Green Monday as well, wishing them every success in the implementation of all planned activities.

According to a new report compiled by data analyst firm Mintel, one in every 10 new products released in Germany bears a vegan label. Moreover, the rate at which companies in the country are releasing vegan products is outpacing the development of vegetarian products—which account for six percent of new product launches. However, both vegan and vegetarian labels have grown immensely from their respective three percent market share in just two years. When compared to the rest of Europe, Germany accounts for 36 percent of all new vegan food and drink products, with the United Kingdom in second at 21 percent, and France and Italy following at seven and four percent, respectively.