Vegan Menus Are Sweeping Awards Season This Year
This awards season, animal rights are taking center stage as major awards shows snub meat, dairy, and eggs in favor of vegan menus. By choosing plant-based offerings, these shows are sparking conversations about the leading role that animal agriculture plays in causing and exacerbating climate change. Many of the awards show attendees are already vegan, knowing that being vegan saves animals’ lives and is better for humans’ health. We’re thrilled that Hollywood is using its public platform to remind people about the countless positive benefits of going vegan and the dire consequences of serving animal flesh.
Here are the awards shows serving vegan menus this year:
92nd Annual Academy Awards
The official 92nd Oscars Nominees Luncheon was held on January 27 and offered a plant-based menu to highlight the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ efforts to be more environmentally friendly. The Academy also announced that it will serve vegan food in the Dolby Theatre lobby before the Oscars. The Governors Ball after-party will serve plenty of vegan options, too. Chef Wolfgang Puck has catered the official Oscars after-party for 26 years, and last year, he included vegan mini taro root tacos, heirloom carrot “tartare,” cashew vanilla tiramisu, and many other delicious animal-free dishes. Puck was excited to expand the offerings on this year’s menu and expose more people to the beauty of vegan food. “We are going to have a vegan pasta with truffles,” he said, “and the whole world is going to say, ‘Okay, if that is what vegan is, then I’m going to be a vegan.’” A mostly vegan menu is a great start, but we encourage the Academy to make next year’s menu fully vegan for animals and the environment.
77th Annual Golden Globe Awards
On January 3, the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards was the first to serve all-vegan food to celebs. Executive Chef Matthew Morgan worked with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to develop the menu, which included a chilled golden beet soup, wild mushroom risotto with king oyster mushroom “scallops,” and a “Vegan Opera Dome” for dessert. The Globes even earned a shout-out from PETA supporter and Best Actor winner Joaquin Phoenix, who thanked the HFPA for “recognizing and acknowledging the link between animal agriculture and climate change.”
25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards
In an effort to highlight sustainability, the Critics Choice Association chose to serve vegan menu during the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards on January 12. Stars got to choose from tacos and burritos from Baja Fresh or plant-based burgers from The Counter during the show and frozen vegan desserts from Pinkberry and Cold Stone Creamery. Again, Phoenix used his Best Actor acceptance speech to thank the association for its compassionate decision.
26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
After the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards set the plant-based precedent, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) followed suit, announcing a vegan menu for its 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 19. The SAG Awards also cited sustainability as the reason for the menu choice. The menu for the night included a Romano bean salad with arugula, niçoise olives, shaved baby peppers, and sweet onion vinaigrette; paella rice salad with squash, Tuscan kale, and piquillo peppers; and charred harissa glazed baby carrots with little gem lettuce, pita croutons, and sumac. The entrées were served alongside lavash bread and vegan-friendly champagne and wine.
Pre-Oscar Parties
The shows themselves aren’t the only awards season celebrations choosing to serve vegan eats. Talent agency WME, which represents many of the stars who are nominated (including Joaquin), is also going vegan this year for its pre-Oscars party. The event will be catered by Los Angeles vegan restaurant Nic’s on Beverly, which offers creative dishes such as Kennebec potato gratin fries, avocado crispy rice, and Detroit-style pizzas.
Eat like the stars and go vegan today—make the transition with the help of PETA’s free vegan starter kit:
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