With 2021 behind us, the vegan industry grew leaps and bounds even with a worldwide pandemic changing life forever. 

According to VegNews (one of our favorite vegan magazines), they shared their top 20 read stories of 2021. Surprisingly, most had to do with restaurants incorporating vegan products in their menus, such as the No. 1 story of McDonald’s McPlant burger finally coming to America and rapper Jay-Z investing millions in the Simulate vegan chicken company. 

What once was a taboo word and meant explaining to family and friends what veganism is all about, grocery chains, restaurants and families are incorporating more plant-based products in their diets. 

Out of the 20 stories, four stories are health related such as long-term consequences of eating a Keto diet and how Grease star Olivia Newton-John is turning to a plant-based diet to fight cancer. 

Another top story features one of our favorite chicken vegan companies - Atlas Monroe. Owner Deborah Torres turned down a sizable investment on NBC’s “Shark Tank” in order to keep a shark from taking most of her equity. We can relate to Ms. Torres since it’s challenging for Black female business owners to find investors. 

Another one of our favorite stories is about vegan influencer Tabitha Brown. She made the top story list with her Sunshine All Purpose Seasoning by McCormick. Her new vegan spices sold out within 30 minutes. 

Maybe it was the pandemic that forced people to stay home and cook more or be more health conscious, but 2021 was a good year for vegans. Read the stories here.

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