In continued celebration for Veganuary, the biggest plant-based eating campaign on the planet, we spoke to local foodie extraordinaires and Marble suppliers, Farmacy London. Labelled as the ‘friendly face’ of plant-based eating in London, Farmacy champions the belief that ‘food is medicine’ and supports local, organic & biodynamic farming. Marketing Coordinator, Hattie, was delighted to interview Cleo from the Farmacy team, getting all of her top tips and tidbits for plant-based eating in 2022.

From Farm to Farmacy London

It’s another year of Veganuary, which had over 580,000 participants last year and counting. How important do you think challenges and public awareness campaigns like this one are? 

It is exciting to see the growth of Veganuary participants, even though it is a small step, it has a substantial impact and is a step towards the right direction.

Public awareness is key, the more the word spreads the more people are influenced. It really starts from one person and their habits who can then influence and inspire many more!

There are always challenges (as with everything in life!) However, with the exponential and continuous growth of the vegan market and the vast majority of products that are now available and soon to be available, I believe that it will become easier for consumers to participate in Veganuary and even turn vegan all year round.

What impact does a plant-based diet have on our planet?

Following a plant-based or even vegetarian diet has a positive impact on both wildlife and the environment and there are a lot of different factors to take into consideration here.

It is important to look at the food system as a whole. The majority of greenhouse emissions come from animal farming, and animal farming requires a large amount of farmland. This means that to raise cattle there needs to be extensive clearing of new land which effectively further harms wildlife and the ecosystems living there, which are vital to our planet.

With the dairy and meat industry also contributing significantly to carbon emissions globally due to livestock, by cutting meat consumption, even a small percentage of consumers can significantly reduce greenhouse emissions to save the planet. 

It is important to note however that also some meat alternatives might have a counterproductive effect on the environment, so it is really up to consumers to really look at these businesses and aim to choose those that actually achieve lower carbons emission than the meat and dairy industry.

Can you give us some easy substitutes for popular meat and dairy products, like steak, chicken wings, cheese, fish & chips etc.? 

Some great substitutes for milk include soy, almond, oat and coconut milk while for plant-based dairy there are fantastic (and delicious) cheese alternatives based on tofu and nuts. 

Regarding alternatives to meat and poultry products, a great source of protein can be found in chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans (or beans in general), as well as tempeh, spelt, teff, amaranth and quinoa to name a few…

How popular are plant-based menus becoming at events that you work on? 

We can see a significant rise in demand for plant-based food at events, more so than ever before.

Do you think 2022 will be the year that we see plant-based menus coming into effect throughout events and conferences? Or will event planners take longer to get onboard? 

I think that the shift is already happening. Many different corporations are working on their own sustainability improvement and by choosing plant-based foods for their corporate events they want to reflect their ethos and effort to their employees, clients and consumers.

How long have you been working at Farmacy and what is your role there? 

I have been working at Farmacy for a year now as Marketing, Social Media & Retail Manager.

Tell us more about Farmacy’s mission and what you’re aiming to do.

At Farmacy, we continuously challenge food conventions and really want to show how one can connect with nature through food.

Our Founder, Camilla Fayed, has established herself as one of the most prominent voices of the plant-based industry and is considered more and more globally as a pioneer of the most effective conscious eating revolution.

Our mission is to let  the world know that plant-based ingredients can heal the body and planet without renouncing to taste, but rather discovering the many pleasures and benefits it really offers.

And some final quick-fire questions!