Every day, we make choices that impact the planet and our health. Maybe you are diligent about recycling and avoid plastic packaging. Or perhaps you’re an avid supporter of always having your own utensil kit stashed in your bag — just in case — knowing it means you’ll keep non-biodegradable disposables out of the landfill. Every conscious choice makes a difference, no matter how small. And this is especially true about our food choices. Whether you’re a longtime plant-based eater, or just now starting to explore healthier, more sustainable food choices, there’s a brand designed for making the transition easy, accessible, and fun.
Hungry Planet® was born of a passion project from sibling co-founders Todd and Jody Boyman, to make a better, more just, and sustainable world. The two grew up in straight-laced St. Louis during a time when “the term plant-based was not even coined yet, and ‘vegetarian’ was something that only the counter culture embraced,” Jody tells LIVEKINDLY, chuckling at the memory.
The Boymans were raised to understand that as human beings, every little action we take has an impact on the planet. Particularly, what we put on our plates. “As a family, we’ve eaten plant-based for a long time — several decades. So this brand isn’t simply a manifestation of something that just suddenly became on-trend,” says Todd.
“We believe that our daily food choices are a vote for a world we want to inhabit, and future generations will inherit,” says Jody. “Our focus has always been to do good by doing well. Ultimately, I believe that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it — and what you do simply proves what you believe.”
At Hungry Planet®, Jody’s focus is to help bridge the gap between intention, purpose, and execution, and to help create the broadest community possible that is hungry for change through daily food choices.
Small, Sustainable Choices Have a Big Impact
More and more people, regardless of their dietary choices, already understand the negative impact of animal agriculture on our environment. Producing meat is deeply inefficient and resource-intensive, responsible for an estimated 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, it takes 1,800 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef (that’s about 106 showers). Americans eat an average of 57 lbs. of beef per year. In short, those numbers add up quickly when most meals every day feature conventional meat.
That’s why scientists agree that the single most effective change a person can make to create a significant positive environmental impact is to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet. An Oxford University study found that going plant-based can reduce your environmental impact by about 73 percent.
However, talking points alone don’t create the change needed. “While we’ve spent decades advocating for why people should eat plant-based, it became clear to us, about a decade ago, that you can advocate and educate all you want. But if you can’t give people really easy, actionable things to do to change their lives without making a sacrifice, it just does not work. So that’s when we started to look at it closely and say, well, what’s the most effective thing we can do to effect change on a big scale?” says Todd.
Like Giving Up Meat — But Not Quite
Even small, incremental changes, like one plant-based meal a week using Hungry Planet® plant-based meats, make a big impact. Not only does it make the planet healthier and happier, but it’s also good for you. Eating more plant-based meals can help lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, improve heart health, help prevent and manage type-2 diabetes, aid in maintaining a healthy weight, and even lower the risk of certain forms of cancer.
But, even though reducing the amount of meat you eat is the easiest way to help the planet (and your body!), not everyone is ready to give up meat completely. Burgers, sausages, chicken, and pork dishes are favorite staples in most households. And convincing the global population to do a 360-degree overhaul of their diet and lifestyle overnight is wildly unrealistic.
So, the Boymans cooked up a plan that would convince even the most committed carnivore to eat more plant-based meats without sacrificing craveable flavor, texture, or familiarity.
“The easiest way to make that work is to give people what they love to eat, and give it to them in a form that they will love to eat it,” Todd explains. That’s where the idea of “love what you eat” emerged.
“People love to eat meat,” Todd continues. “But they love to eat it in a lot of different recipes, and a lot of different cuisines, at restaurants and in their homes. Beef and burgers are fine, but we were always interested in creating a complete range.”
That’s why it was important to offer meat-lovers all their favorite meats, without making it feel like they were giving up what they love. “So, we set out on a mission to bend the curve on human and planetary health — the mission of this business — through authentically delicious, nutritious plant-based meats,” says Todd.
Hungry Planet® premium plant-based meats match the taste and texture of conventional meat. Even though we love a good burger (Americans eat nearly 50 billion burgers a year), their range goes beyond that. Hungry Planet specially developed its beef, chicken, pork, Italian sausage, chorizo, and crab — yes, crab! — for anyone to easily make plant-based versions of their favorite dishes without any compromise on taste, from vegans to those veg-curious, to families sitting down to meat-free meals on a more regular basis.
“We’ve looked at this through the eyes of software in terms of how we architected the platform. But we’ve designed the food, with meat-eaters in mind, and through a culinary lens,” says Todd. “So we’ve essentially taken these different pieces together, creating an end result that is now nine different protein types, all with the taste and texture that is required to perfectly mimic conventional meat.”
Chief Culinary Officer and Certified Master Chef Ron DeSantis leads the culinary team and food scientists to create delectable meats that taste and cook like the meat we know and love, without any sacrifice.
But, it doesn’t take a certified master chef to understand how to cook Hungry Planet® meats. (Although, chefs have been floored by how they handle, prepare, cook, taste, and store like the real thing). Everyone can still use their favorite recipes, even the old family meatloaf recipe, chicken piccata, bolo, or that crab cake you copied and perfected from your favorite seafood restaurant. You don’t need to teach yourself an entirely new way of cooking. With Hungry Planet, it’s just a simple 1:1 swap, so you can still make Grandma’s favorite lasagne recipe.
Hungry Planet Beef™: Featuring premium plant-based burgers ready to sizzle on the grill or skillet and juicy ground meat that you can use in place of beef in any dish. Try it in tacos, lasagne, meatloaf, chili, or pasta sauce. It’s packed with plant-based protein and fiber and free of the saturated fat, cholesterol, and antibiotics of conventional beef.
Hungry Planet Chicken™: Choose from the crispy, spicy Southwest Chipotle Chicken Patty (chicken sandwiches, anyone?). Or, go for the ever-versatile Hungry Planet Chicken Ground Meat. Use it to make plant-based nuggets, piccata, curry, meatballs, and chicken soup- perfect for this chilly time of year.
Hungry Planet Pork™: Perfect for potstickers, stir-frys, sloppy joes, burgers, and more. Hungry Planet Pork tastes just like lean ground pork. But it has fewer calories and less fat than conventional pork. And on top of that, it delivers a significant amount of plant protein and fiber.
Hungry Planet Chorizo™: Taco Tuesday won’t feel any different with Hungry Planet Chorizo.
This versatile plant-based chorizo is a healthy answer to the spicy cured sausage. It shines in tacos and burritos, but also great as a pizza topping. Make a pizza with Hungry Planet Chorizo, Pork Ground, and Beef Ground and maybe a vegetable, if you’re feeling it.
Hungry Planet Italian Sausage™: Nonna’s Italian sausage, but without the negative consequences for your health and the environment. Hungry Planet Italian Sausage Ground is perfect for pasta night or any dish that calls for Italian sausage. Mangia!
Hungry Planet Crab™: Fools even the most ardent crab lovers. Make texture-matching Maryland-style crab cakes, crab rolls, sushi rolls, or throw it in a gumbo with the Chorizo listed above.
Not only is Hungry Planet® plant-based meat better for the planet, but it’s also better for you. Lower in calories and fat than conventional meat (zero saturated fat) and 100 percent non-GMO. They pack their meats with protein, too. One Hungry Planet Beef Classic Patty contains 23 grams of plant protein. And unlike the old-fashioned kind of meat, Hungry Planet meats contain dietary fiber. This can help maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol. Hungry Planet prioritized a healthful profile for its full range, and the results lead the industry in every category.
The Boymans have been working quietly under the radar for years. They perfected Hungry Planet®️ plant-based meats so that not even home cooks, let alone professional chefs, can tell the difference.
They’re continuing to innovate their product lineup, with premium plant-based lamb, turkey, and breakfast sausage coming soon. A full range of pre-cooked items will launch in retail in December 2020.
“We believe that our planet is abundant, but not without limit. If we take care of it, it will take care of us,” says Jody. “While food is the most basic human requirement, we owe it to ourselves and our communities to eat more sustainably.”
Hungry at home and want a taste? Hungry Planet just launched in Costco.com and WebstaurantStore.com, with Amazon coming very soon. You can also order directly from their website. And if you’re supporting restaurants by eating out or ordering in, they are available in thousands of venues. This includes Plant Power Fast Food (“beefy” patty), Meta Burger, Iron Chef Cat Cora’s Mesa Burger, Sandals Resorts, Craig’s, etc. They are also increasingly available in Canada and Asia Pacific, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and China.
Learn more about the brand and where to find their plant-based meats here and visit Instagram and YouTube for recipes, videos, chef tips, and inspiration.
Or, start shopping online here and have Hungry Planet delivered directly to your doorstep. Use the code Hungry&Kind for 15 percent off your entire purchase.
When it comes to doing right by your body and the planet, what are you hungry for?
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