000358 Company Promotes "Great American Meatout"March 23, 2000Petaluma, CA - Fantastic Foods, the leading brand in high-quality, all- natural convenience foods, is urging Americans to go with the grain and join in the 15th annual Great American Meatout. Kicking off on March 20, the first day of spring, the Great American Meatout has become the nation's largest annual grassroots diet education campaign and has garnered support from animal rights activists and celebrities alike. Going with the grain, or the bean, is easier and more convenient than ever with Fantastic Foods' extensive line of more than 100 vegetarian products including elegant grains, packaged entree and side dish mixes; instant cups of soups, cereals, stuffed mashed potatoes and pastas; and its flagship, Nature's Burger. A primary sponsor for the second year running, Fantastic Foods products will be available at various events throughout the week, including a U.S. Congressional Meatout reception in Washington D.C. According to the Great American Meatout, since 1985 more than 30 million Americans have explored a meatless diet. This is reflected by a drop in national beef and veal consumption and by the United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans endorsing vegetarian diets. Switching to a vegetarian diet has many health benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and other chronic conditions. T. Colin Campbell, professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University, concluded in the landmark “China Project” study, which researched the relationship between diet and health, that, “only small intakes of animal products were associated with significant increases in chronic degenerative diseases. . . . Quite simply, the more you substitute plant food for animal foods, the healthier you are likely to be.”(1) A vegetarian diet also has positive far-reaching impact on the earth's resources. The Population Reference Bureau, a Washington, D.C.-based research group, has stated, “If everyone adopted a vegetarian diet and no food were wasted, current [food] production would theoretically feed 10 billion people, more than the projected population for the year 2050.” According to Vegetarian Times, the amount of trees spared each year by each individual who switches to a pure vegetarian diet equals one acre.(2) For 2000, Fantastic Foods asks America to take a new look at their diet in the new millennium. Their “Diet for a New Millennium” message is geared toward bringing awareness to the relationship between consumers' eating habits, their well-being and the environment. The goal is to educate and inspire consumers to move toward a vegetarian diet so they may have a positive effect on both their own health and the health of the planet.
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