The 2018 Nexus Global Summit, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, just concluded its programming. This exclusive three-day event brought together some of the greatest minds in business, politics, and social entrepreneurship from 70 countries, all congregating to share ideas and advance their progressive work. On Saturday, the last night of the inspiring summit, over a dozen vegan leaders gathered for a group photo to commemorate their time together. Saudi Arabian Prince Khaled Alwaleed posted the photo on his Instagram page, captioning, “Too many stars in one pic, all for one cause.”
Prince Khaled’s esteemed colleagues included Thomas King, CEO of Food Frontier; Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President; Jim Greenbaum, The Greenbaum Foundation; Liz Dee, Vegan Lady Boss Founder and Co-President of Smarties; Damien Mander, the Vegan Sniper; Ashok Parameswaran, Emerging Markets Investors Alliance; Ray Ippolito, Catskill Animal Sanctuary; and Gunhild Stordalen, MD/PhD and Founder of EAT, among others.
Many of the individuals featured in the powerhouse photo reposted the image on their own social media accounts, captioning motivating phrases such as “Thanks for the best plant-powered discussions about a better food future for [people, cow, and Earth emojis]!”
The purpose of the Nexus summit is to unite forward-thinking “next gen” leaders from around the world to discuss potential solutions to the global issues of the day. This year’s theme was “Next Generation Solutions for a World in Transition.” The theme is fitting, as the world is certainly experiencing a global shift in the way it eats. We are at a critical tipping point as populations around the world put more thought about what is on their plate, and in many cases, decide to deter from cultural and societal traditions. People, particularly the Millennial generation, are giving up animal products in favor of healthier, more sustainable plant-based options. No doubt, the attendees of this year’s Nexus summit brainstormed ideas as to how to expedite this transition and ensure it becomes permanent, instead of just a passing trend.
While some may suggest turning to insects as a more sustainable form of sustenance, the plant-based community has provided a more compassionate and socially-acceptable approach: eat plants. By using innovation, creativity, and science, vegan start-ups have successfully replicated meat simply by using produce. Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and Moving Mountains have all launched outstanding plant-based meat products that have won over omnivores willing to give them a try. Further, clean meat (meat grown from a small sample of animal cells) has become a reality, with JUST promising a clean meat product on the market by the end of this year. The food world is certainly in transition, and there’s no doubt these young leaders will see it through until we reach a completely plant-based future.
Image Credit: Khaled Alaweed
