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Hong Kong’s plant-based social enterprise Green Monday has been named PETA Asia’s Company of the Year for 2019. Omnipork, which is Green Monday’s star product developed under their venture Right Treat, earned them the annual award by PETA Asia, which seeks to recognise businesses driving positive change for animals, people and the planet.
As 2019 came to a close, PETA Asia, the regional branch of the global animal welfare organisation, named Green Monday their Company of the Year. The NGO highlighted Omnipork, the vegan pork mince alternative developed by Green Monday’s Right Treat food-tech venture, as one of the leading solutions to prevent animal cruelty and tackle climate change in the region. Omnipork, which is also known as “Omnimeat,” is made from pea and rice protein, non-GMO soy and shiitake mushrooms, contains no cholesterol and comes at a fraction of the environmental footprint of animal meat.
“We love Green Monday because…the company is inspiring people to choose vegan options—which is the best thing that everyone can do for animals and the environment,” wrote PETA Asia in their press announcement.
Read: Where To Eat The Best Omnipork Dishes In Hong Kong
Not only does pork rearing produce an enormous amount of carbon emissions that drive our climate crisis and uses up more resources than plant-based alternatives, industrial hog farming also generates ammonia-filled waste that contaminates waterways, eliminating the oxygen in water and choking fish.
Since launching in early 2019, Omnipork has become a hugely popular substitute for pork dishes across Asia and is now available in hundreds of retail and restaurant outlets. First launching in Hong Kong, the mince pork alternative has spread across the continent to huge fanfare in thousands of restaurants, supermarkets and Green Common shops in Macau, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Most recently, Green Monday has also launched the product in Mainland China through the e-commerce giant Tmall, and has partnered up with Taco Bell in Shanghai to create a limited edition vegan Omnipork Taco.
The groundbreaking success of Omnipork comes as China and the wider Asian region battles a pork crisis due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF). The epidemic has resulted in over 100 million pigs being culled in China alone, as well as countless more in Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam.
As the region continues to battle a pork supply crisis, a host of other food-tech startups are developing plant-based pork alternatives of their own, such as Beijing-based Zhenmeat who tailors their product to Chinese cuisine delicacies, and Malaysian startup Phuture Foods’ Halal and Buddhist-friendly version that is set to launch soon.
Lead image courtesy of Green Monday.
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