Every week, the TessDrive team gathers interesting or significant news and developments from advocates and proponents of plant-based lifestyle and technologies, because we firmly believe that the best that our planet can offer, and the best that we can do for the planet, does not involve giving up the lives of our fellow non-human sentient companions.
Massive Attack concert to serve only plant-based food
In a report by Liam Pritchett posted May 9 at Plant Based News (plantbasednews.org), trip hop pioneer Massive Attack’s June 5 concert at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena will serve only plant-based food to underscore their “shared mission” of sustainable live entertainment. The arena, the United Kingdom’s largest indoor music venue with a capacity of 23,500, permanently features a large array of solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, intelligent energy controls, reusable cups, and a zero waste-to-landfill policy. The “100%-plant-based food menu” will be the arena’s first, which will utilize 7 kitchens across 3 levels to prepare the dedicated plant-based food fare.
11 things to eat to live longer
Charlotte Pointing’s feature article for VegNews (vegnews.com) posted May 10 shared National Geographic explorer Dan Buettner’s findings in the five regions where people seemed to live the longest, healthiest lives: In Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California in the United States. In these regions, now known as “Blue Zones,” the combination of several simple lifestyle habits, like regular exercise; connecting with friends, family, and faith; and finding a sense of purpose, made the difference. In Pointing’s report, Buettner’s “Blue Zones Project” has summarized the dietary highlights into 11 guidelines: 1) Eat 95-100% plant-based; 2) Avoid meat; 3) Skip the fish; 4) Reduce dairy; 5) Cut down on eggs; 6) Decrease sugar; 7) Eat more beans; 8) Prioritize nuts; 9) Swap bread for sourdough; 10) Reduce ultra-processed foods; and 11) Drink water and occasionally, red wine.
New York is best city for vegans
In a report by Liam Pritchett posted May 5 at Plant Based News (plantbasednews.org), New York City has been determined to be the top city in the United States for vegans and vegetarians in 2025 based on the total number of meat-free restaurants. The city is home to at least 2,420 vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free restaurants, which works out to just over 30 per 100,000 people. NYC notably had around 1,500 more vegan-friendly restaurants than Chicago’s 926 and Los Angeles’ 885. The rest of the top 10 US cities were San Francisco, Las Vegas, Houston, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, and Boston, which had between 500 and 815 vegan-friendly restaurants each. The ranking was conducted by Betway, which cross-referenced information from sites like Tripadvisor and World Population Review.
Top photo by Justyna Serafin/Pexels