The company Believer Meats said they received a Food and Drug Administration “No Questions” letter, which they said means the FDA has concluded the evaluation of their product. Also, Believer has completed construction of their North Carolina Facility, and are working with USDA for final approvals. On their website, Believer states they source animal cells only once, place them in a controlled environment, provide the cells with nutrients, and prepare them to match the flavor of conventionally-farmed meat.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Share this handy poster with family and friends. You can also print it out and post it on your refrigerator. See: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/VeganDietsinaNutshellPoster.pdf

Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month runs August 1^st through 31^st, 2025. Be sure to try out all the restaurants participating this month including Harmony Bakery, Johnny Rads, Land of Kush, Oleum, and Roland Park Bagels in Baltimore City, St. Veg and Rasa in Rockville, Cisu Vegan in Hanover, plus many other establishments.

For more information, see: https://www.mdveganeats.com/

Zaire said: I’ve been veggie for two years, and while there have been ups and downs along the way, it’s been one of the most rewarding lifestyle shifts I’ve made. The Vegetarian Resource Group has been a great support in my journey, and I appreciate the work they do to encourage young people like me to stick with it. I love recreating meals I used to eat in plant-based versions, and as a Black vegetarian, I think it’s important to share this part of myself. In our community, vegetarianism isn’t always common, and I want to help break the stigma that it’s boring or something not obtainable. It can be cool, fulfilling, and, if done right, really affordable too. See Video: 

https://youtube.com/shorts/c3sk_hFNZ0o?si=HgpWFKOnpcOI17Ew

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group video contest is July 15, 2026. See www.vrg.org/videoscholarship.php

For information about VRG’s $5,000 scholarships for high school seniors who have promoted veganism, see www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm The next deadline is February 20, 2026.

To support VRG’s outreach to young people, join at www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Or donate at vrg.org/donate

Be sure to follow The Vegetarian Resource Group on Instagram: @vegetarianresourcegroup

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

In January 2025, The Vegetarian Resource Group received an email from a reader about insect-derived shellac on coffee beans:

“I have read some of your articles before and it inspired me to look into whether my own favorite lifelong coffee brand used shellac/lac resin on their beans. I emailed the company and they said they would look into it, and this was their response:

‘Since shellac resin is not one of the top nine allergens required for labeling, we do not analyze for the presence of shellac resin. This means that cross contact is currently possible for all of our products throughout the complex chain of supply.’”

In June 2025 we contacted J.M. Smucker Co., maker of Folger’s coffee, and asked one simple question about their coffee via their website:

“Do any of your suppliers coat their coffee beans with shellac?”

A few days later we received their reply:

“…Our coffee beans are sourced from reputable suppliers in more than 20 countries around the world. From there, Folgers coffee beans are roasted, ground and packaged at facilities in the United States…shellac is not added to our product.”

However, this response did not directly answer the question so we called the company. We acknowledged that we had received their email reply but that it did not directly answer our question. Then we restated it and were told that our question would be researched further.

The VRG called the Smucker Co. again. This time, the customer service rep put us on a long hold to investigate. Upon returning, she confirmed that their coffee bean suppliers do not coat their beans with insect-derived shellac.

Based on this information from J.M. Smucker Co., it appears NO Folger’s brand coffee contains insect-derived shellac.

For tips about making productive company inquiries, refer to our previous article.

For other ingredient information, see https://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Recent topics brought up include:

– What’s one plant-based meal your kids actually get excited about? Let’s share some tried-and-true favorites to inspire each other, bonus points if it’s quick and picky-eater approved! Drop your go-to recipes or meal ideas below! My family’s is homemade mini-pizzas on flour or corn tortillas! We let the kids add their favorite toppings (vegan cheese, banana peppers, “meat” crumbles, olive oil, garlic, etc.) Quick, fun and easy!

– Food Safety Concerns During Pregnancy

– What’s on your summer agenda? We’ve been trying to stick to family-friendly (and FREE!) activities around town. I love slipping in a bit of activism or learning when I can, like doing a beach walk where we collect litter and seashells, or going on neighborhood scavenger hunts to find nature treasures we can turn into crafts. Would love to hear your ideas to keep kiddos engaged and this summer

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids around the world. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.

Angelica said: I’m interested in veganism because of how it affects my entire life. My veganism didn’t just stop at deciding not to eat animal products; it catapulted my love for the earth and efficient living. Before I became vegan, I had no interest in what was around me. However, because I made this choice, I never want to stop giving back what the earth has been giving me.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/-wjy7DwKabc

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group video contest is July 15, 2026. See www.vrg.org/videoscholarship.php

For information about VRG’s $5,000 scholarships for high school seniors who have promoted veganism, see www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm  The next deadline is February 20, 2026.

To support VRG’s outreach to young people, join at www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Or donate at vrg.org/donate

Vegan Journal is published by The Vegetarian Resource Group. Enjoy in-depth original research, product and book reviews, scientific updates on veggie nutrition, delicious vegan recipes with gorgeous photos, plus so much more. Both long-term vegans and those new to a vegan life-style will enjoy this magazine.

To subscribe in the USA only, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo from Freepik

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

There’s no question – food costs are going up. Every time I go to the grocery store, my total seems to be higher than the week before. Despite price increases, black beans, lentils, pinto beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and other beans are still a relatively low-cost source of protein, iron, and other nutrients. Many articles on reducing food costs call for cooking dried beans from scratch. Is that really a lower cost option compared to canned beans?

With the help of several interns and volunteers, we determined the price of 14-15.5-ounce cans of several kinds of legumes (beans/peas/lentils) and the price of a 1-pound bag of dried legumes. We looked for the lowest cost products, which were usually store brands. We did not use sale prices. We checked prices at major supermarkets in Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Alabama, and California in June and July 2025. On average, a ½ cup of legumes cooked from dry cost about 40% less than a ½ cup of canned beans. In real numbers, this was a difference of between 16 and 30 cents less per ½ cup serving. Not a fortune, but, if you’re eating beans daily, cost savings could be significant over a month.

I’m not saying that you have to start cooking dried beans. There are costs in terms of time and energy use that were not factored into the costs I mentioned. It’s convenient to open a can of chickpeas and quickly make hummus or to use canned beans for chili and not to have to remember to soak and cook dried beans ahead of time. That convenience may be worth the extra cost. On the other hand, if you cook a big batch of plain dried beans, they can be portioned into containers and frozen, ready to be thawed when you need the equivalent of a can of beans. A 14-15.5-ounce can of beans has about 1-3/4 cups of beans, after draining off the canning liquid.

In any case, eating beans often can offer health benefits and help to reduce food costs.

Thank you to Chaltu Watkins, Ellie Meyerstein, Neha Vivek, and Aileen Zhang for their work on this project.

To read about beans see:

What are Beans, Legumes and Pulses?

The Cost of Beans vs Meat

Quick Ideas for Using Canned Beans or Leftover Cooked Beans

Using the Ol’ Bean and many more recipe ideas on our website