A new food awareness organisation has been launched in Nigeria today called ProVeg Nigeria, which aims to promote healthy and tasty food that is both climate and animal-friendly.
ProVeg Nigeria will be heralding its message right across the country - from the Atlantic coastal city of Lagos, with its 25 million inhabitants, to the Sahel region below the Sahara desert - to get more people excited about the many benefits of plant-based diets.
One of the main activities of the new ProVeg Nigeria team will be to bring delicious plant-based food to the people - in markets, streets, schools, and hospitals - so they can find out first hand how tasty a plant-based diet really is.
“I’m truly thrilled about the opening of the ProVeg Nigeria office and the impact we will have in raising awareness about the need to transform the food system to help people transition to healthier, more climate-friendly diets,” Hakeem Jimo, the new Country Director of ProVeg Nigeria, said.
“The people who will benefit most from this transition are those in the Global South for whom land pressures from animal agriculture have forced them to leave their land. Our policy work will push for a national strategy that implements a better food system by encouraging food innovation, particularly in the plant-based egg, milk, and protein spaces," Jimo added.
ProVeg has an important role to play to ensure people have access to balanced plant-based diets
ProVeg Chef Bola Adeyanju, who has worked as an inspiring Ambassador for Chefs for Change, will be on hand to demonstrate just how easy and delicious it is to incorporate plant-based proteins into traditional Nigerian cuisine.
“You can make all the typical Nigerian food like Suya, Asun, and even Nkwobi and stews like Egusi and Efo Riro and of course Nigeria’s popular Jollof Rice with fried meat all in a mouth-watering plant-based style. We will be cooking up these treats - possibly in a market or university near you - or tell us where we should come to, and then get a taste of how great plant-based life can be,” Bola said.
Prior to joining the ProVeg global network, the Nigerian team had been conducting outreach at schools, churches, and mosques, as well as getting plant-based options on menus of restaurants and Nigeria’s famous “bukkas” street food vendors.
More about the mission
ProVeg Nigeria is part of ProVeg International, a global food awareness organisation which is campaigning to replace animal consumption with alternative protein by 50% by 2040.
Nigerian meat consumption is currently predicted to rise by more than 300% up to 2040, along with a doubling of the current population of over 200m, the third most populous nation by 2050.
“We really welcome Nigeria to the ProVeg fold,” Sebastian Joy, President of ProVeg International, said. “ProVeg has an important role to play to ensure people have access to balanced plant-based diets to slow down and hopefully even reverse the current growth in meat consumption.”
“We believe promoting plant-based foods as both tasty and healthy and raising awareness about the impact of animal-based foods on the climate and biodiversity will help encourage all citizens of the world to transition to more plant-based diets. Having the ProVeg Nigeria team on board to support this mission is a major step forward for us,” Joy added.
ProVeg Nigeria will also help to boost the plant-based ecosystem in the country by collaborating with businesses like VeggieVictory, Nigeria’s Vegan food company, which was recently ranked in the global FoodTech 500 leading companies.
