Olympians Urge BOCA to Go Vegan

A coalition of nine elite vegan athletes recently sent a demand letter to Bernardo Hees, CEO of The Kraft Heinz Company (parent company of vegetarian brand BOCA). Olympic cyclist Dotsie Bausch, Baywatch actress and Ironman athlete Alexandra Paul, and NFL player Chris Manderino, amongst others, urged Hees to remove dairy from the BOCA brand. “As more and more consumers ditch dairy, alternatives are flying off the shelves, with sales projected to reach $35 billion by 2024,” the letter stated. “To meet the meat-free, dairy-free demand, brands like Gardein, the Bill Gates-backed Beyond Meat, and Field Roast are already producing completely vegan burger lines. But BOCA risks falling behind its competitors in the plant-powered revolution by clinging to cow’s milk.” The letter is part of the Switch4Good campaign— founded by Bausch—and is supported by a petition launched by animal-rights group Compassion Over Killing (COK) that has garnered thousands of signatures. “Today we ask you to listen to the nearly 50,000 people urging you to kraft a better BOCA—for consumers, animals, and our planet—by ditching dairy,” the letter concluded. The athletes joined COK’s campaign after participating in a public service announcement—produced by The Cove creator Louie Psihoyos for Switch4Good—during this year’s Olympic games that urged viewers to ditch dairy “for good.”