Hong Kong Entrepreneur Warns Animal Ag Will Lead to Inevitable Food System Collapse

David Yeung, co-founder of Hong Kong’s meatless campaign Green Monday and vegan-friendly grocery chain Green Common, spoke about the catastrophic consequences of consuming animal products at the recent Sustainable Foods Summit in Singapore. “The combination of climate change, food insecurity, and public health issues mean we are at a very critical juncture in the history of the planet,” Yeung said. “If we don’t do something, we will push the limits and no one knows what the impact of that will be. If we continue to consume the way we do now, unless some miracle happens, our food system and ecosystem are bound to collapse.” The entrepreneur explained that the 1.5 billion cows in the world emit more carbon dioxide than that created by the world’s 10 most populous countries combined. Yeung’s claims are corroborated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which found that the animal agriculture industry produces more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector combined. Several vegan products—including JUST Egg and Beyond Burger—made their entry into the Asia Pacific market by debuting on the menu at Green Common this year. Yeung continues to introduce innovative plant-based products in Asia, including vegan-meat replacer Omnipork, which he developed and debuted at select restaurants in Hong Kong in June.