NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY URGES APPLEBEE’S TO OFFER PLANT-BASED ENTRÉES

LOS ANGELES (January 17, 2019) — Today, Suzy Amis Cameron’s One Meal a Day for the Planet (OMD) and the Center for Biological Diversity mobilized supporters to participate in a national call-in day to Applebee’s requesting the chain add plant-based entrée options at all locations across the U.S. as the latest push in a national campaign targeting the restaurant.

In the past month, national fast food chains including Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bell announced plant-based menu options across the country.

With more than 1,900 locations in all 50 states, Applebee’s is the largest U.S. restaurant chain that doesn’t offer a plant-based entrée at all its locations. Yet, its competitors such as Chili’s, Red Robin, and TGI Fridays have plant-based options on their menus.

“Animal agriculture is the number one driver of mass extinction and is the number two contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally. Which is why we’re calling on Applebee’s to join its competitors and offer plant-based entrées to make a difference for the health of its customers and for the health of the planet,” OMD’s Campaign Manager, Ashley Schaeffer Yildiz said.

This latest action is intended to remind the chain that increasing access to plant-based foods should be a company priority–– as a meaningful gesture of good corporate citizenship as we face the urgency of climate change and to respond to customers seeking healthier options.

“We’re calling on Applebee’s to make a change to protect people and the planet,” said Stephanie Feldstein, director of the Population and Sustainability Program at the Center. “Demand for plant-based food is booming, and restaurants play an important role in meeting that demand. Every time someone sits down to eat at Applebee’s with their friends or family, they should have the option of choosing a meal that’s better for the climate and wildlife.”

OMD and the Center for Biological Diversity launched the campaign in September of last year with a petition encouraging Applebee’s to prioritize adding a plant-based entrée at all its locations with the support of thousands of signers. Then last December, OMD delivered a holiday card to Applebee’s CEO, Steve Joyce, at the restaurant’s corporate headquarters in Glendale, California. Thousands of signers asked Joyce to create lasting change for the holidays by offering plant-based entrée options.

For more information on the campaign and to participate in the National Call-In Day, visit the Center’s website.

About One Meal a Day for the Planet
OMD is a book and movement to make plant-based eating mainstream as a solution to climate change through encouraging individuals to eat more climate-friendly, plant-based diets. OMD is also about system change and expanding access to plant-based foods at schools, businesses, restaurants and in communities. For more information, visit: omdfortheplanet.com.

About the Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. For more info, visit: biologicaldiversity.org.