Vegan groups are making the most of Australia's two-week infatuation with tennis to push their cause.
Controversial tennis star Nick Kyrgios has partnered with prominent plant-based beef substitute company Beyond Meat and ads are on high rotation across all media platforms.
Kyrgios came on board as a celebrity partner last year but the United States-based company officially welcomed him on social media last week, saying he is "part of the next generation of professional athletes turning to Beyond Meat to enhance their game".
The Aussie elite athlete appears to have followed a vegan diet for some years now. In January two years ago, when Australia was being ravaged by bushfires, he wrote a column for Athlete's Voice headlined 'The Koala Photo That Broke My Heart'.
He said he was passionate about animal welfare and that he did not eat meat or dairy - not for health reasons but because he does not believe in eating animals.
He said with all the travel he does it was hard to stick with a vegan diet but he had managed to make it work.
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Seeing the footage of animals suffering in the fires had reinforced why he had chosen to go vegan, he wrote.
"I can't comprehend eating meat," Kyrgios wrote.
When he partnered with Beyond Meat, Kyrgios posted on social media: "These guys have come up with something pretty special with their meat-free burger patties."
Other notable Aussie sports stars who are vegans include cricketers Peter Siddle and Adam Zampa, AFLW star Erin Phillips, Olympic sprinter Morgan Mitchell and AFL stars Chris Mayne and Ben Brown among others.
Celebrities promoting diets or foods, and partnering with companies or even entire industries, is nothing new.
Meat & Livestock Australia's marketing campaigns that partnered with Olympic and Paralympic stars last year had enormous success. Having the likes of champion javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber talk about beef's nutritional value, and the important role it plays in her diet, was gold.
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
