Billie Eilish and CNN Spotlight the Plant-Based Movement

Billie Eilish and CNN amplify the plant-based movement as the network offers meaningful and thorough climate reporting and praise for veggie burgers.

Hollywood, July 27th, 2025 – Billie Eilish and CNN have both brought heightened attention to the plant-based movement—Billie through her outspoken activism and CNN through its recent fair, prominent coverage. By reporting on Eilish’s climate-focused tour and highlighting the health benefits of plant-based meat, CNN is playing a critical role in legitimizing plant-based living as a mainstream lifestyle choice and ethical imperative.

CNN’s Billie Moment: Plant-Based With Purpose

In an episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, CNN correspondent Bill Weir spoke to Billie Eilish about how the superstar is “cleaning up the music industry’s environmental practices.” Eilish told him that, as far as her tours, “All of my catering is vegan.” The singer is boldly using her fame to push for environmental change. One major influence on Eilish is her mother, Maggie Baird, who is the founder of Support + Feed.

What Is Support + Feed?

Support + Feed is a nonprofit organization that combats the climate crisis and food insecurity by working toward a global shift to an equitable, plant-based food system. Through partnerships with plant-based restaurants and community-based initiatives, the organization delivers nutritious meals to underserved populations while advocating for sustainable agriculture and climate justice.

Beyond CNN, Maggie Baird’s efforts have also taken center stage on UnchainedTV. The network’s award-winning plant-based cooking show, New Day New Chef, has devoted an entire season to Baird’s Support + Feed project. The series features Maggie Baird, Downton Abbey’s Lesley Nicol and other high-profile vegans. With recipes like SunCafe Organic’s butternut squash coulis with vegan feta cream and “Phish-cakes” by Angela Means of Jackfruit Cafe, the show blends activism and culinary flair. Notably, Billie Eilish makes a special appearance, adding superstar power to a compassionate cause.

Celebrating Veggie Burgers Without Apology

Just days after Eilish’s segment aired on CNN, that network published a health piece titled Eating this ultraprocessed food may be good for you and the planet, experts say, offering a thoughtful and evidence-based defense of plant-based meats, even though one could make a good argument that veggie burgers are really not ultraprocessed in the way that, say, bologna is.  Still, the article is generally very fair, noting that, “replacing a beef burger with a plant-based patty can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 98% and land use by up to 97%.”

The piece featured science-backed benefits of plant-based meat, highlighting lower cholesterol, reduced saturated fats, and significant environmental savings. It emphasized that today’s meat-free options are flavorful and functional—bridging health, taste, and sustainability.

Crucially, the article treated plant-based food not as a gimmick or niche, but as a legitimate, mainstream part of a balanced diet. This signals a shift in how national media is treating the plant-based sector.

As for the criticism that some plant-based meats are more expensive than animal products, the reason for that is that the U.S. government subsidizes animal agriculture to the tune of many billions of dollars while offering scant help to producers of  fruits and veggies consumed by humans, much less veggie burgers. And, unlike veggie burgers, processed meat is officially cancer-causing, according to the World Health Organization.

From Pop Stardom to Policy Change

What’s most commendable is the tone of the article. Rather than framing plant-based living as extreme or fringe, CNN presented the lifestyle as relevant, credible, and culturally significant. By giving thoughtful airtime to Billie Eilish and publishing generally fair nutrition journalism, CNN has helped amplify a growing movement rooted in compassion and climate responsibility.

With Billie Eilish and CNN each elevating the dialogue in their own way, the plant-based movement is finally getting the balanced coverage it deserves from mainstream media. Let’s hope it’s just the start!