It has been claimed that a quarter of us in the UK will be vegetarian or vegan by 2025. Combine those predictions with on-going advances in technology and its clear the plant-based foods sector is going to grow and evolve rapidly over the next 5 years. This will undoubtedly prompt many business owners to ask, just what is the future of plant based foods and should I get involved?
Who eats what?
Talk to a cross-section of vegetarians or vegans and you will end up with a range of views on what they consider acceptable to eat. However, by definition a vegan diet is one that excludes meat, dairy, eggs, and any animal derived ingredients or by-products such as gelatin, honey or whey protein. A vegetarian diet on the other hand is considered a little less strict. While it will exclude meat it may allow dairy and egg products (lacto-ovo vegetarians), dairy products only (lacto vegetarians) or eggs only (ovo vegetarians).
To complicate matters further some people while excluding meat and poultry will consume fish, so called pescatarians. Part-time vegetarians are often referred to as flexitarians.
Current growth
While the numbers of strict vegetarians and vegans in the UK have a tendency to be overestimated there is no doubt that these groups are growing rapidly. A 2019 study commissioned by The Vegan Society reported there were some 600,000 vegans in the UK, or 1.16% of the population compared to just 0.25% of the population. A survey conducted by finder.com estimated that 6% of the current UK population are now vegetarian.
There is also a growing trend amongst the wider population to individually reduce meat consumption, as evidenced by the popularity of campaigns such as Veganuary. These consumers now constitute a large part of the plant-based foods market.
In response, food and nutrition businesses have dramatically increased their development helping to secure the future of plant-based foods. Every major UK supermarket now has its own vegan range as well as many food supplement companies now offering vegan products.
This interest in ‘plant-based’ shows no signs of abating with searches for vegan related terms on Google hitting an all time high in 2020, double that seen just 5 years earlier.
Driving forces
The reasons for choosing to adopt a plant-based diet or to increase consumption of such foods are many and varied. The principally cited reasons include concerns over animal suffering, a desire to protect the environment or the claimed health benefits.
There are clearly many who hold strong views on the intensive rearing of chicken and pigs, international transport of animals and slaughter practices in abattoirs. However, one of the biggest drivers in recent times has been climate change and social responsibility.
Climate change advocates such as Greta Thunberg have provided a rallying cry that has mobilised many of her generation. Not surprising then that those aged 18-23 (generation Z) are those most likely to be new adopters of veganism and vegetarianism.
The health merits of plant based diets constitute a smaller reason for adoption. This in spite of evidence that such diets can help to reduce obesity, cardio-vascular disease and even some cancers.
Not all plane sailing
In the UK at least its fair to say we have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world. And while there are undoubtedly still concerns, most people seem content that we are steadily moving towards improved standards.
Others question the claimed environmental benefits as a reason to ‘make the switch’. On paper, meat production’s high resource inputs and green house gas emissions may appear to be convincing arguments. However, many fairly contend that no method of modern food production is without its costs.
Certainly many of the fruits, nuts seeds and vegetables we consume are transported internationally before reaching us. In doing so they contribute significantly to green house gas emissions.
The way plant foods are obtained is also often a far cry from the idyllic view of basket-laden natives gathering fruits and nuts in the forest. In the case of soy, analysis by the Stockholm Environment Institute revealed that in the last 11 years more than 17,000 square kilometers of the Brazilian Cerrado’s native vegetation has been cleared for intensively farmed plantations.
However, often the biggest barriers to the future of plant based foods are the physical and psychological difficulties people encounter when consuming them. For many its a struggle to exclude meat from their diet when they have enjoyed eating it for years. Others may find themselves unable to tolerate the high levels of fibre or they tire easily due to a lack of essential nutrients such as iron and vitamin B12.
Forward looking
While plant-based meat analogues such as tofu (from soy) and Quorn (from mycoprotein) are widely available, consumers are now demanding a higher level of sophistication and an improved sensorial experience. As it stands many manufactured plant-based foods and nutritional products still leave much to be desired. Often they have a bitter taste and an unattractive texture.
Companies such as the US based company Beyond Meat have responded by utilising advanced processing techniques to produce products that more closely mimic real meat. Their recent announcement of a joint venture with Pepsico demonstrates the ‘bullish’ interest in this area.
Technological advances are also facilitating the development of ‘lab grown’ meats. In this process muscle stem cells are fed a nutrient-rich serum to multiply them and turn them into muscle cells. They are then encouraged to form strips and structures, similar to those of real muscle fibres.
Barclays investment arm have predicted that ‘alternative meat’ sales are set to explode over the next ten years, growing by 1,000% to reach some $140 billion globally.
It appears then that current growth in plant based foods is set to continue, aided by evolving technology and processes. And as the barriers to adoption fall away with products approaching price, sensorial and nutritional parity with real meat, current growth will likely accelerate even further.
We can conclude from recent developments that the future of plant based foods is no longer uncertain. It has moved from just a trend to a new way of living, providing a golden opportunity for businesses to ‘carve out’ their own piece of the future.