The “Heartland” is Making Headlines as plant-based Diets Soar in Popularity.
The Midwest and Southwest are becoming vegan food meccas. This is something that many across the United States, and definitely in foreign countries, find hard to picture as the South and Midwest is more closely associated with elements of the wild west, cowboys and cattle, or perhaps Tex Mex cuisine, which isn’t always thought of as vegan friendly.
But big changes have hit places to the point where in May 2022, Forbes Magazine spotlighted a list of exceptionally good vegan places available in the area.
A rise in the availability and quality of delicious and unexpected options (such as sticky, meaty-tasting lamb plant based kebab, for example) is, of course, welcome news for vegans. Investors in alternative protein and plant based foods are likewise happy as their profits rise.
While it’s no surprise that metropolises like Washington DC and New York and vegan hubs like Los Angeles and San Francisco are well acquainted with the trend, locals and global visitors alike might be surprised to see places like Albuquerque, Milwaukee, Chicago, and many more brimming with vegan-friendly and fully vegan restaurants.
There are an estimated 80 million vegans spread across the planet, which sounds like a huge number, but when you compare it to the roughly 8 billion people living on Earth, any pie chart illustrating these 80 million vegans will show a slice that looks pretty narrow.
But vegan statistics show that the growth in the number of people giving up meat is happening at a rate that should make big meat producers afraid and alternative protein manufacturers gloat, which is why big meat is investing heavily in vegan food manufacturers. The value of the vegan food market will likely hit a staggering US$31 billion by 2026.
And while US$31 billion is nothing to sneer at, when you add another US$21 billion from vegan beauty products and many billions more from vegan car interiors to vegan leather luxury handbags, we’re talking about some serious change.
One perhaps underreported reason for an increase in people willing to give animal-free living a shot is new high-tech meat substitutes that are acting as a bridge between lifestyles. Let’s face it, few people become vegetarian or vegan because they find the taste of meat disgusting. Humans evolved into cooking animals and craving animal protein. In some sort of perfect world where you could have your cow and eat it, too, so to speak, most people would probably pick that option.
That option, however, is now increasingly becoming a reality. And no, we’re not talking about veggie burgers (despite some of them being incredibly tasty). Instead, we’re talking about entire slabs of alternative beef steak! These ‘new meat’ products made from 100% natural ingredients are so meaty that even old-school meat lovers.
Perhaps you’ve had the experience of tasting a vegan hot dog or some other plant-based meat substitute and being pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Well, those experiences are about to get a lot more common and a lot more impressive. New meat that’s about to flood markets was developed by high-tech startups in Israel, and, based on reports from across the globe, it’s set to blow away the competition and set new standards for what constitutes plant-based meat.
Using AI tech and a 3D printer, these companies are printing even whole steaks that have different textures in them – simulating muscle (alt muscle) and fat (alt fat) in a way that has never been done before. One called it the closest approximation to animal protein ever invented by humankind.
This is an exciting development because, as noted, the numbers of vegans and vegetarians are on the rise, but so are the numbers of so-called flexitarians. These are people who are trying to reduce their overall animal protein intake but don’t go in for labels so much. Plus, there are those still perhaps sitting on the fence a bit. These folks will be heartily encouraged to learn that you can still enjoy the flavors and textures of meat without actually needing to involve an animal.
A dietary revolution is firmly underway. But the so-called vegan movement needs to begin appealing to a wider demographic as you may or may not be surprised to discover that animal welfare is still at the top of the “why go vegan” list, with about 68% of vegans polled saying that’s what moved the needle for them. There’s also, however, a growing awareness of personal health, with over 14% of vegans citing research showing animal protein, especially some meat such as red meat, can be bad for one’s health as their reason for the change.
Despite the sincere efforts of groups such as Greenpeace and the United Nations to highlight the effects the meat industry has on climate change, that message has yet to fully move into the popular consciousness as less than 10% of those who switch to an animal-free lifestyle put that at the top of their reason list.
But things are about to change, and faster than you might assume. Right now, there are hundreds of millions of teenagers and young people who are evolving into their adult selves. Many of these young people grew up with very different values. It’s not hard to predict that huge numbers of these young people are soon set to decide to go vegan, and with these age demographics, climate change may turn out to be among the top reasons they choose to do so.
The meat industry is unsustainable in a way that makes the word unsustainable seem inadequate. Experts say the single most important thing an individual can do to reduce their carbon footprint is to reduce or quit meat and dairy. The vegan movement, however, needs to appeal to more than just those who don’t want to eat Bambi.
We could be living on a planet not long from now that’s home to perhaps 9:00 or even 10 billion people. There isn’t enough water, land, or resources of all kinds to be able to feed that amount of people the amounts of animal protein that industrialized societies have been eating for the past half century or so. Changes need to happen, and they need to happen fast.
Happily, 3D-printed meat is another example of how science is coming to the rescue by providing alternatives that people actually want, meaning an easier evolution towards animal-free living, which, if we’re honest with ourselves, is very arguably a much better choice for most people, the world, and of course, animals.
