Plant-based foods attracted 1.6 million households, according to new study

Look for the reason in the decline in meat consumption

Plant-based foods, Credit, Unlock Food

Plant-based foods attracted 1.6 million new households between 2019 and 2021, according to results of data collected recently by Kroger from eight million households over their plant-based purchasing history. In the first year of the research, 63 percent of new households purchased plant-based meats and 40 percent of the group bought plant-based cheeses, allowing plant-based meat to post a 200 percent growth. Households that halted the purchase of plant-based products cut back on their spending on animal-derived meat category.

Another study in 2019 showed that 17 percent of people polled consumed vegetarian/vegan food most or all of the time, and in a 2022 report, the figure rose to 22 percent. Meanwhile, in another study, nearly 50 percent of global consumers predicted that plant-based foods will become the tradition in the next ten years, with almost 30,000 people across 31 countries providing the data.

In still another study with more than 4,000 adults across Italy, Spain, Germany, and France, 50 percent slashed down their meat consumption in the past five years, while an average of 23 percent of participants per country halted the consumption of meat entirely.

With people stopping to eat meat entirely, and the rise in the number eating a vegetarian diet, and with households attracted to the purchase of plant-based foods, the shift away from meat-based foods gathers a momentum on a worldwide basis, which can only be good in the struggle to bring climate change to manageable proportions. Britons  for instance cut meat-eating by 17 percent in the last decade,  while the interest in plant-based foods such as yogurt rose by an average of 18 percent in new households in the second year of the Kroger research.

Thirty–eight percent of Germans claimed they made animal well-being as a reason for their shift to plant-based foods, and their figure tallies with another report showing that 41 percent of Germans ate vegan alternatives every 30 days. For people in Italy and Spain, personal health provided a basis for their consumption of less meat, and statistics showed the result of the view, as 50 percent of Italian consumers and 47 percent of Spanish eaters looked out for plant protein every month.

In the U.K., one in every four adults cited the cost of living crisis as the basis behind their decision to cut down on meat. For example, the average retail price for chicken rose by 12 percent  in the last year, hitting 2.98 pounds per kilo, as consumers balked at paying for the production cost of meat-based foods, a factor exacerbated by rising inflation.

The refusal to pay for rising production costs of meat-based foods provided the reason for why lots of Britons increasingly shied away from meat-based foods. For people in Italy and Spain, the trend rested on reasons related to personal health, while Germans showed the same behavior trait over the well-being of animals. Therefore, numerous reasons account for the new trend.

Vegetarians stand approximately half the chance of developing diabetes as non-vegetarians, who according to a study show more likelihood to develop diabetes by 74 percent over a 17-year period than vegetarians. The incidence of diabetes in vegetarian diets was 2.9 percent, according to a 2009 study involving more than 60,000 men and women, while the figure for non-vegetarians stood at 7.6 percent. In addition, experts say a plant-rich diet with little or no meat could help to prevent and treat diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity.

Literature data found evidences to suggest a link between plant-based habits and improved well-being, as data from 11,879 participants aged between 20 to 80 revealed that diets with greater intakes of healthy, plant-based foods showed a five percent lower risk of all-cause mortality.

Also, eating more plants helped people to cut down on their weight, as a study found that 65 overweight adults who followed a whole-food plant-based diet for one year lost 9.25 pounds on the average. A review discovered that consuming an extra 100 grams of fruits and vegetables per day resulted to a 13 percent reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

The benefits in eating plant-based foods extend beyond just the reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. People cut down their weight through the habit, while the risk of developing diabetes lessens. The speed of climate change reduces, since the development of the meat-based food sector increases the pace of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere.

However, through smart food choices, and with focus given to the achievement of energy, macro and micronutrient desires, along with correct supplementation, plant-based foods can achieve the needs of most people. Making small alteration to everyday meals is an easy means to increase the amount of plant-based foods in diets, starting by eliminating meat or dairy slowly, or changing one meal at a time.

FURTHER READING

Plant-based recipes; Credit, Love & Lemons

Health effects of vegan diets. Read More.

New Study Confirms Veggie Diets More Sustainable.  Read More.

Best Diet Plans For 2023, Reviewed By Experts. Read More.

The unstoppable rise of veganism: how a fringe movement went mainstream. Read More.

What to Eat

A Nigerian vegetarian meal, Credit, EatdrinkLagos.com