A few weeks ago, I ended up racing a friend of mine who thought he could beat me in a footrace. Yes, it was as ridiculous and childish as it sounds, but bear with me a second. During the race, I remember hearing my other friend, who was umpiring the race, yell ‘vegan for the win!’ as I crossed the finished line. We all laughed, of course, but that proclamation got my mind going. I started doing research and was as surprised as I was happy to find out that veganism, per capita, was outpacing meat-eating – and it wasn’t even close. These are the reasons I discovered as to why.
Global Awareness
I remember hearing that a crew of Danish politicians at VeganerUdfordringen had decided to go vegan to raise awareness for the health and environmental purposes of a plant-based diet. Around that same time, a group of 24 European parliament members signed a letter advising Europe to make the move to a plant-based diet for health and long-term sustainability.
All over the world people are awakening to the reality that consumption of animal products and health and environment are all innately linked. Meaning, the world is inching closer and closer to the plant-based revolution that was predicted last year by Alphabet and its ‘little known’ parent company Google.
And speaking of that small company, Google has stated that since 2014 search for the terms “vegan” or “vegetarian” has continued to increase all over the world.
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Athletics
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Celebrities are cool and all, but when more superstar level athletes than ever start to come out and vocally proclaimed their vegan devotion, that speaks louder than anything – because, you know, their bodies are their business. NBA Superstars like Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard; to NFL all-pro tackle Trent Williams; to the group of vegan athletes that won 32 medals at the Naturally Fit Games – and the list just keeps getting longer. They know that plant-based protein is the better choice for building muscle and conditioning – and that’s major!
Health
The undisputed number one reason most people go vegan is for their own health benefits. Once people’s mortality comes into play and they learn that vegan food comes without the harmful elements found in animal products that lead to disease and inflammation – they start listening a little more intently.
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Money Talks
Like many things in this world, the rise of vegan awareness can be traced directly to money. The impact of meat consumption is driving demand for meat-free products and substitutes. As veganism continues to go more and more mainstream, the convenience of it has risen with the demand. Many restaurants and cafes have made a hard left turn and decided veganism is where the future is going – so they should too. Seriously, there are now dairy-free ice-cream parlors, 24-hour drive-thru vegan restaurants, and vegan pizza joints – for goodness sakes. It’s actually a little bit insane how far veganism has come, from a business standpoint. Especially when you hear that, say, the largest dairy company in New York completely ditched dairy for plant-based options. Like wtf?!?! But it shows you exactly how loudly money speaks.
Stats
Some people will never be convinced unless there are statistics staring back at them. So for those hard to please people, I present to them this:
- Six percent of the U.S. population now classify themselves as vegan (Source: One Green Planet)
- One-third of U.S. consumers cited they were eating proteins other than meat; One-fourth said it was for health reasons. (Source: Mintel)
- In the last ten years, the U.K. has seen a 360% increase in veganism (Source: The Telegraph)
- By 2020, the global meat-alternative market will increase to $5.2 billion (Source: Allied Market Research)
- In 2017, The American College of Cardiology cited research showing plant-protein is significantly more heart-healthy than animal protein
- The largest study ever conducted on the link between meat and disease, by the British Medical Journal, found that meat eaters are 26% more likely to die of nine major diseases (cancer, heart-disease, diabetes, etc.) than those who consume a plant-based diet.
So, in closing, Veganism for the win! 🙂
