The vegetarian diet has gained widespread popularity in recent years.

Some studies estimate that vegetarians account for up to 18% of the global population (1).

Apart from the ethical and environmental benefits of cutting meat from your diet, a well-planned vegetarian diet may also reduce your risk of chronic disease, support weight loss and improve the quality of your diet.

This article provides a beginner's guide to the vegetarian diet, including a sample meal plan for one week.

The vegetarian diet involves abstaining from eating meat, fish and poultry.

People often adopt a vegetarian diet for religious or personal reasons, as well as ethical issues, such as animal rights.

Others decide to become vegetarian for environmental reasons, as livestock production increases greenhouse gas emissions, contributes to climate change and requires large amounts of water, energy and natural resources (2, 3).

There are several forms of vegetarianism, each of which differs in their restrictions.

The most common types include:

Vegetarian diets are associated with a number of health benefits.

In fact, studies show that vegetarians tend to have better diet quality than meat-eaters and a higher intake of important nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E and magnesium (4, 5).

A vegetarian diet may provide several other health boosts as well.

Switching to a vegetarian diet can be an effective strategy if youre looking to lose weight.

In fact, one review of 12 studies noted that vegetarians, on average, experienced 4.5 more pounds (2 kg) of weight loss over 18 weeks than non-vegetarians (6).

Similarly, a six-month study in 74 people with type 2 diabetes demonstrated that vegetarian diets were nearly twice as effective at reducing body weight than low-calorie diets (7).

Plus, a study in nearly 61,000 adults showed that vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) than omnivores BMI being a measurement of body fat based on height and weight (8).

Some research suggests that a vegetarian diet may be linked to a lower risk of cancer including those of the breast, colon, rectum and stomach (9, 10, 11).

However, current research is limited to observational studies, which cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Keep in mind that some studies have turned up inconsistent findings (12, 13).

Therefore, more research is needed to understand how vegetarianism may impact cancer risk.

Several studies indicate that vegetarian diets may help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

For instance, one review of six studies linked vegetarianism to improved blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes (14).

Vegetarian diets may also prevent diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar levels in the long term.

According to one study in 2,918 people, switching from a non-vegetarian to a vegetarian diet was associated with a 53% reduced risk of diabetes over an average of five years (15).

Vegetarian diets reduce several heart disease risk factors to help keep your heart healthy and strong.

One study in 76 people tied vegetarian diets to lower levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol all of which are risk factors for heart disease when elevated (16).

Similarly, another recent study in 118 people found that a low-calorie vegetarian diet was more effective at reducing bad LDL cholesterol than a Mediterranean diet (17).

Other research indicates that vegetarianism may be associated with lower blood pressure levels. High blood pressure is another key risk factor for heart disease (18, 19).

A well-rounded vegetarian diet can be healthy and nutritious.

However, it may also increase your risk of certain nutritional deficiencies.

Meat, poultry and fish supply a good amount of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as micronutrients like zinc, selenium, iron and vitamin B12 (20).

Other animal products like dairy and eggs also contain plenty of calcium, vitamin D and B vitamins (21, 22).

When cutting meat or other animal products from your diet, its important to ensure youre getting these essential nutrients from other sources.

Studies show that vegetarians are at a higher risk of protein, calcium, iron, iodine and vitamin B12 deficiencies (23, 24, 25, 26).

A nutritional deficiency in these key micronutrients can lead to symptoms like fatigue, weakness, anemia, bone loss and thyroid issues (27, 28, 29, 30).

Including a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein sources and fortified foods is an easy way to ensure youre getting appropriate nutrition.

Multivitamins and supplements are another option to quickly bump up your intake and compensate for potential deficiencies.

A vegetarian diet should include a diverse mix of fruits, vegetables, grains, healthy fats and proteins.

To replace the protein provided by meat in your diet, include a variety of protein-rich plant foods like nuts, seeds, legumes, tempeh, tofu and seitan.

If you follow a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, eggs and dairy can also boost your protein intake.

Eating nutrient-dense whole foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains will supply a range of important vitamins and minerals to fill in any nutritional gaps in your diet.

A few healthy foods to eat on a vegetarian diet are:

There are many variations of vegetarianism, each with different restrictions.

Lacto-ovo vegetarianism, the most common type of vegetarian diet, involves eliminating all meat, poultry and fish.

Other types of vegetarians may also avoid foods like eggs and dairy.

A vegan diet is the most restrictive form of vegetarianism because it bars meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy and any other animal products.

Depending on your needs and preferences, you may have to avoid the following foods on a vegetarian diet:

To help get you started, heres a one-week sample meal plan for a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet.

Most vegetarians avoid meat, poultry and fish, though some also restrict eggs, dairy and other animal products.

A balanced vegetarian diet with nutritious foods like produce, grains, healthy fats and plant-based protein may offer several benefits, but it may increase your risk of nutritional deficiencies if poorly planned.

Be sure to pay close attention to a few key nutrients and round out your diet with a variety of healthy whole foods. That way, youll enjoy the benefits of vegetarianism while minimizing the side effects.

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The Vegetarian Diet: A Beginner's Guide and Meal Plan

By Puja Gupta

New Delhi People worldwide are recognizing the devastating toll of the animal agribusiness on the environment, human health, and our collective sense of ethics. Theres still a long way to go, however, the tide is turning. With vegan (non-dairy) variants of almost every food product and ingredient available, people are increasingly turning towards sustainable eating as their food preference.

The notion of living a vegan lifestyle as being an expensive one is nothing but a myth. India is culturally inclined to vegetarianism. Many are turning to vegan by excluding the dairy element in their daily diet. The growing inclination towards conscious eating habits, backed by health benefits is set to drive veganism as a way of life in the days to come, says Chef David Edward Raj.

How does this eating habit help in keeping ones immunity in check?

Plants contain no cholesterol, unlike animals, they provide all that we need in terms of fiber to macro and micronutrients. Studies consistently show that people who eat fruit and vegetables tend to enjoy better health.

Research also suggests that vegans have lower rates of heart disease and diabetes. This reduced risk is partly because vegans are statistically leaner and much less prone to obesity than the general population, Raj, who is the Director Culinary development and Innovation, Elior India, told IANSlife.

The vegetables and spices we use in our daily meals are great immunity boosters which help us overcome the Covid-19 threat. It has been medically proven that including ingredients like mushrooms, tomato, bell pepper and green vegetables like broccoli and spinach are also good options to build resilience in the body against infections. A high amount of vitamins and mineral content found in them which helps the body ward off diseases and keeps one healthier.

Food items like ginger, gooseberries (amla) and turmeric are natural immunity supplements. Some of these superfoods are common ingredients in Indian meals and snacks. Several herbs like garlic and basil leaves help in boosting immunity. Seeds and nuts like sunflower seeds, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and melon seeds are excellent sources of protein and Vitamin E.

Veganism also contributes to nature in terms of reducing emissions into the environment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, after beef production, cattle milk is responsible for the most emissions (20 percent) on a commodity basis, he points out. The two major greenhouse gases that are emitting due to animal agriculture are methane and nitrous oxide, because of manure storage and the use of fertilizers, respectively. Hence, veganism as a lifestyle is not just caring about oneself but caring about nature as well.

How is veganism being accepted in the corporate sector?

Raj explains: With the growing awareness of conscious eating along with the need to maintain a healthy immunity, people are looking for a vegan option in corporate cafeterias. Also, one out of six of Eliors recipes is vegetarian that further turns towards veganism. Elior India caters to Fortune 500 companies across India such as Godrej, Goldman Sachs, Cognizant, Linked In, Ashok Leyland, Visa Master, Daimler, Pfizer, Cisco, MRF, Vellore Institute of Technology, Larsen & Toubro, Panasonic, etc. (IANS)

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Is veganism the future of food in a post-Covid-19 era? - India New England

The 2010s saw a dramatic spike in new health trends. Specifically, more people turned to veganism and vegetarianism as a lifestyle. The biggest food prediction for this new decade is a plant-based revolution that will take the mainstream media by storm. Its no secret that eating less meat can be beneficial for your health while also helping the environment. However, with these popular food trends, it can be tricky to also honor ones culture. Cuisine is a major part of every culture and it is challenging to try new things while also staying true to your roots.

Since I was a kid Ive always been interested in plant-based food options and I would constantly drag my mom and sister to the quaint vegan cafes that began popping up throughout Miami. I think its important to try new things, especially when they can improve your health and expand your knowledge on the positive impacts eating the right foods can make. Exploring these vegan or vegetarian food trends is especially difficult when your cultures cuisine is very meat-centric. I come from a Cuban background and one of our main dishes is a bistec de palomilla, or butter-fried beef steak, usually paired with a side of rice and beans. As a person who hasnt had any type of steak in over three years, I can leave people confused.

Youre Cuban but you dont eat meat? is a question I hear a lot, but I think its important to separate heritage and culture from health choices because culture can be honored and celebrated in other ways besides food.

My best friend who is also Cuban can relate to this issue, having been a committed vegetarian for almost four years. In Cuban culture, Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena, is a big deal for us. The designated dish for this celebration is lechon, or pork, but for a vegetarian spending Christmas Eve with a Cuban family, it can be difficult to balance this tradition with personal choices.

I think the best way to navigate these situations is to remember that food is not tied to your identity, and although it may feel like food is the center of your culture, you can still express your heritage through alternate ways, including music, dress, meat-free food options and other customs that dont compromise the health-conscious decisions you want to abide by.

While I havent cut out meat from my diet entirely, I feel that cutting out red meat was the right choice for me and it has helped me feel better physically. I no longer feel sluggish after eating like I used to when I had massive cheeseburgers every other week. Now I opt for a turkey or veggie burger, and when Im really craving meat, Ill order an Impossible Burger, which is entirely plant-based but tastes and even looks like the real deal.

The vegan phenomenon is often criticized because it makes people feel outcasted if they still eat meat, but I think thats the wrong angle to take. I think it all comes down to respecting peoples personal choices, whether that means having meat regularly or leaning towards a more plant-based life. And these choices dont define how strong your pride is for your culture, because it is definitely possible to strike a balance between the traditions of the past and the new ideas of the present.

Nicole Macias is a senior majoring in English.

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Balancing health with your culture - The Miami Hurricane

Welcome to First Off, Insiders new essay series. Were asking writers to reflect on the firsts, both big and small, in their lives. From their first child to their first grown-up purchase to their first act of rebellion, we want to know how these experiences shaped them.

For our second essay, Sarah Miller writes about how a bad date and a juicy steak ruined all her efforts to give up meat for good.

I was in my late 20s the first time I became a vegetarian. This was the 90s, and I was a Park Slope-living, Chardonnay-drinking, early Brazilian wax-adopting freelance writer who still hung out with all my best friends from college.

I was about two steps to the left of basic, and one of those steps was Jivamukti Yoga, my cramped and unfussy studio that smelled like an old pair of tights. I went almost every day.

I was both intimidated by and girlishly obsessed with the studios lithe, graceful, and terrifying cofounder, Sharon Life. She used to give talks before practice about how yoga applied to life. These talks, like yoga itself, were a stunning mix of profound and ridiculous, and I always listened intently. A week or so before Thanksgiving, Sharon told us how terrible it was to eat animals.

When you eat animals, she explained, you eat the fear that animal felt when it died. That fear goes into your own body and sets up shop in your very cells. Oh boy, I thought. I do not like the sound of that. Im never eating meat again.

On the way home I probably ate a gyro or a piece of pepperoni pizza. Or maybe I ate it the next day. Still, Sharons talk freaked me out. Do you think you can eat fear? I asked anyone who I thought might actually give this question serious thought. Most people thought you could not.

At Thanksgiving dinner, where I ate turkey like everyone else, my friend Melissas cousin Serena confirmed that, yes, it was true: you ate an animals fear when you ate its flesh. Was Serena a vegan? She was. (She still is.) She could also pull off complicated yoga poses unassisted, so I thought she might be right.

That might have been the end of it, but a few nights later, I passed by an overflowing garbage can. It was home to many disgusting things bags of dog shit, napkins smeared with blood and mustard, an answering machine with its own exposed, multi-coloured guts.

But its most prominent resident was an enormous turkey carcass. The ribcage hung with leftover bits lacy, intricate, disgusting. I couldnt stop looking at it. I couldnt even move. The full horror of what meat was everything Sharon Life had said about it, what other vegetarians I knew had said, reservations I had about eating it hit me all at once. I thought of the turkey alive, walking, looking around, doing whatever it was turkeys do. Then I thought of it dying, being dead, its flesh being eaten and washed down with beer, wine, Coca-Cola, Crystal Light.

I boarded the F train in a daze of horror, repulsion, and shame. I could not believe that I ate meat, that I had been eating it my whole life, that my body was made out of fowl and fish and fauna, and, of course, fear. I was horrified. Meat, I said to myself, I renounce you forever.

I went to brunch with my friends and I told all my friends I was a vegetarian now. Melissa, who was brassy and contrarian, told me I wouldnt stick with it. No, I swear, I said. The turkey carcass I saw it was life-changingly disgusting.

All meat is disgusting, Melissa said. It doesnt prevent people from eating it. She told me a story about how her husband was a vegetarian for 20 years. One night he went to a party and smelled sausages and ate seven of them and never looked back.

I thought to myself that perhaps Ben did not have a lot of a lot of fortitude, and how I was not going to be like Ben.

It did not occur to me to give up dairy this was the 90s, and being a vegan was considered radical. I tried to engage with people in what I told myself was a tone of innocent curiosity. In reality, my questions were obnoxious.

I was just wondering does it bother you that animals live terrible lives before theyre killed? Do you ever think about the fact that it was painful to be slaughtered, and no judgment here while youre chewing, do you ever think, This used to be someones leg?

The following fall, I went out to dinner with a guy I met at a coffee shop. We were sitting in a nice restaurant and I thought to myself, I am so bored, we have no chemistry. And then a waiter passed by bearing a platter of sliced grilled steak. It looked so good. It looked so much more interesting than the conversation I was trying to have. So I ordered a steak, and just like that, I was no longer a vegetarian.

One problem was the fading importance of the feelings that made me decide to stop eating meat. I thought the repulsion Id felt upon seeing the turkey carcass would always feel as visceral as it did in the moment. I imagined that the magic I saw in the chain of events that came beforehand Sharons talk, the way I only half took it in at the time, the way the rotting garbage heap drove home the point for me, my vegetarianism as yogic destiny would always feel that magical.

I never cut ahead to the part of the story where the initial motivations were no longer strong and there was meat everywhere and I wanted to eat it. I was so sure my smelling-the-sausage-moment would never come that I hadnt planned for it.

Years passed. I moved to California. I continued to eat meat while thinking about not eating it. In the back of my mind, I knew some charismatic megafauna would come along and spur me to renounce meat again. I did not imagine that it would be a male writer from Brooklyn, who, years later, was mocked for writing ridiculous emails to Natalie Portman.

Earlier, my concerns lay with the poor animals and how they lived and died. This time, I worried that livestock and poultry were pumped full of unhealthy chemicals and antibiotics. Worse yet, the environment the entire plant and animal kingdom was under grave threat from the massive resource drain and pollution from factory farming.

This was far more upsetting than the post-Thanksgiving carcass, but as I knew, shock and outrage diminish over time. I needed a sound strategy for getting me through the tough and not-so-tough moments when meat enticed me, and that initial buzz of pure resolve was nowhere to be found.

I took a photo of a page from Jonathan Safran Foers book Eating Animals that contained a graphic description of factory farming and made it the display on my phone. I doubled down on asking people obnoxious questions in the same manner as before, except now they were more like: This is neither here nor there, but do you know how many gallons of water went into making that sandwich? or What images pop into your mind when you hear the words deforested for ranching?

Can anyone guess what happened next? If you think I stayed a vegetarian for the rest of my life, raise your hand. If you think I started telling myself it was fine to eat meat that came from local farms and then gradually started eating meat from any old place, raise your hand, and then give yourself a gold star for being correct.

It is now 2020. There are few defensible reasons to eat meat or fish. Factory farming is abundantly harmful for the animals it slaughters. Eating vegetables is easier for me than many people. The meat industry is on par with the oil and gas sectors when it comes to environmental damage.

I know all this stuff. Why dont I quit meat?

What kind of person doesnt eat meat for the better part of a year and then eats a steak because theyre bored? I will never forget what my mind did when that beautiful steak went flying past me. I thought, Wow, and then I thought, I could just eat that. There is nothing stopping me but me.

My relationship to meat is a reminder of my general hypocrisy: how there are so many things that I believe in theoretically and do nothing about. Its also a reminder that I have a tendency to put my pleasure above my beliefs.

I would love to see the commercial farming industry dismantled. I would even be happy to participate in that dismantling. But as long as meat appears in front of me and I can afford it, I will eat it.

Im willing to fail at being a vegetarian again. Im also willing to succeed, but, Im sorry to say, not in a position to expect it.

Sarah Miller has written for The Cut, the Outline, and Popula.

Read more:

What eating too much meat can do to your body, from dehydration to the meat sweats

Why vegans and meat-eaters cant stop trolling each other

Germanys considering a new tax on meat but it might not be a model for Democrats who want Americans to eat fewer hamburgers

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Eating meat is inhumane, bad for the environment, and harmful to my health. I still can't give it up. - Business Insider Australia

Lifestyle plays a big role in our health. Research shows that meditation and vegetarian diet are two proactive ways of increasing our wellness, says Sant Rajinder Singh

Each of us has the power within us to create a healthier way of life. The choices we make today impact our physical, mental, and spiritual health tomorrow, whether months or years from now. Our choices also impact our family. What we choose today regarding the care of our body, mind, and spirit will determine what our future health will be.

Medical research points at two ways by which we can increase our wellness. One is meditation and the other is a vegetarian diet. Meditation helps us increase our health and well-being physically, mentally, and spiritually. It keeps our body and mind calm and reduces our chances of contracting stress-related illnesses.

Research by medical practitioners and doctors indicates that meditation benefits the body and mind. As someone put it in jest: we can counter the effects of ill, pill, and bill by being still. Being still refers to sitting in meditation. This increased interest and popularity of meditation has grown as scientific studies verify what has been known in the East for centuries.

Lets reflect a little on the two simple steps to staying healthy:

Step 1: Meditation

Be still. Our parents had this one solution for us when we were children. These words really are a precursor for a healthy lifestyle. Being still is another word for meditation.

When we meditate, we slow our heart rate and breathing to a point where we are calm. When we are agitated and upset, the body produces fight or flight hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which may be useful when in danger to help us defend ourselves or run, but not when simple problems of life upset us. We do not need cortisol and adrenaline to kick in when our spouse or children leave the toothpaste cap off or someone cuts us off on the highway. We have been so conditioned to becoming upset about things that are not life-threatening that we produce stress hormones that react on our body in a way that can break down our organs and bodily systems.

Meditation helps us be calm, and in a relaxed state so that we can ward off the effects of daily life challenges. When we are calm, our body is not producing hormones that can lead to stress-related ailments such as heart attack, stroke, hypertension, headaches, digestive and skin problems. When we meditate we also keep our mind calm. We not only suffer physical illness from stress, but we create emotional and mental difficulties when we are not calm. This can lead to emotional and relationship problems or other stress-related mental disorders. Through meditation we can keep a calm and peaceful mind to help us lead happier lives.

Meditation also helps us develop concentration. When we are stressed out our performance level is not as high as we need it to be. When we concentrate we can get better grades, which reduces our stress as students. Our stress as employees or professionals is reduced because we can perform better at work.

How can we prove the spiritual benefits of being still and meditating? This is one area where meditation fits the scientific model. It is based on experimentation leading to proof. Those who have tried the experiment have discovered that meditation leads to wellness not only of the body and mind, but of the soul.

In meditation, we close our eyes, gaze within, and still our mind of thoughts. When the reflecting pool of our mind is still, we see what lies within us. We see Light within, hear celestial Music, and can soar to regions of Light. Through meditation, we thus achieve physical, mental, and spiritual wellness.

Step 2: Vegetarian Diet

Another key to a healthy lifestyle is living on a vegetarian diet. Research proves that a plant-based diet reduces the risk of many diseases such as stroke, heart attack, diabetes, digestive disorders, and even some cancers, among other illnesses. By cutting out meat, and even fish, fowl, and eggs we can reduce the risk of many ailments.

Vegetarianism also benefits our state of mind and spiritual well-being. Think of the state of the animals when slaughtered. Hormones of fear and stress run through them at the time of their captivity and slaughter. It has been said that we are what we eat. All that was a part of the animal becomes part of us when we eat it. This means we are ingesting their fear and panic hormones, which can contribute to our own state of fear and anxiety when it becomes a part of our body.

We also are taking into our body anything the animal ate. For example, antibiotics fed to the animal become part of us, and if we have too much it can cause bacteria to become antibiotic-resistant. If animals are fed hormones to make them grow faster, they too become a part of us which can lead to problems because now those hormones are in our body. We also are taking into our body any diseases that the animal may have contracted.

There are moral benefits to a vegetarian diet. Most cultures believe in the law that thou shalt not kill. There is a recognition in many cultures that even animals have a soul in them. Thus, when we take the life of a creature, we are taking the life of a being who has a soul in it. Those who ascribe to a spiritual way of life and meditate have even witnessed that the same Light of the Divine in us also shines in all other human beings and all creatures. Thus, a thread of divine connection knits all life together.

Today, there are numerous delicious and nutritious vegetarian, plant-based foods that we can eat. Besides a growing number of vegetarian restaurants, most restaurants now offer a wider variety of vegetarian dishes. Mainstream supermarkets have many vegetarian options for customers. Even places where it was hard to get vegetarian foods, such as school cafeterias, hospitals, cruise ships, conferences, and venues for professional gatherings, offer vegetarian choices.

It is now easier than ever to be vegetarian and the benefits are enormous. One can try the experiment of incorporating meditation and vegetarian diet into ones life. You can see for yourself the benefits you will experience. If you track the changes these two choices bring, you will find that you are healthier physically, mentally, and spiritually. May each of you make choices to experience the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for your body, mind, and soul.

The writer is a spiritual leader

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Ways to Staying Healthy - Daily Pioneer

Story Highlights

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Nearly one in four Americans (23%) report eating less meat in the past year than they had previously, while the vast majority (72%) say they are eating the same amount of meat. Very few (5%) report eating more meat this year than in the past.

Americans' Reports of Meat-Eating Changes Over the Past Year, by Subgroup

In the past 12 months, have you been eating more meat, less meat, or about the same amount?

These data are from a Sept. 16-30 Gallup telephone poll with U.S. adults.

Asked how often they eat meat -- such as beef, chicken or pork -- two in three U.S. adults say they eat it "frequently" (67%) while 23% say they eat meat "occasionally" and 7% "rarely" eat it. Just 3% report "never" eating meat.

Certain groups are more likely than others to say they have eaten less meat in the past year:

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that pork and especially beef were the most popular meats for most of the 1900s, but chicken sharply gained in popularity over time, eventually becoming the top consumed meat in recent years. From a global perspective, the U.S. regularly ranks among the top countries for meat consumption.

Americans' reports of eating less meat don't necessarily mean vegetarianism is on the rise. In fact, Gallup's latest reading on this found 5% of Americans consider themselves vegetarian, similar to the rate over the past 20 years.

Gallup also asked Americans who refrain from eating meat -- either by cutting back on their usual amount or by foregoing it completely -- whether each of seven potential factors were "major" or "minor" reasons for avoiding meat.

The biggest factor in reducing meat consumption is health concerns -- nine in 10 say it is a major (70%) or minor reason (20%) they are cutting back on meat.

After health, environmental concerns are the next most prominent factor leading to reduced meat consumption -- seven in 10 say concerns about the environment are behind their avoidance of meat (49% say it is a major reason, and 21% a minor one).

Majorities also say concerns about food safety (43% major, 22% minor reason) and animal welfare (41% major, 24% minor reason) cause them to eat less meat.

Lesser cited reasons for avoiding meat are that it is more convenient due to other family members' eating habits (16% major, 24% minor reason) and that they see other people eating less, little or no meat (15% major, 19% minor reason).

Religious reasons were the least cited reason for cutting back on meat consumption (12% major, 17% minor reason).

Reasons for Eating Meat "Less," "Rarely" or "Never"

(Asked of those who are eating less meat or who rarely or never eat meat) Would you say each of the following is a major reason, a minor reason, or not a reason why you [have been eating less meat / rarely eat meat) / do not eat meat)]?

The most popular way to cut back on meat consumption is by eating smaller portions of it (77%), according to Americans who report having eaten less meat this year.

Other popular ways Americans have reduced their meat consumption are altering recipes to use less meat by substituting vegetables or other ingredients for some meat (71%) and eliminating meat entirely from some meals (69%).

Slightly more than a third of Americans (36%) who have reduced their meat consumption say they eat meat replacements such as plant-based burgers or sausages.

Ways in Which Americans are Cutting Back on Meat

(Asked of those who are eating less meat) Please tell me whether you have or have not been doing each of the following as a way to reduce the amount of meat that you eat?

Americans' reasons for reducing their meat consumption are compelling -- personal health, environmental impact, concerns for animal welfare -- but very few have totally given it up. Only about 5% of Americans have self-identified as vegetarian over the past two decades, Gallup has found, and fewer yet identify as vegans. Ninety-seven percent of Americans in the latest poll report eating meat at least rarely, and two in three say they eat it frequently. Meat is here to stay.

Still, nearly a quarter of Americans are eating less meat. The momentum behind plant-based meat options may reflect that reduction in meat intake -- and possibly even accelerate it. Such a decline in meat consumption would particularly impact rural economies as well as many industries, including hospitality, packaged food, grocery retail, and especially meat and poultry production and processing, the largest segment of U.S. agriculture production.

To reduce possible negative economic effects of reduced meat consumption, government and industry leaders should take Americans' meat reduction seriously and consider the rationale behind it. Corporate Social Responsibility programs can be designed to include stakeholders across their entire value chain. Industry marketing could shift toward potential health, environmental or animal welfare aspects of the meat product. Retailing can be redirected toward the changing market and can even create new markets. Such agility can alleviate the negative impacts of changing consumer preferences on industries and economies, but leaders will need to ensure that they continue to seek to understand the will of the consumer -- as well as their B2B customers, suppliers, workforce and the global community as a whole.

View complete question responses and trends.

Read the rest here:
Nearly One in Four in US Have Cut Back on Eating Meat - Gallup

Even though I grew up as a vegetarian, I knew that when it comes to eating chicken wings, you have to use your hands. The first time I had them was at a Super Bowl party. After 20 meatless years, I turned full omnivore. More than the texture or flavour, what I remember from the first bite was the primal feeling of eating meat straight from the bone.

Growing up in a vegetarian household at least a couple decades ago makes you different. Most of my classmates ate meat regularly, many daily. Because of how meat-focused meals have traditionally been, it doesnt surprise me that such a large percentage of the vegetarian food industry would be devoted to replicating meat products. Nor is it all that surprising that vegetarianism would expand with more options that supposedly taste like meat.

Before graduating high school, it felt as though I had consumed a lifetimes worth of soy, seitan and tempeh made to look like (and yet only occasionally taste like) beef, pork and chicken. Most of the mock meats were gummy and grey, slathered in artificial smoke. They seemed to exist beyond the realm of the natural world, created in laboratories where people wore latex gloves and protective glasses. It was only on a rare occasion like eating at Montreals legendary ChuChai restaurant, which offers an impressive array of Chinese fake-meat alternatives that Id ever desire a second helping.

Limp and flavourless, the fake chicken options in particular seemed ghastly. Perhaps the texture of the bird is difficult to replicate, but I suppose we should be thankful that forays into fake chicken have been limited. I would hate to imagine artificial chicken wings, fake cartilage included. The dystopian vibes alone would be too much to handle.

Undeniably, there have been technological strides in the fake meat market in the past decade. Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger capture the texture and taste of beef. But why has this become the goal? Why undertake this culinary fraud? The more realistic the meat, the more I think of the grey slabs of petri-dish flesh from Brandon Cronenbergs Antiviral. In this Canadian science-fiction film, an out-of-control celebrity culture has created an industry of laboratory-grown human flesh steaks intended for popular consumption. Imagine Soylent Green for a new and willing generation; Soylent green is people? Sounds delicious.

Whenever a new pea protein product or unholy concoction of chemicals and plants is introduced I also think of that first bite of a chicken wing. When it comes to abandoning vegetarianism, you go through a lot of the same motions as those who adopt it. You dont suddenly go decades without eating chicken wings to a feeding frenzy without considering where this new food is coming from. Its impossible to escape that once, not long ago, it was alive.

Like a child who believes that an egg comes from a supermarket and not a chicken, many of us are detached from the production of the food we eat. In an age of sterile plastic-wrapped shopping experiences, its easy to lose track of where the meat we consume (real and unreal) comes from.

In that sense, meat alternatives represent a type of fulfilled fantasy. It comes from essentially nothing. Its easier to not think too much about where this so-called food comes from. And yet, they remain heavily processed. And make no mistake: Theyre not good for you just because theyre vegan.

For this Super Bowl, as a matter of personal taste, when tasked with finding a vegan alternative for wings, Im more likely to throw some buffalo sauce on roast cauliflower than pick up any variety of fake meat. While it cant capture that primal feeling of eating meat from a bone, its also not pretending to be anything that its not. It feels more authentic than something made in a lab. And if you really want to play meat-eater, its probably best to drop the fork and knife act, and get your hands dirty.

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Why fake meat will never be a substitute for a chicken wing - National Post

No country can prepare to welcome tens of millions of foreign tourists for the Olympics, without including vegetarian and vegan options into the catering.

Even though Japan hopes to welcome around 40 million foreign tourists this year (expected to spend more than 65 billion), many of them being vegan or vegetarian, the country is not well prepared yet for the task.

"Compared to the strategy of catering halal products, there are not enough preparations for vegetarians so we need to develop our strategy for public education," says Jin Matsubara, a member of the House of Representatives and former Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety.

Even though medieval Japan was practically vegetarian, the country today is known for its love for meat, partially thanks to Western influence. Japanese today eat nearly 20% more meat per person than they did just two decades ago.

Hit play on the video above to learn more about what vegans and vegetarians can expect when they visit Japan.

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WATCH | Tokyo 2020 Olympics put vegetarianism on the table in Japan | Living - Euronews

Vegetarianism: Know the different types of vegetarian diets  |  Photo Credit: Getty Images

New Delhi: Vegetarianism is becoming a rage and a statement of health and fitness in India. Perhaps, a lot of celebrities in the West are turning to East and opting for vegetarianism. Basically, a vegetarian diet majorly includes pulses, cereals, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits. In this article, lets talk about the various aspects of vegetarian diets.

Lacto-vegetarians: A vegetarian diet that includes vegetables as well as daily products like milk.

Ovo-vegetarian: A vegetarian diet that includes eggs but no milk products

Lacto-ovo vegetarian: Here, milk and eggs can be consumed along with a vegetarian diet.

Jain vegetarian: Practiced by the followers of Jain culture and philosophy, this is a lacto vegetarian diet with no roots and tubers like onion, garlic, potato, colocasia, etc.

Raw vegetarian: No cooked foods

Pesco-vegetarian: A vegetarian diet plan that includes fish.

Some possible reasons for adapting vegetarianism include:

It has been seen that vegetarians have a lower BMI, blood pressure and serum cholesterol. This has been attributed to the fibrer-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes they eat. These foods are also a rich source of antioxidants as compared to non-vegetarian foods.

It is important to know the pros and cons of any diet that one wishes to follow. Consult an expert before starting any diet as a well-planned diet can help keep deficiencies away!

(Disclaimer: The author, Parul Patni, Nutritionist, is a guest contributer and a part of our medical expert panel. Views expressed are personal)

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Vegetarianism: Know the different types of vegetarian diets - Times Now

Manushi Chhillar is gearing up for her debut in YRFs greatest historical film Prithviraj starring celeb Akshay Kumar. Manushi Chhillars infectious magnificence was as soon as stumbled on globally when she received the coveted Miss World title in 2017 and appears to be like to be devour even sooner than her gigantic Bollywood debut, Manushi is adding more feathers to her achievement hat! Manushi has now been voted the Sexiest Vegetarian Personality by PETA!

The glowing girl has been a sturdy point out for vegetarianism and has expressed her views on the subject even on world platforms. When asked to react on the Sexiest Vegetarian award, Manushi says, Being a vegetarian has no doubt been a map of life for me. My fogeys had been vegetarians and whereas they gave me the choice I by no procedure felt devour I was as soon as missing on something. Ive continually been a vegetarian and contain by no procedure felt devour I needed to trade that.

Manushi propagates that being a vegetarian, she has witnessed several health advantages. She says, I end factor in vegetarian food is amazingly nutritious and has colossal health advantages by regulating ldl cholesterol, blood stress, amongst others. As an animal lover, my core is at peace with this determination and Im happier being a vegetarian.

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Manushi Chhillar on Winning The Sexiest Vegetarian Personality By PETA: My Parents Were Vegetarians & They Gave Me The Choice - Headlinez Pro

In the meat-loving capital of Burkina Faso, customers at a small roadside joint eat bean balls, grilled tofu skewers and peanut butter rice while a report about chickens unfit for consumption being dumped on the street airs on the midday news.

A sign above the door proudly welcomes customers: Vegetarian restaurant Nasa. Food for the love of health. In Ouagadougous first plant-based restaurant, there are no knives on the tables.

The place is full of regular customers who greet Christine Tapsoba, the owner, like an old friend. But it wasnt always like this. At the start, it wasnt easy. People thought it was weird, they didnt know how we could make food without using meat, she says. Some days, we could open the restaurant and sell nothing.

In the years since Nasa opened in 2004, her clientele has grown exponentially, drawn in initially by giveaways of her popular barbecued tofu skewers.

Plant-based diets have also spread across the west, with vegan restaurants and products seeing meteoric rises in sales. But global meat consumption is still increasing, with burgeoning urban middle classes across Africa, Asia and Latin America powering the demand.

Across Africa, a growing number of plant-based restaurants are following in Tapsobas footsteps in response to health and environmental challenges. Happy Cow, an app that helps vegetarians and vegans find places to eat around the world, lists more than 900 restaurants with vegan options across Africa. More than half of these were added in the past two years. Thirty fully vegan restaurants have been listed since the start of 2018.

Demand has been way up in most major cities. Its awesome times for those who like to eat plant-based, says Eric Brent, Happy Cows founder. Some of the catalysts have been vegan documentaries, popular YouTubers [including in South Africa], and plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy, he adds.

South Africa has been at the forefront of this push, with veganism booming in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Cities such as Nairobi in Kenya, and Accra in Ghana, today boast a dozen meat-free restaurants. In Dakar, the Senegalese capital, upmarket seaside restaurants are quickly adding salad bowls and aubergine sandwiches to their otherwise meat- and fish-filled menus.

The continent is also at the forefront of some of the challenges veganism hopes to ease. Conditions such as heart disease and cancer have now overtaken infectious diseases such as cholera and measles to become the biggest drain on Africas economies, according to the World Health Organization. Much of the continent is already feeling the effects of the climate crisis a common reason for reducing meat intake as more regular and unpredictable droughts and floods wreak havoc for farmers and regularly claim lives.

Our ancestors didnt eat as much meat. It is through colonisation that we learned these crazy meat-eating practices

Many of its advocates, however, argue that veganism is not a new trend it is simply a return to traditional African diets. I particularly think its important to spread veganism around Africa because it originated in Africa, says Nicola Kagoro, a chef working in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Our ancestors didnt eat as much meat. It is through colonisation that we learned these crazy meat-eating practices. Kagoro founded the African Vegan on a Budget movement to show Africans vegan diets can be affordable and filling. She also cooks for female vegan armed rangers group the Akashinga, who fight elephant poaching in Zimbabwe.

In research on the worlds healthiest diets, published in the Lancet in 2015, west African countries such as Mali, Chad, Senegal and Sierra Leone, which boasted diets rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, topped the list. Ethiopian cuisine relies on plant-based foods such as the sourdough flatbread injera, lentils and beans, and many of the countrys Orthodox Christians take part in regular fasts during which meals are served without any animal products.

Still, the trend is slow to take hold. Its hard to spread the vegan practice around Africa because Africans love their meat, says Kagoro, who is known as Chef Cola. The challenge is because Africans think meat is a form of showing wealth.

With Nasa, Tapsoba helps the few Burkinabe vegetarians of Ouagadougou navigate an often difficult path to a meat-free life. When a vegetarian is here and I am told they struggle to find something to eat, immediately I rise up to help them, she says.

And with patience, free tofu, and a growing awareness of the consequences of meaty diets, she hopes to convince others to join her.

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How vegetarianism is going back to its roots in Africa - The Guardian

A person may choose to follow a vegetarian diet for various reasons, including health issues, environmental concerns, or religious beliefs. Regardless of the reason, it is important to consider a few things before becoming vegetarian.

For instance, people should know which foods to avoid and what to include in their diet to ensure that they are meeting their nutritional requirements.

Keep reading for more information on what to expect when becoming vegetarian, the potential risks, and how to make the transition.

A person may choose from several different types of vegetarian diet, which differ in terms of the foods that they include or exclude. The main types include:

A basic vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, and fish from the diet. However, there are subcategories of the vegetarian diet, which get their names from the food types that they include:

A partial vegetarian will exclude most meats from their diet but will include either fish or poultry. For example, a pescatarian will eat fish but avoid other meats. A pollo-vegetarian, or pollotarian, will include poultry but no other meats.

A flexitarian primarily eats a vegetarian diet. Where they differ from other vegetarians is that they will occasionally eat small amounts of meat, poultry, eggs, and fish.

A vegan will avoid consuming any animal products, including meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, and honey.

Learn more about the differences between vegetarianism and veganism here.

There are some potential health benefits of becoming vegetarian. However, these are dependent on what a person includes in their diet. For example, if a person's diet includes mainly processed foods, they are unlikely to get as many benefits as someone who primarily eats fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Research has shown that a person may gain the following benefits from eating a vegetarian diet:

Following a diet that is overly restrictive in any way can lead to health issues. A person should plan any new diet carefully before starting it and discuss it with a healthcare professional to make sure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they need.

Although a vegetarian diet can be a good choice for a person's overall health, it is possible to be a vegetarian and eat poorly. Many unhealthful foods are vegetarian because they do not contain animal products, and eating too many of these foods can be detrimental to overall health.

Although plant-based diets are typically rich in low calorie foods, such as vegetables and fruits, it is still possible to overeat, which can cause a person to gain weight.

It is important for a person switching to a vegetarian diet to make sure that they eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, healthful fats, and whole grains. Eating only vegetarian foods can put a person at risk of not getting enough of certain nutrients, including proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B-12.

A person should plan their diet to include sources of these and other nutrients that are essential to overall health. In some cases, supplementation may also be necessary, especially for people following more restrictive plant-based diets that cut out most or all animal products.

A person may be at risk of certain nutritional deficiencies when making the switch to a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet.

The specific nutrients that a person may be lacking will depend largely on the type of vegetarian diet that they eat.

For instance, a person who still eats dairy, fish, eggs, or a limited amount of meat may not have any issues with nutritional deficiencies. Conversely, people who follow vegan diets may need to supplement with vitamins and minerals, depending on their dietary intake and restrictions.

Some of the nutrients that are most likely to be lacking include:

Most people get their protein from meat, fish, or poultry. Lacto, ovo, and lacto-ovo vegetarians can get protein from both plant and animal sources. People who follow a vegan diet will not get protein from animal products. Some substitutes can include:

Read more about some of the best meat substitutes for vegetarians here.

Iron is another nutrient that is present in red meats and other animal-based products. However, a person can get iron from other sources, such as:

Read more about the best iron-rich foods for vegetarians and vegans here.

Calcium is primarily in milk and other dairy products. Some potential replacements for people following a vegetarian diet that does not include dairy include:

The body produces vitamin D when the skin gets direct exposure to sunlight. However, certain factors can make it difficult to get enough vitamin D in this way. For example, in many countries, there is not much sun during the winter months, and people tend to cover up.

Also, many people prefer to limit the time that they spend in direct sunlight to reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer.

As the dietary sources of vitamin D are mostly animal products, vitamin D supplements are the best way for many vegetarians and vegans to get consistent, absorbable vitamin D.

Zinc is another nutrient that is important for a person's body. Many animal-based foods are high in zinc, including meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy. However, there are also plant-based sources of zinc, such as:

Omega-3 fatty acids are present in fish, such as salmon. These healthful fats are important for overall health, especially brain health.

Although plant-based omega-3 fatty acids also occur naturally in chia seeds, algal oil, and flax, these are a type called alpha-linolenic acids, which the body has a limited ability to convert to active forms. Therefore, a person may wish to look for fortified products or talk to their doctor about omega-3 supplements.

Vitamin B-12 is important for many functions in the body, including red blood cell production. A vegetarian can obtain vitamin B-12 from:

Many people choose to follow a vegetarian diet for health reasons, but there are other reasons why a person might make the switch. Some reasons may include:

A person should start with a general plan of how they want to become vegetarian. Anyone with specific health concerns should talk to a healthcare professional before starting a new diet. A healthcare professional should be able to give them advice on what foods to include in the diet or what supplements to take.

From there, a person should decide what foods they will include or exclude. Some people approach becoming vegetarian by immediately stopping the consumption of all meat. Others prefer to include small amounts of meat as they transition from eating meat frequently.

It may help a person to try new foods that fit with a vegetarian diet as they decrease their intake of animal products. Learning about substitutions, such as olive oil in place of butter, can help. Also, a person may want to familiarize themselves with vegetarian-friendly cookbooks, meal plans, and recipes.

People who want to become vegetarian will need to start reading product labels if they do not already do so. They should check for ingredients, such as dairy, eggs, and other animal products, depending on the type of vegetarian diet that they choose to follow. Nutrition labels can also provide information on what nutrients the food includes.

A person should also plan on eating a well-balanced diet that includes nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

A vegetarian diet does not have to necessitate the removal of all animal-based products. A person can choose a diet that includes eggs, milk, poultry, fish, or no animal products at all.

By starting with a carefully considered diet plan, a person eliminating certain food types is more likely to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet and avoid nutritional deficiencies.

Regardless of a person's reason for becoming vegetarian, maintaining a balanced diet is crucial for health.

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Going vegetarian: What to know - Medical News Today

Restaurant trends that dominated India's restaurant and food scene.

The decade has seen a tremendous growth spurt in the food and beverage industry. From the rise of food tech and home delivery start-ups to casual dining among others, the industry has gone through an array of new trends. Besides the many irresistible offers and combo deals, diners are also in for unique themes and innovative concept dining options being offered by various new eateries. This decade many restaurants and cafes came up with interesting concepts that were never heard of before; for example, cloud kitchensthat have become a rage across India, especially in Delhi and Mumbai. Buffet-system has also taken off and how. Salad bars and raw food cafes have also found enough takers off late.

The food technology industry has revolutionised the Indian start-up eco-system. It has contributed to almost all the versions of restaurant-experiences - be it exquisite fine dining to casual dining to the small scale ones. In the era of busy schedules and increasing disposable income, food delivery has become one of the most preferred options among the millennials. With the rise in demand for easy meals just at the tap of a button, the country has witnessed an enormous growth of multiple food delivery apps.

People these days have started becoming more and more health conscious. Also, due to the availability of vegetarian alternatives of non-vegetarian dishes, a lot of them are exploring vegetarianism. Some are making the move purely due to health reasons. Many studies have shown that vegetarian food reduces the risk of high cholesterol and heart disease than most varieties of meat, which is most layered with fat. Also, it helps in easy digestion while as it improving your gut health. People like to experiment more with legumes, grains, fruits, vegetables and pulses as they are free from saturated fats and are usually more nutritious. This trend has witnessed the opening of more vegetarian restaurants as compared to their non-vegetarian counterparts.

(Also Read:5 Reasons Why Vegetarianism May Help You Live a Longer Life)

Due to health factors, people have started opting for healthy meals. Mostly, preferences have shifted from fried or spicy foods to baked, grilled or boiled food. People are opting to fit and many follow strict wellness regime which includes eating healthy as well. This results in a fair reduction of many health problems.

Casual dining has witnessed a tremendous growth in the industry as it opens up an informal environment. Here you don't need to follow any dress code or any theme. Mostly preferred for after work outings or by college students, these restaurants not only provide good food which is also visually appealing but is also easy on your pockets.

Due to hectic schedules and lack of general activity, it is imperative to burn your body fats to remain healthy and energetic. Keto-friendly and gluten-free food has been an option not only among the younger generation but also amongst middle-aged individuals as well. With increasing heart diseases due to the rising body fat, keto is fast gaining popularity as a preferred food option. The industry has seen many organic cafes opening to cater to the requirements of these people.

About Author: Ranjan Chakraborty is a Director and COO of Mirchi And Mime and Madeira And Mime restaurants.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

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Top Restaurant Food Trends Of The Decade - NDTV Food

More and more travellers are turning to vegetarianism 10'000 Hours

As anyone who has tried it can attest, vegan and vegetarian cuisine can very often be delicious, hearty, healthy and satisfying. And while it has gotten easier to find good veggie options while on the move, sometimes it can be tricky. With that in mind, a new study has unveiled the top cities in the US for vegan and vegetarian food, meaning you can start brainstorming your next culinary adventure.

According to a 2019 Harris Poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, approximately 10 million adults in the United States are vegan or vegetarian. Released by WalletHub, the new study compared the 100 largest American cities across 17 different categories, including average meal cost, the price of groceries for vegetarians, the number of restaurants serving meatless options, salad shops per capita, number of community gardens, frequency of juice and smoothie bars and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Scooping the top spot in the whole study was Portland, Oregon, a city that has enjoyed a long standing reputation as an alternative, multicultural and trendy hotspot not only vegan and vegetarian cuisine, but food and culture in general. The top ten was completed by Los Angeles, Orlando, Seattle, Austin, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, San Diego and Tampa, while Scottsdale, Anaheim, Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, Washington, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Houston and Charlotte were also named amongst the best in the country. Scottsdale, Arizona was shown to have the highest share of restaurants serving vegetarian options at 20.14%, which is 12.5 times higher than Laredo, Texas, the city with the lowest at just 1.61%.

Scottsdale also claimed the title of city with the highest share of restaurants serving vegan options, while Newark, New Jersey is the city with the least amount of restaurants catering to vegans. San Francisco has the most community-supported agriculture programmes per square root of population, just over 20 times more than San Antonia, the city with the fewest. And if youre on the hunt for a good salad shop, look no further than New York, which was shown to have the most per square root of population, while Laredo, Texas has the fewest. Cities in the bottom ten were El Paso, San Bernardino, Greensboro, North Las Vegas, Baton Rouge, Henderson, Winston-Salem, Stockton, Tulsa, Memphis and Laredo.

The full findings are available on the official WalletHub website.

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US cities with the best choices for vegans and vegetarians - Lonely Planet Travel News

B.R. Ambedkars 1948 work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? has been re-issued as Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men: An Annotated Critical Selection from The Untouchables, published by Navayana with an Introduction by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd. This excerpt is from the chapter that deals with the conflict between Brahmanism and Buddhism and how it led to the Brahmins first giving up eating beef, and then turning vegetarian.

For generations the Brahmins had been eating beef. Why did they give up beef-eating? Why did they, as an extreme step, give up meat eating altogether and become vegetarians? It is two revolutions rolled into one. As has been shown it has not been done as a result of the preachings of Manu, their Divine Law-maker. The revolution has taken place in spite of Manu and contrary to his directions. What made the Brahmins take this step? Was philosophy responsible for it? Or was it dictated by strategy? Two explanations are offered. One explanation is that this deification of the cow was a manifestation of the Advaita philosophy that one supreme entity pervaded the whole universe, that on that account all life, human as well as animal, was sacred. This explanation is obviously unsatisfactory. In the first place, it does not fit in with facts. The Vedanta Sutra which proclaims the doctrine of oneness of life does not prohibit the killing of animals for sacrificial purposes as is evident from II.1.28. In the second place, if the transformation was due to the desire to realize the ideal of Advaita then there is no reason why it should have stopped with the cow. It should have extended to all other animals.

Another explanation more ingenious than the first, is that this transformation in the life of the Brahmin was due to the rise of the doctrine of the Transmigration of the Soul. Even this explanation does not fit in with facts. The Brahadaranyaka Upanishad

upholds the doctrine of transmigration (VI.2) and yet recommends that if a man desires to have a learned son born to him he should prepare a mass of the flesh of the bull or ox or of other flesh with rice and ghee. Again, how is it that this doctrine which is propounded in the Upanishads did not have any effect on the Brahmins up to the time of the Manusmriti, a period of at least 400 years. Obviously, this explanation is no explanation. Thirdly, if Brahmins became vegetarians by reason of the doctrine of transmigration of the soul how is it that it did not make the non-Brahmins take to vegetarianism?

To my mind, it was strategy which made the Brahmins give up beef-eating and start worshipping the cow. The clue to the worship of the cow is to be found in the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism and the means adopted by Brahmanism to establish its supremacy over Buddhism. The strife between Buddhism and Brahmanism is a crucial fact in Indian history. Without the realization of this fact, it is impossible to explain some of the features of Hinduism. Unfortunately, students of Indian history have entirely missed the importance of this strife. They knew there was Brahmanism. But they seem to be entirely unaware of the struggle for supremacy in which these creeds were engaged and that their struggle which extended for 400 years has left some indelible marks on religion, society and politics of India.

This is not the place for describing the full story of the struggle. All one can do is to mention a few salient points. Buddhism was at one time the religion of the majority of the people of India. It continued to be the religion of the masses for hundreds of years. It attacked Brahmanism on all sides as no religion had done before.

Brahmanism was on the wane and if not on the wane, it was certainly on the defensive. As a result of the spread of Buddhism, the Brahmins had lost all power and prestige at the Royal Court and among the people. They were smarting under the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Buddhism and were making all possible efforts to regain their power and prestige. Buddhism had made so deep an impression on the minds of the masses and had taken such a hold of them that it was absolutely impossible for the Brahmins to fight the Buddhists except by accepting their ways and means and practising the Buddhist creed in its extreme form. After the death of Buddha his followers started setting up the images of the Buddha and building stupas. The Brahmins followed it. They, in their turn, built temples and installed in them images of Shiva, Vishnu and Ram and Krishna etc. all with the object of drawing away the crowd that was attracted by the image worship of Buddha. That is how temples and images which had no place in Brahmanism came into Hinduism. The Buddhists rejected the Brahmanic religion which consisted of yajna and animal sacrifice, particularly of the cow. The objection to the sacrifice of the cow had taken a strong hold of the minds of the masses especially as they were an agricultural population and the cow was a very useful animal. The Brahmins in all probability had come to be hated as the killer of cows in the same way as the guest had come to be hated as Goghna, the killer of the cow by the householder, because whenever he came a cow had to be killed in his honour. That being the case, the Brahmins could do nothing to improve their position against the Buddhists except by giving up the Yajna as a form of worship and the sacrifice of the cow.

That the object of the Brahmins in giving up beef-eating was to snatch away from the Buddhist Bhikshus the supremacy they had acquired is evidenced by the adoption of vegetarianism by Brahmins. Why did the Brahmins become vegetarian? The answer is that without becoming vegetarian the Brahmins could not have recovered the ground they had lost to their rival namely Buddhism That in an agricultural population there should be respect for Buddhism and revulsion against Brahmanism which involved slaughter of animals including cows and bullocks is only natural. What could the Brahmins do to recover the lost ground? To go one better than the Buddhist Bhikshus not only to give up meat-eating but to become vegetarians which they did. That this was the object of the Brahmins in becoming vegetarians can be proved in various ways.

If the Brahmins had acted from conviction that animal sacrifice was bad, all that was necessary for them to do was to give up killing animals for sacrifice That they did go in for vegetarianism makes it obvious that their motive was far-reaching. Secondly, it was unnecessary for them to become vegetarians. For the Buddhist Bhikshus were not vegetarians. This statement might surprise many people owing to the popular belief that the connection between Ahimsa and Buddhism was immediate and essential This is an error. The fact is that the Buddhist Bhikshus were permitted to eat three kinds of flesh that were deemed pure

As the Buddhist Bhikshus did eat meat the Brahmins had no reason to give it up. Why then did the Brahmins give up meat-eating and become vegetarians?

The giving up of the yajna system and abandonment of the sacrifice of the cow could have had only a limited effect. At the most it would have put the Brahmins on the same footing as the Buddhists. The same would have been the case if they had followed the rules observed by the Buddhist Bhikshus in the matter of meat-eating. It could not have given the Brahmins the means of achieving supremacy over the Buddhists which was their ambition. They wanted to oust the Buddhists from the place of honour and respect which they had acquired in the minds of the masses by their opposition to the killing of the cow for sacrificial purposes. To achieve their purpose the Brahmins had to adopt the usual tactics of a reckless adventurer. It is to beat extremism by extremism. It is the strategy which all rightists use to overcome the leftists. The only way to beat the Buddhists was to go a step further and be vegetarians.

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Why did the Brahmins become vegetarian? B.R. Ambedkar asks in this excerpt from 'Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men' - The Hindu

Mangaluru: On November 27, addressing the media, Karnataka animal husbandry minister Prabhu Chavan said, After the government came in, we had promised go mata is our mother, they should not be slaughtered. The Bill will 100% be introduced this coming session. He was announcing the decision taken in the cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru to introduce a Bill that aims to achieve the BJPs long-standing goal of a stringent anti-cow slaughter law in the state.

The Bill, if implemented, will impose a blanket ban on cow slaughter and the sale and consumption of beef in the state. Apart from the prohibition of cow slaughter, the Bill also bans the slaughter of the calf of a cow and bull, bullock, buffalo male or female and calf of a she-buffalo too.

The Bill revives the BJPs plan, first mulled in 2010, to ban the slaughter of cattle. In that year, the B.S. Yediyurappa government introduced the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010. However, among staunch opposition, the BJP could not succeed in getting the law passed. And when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government assumed power in 2013, the Bill was abandoned.

A decade later, the Yediyurappa government is once again attempting to pass the Bill, something the BJP had mentioned in their 2018 manifesto too.

Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa. Credit: PTI

Karnataka is not the first state to plan a stringent anti-cow slaughter law. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Telangana already have such laws in place.

Cow slaughter is forbidden in most parts of the country. In Karnataka, the anti-cow slaughter law The Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964 has been in force. Unlike the new proposed Bill, under the 1964 Act, permits the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and buffaloes if they are more than 12 years old or if they are unfit for breeding/do not give milk.

Also Read: Whatever the BJP May Say, the Cost of Protecting Cows Is High

Opposition from rights, farmers and other groups

The new proposed Bill is facing opposition from human rights groups, farmers associations and several butcher communities in the state. If passed, the cow protection Act will not just stop sales of the meat in the state and thereby directly impact the Qureshi butcher community but also hurt farmers and cattle herders deeply, farmers organisations feel.

For farmers, too, looking after an old, ailing cattle is not a viable option. In September, several farmers and anti-caste organisations had come together to oppose the states move.

J.M. Veerasangaiah, working president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said at a press conference organised in Bengaluru at the time that Yediyurappa had failed to enact the law in 2010 because of opposition from the farming community. The farming community is suffering severe economic hardship in the state because of the pandemic. The sale of aged cows, bullocks and buffaloes allows a farmer to alleviate his dire situation slightly and this law will even prevent that. Somehow, the BJPs ideology wants us to feel that vegetarianism is supreme whereas non-vegetarianism is bad, but how will the poor, Dalits and religious minorities get nutritional food without beef? he asked.

R. Mohan Raj, the state convener of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, had called it an attack on an individuals choice of food. Food culture is unique and the constitution gives everyone the right to eat whatever they want. This anti-peoples Bill should not be tabled The BJP shows that they are targeting Muslims, but their real target is Dalits, Raj said.

On December 1, a Qureshi butchers association met the former chief minister and the current leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, appealing him to oppose the Bill in the assembly. Siddaramaiah, a vocal opponent of the Bill right from the start, has been questioning the BJPs intent.

Qureshi butchers association meets Siddaramaiah. Photo: thecognate.com

Why is Cow slaughter not banned in Goa even though @BJP4Goa is in power? Why only in Karnataka? he asked in one of his messages on social media.

Regardless of the law, there has been a long history of violent vigilante campaign in Karnataka against the consumption of beef. As early as in March 2005, a father and son duo were paraded naked for hours and then violently attacked, allegedly by a mob that included members of the Hindu Yuva Sena, Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The victims, identified as Hajabba (60) and his son Hasanabba (25), suffered several internal injuries in the mob attack. The same year, another person, Azaruddin, was attacked while transporting a legitimately purchased cattle from Amasebail near Kundapur to Moodabidri in Dakshin Kannada in a tempo. Azaruddin was killed on the spot and one policeman who had intervened was also severely injured in the attack.

Shabeer Ahamed of the Karwan e Mohabbat, a peoples campaign for solidarity to survivors of hate crimes, says that with or without the Bill, the state has witnessed several violent attacks, many of which led to deaths. Several vendors and cattle transporters have been targeted across the state. These attacks were all in the public space, in full public view. But almost all have led to acquittals, Ahamed says.

Since 2005, at least nine persons have lost their lives and close to 200 other incidents of mob vigilantism against cow trade and slaughter have been reported across Karnataka. Most of them were cattle transporters who belong to lower socio-economic castes such as the Qureshis. The most recent incident was from 2018, when a suspected cattle trader Hussainabba was killed in Udipi district.

See more here:
Karnataka: BJP Revives Plan to Impose Blanket Ban on Cattle Slaughter - The Wire

The philosophy around going meatless or adopting a vegetarian lifestyle has become increasingly popular. People are being more aware of foods that are nutrient dense (and those less so) which helps them to stay healthy and fit. So is veering towards a plant-based approach the best way to go? A growing number of people seem to think so. A Vegetarian resource group conducted a poll and found that there was rise in people adopting vegetarianism/veganism compared to previous years data in USA, similar data was shown for Europe, Israel and India as well.

Before we fall in to the discussion of Should people become Vegetarian? however, its important to understand what vegetarianism actually means as well as the benefits and potential risks associated with it.

Vegetarian broadly refers to those who restricts consumption of animal products like meat, fish, poultry etc., and largely rely on plant based foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy, pulses etc., for living. Within this group, there are various levels of vegetarians. These are classified from most restrictive to those who are less so.

A vegetarian diet is naturally low in fats and high in fiber, but being vegetarian has its own risks. So no matter at what level you happen to fall, and no matter what reason you have chosen to commit to it , there are both pros and cons of being vegetarian. Here are few of them:

Pros of Vegetarianism:

Cons of Vegetarianism:

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Vegetarianism: Pros and Cons - GOQii

1Andrews, Ryan.Drop The Fat Act and Live Lean. Summertown, TN: Healthy Living Publication.2012.

2Cox, Peter. You Dont Need Meat. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2002.

3Foer, Jonathan Safran. Eating Animals. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company, 2009.

4Freston, Kathy. "A Vegan Diet (Hugely) Helpful Against Cancer." The Huffington Post. December 9, 2012. Updated: February 8, 2013. Accessed: August 25, 2016.

5Hellmich, Nanci. USDA: Eggs Cholesterol Level Better Than Cracked Up to Be. USA Today. February 8, 2011. Accessed: February 23, 2013.

6MacRae, Fiona. Real Men Must Eat Meat, Say Women as They Turn up Their Noses at Vegetarians. Daily Mail. February 1, 2011. Accessed: February 17, 2013.

7Nelson, Dean. India Tells West to Stop Eating Beef. The Telegraph. November 20, 2009. Accessed: February 17, 2013.

8Pamer, Melissa. Meatless Mondays: LA Urges Residents to Turn Vegetarian One Day a Week. U.S. News. November 10, 2012. Accessed: November 26, 2012.

9Plant-based Protein Sources. SoyStache. 2012. Accessed: November 26, 2012.

10Robbins, John. Diet for a New America. Tiburon, CA: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987.

11Saunders, Kerrie K. The Vegan Diet as Chronic Disease Prevention. New York, NY: Lantern Books, 2003.

12Spencer, Colin.Vegetarianism: A History. New York, NY: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2000.

13Stuart, Tristram.The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

14The Number of Vegetarians in the World. Raw Food Health. Accessed: February 23, 2013.

15Wanjek, Christopher. Sorry Vegans, Eating Meat and Cooking Food Is How Humans Got Their Big Brains. The Washington Post. November 26, 2012. Accessed: February 17, 2013.

16Williams, Amanda. Vegetarians Have a Better Sex Life: Eating Tofu Can Boost You in the Bedroom, New Study Claims. Daily Mail. November 23, 2012. Accessed: February 17, 2013.

Read more from the original source:
56 Delicious Vegetarianism Facts | FactRetriever.com

The average American ate some 220 pounds of red meat and poultry in 2018, according to the US Department of Agriculture, surpassing a record set in 2004. But some politicians have joined anti-meat and climate change activists in a massive effort to restructure the American diet and to ensure ... and mandate ... that the rest of the world will be stuck with a mostly plant-based diet.

Last March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shocked Americas meat producers by announcing the expansion of meatless Mondays to all New York City public schools. The reason? To keep our lunch and planet green for generations to come. So now they claim eating meat also threatens the planet.

Monday Campaigns is a national organization that collaborates with the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Its goal is to reduce US meat consumption by 15% for our personal health and the health of the planet.

Finnish researchers in 2012 investigated the intended and unintended effects of mandatory vegetarian days in Helsinki schools. While the compulsory restrictions increased healthy and sustainable dietary patterns, they also resulted in psychological reactance, hedonic dislike, and noncompliance. Refuseniks at a Finnish military base leave behind dumpsters of empty pizza boxes on forced-vegan day.

Liberal-progressive local governments are already looking at replicating de Blasios bold move. For example, a resolution calling for Meatless Mondays in Hawaii public schools came close to enactment in the Hawaii State Legislature in 2019, and supporters are hopeful it will become law next year.

One of the worlds leading voices condemning meat consumption is the United Nations. In 2018 it bestowed one of its Champions of the Earth awards to Patrick O. Brown of Impossible Foods and Ethan Brown of Beyond Meat. The awards follow and buttress UN Environment Programme claims that our use of animals as a food-production technology has brought us to the verge of catastrophe.

Both Browns insist that, because the destructive impact of animal agriculture on our environment far exceeds that of any other technology on Earth, there is no pathway to achieve the Paris climate objectives without a massive decrease in the scale of animal agriculture.

The anti-meat campaign has hit other top echelons of the UN. Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention onClimateChange, recently stated her hope that restaurants of the future will treat carnivores the same way that smokers are treated [today]. If they want to eat meat, they can do it outside the restaurant. But not the way theyre treating meat at COP-25 in Madrid.

The UN is also touting a study, published in the journal Nature, which claims that huge reductions in meat eating are essential to avoid dangerous climate change. The authors implore western countries to cut their beef consumption by 90 percent.

Then in almost its next breath, the UN hosts yet another gala affair and lavish meals at 5-star hotels in Bali, Brazil and other lovely locations, attended by countless thousands of activists, bureaucrats, reporters and politicians. Why should these ruling elites have to worry about carbon footprints and rules they promulgate for the rest of us, the worlds unwashed masses, who will comply or face the consequences?

The Economist published results of two other studies claiming that going vegan for two-thirds of meals could cut food-related carbon emissions by 60 percent. Total veganism is the most environmentally friendly, with die-hard leaf-eaters claiming to have knocked 85% off their carbon footprint.

It all follows a familiar, predictable, totalitarian pattern that ought to set off global alarms. Find a target of eco-progressive hate. Vilify the target, and demand that it be restricted or eradicated to prevent yet another civilizational or planetary cataclysm. Redefine science and morality to drive the agenda. Reward and publicize those who support the claims and campaign. Condemn and silence anyone who questions or challenges them. Impose new rules.

On climate change, assume and assert that carbon dioxide and methane are the primary or only factors. That any weather and climate changes today are unprecedented, existential threats. That anyone who challenges these assertions is a denier who must be silenced, jailed, exiled and re-educated.

Danish environmental economist Bjorn Lomborg, mocks the anti-meat studies and arguments. Lomborg is a vegetarian himself but says 1.45 billion of the worlds people are vegetarians because of their extreme poverty, and many of them desperately want to be able to afford meat in their diets.

He chastises those who claim going vegetarian will cut carbon footprints in half, noting that food-related emissions account for just 20% of total carbon dioxide releases. A study of Swedish vegetarians found that lifelong vegetarianism would reduce net carbon dioxide emissions just 2 percent. Meanwhile, Chinese and Indian coal-fired power plant emissions dwarf those savings 100 times over.

Moreover, healthy vegetarian diets require very careful attention to food and supplements, to ensure proper nutrition; vegan diets even more so. Thats impossible in impoverished countries and families.

Enormous environmental and agricultural problems also loom. Cattle, sheep and pigs can graze on lands that would be plowed under for food crops under an all-veggie dictatorship. But that same system is determined to replace fossil fuels with wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels and batteries that would make tens of millions of acres unavailable or unsuitable for growing the needed food crops.

And those same activists, bureaucrats and politicians also want to ban modern hybrid and biotech seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and mechanized farming. Wed get even less food from diminished acreage. More and more people would become increasingly malnourished, starve, go blind, and die.

Reduced atmospheric carbon dioxide would mean plants would be deprived of their basic building block and need more water in a water-starved world. If the planet cools, instead of warming, we would have far less arable land, shorter growing seasons, and still worse agricultural conditions. More would starve.

Do you know whats in those plant-based meats those ultra-processed imitation meats that are assembled in industrial factories and enhanced with chemicals to make vegan burgers more tasty and palatable? Tasty ingredients like methylcellulose, titanium dioxide, propylene glycol, ferric phosphate and magnesium carbonate. Do grasshoppers and other tasty insects count as meat?

The truth is, the vegan revolution is overstated. A recent Gallup poll found only 5% of Americans are vegetarian and just 3% are vegan. But 16% of liberals are vegetarian or vegan, compared with just 2% of conservatives. The numbers are much higher for younger progressives in the USA and elsewhere.

Those numbers almost certainly reflect the constant indoctrination, fear-mongering and silencing of skeptical voices in schools from kindergarten through graduate school; on social and in large segments of traditional media; in political circles; and in the UN and other unaccountable government organizations.

It also helps explain how and why Goldsmiths, in the University of London, has been able to ban beef from the entire campus. Goldsmiths professor France Corner has sounded the predictable alarm: The growing global call for organizations to take seriously their responsibilities for halting climate change is impossible to ignore. Especially if his campus is as intolerant of other views as are so many others and so willing to lash out verbally, physically and with threats of expulsion against any contrarians.

Its one more example of our progressive elites taking us down the road to totalitarian rule all in the name of saving us and the only planet we have from imminent manmade catastrophe. Whether the goal is to enlist vegans and vegetarians in the climate catastrophe movement, or to include veganism as a basic tenet of that movement, the result is the same.

Either be prepared for more anti-meat protests, more Meatless Mondays, more assaults on the livestock industry, more calls for taxing meat to raise its cost above what ordinary people can afford and more totalitarian control of our lives. Or start fighting back against these intolerant control freaks.

The rest is here:
News - Politicized Veganism - The Heartland Institute

Wally Fry

Assigning Wally Fry the title of pioneer of plant-based foods in South Africa is well justified. The epitome of an early market entrant, the Fry Family Food Co. was established in 1991 at a time when vegetarianism was largely considered a fad in South Africa, and retailers had little to no faith in the demand for meat substitute products. How the former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) farm boy and livestock trader built up the business may not have been commercially conventional, but it certainly proved successful.

Wally Fry is emphatic that the establishment of the Fry Family Food Co. in 1991 was an aspiration and value-driven decision rather than a profit-driven one. In the three decades since, the business has led the growth of plant-based and meat-free food products in South Africa, making vegan and vegetarian options easily accessible to consumers looking for alternative protein sources.

Speaking to How we made it in Africa from Australia, where he now lives, Wally credits his wife Debbie with introducing him to a meat-free diet while he, ironically, was in the goat and cattle trade. I met my wife while I was a livestock agent and she was already a vegetarian. I didnt even know what a vegetarian was at the time, he says.

After the two married, Wally worked in his father-in-laws construction business and then established his own small construction company. It was while in the building industry that he became involved in the development of a 1,000-sow piggery in KZN. Visiting the site once in operation, he describes his shock at the conditions in which the bred-for-meat animals were held.

His final push towards a meat-free philosophy came when his young daughter also became a vegetarian and started asking questions about the reasons animals were reared and killed for food. She asked questions I didnt have the answers to. I started to do some research and was flabbergasted at the extent of biodiversity destruction as a direct result of livestock farming. It was an epiphany for me. Discovering alternative food sources to meat became a passion, a desire, a calling, he explains.

Realising he would not last long on a diet of rice and lentils, Wally began to experiment with ingredients in the family kitchen, learning how to process raw materials such as soya and make emulsions from vegetable-based fats.

The kind of food development I was doing at the time was unknown in the world. This was tough, as there was no-one I could go to for advice and I had to figure things out myself, he describes.

Producing homemade meat-free alternatives for family and friends, Wally reveals he had no desire to commercialise the concept until he was approached by a marketing specialist in 1992 who recognised the opportunity, drew up a free business plan for the Fry Family Food Co. and introduced him to players in production and packaging. He taught me so many things about the retail business and I am forever grateful for his intervention.

Wally soon approached the food buyer of a large national retailer, secured a meeting and provided a tasting of his meat-free sausage, hotdog, polony and burger, preparing the food on a two-burner camping stove in the small kitchen of the supermarket chain head office. He liked the product and said he would give us a listing in 33 stores nationally, but he had no idea of our limited production capacity, and we hadnt even finalised packaging yet.

The companys meat-free burger product.

To fill the order, I bought second-hand food manufacturing machinery at an auction in Durban, installed it in a small factory space I owned, employed a recently retrenched butcher who knew how to operate the processors, and slowly began production.

The original team comprising himself, his single factory employee, and his wife, Debbie was soon successfully running production.

Wally explains that the business was completely self-funded and that, once he left the construction trade, the family lived off rental income from several small factories he owned. No borrowed funding was ever used. All the profits were reinvested with the simple mantra if I cant pay cash for it, then I dont need it, he notes.

Within 18 months of its first listing, Fry Family Food Co. products had appointed distribution agents across the country and Wally had acquired listings in every national branch of Pick n Pay, followed by Checkers, Makro, Spar and multiple independent retailers.

As consumer interest in meat-free alternatives grew along with demand, Wally continued to develop new meat-free and plant-based products, branching into plant-based chicken offerings.

In 1992, the original factory was producing around 300kg of product a day and, in 2005, the business opened its first 5,000m2 custom-built factory in Durban. Because no-one had ever produced food like this before, we had to design our own machinery. We ended up with a factory that produced up to 14 tonnes in a 24-hour period, he says.

Wally describes the business expansion into the international market as largely serendipitous. Upon relocating to Australia in 1998, the companys key accountant recognised the lack of plant-based products and meat substitutes on the market and convinced Wally to ship an container of products to Australia. After a slow start, Frys products were soon listed in over 2,000 stores across Australia. It was an incredible growth off a tiny base, Wally notes.

The following year, the company started exporting into the UK and Belgium, signalling its entrance into the European market. The way we expanded into foreign markets was completely unplanned and without a defined strategy. Someone would try our products in one country and contact us to say they wanted to represent us in another market. After we checked their credentials, they would pay upfront for stock, which we would then ship, and this resulted in a fantastic global network of agents. We honestly had no strategy around reaching a certain number of sales, we were just happy with whatever we got.

Frys products in a supermarket.

Fry attributes the success of the business to the fact that the people they were selling to knew the company was run and operated by a vegan and vegetarian family with a moral cause, which provided the brand authenticity.

Today, Fry Family Food Co. products are listed in 8,000 outlets across 27 countries.

In 2020 Wally sold a majority stake in the Fry Family Foods Co. to the LiveKindly Collective. This was after the New York-based LiveKindly Collective raised US$200 million in capital from several global investors, including its founders, entrepreneurs and family offices, to acquire brands that would ultimately establish one of the worlds largest plant-based food companies.

Upon acquisition in 2020, the Fry Family Food Co. was producing some 5,000 tonnes of product per annum. I sold the business in 2020 to a large New York-based business without ever having borrowed a cent, says Wally.

Despite the acquisition, the Fry Family Food Co. remains a family affair. Wallys daughters Tammy and Hayley head up marketing, and research and development, respectively, and son Shaun acts as general managing director in the Australia and New Zealand region. Wally remains a consultant and advisor to the business on an ad hoc basis.

With its primary production facility still located in Durban, Frys Family Food Co. under the LiveKindly umbrella has since established a second manufacturing plant in Europe.

Although much of the Durban-based manufacturing and processing machinery has been scaled, upgraded or digitalised, many of Frys original manufacturing machines remain in operation today. The sausage packaging machine I designed and built in 1995, for example, is still packaging five tonnes a day, he says.

Leveraging off the larger footprint and network offered under the LiveKindly Collective, the Fry Family Food Co. plans further expansion into international markets, as well as the development of additional meat-free and plant-based products.

Plant-based living is a fast-growing trend in the world, and to meet the demand, better and better alternatives to traditional meat, fish and dairy products are being developed at a mind-bending speed, says Wally.

The Fry Family Food Co. factory in Durban, South Africa.

Describing a holistic approach based on the belief that the health of animals, the planet and consumers are intrinsically linked, the company is meticulous about the sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing for its now over 60-strong product range. It continues to source non-genetically modified proteins from ethical sources that are rigorously tested and certified free from pesticides to produce quality products that are preservative-free and 100% vegan.

Sources of protein include soya, wheat, rice, quinoa, pea and chia seeds, while fats are derived from sunflower oil, flaxseed oil and coconut oil. Carbohydrates in the form of potato, maize starch and wheat flour are used in the production process. Flavourings are derived from a variety of plants.

Recent data suggests global consumers are increasingly looking to meat-free and plant-based food alternatives as they adopt a growing preference for foods perceived to be healthier and more sustainable. A 2021 report by Bloomberg Intelligence predicts the plant-based food market will grow from $29.4 billion in 2020 to over $162 billion by 2030, or 7.7% of the expected $2.1 trillion global protein market.

It states that while about 5% of the global population identify as vegan, flexitarians who eat a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally consume meat or fish constitute around a third of the US population.

We expect the sales growth for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives will outpace conventional products, supported by increased production capacity, lower retail prices, broader distribution gains and consumer acceptance, according to the report.

In the UK, market intelligence agency Mintel reported in 2019 that the number of Britons consuming meat-free options had increased from 50% in 2017 to 65% in 2019. Meanwhile, the sales of meat-free foods have grown an impressive 40%, from 582 million in 2014 to an estimated 816 million in 2019. Such is the popularity of meat-free food that sales in the UK are expected to be in excess of 1.1 billion by 2024, it found.

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How Wally Fry grew a plant-based food empire in South Africa - How we made it in Africa