“Vegan” is trending upward!
And don’t just take my word for it. in the last five years in the U.S alone, the amount of people turning to a vegan diet has gone from just 1%to 5% and its increasing exponentially! With so many people considering the vegan lifestyle it won’t be long before we are seeing the decline of factory farming due to lack of demand for a steak! In 2012 The New York times offered some valid arguments as to why we are reducing our meat consumption, this was written two years ago and the consumption of meat continues to drop…
Who said it would never happen!
Of course the other trend following closely on the heels of Vegan cooked food is Vegan Raw food. Main stream media is featuring this style of eating and raving about the flavors, presentation and nutritional value! And so they should, for anyone that has enjoyed a raw or vegan meal at a top class cafe or restaurant, you will be nodding your head about now!
Already we are seeing a higher demand for businesses providing products to cater for this growing demographic. No longer the odd hippy diet, vegan is becoming mainstream, gourmet and sought after.
Not everyone is turning to Vegan and Raw for health reasons. As more and more people are becoming aware of factory farming, thanks to organisations like Animals Australia and Farm USA, they are making educated choices about animal cruelty, the environmental impact and the disease risk from eating meat.
Statistically the higher percentage of Vegans are women, 79% in fact. However, as the health benefits are becoming more well known, more men are turning to a plant based diet. In the sporting arena, there is a major push towards Vegan and Raw.
In Food Matters video club, this months feature movie is THE RAW NATURAL, heres their description of this amazing documentary: “The Raw Natural documentary explores the topic of professional athletes reaching peak performance and untapped potential through live food nutrition. The film highlights, 2014 Sochi Russia Gold Medalist, Adaptive Snowboarder, Evan Strong and his incredible come back as a world champion through live food nutrition. This film also features renowned wellness experts Masaru Emoto, David Wolfe and Dr Gabriel Cousens.”
In a world where meat has gone from being a luxury ingredient to an expected part of every dish, it is becoming apparent that the planet can no longer sustain that level of over indulgence and it is refreshing to see this trend turn around. We are standing up, taking responsibility for our health and that of the planet.
We would have to suggest that part of the upward trend in veganism is directly due to the amount of celebrities touting the benefits of a plant based diet. Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman, Toby Maguire and Bill Clinton are just a few of the growing number of celebrities who openly embrace a vegan lifestyle.
Quality is no longer hit or miss with Vegan and Raw eateries around the world. Luckily for the consumer, some of the leaders in the Vegan and Raw food world are passing on their years of experience and training up and coming chefs and coaches and the standards are getting higher. From casual dining at Rawvolution in LA to fine dining at Pure Food and Wine in NYC and the standards keep getting higher.
Who says the Government knows best.
There are a few out there that suggest there is no governing body for quality control of these training programs, but who wants to be at the mercy of bureaucrats that only slow down the process anyway? To regulate an industry is often to hobble it. Some of the leading institutes teaching nutrition feel the same way and won’t comply with out dated science (not to mention who funds these “governing bodies”, shall we say there could be a vested interest in keeping vego’s quiet!).
Learning from those who have paved the way is an age old way of passing the on the wisdom. Juliano the founder of Planet Raw in LA used to run the most fantastic program for Raw Vegan Chefs in training. He was one of the founders of the Raw and Vegan food movement and he knows his craft. Lets face it we all learn from somewhere, whether we want to admit it or not and being self taught isn’t always the best way. How do you know what you don’t know? A properly structured detailed program can help anyone interested in jump starting their career in Raw and Vegan food. We don’t need to re-invent the wheel!
If we continue to follow the pattern here in Australia, (like it or not) of following the U.S in trends…strap in…
The exciting news is the public are voting, with their palates and their money. We are seeing each and every week that Vegan is trending upward and this fact can’t be denied!