According to Canadian business news outlet The Financial Post, the end of meat consumption may be sooner than you think.
The article titled “The end of meat? Economics, the environment and changing tastes have top protein feeling the heat covers everything from the environmental impacts of animal agriculture and new technologies like “clean” (cultured) meat to the growing number of vegan and vegetarian millennials.
Pork and beef consumption has been on the decline in Canada for decades.
Statistics Canada reports that Canadians consumed 24.4 kilograms of beef per capita in 2015, a 25 percent drop from 32.6 kilograms in 1999. Pork consumption has also dropped to 22.63 kilograms per capita in 2015 from 30.09 kilograms in 1999.
Evan Fraser, director of the Food Institute at Guelph University, states:
The companies that are able to adapt to these changing regulatory environments and changing consumer tastes will be the ones who started experimenting early. I worry for my friends in the beef industry.
While the animal agriculture industry continues to struggle and panic, plant-based alternative companies are seeing a boom. Jenny Zegler, a food and drink analyst at market research firm Mintel, said that although the category may be small, it’s growing rapidly. In fact, Mintel found a 189 percent increase in new vegan products and a 31 percent increase in new vegetarian products in Canada over the past five years.
Many experts think the future of food will be a mixture of clean meats and plant-based proteins. Regardless of what one chooses, it’s clear that the future will be better for animals, our planet, and our health.
Be a part of this exciting change and go vegan!
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