According to an annual report from market research firm Brandwatch that studied social media trends, 54 percent of “foodie influencers have tweeted about veganism in 2018 so far. This is more than double the influencers who have mentioned gluten-free and vegetarianism.
What’s really surprising is that more than 50 percent of the top-trending foods listed were either vegan or had a popular vegan alternative. Some of the most-talked-about foods include cake, cheese, ice cream, burgers, and pizza.
And while this marketing firm specifically looked into vegan tweeters, it’s no surprise that veganism is popular among all social media. For instance, #vegan has 64 million recent posts on Instagram, #GoVegan has more than 6.9 million posts, and #VegansOfIG has more than 12.3 million.
We can speculate about many possible reasons veganism has become such a hot topic, but it could be that millennials—the world’s largest generation—not only purchase more vegan food than older generations but have invented social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. And while Twitter’s founders are not considered millennials, more than 80 percent of their users are.
Concerned about health, the environment, and animal welfare, millennials boast more self-identifying vegetarians than any other generation. But it doesn’t stop with millennials. More than 43 million American consumers regularly purchase vegan foods such as almond milk, tofu, and plant-based burgers, according to a study by The NPD Group. What’s more, 86 percent of these people do not consider themselves vegetarian or vegan.
More people enjoying vegan food and promoting compassionate choices is great news for the billions of animals who suffer at factory farms every day. Cows, pigs, chickens, and fish raised and killed for food are subjected to unthinkable cruelties: tiny, filthy cages; horrific mutilations; and violent slaughter.
Fortunately, there seems to be no slowing down the growth of veganism worldwide. With more delicious vegan options hitting markets, there has never been a better time to switch to a compassionate lifestyle.