1. FACTFILE: VEGETARIAN
Richard and Robyn
https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=753
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
http://www.imaner.net/panel/profile.htm
http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/home/root/news-libertygb/6123-uk-vegetarian
https://www.vegsoc.org/statistics
2. Definition:
A vegetarian is when a person does not consume the flesh or insides of any
animal, e.g. meat – red meat, poultry or seafood. Some vegetarians also refuse
to use by-products of animal slaughter, e.g. leather from a cow.The company
we are working for is the Vegetarian Society defines a vegetarian as being
someone that ‘does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea,
or the by-products of slaughter’.
3. Demographics:
There are many different factors that come into the demographics of a vegetarian, but
these demographics vary between countries. Looking at the first table below, you can
see how the percentage of vegetarians vary from country to country. This changes from
31% in India to 2% in France. There are different reasons which are discussed on the
next slide. Due to the fact there are differences between country to country, the gender
and age breakdown are different. Looking at the USA as a main example, they have a
6% out of their population saying they are vegetarians, with 59% of this percentage
being female & 41% male. Looking at age, you will find that as you get to lower ages,
you find more vegetarians e.g. in the USA 42% of vegetarians are between the ages of
18 & 34. When looking at the intelligence, which links to the social status of a person,
you will find that male & females have higher IQ’s than their meat eating counterparts
(male & female both have 5 more IQ points).
Country Percentage of vegetarians
(%)
UK 3
Italy 10
France 2
Germany 9
India 31
China 5
USA 6
Australia 5
Israel 8.5
4. Reasons:
There are many different reasons for becoming vegetarian, this could include cultural or religious
reasons, health reasons or environmental reasons. One reason for taking part in vegetarianism is
environmental concerns. It takes on average 78 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of beef
protein and 35 calories of fossil fuel to product 1 calorie of pork but only 1 calorie of fossil fuel for 1
calorie of soybeans. So by eating plant food, it helps prevent the wasteful overuse of non-renewable
sources of energy. The cost of meat is also why some people are vegetarians as it has been proven
eating meat rather than a non-meat diet is twice as expensive. Another reason why people may chose
to be a vegetarian is for personal health. For example, meat is deficient in carbohydrates, including the
starches which are an important essential to a healthy lifestyle. Also, it it estimated that there are over
20,000 different drugs animals can be given to improve the livestock and with eating meat, you are
allowing yourself to be exposed to this drugs fed to the animals. Some people give up meat due to
ethics, such as a love of animals, respect for sentient life or because of the ‘natural diet’. Some are so
fond of animals that they chose to follow vegetarianism to show that they would never want to cause
harm or kill them. Some because our body chemistry is proven to be that of a herbivore so why eat
meat?
5. Companies:
(Many companies and organisations target the vegetarian market. This could be
food producers but should not just be limited to them. Give an overview of
different companies targeting this market.)
One of the most well known companies that produces vegetarian meat
substitutes is Quorn. They produce this kind of fake meat with the fungus
Fusarium venenatum. They produce this Quorn in ready-meals & as an
ingredient for vegetarians to purchase. Also, the Vegetarian Society (the
company we are working for) gave their seal of approval to the use of Quorn
when they changed their production methods to the use of free-range eggs only.
Supermarkets usually have products & recipes specific for vegetarians. An
example of this would be Sainsbury’s. On their website you can find recipes like
vegetarian sausage stew. This then shows you the ingredients needed to make
this recipe, that can be found in their stores nationwide.
6. Non vegetarian products:
There are many foods that have hidden ingredients that vegetarians cannot have.
They have to be careful with what they eat because of this. An example of this would
be Percy Pigs, made by Marks & Spencers. Included in the Percy Pigs is real pig,
which comes in the form of pork gelatin. What you would usually find in a product like
this would be pectin, which can be found in other sweets like this. They then made
vegetarian Percy Pigs which use pea protein instead, after consumers began to
complain.
The use of Cochineal, a red coloured beetle, is commonly objected against by
Vegetarians. It is found in many different products, such as fabric and cosmetics dye
and also as a natural food colour. Cochineal is a water-soluble colourants so can be
used in things such as alcohol, jams, dessert, juice beverages and cookies. It’s not
always known if a colouring is in a food. Also, different vegetarians have different
rules and restrictions on what they will consume, therefore some will consume
Cochineal. An example of an alcoholic beverage which included Cochineal up until
2006 in it is the Italian liquor, Campari.
