2. Demographics
• It is said that the percentage of vegetarians that are female is 59% which tells us
that the percentage of vegetarians that are male is 41%. These statistics tell us that
I should maybe aim my recipe cards more at females than males because that
section of the audience is larger.
• The percentage of vegetarians that are aged 18 to 34 is 42%, the age from 35 to 54
is 41% and the percentage over the age of 55 is 17%. This tells me that I should not
focus on aiming my work to an older audience such as age 55 and over, I should
focus on a younger audience.
• The countries where there are the most percentage of vegetarians are: India,
Taiwan, Italy, Brazil, the UK and Germany.
• The countries that have the least amount of vegetarians in their populations are:
Portugal, Poland, China, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
• I would say that the main social status of vegetarians is middle class. This is
because they have the money to contemplate going on diets and eating healthy
maybe more exotic foods. ‘Individuals on higher incomes were more likely to be
vegetarian (7% of those with a household income of over £44,000 per annum
compared to 2% of those with an income of less than £14,999 per annum).’ This
was taken from http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=755.
3. Definition of the term ‘vegetarian’
• A vegetarian is a person who does not eat
meat, for moral, religious, health reasons and
even sometimes for weight loss and
maintenance.
• A vegan is a person who does not eat or use
animal products such as honey, eggs, milk.
People choose to be vegan for some of the
same reasons as vegetarians, such as moral or
religious reasons.
4. Different kinds of vegetarianism
• There are a few different ways that people eat such as:
• Pescetarian: This diet includes fish and shellfish but no other meat.
• Pollo-Pescetarian: Only eat white meat. High in protein. Avoiding
fat. Weight loss.
• Pollotarian: Eats chicken and other poultry.
• Flexitarian: Plant based with the occasional inclusion of meat
products.
• Fruitarian: This diet includes fruits, nuts and seeds without the
inclusion of meat products, vegetables and grains.
• Lacto Vegetarian: This is a is a vegetarian diet that includes dairy
products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, but excludes
eggs. Lacto-vegetarians also abstain from cheeses that include
animal rennet and yogurts that contain gelatin. This is based mainly
of religious beliefs.
5. Reasons for going vegetarian
• The main reasons that people choose to be vegetarian
in order of popularity among vegetarians are:
• Animal welfare 54%
• To improve overall health 53%
• Environmental concerns 47%
• Natural approaches to wellness 39%
• Food-safety concerns 31%
• Weight loss 25%
• Weight maintenance 24%
6. Companies that target vegetarian and
vegan markets
Vegetarian
• Quorn: Quorn is the leading brand of imitation meat mycoprotein in the
UK. Mycoprotein is taken from the fungus Fusarium venenatum. Quorn is
sold largely in Europe but also in other parts of the world and is approved
by the Vegetarian Society.
• Vegetarian Society: The Vegetarian Society is a British registered charity to
‘support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK.’
They do this by introducing products such as recipe cards to encourage
vegetarian eating, documentaries such as ‘Devour the Earth’ narrated by
Paul McCartney and they also do a lot of work approving food products for
vegetarians to eat.
• Redwood: Redwood specialise in producing foods that are free from
animal ingredients. The produce items such as kinder alternatives to meat
and fish and also dairy-free ‘cheeses‘. ‘we're passionate about creating
the very best in natural plant-based foods.’ Taken from
http://shop.redwoodfoods.eu/about-redwood. Their foods help to protect
not just animals but also people and the environment.
7. Vegan
• Alpro: Alpro believes that a majority of the food that we eat
should come from plants. The company planet friendly,
sustainable and healthy. They produce plant-based alternatives
to milk, yoghurt and cream, meat and margarine, so that
anyone and everyone could enjoy delicious plant powered
foods.
• Oatly: Oatly oat drinks are the natural choice for people who
want to eat more healthily. The Oatly oat drinks also provide
good nutrition to people who can’t tolerate dairy, soya or rice
milk and milk products. Oatly’s role is simply to develop,
produce and sell foods that make it a little easier for everyone
to eat healthily.
• PETA: The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Foundation is a UK-based charity dedicated to establishing and
protecting the rights of all animals. This would suggest that
PETA are for the idea of vegetarianism and would encourage
people to become vegetarians even if this is not directly stated.
8. Food that vegetarians and vegans
cannot eat
• Vegetarians cannot eat any red or white meat.
This includes meats such as chicken, fish and
beef.
• Vegans however, cannot eat any kinds of meat
or any products that come from animals such
as honey from bees, milk from cows and
goats, and also eggs from chickens and other
birds.
