Subtitles section Play video
-
Chances are you're not a vegan.
-
But you may have had an almond latte this week or at least tofu in your ramen at some point.
-
And even though a really small number of people actually identify as fully vegan, vegan products are filling up and flying off supermarket shelves.
-
That's because more of us are now substituting meat and dairy products with plant-based items.
-
Yo, I told my friends that I'm gonna become a vegan and live that plant-based diet.
-
So I became a vegan.
-
I've been vegan practically my whole life.
-
I'm vegan.
-
Is it a fad like so many other food trends, or is it the start of something much bigger?
-
This is your Bloomberg QuickTake on the "Vegan Economy."
-
The Vegan Society was founded in 1944 in a bid to discuss non-dairy, vegetarian diets and lifestyles.
-
They say you gotta eat vegetables.
-
Too much meat's bad.
-
It began and remained a very small community for decades.
-
But the animal alternative industry is now expected to grow to a $140 billion in the next decade.
-
There's something out there for anyone who wants to replace any amount of animal product in their diet, from cheese or yogurt replacements to bloody veggie burgers.
-
But since only six percent of Americans describe themselves as vegan, this growth is coming from outside that community.
-
Our meat heavy diet doesn't just harm animals, it's killing our planet too.
-
Livestock farming produces about 14.5 percent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions.
-
Cows are the main offender.
-
Rearing and feeding farm animals leads to deforestation, which in turn reduces our ability to absorb CO2 in the atmosphere.
-
Research from Oxford University claims that a vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.
-
Concern for the planet is one motivation, but over half of U.S. adults who eat plant-based proteins said the main reason was taste, beating concerns over diet, animal protection, the environment, and health.
-
Vegan products are no longer the weird, dusty packets hidden in the back of the health food shop.
-
They're being delivered to the mainstream by huge brands like McDonald's and Burger King.
-
There's even vegan beer because as it turns out, brewers use fish guts for filtration.
-
And the obsession with oat milk has led to shortages in the U.S., causing hysteria across the country.
-
Well, mainly Brooklyn.
-
Investors are now getting in on the action.
-
Shares of Beyond Meat surged 600% in the three months after its IPO.
-
Another plant-based burger maker, Impossible Foods, raised $300 million in the same month.
-
So what could hold this burgeoning vegan economy back?
-
Nutritionists are questioning some of the health credentials of these processed meat alternatives.
-
Burger King's vegan burger, the Impossible Whopper, contains a whopping 35 grams of fat and 1,080 milligrams of sodium.
-
That's almost half of your recommended daily allowance of sodium.
-
Others warn that genetically engineered ingredients need more research to determine their safety.
-
Despite the concerns, there are bullish signs.
-
Traditional meat and dairy companies like Tyson and Dean Foods have invested in plant-based products.
-
With supposed benefits to our health, moving to a vegetarian and vegan diet could produce savings of up to a trillion dollars a year on healthcare and lost working days.
-
Like it or not, humans are going to have to shift their diets to help stem the tide of climate change.
-
With our planet's population growing, the vegan economy will need to win over even more of us if it's to have a substantial impact.