Veg Diets More Popular than Ever.

Thursday, June 1, 2006
Food Systems Insider

Read the full article: http://www.foodsystemsinsider.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=62E1B3791A924B86B1C3329642224C1C&nm=Articles&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=75670CBFFD7F493EAE059B962ABF83E5

...reports the Livestock Marketing Information Center. As the Atkins diet loses popularity and people seek out more balanced diets, meat eating has gone into decline-despite raised production rates in 2004 and 2005. Export problems for chicken and beef have added to the problem. Long-term, however, the USDA projects a steady rise in meat consumption with a lowered price.

Still, meat-free diets are becoming more prevalent around the world. About 3% of the U.S. population eats no flesh of any kind (up from 1% in 1997), including 10% of 25- to 34-year-olds, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group. A poll taken in 2000 found more than 1.7 million vegans in the U.S. The market for animal-product replacement foods is estimated at $2.8 billion, according to research consumer company Mintel International Group, Ltd. A food industry publication examines the reasons why people opt for a meat-free diet. In Beijing, numerous restaurants have begun catering to vegetarians in response to the rising popularity of the diet in China. Body-conscious white-collar workers and the growing number of Chinese suffering from excess weight and hypertension are especially interested in it.