2. Demographics
• It is said that the percentage of vegetarians that are female is 59%.
This of course tells us that the percentage of vegetarians that are
male is 41%. These statistics tell me that even though the amounts
are 2% different, my product should be more successful if I were to
aim my recipe cards at females.
• 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 my product would be most effective and
appealing to people aged anywhere from 18 to 54, seeing as that is
the is the largest portion of people who are vegetarian.
• The countries where there are the most percentage of vegetarians
in their population are (from highest to lowest): India, Taiwan, Italy,
Brazil, the UK and Germany. India is most likely to have the highest
percentage of vegetarians because religions such as Buddhism and
Hinduism are popular there. Both religions encourage
vegetarianism by believing in non-violence and harmonious living
between all living things.
3. Demographics…continued
• 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 and maybe more exotic foods that poorer people could not afford,
they will just eat what they can get. ‘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.
• Vegetarians are socially conscious. This means that they are people who
take pride in having an anti-materialistic attitude that may or may not be
supported in reality. There are many people who are against
vegetarianism and will not support the views of vegetarians, vegans or any
other diet that is not considered ‘normal’.
4. Definition of the terms ‘vegetarian’ &
‘vegan’
• A vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat,
for moral, religious or health reasons and even
sometimes for weight loss and weight
maintenance.
• A vegan is a person who does not eat or use any
product that has come from an animal such as
honey, eggs, milk. People choose to be vegan for
some of the same reasons as vegetarians, such as
moral or religious reasons.
5. Different kinds of vegetarianism
• There are different diets to vegetarianism, such as:
• Pescetarian: This diet allows people to eat fish and shellfish but no
other meat is allowed.
• Pollo-Pescetarian: People will only eat white meat as it is high in
protein. This type of diet is good for weight loss because the diet
includes avoiding fat.
• Pollotarian: A pollotarian with eat chicken and other types of poultry
such as duck and turkey.
• Flexitarian: This diet is plant based with the occasional and rare
inclusion of meat products.
• Fruitarian: This diet allows the consumption of fruits, nuts and seeds
without the inclusion of any 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 gelatine. This is based mainly of
religious beliefs.
6. Reasons for going vegetarian
• The main reasons that people choose to become vegetarian in order of
popularity among vegetarians are:
1. Animal welfare 54% - People may choose to be vegetarian for the good of
animals; they will not like the thought of eating animals and living
creatures, this is their main motive for becoming vegetarian.
2. To improve overall health 53% - Some people believe that if they become
vegetarian then their overall health will improve because they will be
eating more vegetables in order to replace meats in their meals and will
therefore be taking in more vitamins etc. so their overall health will
improve.
3. Environmental concerns 47% - In some cases, vegetarian and vegan diets
help the environment. People believe that the water that is used in raising
livestock could be used for different reasons that would benefit the
environment. Also, when cattle are fed excessively to fatten up, they
produce a gas called methane that contributes to global warming. Meat
eaters also contribute to deforestation as land is cleared for either the
purpose of raising cattle or for growing grain for cattle.
7. • Natural approaches to wellness 39% - This is because some vegetarians
believe that turning vegetarian will give them the nutrients and vitamins
that they need. They think it will be easier to get them by replacing the
meat that they would eat with more vegetables, so that is all they are
eating.
• Food-safety concerns 31% - There is always a worry when eating meat that
you can get food poisoning from it. This can be avoided by obviously not
eating meat.
• Weight loss 25% - Some people believe that if they become vegetarian,
then they will be eating healthier and therefore will lose weight and get in
shape.
• Weight maintenance 24% - People also believe that once they are at a
weight that they are happy to be, then by converting to vegetarianism will
allow them to stay at that weight by eating more vegetables and getting
the vitamins and nutrients that they need.
8. Religious reasons
• There are religious restrictions when it comes to diet for
some people who are part of certain religions. The religions
of Hinduism and Buddhism say that vegetarianism is an
ideal way to promote non-violence and harmony between
all living things. Buddhists believe that they return to earth
in an afterlife as anything in the world e.g. an animal, so if
they must practise what they would think if they were the
animal. Jews and Muslims may eat Kosher or Halal meat if
they wish to have a meat substitution. (This is the meat of
an animal or a bird that was slaughtered according to
Islamic or Jewish teachings.) If Kosher or Halal meat isn't
available, Jews and Muslims must keep a vegetarian diet.
Other religious groups that avoid meat include Seventh Day
Adventists and Jains.
9. 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.
• Some of Quorn’s products include chicken style
pieces, mince and sausages which are al made
out of the Fusarium venenatum.
10. • 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. They also make
documentaries such as ‘Devour the Earth’ and
they do a lot of work approving food products
for vegetarians to eat.
11. • Redwood: Redwood specialise in producing foods that
are free from animal ingredients such as meat and
even gelatine; they are vegan. 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. Their food is rich in nutrients and
vitamins. They make foods such as sausages and
cheeses but without using any ingredients from
animals. Products include: Fish-style fingers, mozzarella
style slices and chicken style pieces.
12. Vegan
• Alpro: Alpro believes that a majority of the food
that we eat should come from plants. The
company is 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. Products include
alternatives to milk, cream and yoghurts without
using any ingredients that come from animals
such as milk.
13. • Oatly: Oatly oat drinks are the natural choice
for people who want to take in nutrients and
the goodness that come from oats. The Oatly
oat drinks provide good nutrition to people
who can’t tolerate dairy, soya or rice milk and
any other milk products. Oatly’s role is simply
to develop, produce and sell foods/drinks that
make it a little easier for everyone to be
healthy and to help vegans and vegetarians.
Products include: Oatly oat alternative to
cream, Oatly oat drink chocolate and oatly oat
drink organic.
14. • 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/vegans
even if this is not directly stated. They start
petitions and rallies that will protest for the rights
of animals on issues such as cosmetic testing and
racing. They come up with different ways to try
and convert people into becoming
vegetarian/vegan such as an article on
http://www.peta.org.uk/ that talks about how
being a vegan can increase your sexual stamina.
15. 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.
