Recognition of veganism has grown exponentially in recent years with the rise of Facebook and other social media sites. Those dedicated to plant-based lifestyles share memes and messages with all the ethical and health-related reasons to go vegan.
Popularity of veganism is increasing due to several reasons. Firstly, veganism was closely bound to the ideology of the animal-rights movement, which was initially aimed at a range of targets, like wearing fur and testing products on animals. Once activists shifted focus to farm conditions and food, it became a lifestyle modifier.
Veganism can be called a healthy lifestyle which entails a diet rich in protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This is better than any ‘FAD’ diets and can let you be healthy for a lifetime.
Secondly, the love for animals and other sentient beings leads to veganism. Going vegan is the best way to end animal cruelty because people are choosing plant-based meals over any animal-based food items. Not only do their food choices change but they also choose products that are free of animal testing or any animal cruelty, thus reducing the demand for them.
Another reason for going vegan is to conserve natural resources and to support sustainability. Factory farming and breeding of these animals deplete many resources. These factory farms consume tons of fossil fuels. The more finite resources we use, the less will be left over for the future generations. The current mass extinction of species is impacting 86% of all mammals, 88% of amphibians, and 86% of all birds.
Restaurants and food businesses are to start offering more vegan options. A recent survey found that 91% of vegans are having a tough time finding to-go meal options. The market is certainly there, and restaurants and supermarkets are slowly picking up on the potential gains to be made by catering to veganism as it rises rapidly.
Over the years, vegan eating has gone from tasteless to trendy to making inroads into the mainstream. Veganism has ascended to the astral plane of aspirational living for many famous bodies such as Beyoncé, Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Pitt, Ellie Goulding, Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, and Bill Clinton.
The United States has a 600% increase in identification as vegans and the United Kingdom has increased by 350%. Australia is the third-fastest going vegan market with a rise of 92% in vegan identification. India is slowly growing as many of its famous bodies like Sonam Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Sonakshi Sinha, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao Jacqueline Fernandez, and Sunny Leone have decided to become vegan after much thought.
Even those who are not willing to go fully vegan are adding more plant-based foods to their diet. Perhaps because of this, the mindset towards vegans has drastically improved, with 43% of people saying they respected vegans for their lifestyle.
The rise in veganism around the world is fast but in countries like India where meat is part of people’s daily diet it is becoming challenging. Nevertheless celebrities such as Shahid Kapoor, Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham, and Alia Bhatt are switching to vegetarianism, a small step to a healthier lifestyle for themselves.
