52% of the UK supports this
…no, we are not talking about Brexit, but health and sustainability!
Summary
The EAT-GlobeScan partnership surveyed 30,000 adults from 31 countries around the world
Plant-based gains momentum
Challenges and solutions to a whole-food plant-based diet
Eating plant-based hits mainstream
In a consumer study by EAT and GlobalScan released earlier this month (November 2022), 22% of the respondents reveal that they eat plant-based at least the majority of the time. 40% of consumers also predict that we will be eating more plant-based food than meat in the next ten years. This outlook is more popular among the younger generations. Over 40% of GenZ and Millenials show interest in eating plant-based, while over 25% of these two generations already eat plant-based most of the time. In contrast, only about a quarter of Baby Boomers are interested.
Interestingly, European and North American consumers are less optimistic about the dietary change towards eating more plant-based than consumers in Asia and Africa. This is possibly due to the economic gap between the regions. A 2010 analysis of global food consumption patterns and economic growth shows that people in high-income countries eat substantially more fat, via meat and dairy, than people in low-income countries.
How did the UK do?
The UK is among the bottom 10 countries that show the most interest in eating plant-based, with 30% of the consumers liking the idea. It should be noted that the UK is very consistent between its words and action. The UK consumers’ aspiration vs. action gap is one of the smallest, with 21% of consumers eating plant-based most of the time. This also puts the UK in the top half of the countries that practice a plant-based lifestyle.
The European countries with the most plant-based interest are Italy (37%) and Spain (34%). A close friend of mine was in Barcelona this week and texted me how surprised he was by the vibrant vegan scene. In Italy, Sardinia is regarded as a Blue Zone, which has twice the number of centenarians as the rest of the world. For those interested, here is their secret.
While 75% of UK consumers believe that buying environmentally responsible and healthy food is important, 52% of UK consumers are willing to pay more for it. The good news is that eating healthily and sustainably could actually save us money. We explored this in our previous post that a flexitarian diet costs 14% less than the Western diet, while vegan and vegetarian diets can save over 30%.
The plant-based challenge
This week on Twitter, a post from @ScepticalDoctor put the plant-based dilemma succinctly:
“A whole-food plant-based (#wfpb) diet = a diet based exclusively on unrefined plant foods & traditional soy products (these are 🥇first-class foods). 💬 A well-planned #wfpb diet is indubitably a healthy dietary pattern🍏🍆🌶️🥭🍌🍞🥬🍠🥔🥑🫘🫓.
Cons:
⦿It's inconvenient/v restrictive (e.g., involves a lot of cooking & eating out is difficult).
⦿ Some may find it hard to obtain sufficient protein &/or calories on this diet.
⦿ Not as palatable vs other diets: it takes time for one's palette to adjust.”
The cons indeed represent the biggest concerns of plant-based sceptics. In short, the whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diet requires specific knowledge as well as habit-building over time.
How can we make eating plant-based easier?
Contrary to popular belief, a healthy plant-based lifestyle is actually fairly easy in terms of grocery shopping and cooking. The crucial trick here is to do a one-off shopping list for whole grains, canned beans, lentils, peas, chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, nuts & seeds, and spices. Now I just need to buy fresh fruits and veggies in the supermarket, saving a lot of time planning.
Eating out can be a difficult challenge as restaurants like refined foods and add lots of oil and salt to each dish. The plant-based industry’s initial movement has so far heavily emphasised meat and dairy replacement, especially in fast food. Often, this has been done with disregard for nutrition. There is a long road to making whole-food choices more popular. On a side note, HappyCow is an excellent vegan & vegetarian restaurant locator that helps you quickly see the plant-based choices near you.
In terms of nutrition, people tend to overestimate their protein requirement, which is 0.8g per kg of body weight for 98% of the population. This means someone who weighs 50kg needs about 40g of protein, which is easily achievable by eating plant-based, even if you wanted more. As long as you are eating enough calories, it's difficult to actually be protein deficient on a plant-based diet. Excess protein does not make muscles bigger - it is either burnt as energy or stored as fat.
For some people, eating sufficient calories can be difficult because veggies and legumes tend to have a lower calorie density. This is why some people notice they lose weight when they switch to a plant-based diet. The trick is to eat more nuts and seeds, which contain a lot of calories, protein and unsaturated fats. Whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and soba noodles are also protein-rich and high in fibre.
Finally, food works best in aromatic pairings because they release volatile aromatic compounds that represent certain smells we are familiar with (e.g. smoky, woody, citrusy, green, herbal). The majority of our flavour perception actually comes from smell, rather than taste. Therefore, getting the right aromatic pairings is key to improving the flavour profile of your dish. Even for taste, we can use complementary and balancing tastes & sensations (e.g. spicy balances fat) to significantly improve a dish.
Only if you find it helpful
I hope these tips help you in your plant-based journey. If you want to dive more into plant-based nutrition, we have prepared a crash course on Substack for free, with plenty of nutrition, cooking, and practical tips. You could probably finish the entire course in your next commute, so please do check it out.