Been to the supermarket lately? Chances are, you’ve spotted the vast array of tofu available these days. Or maybe it’s the beetroot patties or vegetarian sausages that have caught your eye; the chicken-less chicken tenderloins or vegan ‘bacon’; the plant-based ice creams; the oat milk chocolate. Go into any café worth its salt and you can expect a range of non-dairy milk options. Hit any burger joint and there will be a vegan option. Meal delivery services are offering plant-based plans; chains like Wise Boys offer exclusively plant-based options; and just think of the high-profile plant-based devotees among us, from movie stars (Natalie Portman; Joaquin Phoenix) to local foodies (Chelsea Winter).
Plant-based diets are no longer some weird outpost, restricted to that one moralising uncle who makes Christmas catering a nightmare – they’re big, mainstream business. Really big business, in fact: the global vegan food market is forecast to be worth US$24.3 billion by 2026 (cosmetics, by comparison, are forecast at $20.8 billion).
What the stats say
A 2019 Colmar Brunton study found that 31 per cent
