FLEXITARIANS-A NEW BREED OF CONSUMERS

Based on the predominance of the type of diet people consume, population is broadly classified as carnivores (meat eaters) and omnivores (vegetarians) but such distinctions get blurred because there are people who are flexible in their approach to food. Those who are not compulsive meat eaters but can manage with plant based foods are now being called "flexitarians" reflecting their flexibility in choosing the type of food they want to eat. A pure vegetarian can never reconcile to a food which is derived from a dead animal and there are natural non-vegetarians who can be reconciled to a vegetarian diet due to economic compulsions. Recent emergence of a generation willing to switch over to a vegetarian diet is compelling the food industry to come out with products which are not animal based but still gives them the feeling of consuming a meat based preparation. It is some thing like a smoker trying to cut down on smoking realizing its dangers to health. Such products make the efforts of people trying to change their predominantly meat based diets into predominantly plant based foods and this trend augurs well for the sustenance of this planet. Here is a take on this important development.

"Flexitarians — health conscious and mostly younger consumers — are drawing the attention of the food industry, which is developing new meat-mimicking products. One of the latest innovations is soy chicken from the research laboratories at the University of Missouri. The market potential is huge. Only 2 to 3 percent of Americans consider themselves vegetarians, but 4 percent of American eaters aged 18 to 29 choose to eat a meatless meal at least once a week, according to market research firm Innova Insights. The Vegetarian Research Group, meanwhile, estimates that 13 percent of Americans over 20 eat meat with fewer than half of their meals, and 25 percent say they are "working to eat less meat." For Sholar, the driving force was concern about cholesterol. Though the change wasn't easy here in barbecue country, after seven years living the flexitarian life, he's pretty used to it. "Sometimes you're looking to make something taste a bit like meat, a lot of times you're not. You're just realizing you just don't eat meat," Sholar said. High-end supermarket chain Whole Foods is seeing more demand for meals that aren't based around meat, according to Sarah Morgan, a healthy eating specialist for the Rocky Mountain region of Whole Foods. "A lot of our customers tell us that they're looking for some alternatives, and they're looking for new ways to think, instead of this standard American diet that's very animal-protein focused," Morgan said. Many of those customers haven't had to live without the foods they grew up eating.Enter the new Holy Grail for some food companies: vegetarian foods that replicate the carnivore's food experience so they don't feel that they're sacrificing while giving up meat".

In India where vegetarians are supposed to be predominant, it is often not clear whether this situation is due to economic factors or life style evolution. But the proportion of vegetarians in the total population will definitely go down if the economic development puts more money in the hands of the consumers to buy meat foods which are invariably costlier. Those who swear by meat diets are forgetting the reality that, just like fossil fuels sources running out, this planet will never be able to sustain production of adequate meat foods and even if quantitatively production is achieved it will be at a terrible price unaffordable to generations that follow the present one. The very fact that to raise one kg of animal protein one has to waste at least seven times more plant protein must have a sobering influence on the thinking of present generation. Same is true with water consumption. With environmental degradation taking place at a faster rate during animal raising, the quality of air is bound to be adversely affected jeopardizing every form of life on the earth. Global warming is bound to be more pronounced under the above conditions which in turn affect the production of plant foods. Sooner this realization dawns on the humans of current generation, lesser will be the danger that will haunt the world in future.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ANOTHER LOOK AT "VEGANISM"-CAN IT SUSTAIN?

Debate about the pros and cons of Omnivores way of dieting as compared to that of Herbivores is a never ending one with each side having sound science behind their respective way of living. However the fact still remains that world is slowly moving, albeit at a snail's pace, towards plant foods for sustaining this planet, if for nothing else. But whether this is a permanent feature cannot be determined considering many difficulties that come in the way of changing the dietary style. There are fierce defenders of Omnivores who are thoroughly convinced that man has been designed to eat animal based foods and over many millenia  this has been going on. But equally vociferous are plant food protagonists who aver that there is absolutely no need for animal foods for maintaining good health. Here is a view by one of the most prolific writers on food from the US arguing the case of vegetarianism with some passion and conviction.   

"From Bill Clinton to Ellen DeGeneres, celebrities are singing the benefits of a vegan diet. Books that advocate plant-based eating are best sellers. But is eliminating meat and dairy as simple as it sounds? As countless aspiring vegans are discovering, the switch from omnivore to herbivore is fraught with physical, social and economic challenges — at least, for those who don't have a personal chef. The struggle to give up favorite foods like cheese and butter can be made all the harder by harsh words and eye-rolling from unsympathetic friends and family members. Substitutes like almond milk and rice milk can shock the taste buds, and vegan specialty and convenience foods can cost two to three times what their meat and dairy equivalents do. And new vegans quickly discover that many foods in grocery stores and on restaurant menus have hidden animal ingredients. "The dominant social-cultural norm in the West is meat consumption," said Hanna Schösler, a researcher in the Institute for Environmental Studies at Vrije University in Amsterdam, who has studied consumer acceptance of meat substitutes. "The people who want to shift to a morevegetarian diet find they face physical constraints and mental constraints. It's not very accepted in our society not to eat meat." Still, the numbers are substantial, according to according to a 2008 report in Vegetarian Times. Three percent of American adults, 7.3 million people, follow a vegetarian diet, and one million of them are vegans, who eat no animal products at all — no meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, even honey. (And 23 million say they rarely eat meat.) No one knows how many people have tried and failed to switch to vegan or vegetarian diets, but the popularity of books like "The China Study" and the "Skinny Bitch" series suggests that interest is growing. New vegans often cite Robert Kenner's 2008 documentary "Food, Inc.," which offers an unsettling view of corporate farming and the toll it takes on animals, the environment and human health". 

Whether one is convinced or not by the telling points put forward above, it is a fact that Mother Earth cannot support the Omnivores life style with out destroying herself! One of the most practical constraints working against spread of vegetarianism is the affordability, with plant foods costing 2-3 times more in the present market environment. Why this is so is a matter every country must find out to bring about necessary changes that will make fresh foods like fruits and vegetables cheaper than meat foods. Whether the omnipotent and powerful meat industry will permit the governments to do so is a million dollar question! After all many food giants to day are larger than national governments in terms of financial muscle and with their "money" clout they have the capacity to sabotage any efforts that will hit their own financial "health"!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com