The Rising Vegan Trend in the Food and Beverage Business: An Analysis

This essay delves into the burgeoning vegan trend within the food and beverage industry, examining its origins, driving forces, and societal implications. It begins by defining veganism and highlighting its shift from a niche concept to a mainstream movement, particularly among millennials. The essay explores three key theories—Terror Management Theory, Cognitive Dissonance Theory, and Transformational Theory—that explain the motivations behind veganism. Furthermore, it discusses the ethical, health, and environmental benefits associated with veganism, such as reduced animal cruelty, improved health outcomes, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions. The essay also analyzes the increasing demand for plant-based foods globally and provides statistical evidence to support the growing popularity of veganism. Overall, the essay provides a comprehensive overview of the vegan trend and its multifaceted impact on the food and beverage business.

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 1
VEGAN TREND IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE BUSINESS
Student’s Name
Student Number
Word Count: 2460

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 2
Vegan Trend in food and Beverage Business
Introduction
People practicing Vegan eating abstain from using the products from animals in their
diet. Vegans are those people who practice veganism (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451). Previously,
veganism was viewed as weird or being extreme especially in the mainstream media. But today,
documented evidence has proved that the concept of veganism is changing with many parts of
the world trending towards veganism (Barthels, 2019.p.1). Even though the veganism is not yet
entirely mainstream, the concept is being embraced in different parts of the world every day with
the millennials being the main drivers (Christopher, 2018.p.55). According to (Dinu,
2017.p.3640) by 2018, plant-based foods and beverages will be the food trend. Further to this,
the plant-based foods and beverages are expected to continue growing and stay trending for a
while according to (Dolan, 2016.p.7). As a result of achieving a 94% increase in the healthy
foods ordered, veganism was named the leading consumer trend of the year 2018 (Appleby &
Key, 2019.p.451). In addition, according to the data released on the top takeaways market place
in the U.S by GrubHub, the orders for plant-based food have reached a new high. This is so
because, in 2017, 19% of the consumers chose vegan food more than they did in 2016 according
to (Elorinne, et al. 2019.pg.27). Since 2004 to 2018, the world has recorded an increase in
veganism based on the data searched from Google with the top regions including Canada and
New Zealand according to (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451). In the U.S alone, the people
identifying themselves as vegans have increased by 600% within the last three years. This is so
because, in 2014, the number of consumers who identified themselves as vegans in the U.S was
1% while in 2014, the number went up to 6% according to (Elorinne, et al. 2019.p.22). Based on

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 3
these statistics, it's evident that there is a rising demand for plant-based Foods globally. Hence
the need to understand what motivates these in veganism as explained by different theories and
the importance of veganism in the society.
Theories that explain veganism
There are three theories that have explained the motivation of veganism in society.
Terror management theory
This theory was developed in 1986 by Solomon, Pyszczynski, and Greenberg. According
to this theory, every human being experiences a psychological discomfort which arises from the
need to live, but at the same time knowing that they will one day die (Dilek & Fennell,
2018.p.492). For example, because a human being knows that terror which results from
vulnerabilities can lead to death, there is a need to self-preservation to prevent the vulnerabilities
(Iguacel, et al.2018.p.1). Further to this, it's believed that as a result of fear inflicted to humans
by terror, humans created the concept of culture to give life meaning Hutchison, (2018.p.225).
From this theory, veganism can be thought as a learning process through which a human resist
the consumption of animals after learning of the potential health risk posed by animals,
environmental factors that pose more terror and the cruelty of the animals (Knight & Boo,
2018.p.238). This evidence is supported by (Labendz &Yanklowitz, 2019.p.7) when they looked
at the similarities between animals and humans in relations to accessibility thoughts of death.
Their research found out that there were increased death-related thoughts among the participants
when they were reminded about the similarities they share with other animals (Mehta,
2018.p.84). Further to this, the study revealed that the reason people go greater lengths to
preserve their humanity is that they don't believe in similarities between them with other animals.
This also means that vegans don't believe in these similarities that is why they avoid eating

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 4
animals which they are not similar with (Melina, et al.2016.p.1970). This theory believes that
culture was created to give life a meaning. The same culture views it right for animals to be used
and eaten which vegans disagree, therefore, its right to say that vegans intend to introduce
another culture that seeks to give life a more meaning according to them (MacInnis & Hodson,
2017.pg.71).
Cognitive dissonance theory (CDT)
Another theory that explains the motivation for veganism in society is cognitive
dissonance theory (CDT). In 1957, Festinger proposed in a situation where a human being's
beliefs, opinions or behaviors are not aligned, that individual will be experiencing conflict
dissonance (Phua, Jin & Kim, 2019.p.1). Every human being will be motivated to achieve
consonance which will prevent from having increased dissonance after experiencing one. People
will try to achieve consonance by changing their opinions, behavior, and beliefs or alternatively,
a person will want to forget the essence of those beliefs that bring dissonance (Paez, 2017,
p.1113). As suggested by (Piccoli, et al.2015.p.263.). The main influence of veganism is the
increased awareness of the ethical and health implications of eating meat and animal related
products. Based on this statement, veganism can be explained using this theory as a result of
people collecting negative information about animal products that resulted in dissonance. In an
attempt to create consonance, these people changed their opinions and beliefs by avoiding meat
and animal products (Rosanna et al, 2016.p.56). In addition, (Wrenn & Hall, 2016.p.37) believes
carnism is as a result of a culturally accepted gap which allows people to forget the truth about
animal products. Further to this, (Rosanna et al, 2016.p.56) believes that veganism results only
when this gap is filled with information that results in cognitive dissonance.

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 5
Transformational Theory
The third theory is transformation theory as proposed by Mezirow. This theory believes
that human beings experience lifestyle changes that occur after a ten steps process (Wrenn &
Hall, 2016.p.37). The theory is based on three dimensions. The first dimension looks at the
changes that lead to self-understanding; the second dimension looks at the revision in the system
of beliefs and the third looks lifestyle changes. The ten step process includes action, new
information, and critical reflection. According to (Piccoli, et al.2015.p.263.) it's the action step
that will always result in lifestyle changes. Further to this, the believers of this theory assume
that human beings acknowledge that transformative experiences are shared. This is the reason
why people seek new relationships when their opinions, behavior, and beliefs are transforming
(Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451). Based on this theory, veganism can be explained by individuals
changing their experiences. As suggested by (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451) veganism results
from individuals coming in contact with experiences of sickness or cruelty that animals are
subjected to which in return leads to lifestyle transformation? The huge support base for
veganism is brought about by the recognition that transformative experiences are shared which
allows vegan societies to share their beliefs, opinions, and behaviors gaining a lot of support in
the process (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451).
Benefits of veganism
There are a lot of benefits that society has realized through acceptance of veganism.
According to(Knight & Boo, 2018.p.238) the reason why the support base for veganism has been
growing every day globally is because of the ethical, health and the environmental benefits that
society has witnessed through veganism.
Ethical benefits

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 6
According to (Piccoli, et al.2015.p.263.) the main motivation of veganism is on
consideration of the welfare of animals which carnism is against. Majority of vegans believe it's
wrong for animals to be tortured or subjected to the cruel situation in the event of them being
killed for food. Veganism society intends to reduce the harm and the cruelty that animals are
subjected to by resisting meat and other animal products. Vegans have done this by transforming
their lifestyle from animal food dependent on plant-based food dependent (Appleby & Key,
2019.pg.451). further to this, (Phua, Jin & Kim, 2019.p.1) believes carnism promotes speciesism
which is just like racism where humans beings believe because they the most superior beings, it's
okay to exploit and torture other creatures. This according to (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451) is
wrong because there are a lot of similarities between animals and human beings. For example,
both animals and humans respond to pain. This means that just like it's unethical to subject a
human being to pain, it's also wrong to subject animals to pain just for food. The study by
(Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451) on the values and changes found that 57% of the participants cited
ethics as their primary motivation to avoid meat and other animal products. Another study
(Wrenn & Hall, 2016.p.37) found out that the EQ scores for ethically motivated vegans were
higher than omnivorous participants which means that the reason many people are going vegan is
because of the ethical benefits.
The health benefits
Veganism has a lot of health benefits first, the vegan diet has a lot of nutrients. According
to (Elorinne, et al. 2019.p.27) the large proportion of a vegan diet will consist of foods like
whole grains, beans, and fruits as well as vegetables. These types of foods are known to
contribute to a higher level of beneficial nutrients. Further to this, (Wrenn & Hall, 2016.pg.37)
believes because of the nature of products consumed by vegans, their diet is always high in fiber,

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 7
potassium ions, antioxidants and vitamins A, E and C. another health benefit is that vegan diet
helps a person to lose more weight. According to (Phua, Jin & Kim, 2019.p.1) vegans are
generally thinner and their body mass indexes are lower compared to non-vegans. Moreover,
(Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451) unlike the diets they are always compared to, vegans are very
effective in weight reduction. According to the study on the effectiveness of vegan in reducing
weight, it was found that unlike the controlled diet, a vegan diet helped the participants to lose
4.2kg more (Wrenn & Hall, 2016.p.37). The same study further revealed that the weight lost by
people following the vegan diet was more than the weight lost by people following calorie-
restricted diets. According to the recent study on the comparison of five diet's effectiveness of
reducing weight, it was found that vegan diets were the most effective in reducing the weight.
This is so because the study found that even without following their diet perfectly, the vegans
lost more weight than those following the western diet (Rosanna et al, 2016.p.56). The third
benefit is that a vegan diet lowers blood sugar levels and at the same time, increasing the kidney
functions. According to (Wrenn & Hall, 2016.p.37) vegans have not only been found to have
lower blood sugar levels, but also a high insulin sensitivity that lowers the risk of developing
type 2 diabetes by up to 50-78%. According to the study by the American Heart Association
(AHA) and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), a vegan diet was found to
lower sugar levels more than the American diets. In another study that compared the sugar
reduction effectiveness between the American based diet and vegan diet, it was found that 43%
of vegan diet participants reduced their blood sugar compared to 26% of the participants that
followed American based diet (Elorinne, et al. 2019.p.27). According to (Melina, et
al.2016.pg.1970) by having a vegan diet a person is able to prevent polyneuropathy symptoms
which is a diabetic condition that is characterized by sharp and burning pain.

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 8
The environmental benefits
One of the environmental benefits of veganism is that it will help cut the amount of
greenhouse gases emission. According to (Wrenn & Hall, 2016.p.37) the production of meat
alone requires a lot of energy. This is so because in the raising of animals, slaughterhouses and in
the transportation of the meat, a lot of fossil fuel is burnt which leads to emission of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere. Further to this, (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451) states that 51% of the
global greenhouse emission annually is as a result of livestock and their byproducts. Therefore,
by choosing to avoid eating of meat, the society is able to cut the emission of these greenhouses
by a larger margin which is safe for the environment. Another environmental benefit is it leads to
the preservation of habitats and animals. According to (Appleby & Key, 2019.p.451) animal
consumption is the most contributors to the destruction of habitats and the extinction of different
species of animals. This is so because, before meat production, one requires to have a large piece
of land to raise animals. This means that forests have to be cleared to create room for the land
that animals are raised. (Piccoli, et al.2015.p.263.) Estimate that nearly 200 square meters of
destroyed rainforest will result in 11 billion of beef. Further to this, three times more land is
required by those eating meat compared to those eating a vegan diet (Melina, et al.2016.p.1970).
This shows that by following the vegan diet, society is able to preserve the forest which is one of
the vital resources in the world. At the same time, many animals will be preserved by embracing
the concept of veganism in the society. This is so because currently many animals are being
killed as food by those practicing carnism. But after veganism is globally accepted, no animals
will lose their lives as all human beings will be depending on the food from plants.
Conclusion

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 9
There are many trending topics in the world currently, but trends in vegan food and
beverages in business are the top in the list. Veganism refers to a practice of disassociating
oneself from eating meat or animal products. Even though previously veganism was considered a
weird behavior especially by the media, the concept has been recently adopted in various parts of
the world. As a result of this, many theories have been developed to explain the motivations of
veganism in society. For example, a terror management theory which was developed in 1869
believes that every human being experiences a psychological discomfort which arises from the
need to live, but at the same time knowing that they will one day die. This theory explains
veganism to be motivated by the beliefs of health and ethical implications of eating meat which
scares people and since people do not want to die, they avoid eating meat. Another theory is
cognitive dissonance theory which believes that in a situation where a human being's beliefs,
opinions or behaviors are not aligned, that individual will be experiencing conflict dissonance.
This theory explains veganism as a motivation of individuals to achieve consonance after the
negative information of health and ethical implications of meat caused cognitive dissonance to
them. The third theory is a transformational theory which explains veganism as a motivation for
n individual to achieve lifestyle changes. The ever-increasing support base of veganism has also
been linked to its benefits in society. As discussed above, veganism has more health, ethical and
environmental benefits to the society as compared to the other existing diets, for example, the
western best diet.

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 10
Reference
Appleby, P.N. and Key, T.J., 2019. Veganism, vegetarianism, bone mineral density, and fracture
risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 77(6), pp.451-451.
Barthels, F., Poerschke, S., Müller, R. and Pietrowsky, R., 2019. Orthorexic eating behavior in
vegans is linked to health, not to animal welfare. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on
Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, pp.1-4.
Christopher, A., Bartkowski, J. and Haverda, T., 2018. Portraits of Veganism: A Comparative
Discourse Analysis of a Second-Order Subculture. Societies, 8(3), p.55.
Dinu, M., Abbate, R., Gensini, G.F., Casini, A. and Sofi, F., 2017. Vegetarian, vegan diets and
multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of observational
studies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 57(17), pp.3640-3649.
Dolan, K., 2016. The Vegan Studies Project: Food, Animals, and Gender in the Age of Terror.
By Laura Wright.
Dilek, S.E. and Fennell, D.A., 2018. Discovering the hotel selection factors of vegetarians: the
case of Turkey. Tourism Review, 73(4), pp.492-506.
Elorinne, A.L., Kantola, M., Voutilainen, S. and Laakso, J., 2016. Veganism as a choice:
Experiences and food strategies in transitioning to a vegan diet. In Food futures: ethics,
science and culture (pp. 1103S-1109S). Wageningen Academic Publishers.
Elorinne, A.L., Niva, M., Vartiainen, O. and Väisänen, P., 2019. Insect Consumption Attitudes
among Vegans, Non-Vegan Vegetarians, and Omnivores. Nutrients, 11(2), p.292.
Iguacel, I., Miguel-Berges, M.L., Gómez-Bruton, A., Moreno, L.A. and Julián, C., 2018.
Veganism, vegetarianism, bone mineral density, and fracture risk: a systematic review
and meta-analysis. Nutrition reviews, 77(1), pp.1-18.

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 11
Hutchison, M., 2018. Choosing veganism. The Veterinary Record, 183(7), p.225.
Knight, A. and de Boo, J., 2018. The case for veganism. In Farming, Food and Nature (pp. 238-
247). Routledge.
Labendz, J.A. and Yanklowitz, S. eds., 2019. Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and
New Directions. SUNY Press.
Mehta, V., 2018. Vegetarian Diet: A Boon or Bane for Health?. Journal of Medical Research
and Innovation, 2(1), pp.e000084-e000084.
Melina, V., Craig, W. and Levin, S., 2016. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:
vegetarian diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), pp.1970-
1980.
MacInnis, C.C. and Hodson, G., 2017. It ain’t easy eating greens: Evidence of bias toward
vegetarians and vegans from both source and target. Group Processes & Intergroup
Relations, 20(6), pp.721-744.
Phua, J., Jin, S.V. and Kim, J., 2019. The roles of celebrity endorsers’ and consumers’ vegan
identity in marketing communication about veganism. Journal of Marketing
Communications, pp.1-23.
Paez, E., 2017. The pitfalls of qualified moral veganism. A critique of Jan Deckers′ holistic
health approach to animal ethics. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 23(5),
pp.1113-1117.
Piccoli, G.B., Clari, R., Vigotti, F.N., Leone, F., Attini, R., Cabiddu, G., Mauro, G., Castelluccia,
N., Colombi, N., Capizzi, I. and Pani, A., 2015. Vegan–vegetarian diets in pregnancy:
danger or panacea? A systematic narrative review. BJOG: An International Journal of
Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 122(5), pp.623-633.

Vegan Trend in Food and Beverage Business 12
Rosanna Abbate, M.D., Gensini, G.F., Casini, A. and Francesco Sofi, M.D., 2016. Vegetarian,
vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of
observational studies.
Wrenn, C.L. and Hall, B., 2016. The Land of Meat and Potatoes? Exploring Ireland’s Vegan and
Vegetarian Foodscape. Encyclopedia for Cultural and Social Studies on Vegetarianism
and Veganism.