From time to time, against my better judgment, I succumb to a twinge of cautious optimism. Recent news items have provoked another attack; before I go lie down with a cool towel on my forehead and wait for it to pass, I thought I’d share!
Apparently — despite animal-ag producers’ apoplectic insistence otherwise — folks are catching on to the many problems that meat brings to the table. According to Google, interest in veganism is on the rise; celebrity plant-eaters pop continually from the woodwork; and US demand for meat continues to steadily decline. It’s hard not to feel hopeful about ye olde food revolution, with this kind of news in my browser!
According to Google Trends, searches for ‘vegan‘ are skyrocketing:
The number 100 on this graph represents the most searches ever recorded for the word ‘vegan,’ in March of this year. Compassion Over Killing offers a nifty infographic, describing the steadily increasing popularity of vegan searches from 2008 to 2013 — watch and grin!
As reported in a recent Huffington Post article,
…a 2012 study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group and undertaken by Harris Interactive found that the 2.5 percent of the country identified themselves as “vegan,” up from 1 percent in 2009. That may not seem like a drastic leap, but it is when you consider that the number of vegans has more than doubled in just three years.
Some of those new vegans have famous faces. Mike Tyson’s vegan habits have been featured prominently in the news recently — he’s in the veg-club with well-known folks like Bill Clinton, Alicia Silverstone, Ben Stiller, Jane Goodall, Paul McCartney, Kevin Eubanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Brand, Carrie Underwood, Anne Hathaway, and a bazillion other celebs who’ve stepped out of the red-carpeted closet as full-time plant-eaters. This trend continually puts veganism front-and-center in mainstream public awareness.
And finally, this:
As World Meat Consumption Grows, US Appetite Wanes
The down side is that world diets are trending towards SAD-ness; but in the US, it’s hard not to feel cautiously optimistic. No wonder the animal factories are so desperately striving for ag-gag legislation, to combat consumer awareness of their industry and products: the more we know, the less we want! (If you’re leaning towards more veggie eating, yourself, check out these resources.)
I know we still have much ground to cover; but some important tides in US food culture seem to be (ever so slowly) turning!
Cue the band: “O the tiiiiiimes, they aaaaare a chaaaaa-aaaangin’…”
Image credit: Creative Commons photo by cayoo.
“From time to time, against my better judgment, I succumb to a twinge of cautious optimism.”
Yep, I do that too and things like this are indeed good news. It makes me wish I could take a peek at what things will be like in a few hundred years. Which might be very, very scary, but news like this is encouraging. Except for the world diet trend. Uh oh. And there goes the optimism.
True/ sigh. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted! (Still though, I’ll take good news wherever I can find it!) ;-)
I’m optimistic, as more and more people are asking me questions about veganism! I’m happy to share my food and pass out literature. It makes me feel good for a few brief moments, until a comment about burgers or bacon is spewed.
It is remarkable that many people are starting to feel conscious of what they eat and continue to choose organic foods and consume vegetables more. It is nice to know that some celebrities are sharing their vegan habits since those habits are healthy. It seems surprising that Mike Tyson is a vegan. I wonder if it is because of health reasons or just a choice.