Nearly 30% of Americans might go without turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner
Going without turkey is a serious option that is quietly going mainstream
A vegan Thanksgiving? According to research commissioned by the British company Meatless Farm, almost 30% of Americans would be willing to consider going without the traditional turkey this Thanksgiving, as reported by Vegconomist.
The research was conducted by Dynata, the market research firm who surveyed 1,050 adults in six age groups in four major regions. Each respondent answered ten questions to elicit their opinions towards meat-free meals, why they might have them and in particular on the idea of a plant-based Thanksgiving.
Unsurprisingly it is the younger demographic who are most likely to consider a plant-based Thanksgiving. The most likely age-group willing to try is the 25-34-year-olds. From this group, 45% agreed that they are willing, and 39.7% of them are the least likely to rule it out.
The willingness figure for 18-24-year-olds is 43% and this figure decreases as the age groups increase with only 14.4% of Americans over the age of 65 willing to try a meat-free Thanksgiving.
Personal Health the biggest single factor
Personal health is the most influential factor in Americans’ decision to consider eating more meat-free meals.
The report cites that almost 60% of Americans cited personal health as the most likely influence on their decision. Animal welfare was the reason given by 13.7%, with weight loss (13.7%), the environment (12.2%) and “other” (3.5%) lagging behind.
According to the data Americans view eating less meat as being healthy but not necessarily as a route to weight loss. Only a very small number have a sense of the value of the environmental impact.
Serious British player in the Meatless Meat market
Meatless Farm is a British plant-based manufacturer. It is busy establishing itself alongside Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods as a serious player in the meatless meat industry. Started by Morten Toft Bech in 2016, the Company has also recently received a 7 figure investment from Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund. In return for equity, Channel 4 will offer the Leeds based company commercial airtime.
The Leeds based company has outlets through Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and in over 450 Whole Foods Market Stores in the USA.
Meatless Farm’s meat-free burgers recently got a big thumb’s up from the BBC’s Eat Well For Less? programme.
