Are vegetarians and vegans facing extinction?
The peak moment of vegetarianism seems to have been reached and surpassed. Here's what the data says. James Hansen's diplomatic note
One of the most interesting characteristics of the last 'political-social' decades in the West has been the extreme attention to the requests put forward by numerically very modest groups: sometimes in open conflict with the interests of the majority of the population, perceived as too 'normal', too 'boring' for a society strongly oriented towards new habits, gender , diet and so on.
Indications are starting to emerge – although so far more suggestive than concrete – that this trend too has now become tired. In Great Britain, a Royal Air Force officer recently won an employment case, managing to demonstrate to the Court that he had been discriminated against because he was " Scottish, Christian and male ". A major American chain of 'sexy' women's underwear stores – Victoria's Secret – has embarrassingly decided to abandon its 'radical-feminist' brand makeover after the change reportedly triggered a disastrous collapse in sales.
These, of course, are marginal cases. Much more important, especially from an economic point of view, is the clear indication that the " peak vegetarian " has been reached, and perhaps surpassed, i.e. that the tendency to abandon meat in favor of 'more ecological' vegetables is now backing down , especially – but not only – in Anglo-Saxon countries.
In the USA, Gallup polls have recorded the decline of vegetarianism over time. From 2001 to 2023, the portion of the American population that declares itself 'vegetarian' dropped by a third, from 6% to 4%. The rejection of meat was closely associated with political orientation. Again according to Gallup, 9% of ' liberals ' – the 'progressives' in American political jargon – declare themselves vegetarian; triple the percentage among moderates and conservatives. The collapse of 'vegans' is particularly dramatic: they have fallen from a peak of 3% of the population in 2018 to 1% in 2023 and risk disappearing completely, at least from the statistics…
Meanwhile, consistently with the data just cited, it is now estimated that meat consumption in the USA will continue to grow to reach just over 107 kg per capita in 2032. What changes is not the volume but the type of meat consumed, with a modest increase in chicken compared to red meat. The European Commission, however, forecasts for 2031 a limited reduction in the consumption of beef – currently at around 70 kg per person in the EU – compensated by an increase in the consumption of poultry – which should reach 24.8 kg per capita – as well as of sheep and goat meat, whose European production is expected to increase by 0.3% annually.
If people still insist on 'voting with their fork', perhaps the old democratic formula of the greatest good for the greatest number – while presenting the contrasting risk of the 'tyranny of the majority' – cannot yet be completely abandoned.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/vegetariani-e-vegani-sono-in-via-di-estinzione/ on Sat, 04 Nov 2023 06:18:56 +0000.