Vegan food: fleeting trend or future diet?

Some 24 percent of Swiss people are flexitarians, i.e. they mainly eat a vegetarian diet, but also eat high-quality meat occasionally. This is highlighted by the latest surveys from Swissveg, the biggest special interest group representing vegetarians and vegans in Switzerland.

What will we be eating in 10, 20 or 30 years?

Is a “vegan lifestyle” a fleeting trend, a luxury we can afford because things are going well? Or will this type of diet become established in our society? Trend researcher Christine Schäfer told Migros magazine that “By 2050 society really could be vegan, a society where children ask their grandparents ‘What, did you really force animals into stalls and kill them so you could eat them?’”

From a young age most of us learnt that meat and milk are important parts of our diet. Yet these are now suddenly supposed to be harmful? The fact is that in recent years both production methods and foodstuffs have continually developed. Many foods are now mass produced. At the same time consumption has skyrocketed. In the intervening period, science has also acknowledged that animal-based foods per se are not unhealthy, it is excess consumption of them that is.

More and more people are suffering from common illnesses. Many are in poor physical health, feel tired and exhausted. The number of overweight people is rising rapidly and never before have so many people suffered from diabetes or developed cancer. This should make us sit up and take notice and compel us to rethink our eating habits. The first thing doctors recommend for many symptoms is a change of diet, eating less meat, or a change to a vegetarian diet. It is not unusual for the problem to be alleviated by this alone. That’s not all – the change often causes skin or digestive problems, or migraines to disappear too.

Vegan lifestyle, varied diet

A purely vegan diet requires a great deal of self-discipline and food knowledge. A vegan lifestyle does not automatically mean a healthy diet. The same applies to vegans as to omnivores –  a varied diet is a healthy diet. A vegan diet should begin and end with lots of fresh, seasonal, local food. But that’s not all. Although a well-planned range of foods can easily cover iron, iodine, calcium or omega-3 fatty acid requirements, it is important to take other nutrients, such as vitamin B12, as supplements, so that you don’t become deficient. B12 is primarily found in animal products such as meat, eggs and milk.

There is a good reason why plant-based products are becoming increasingly popular. Every new vegan product makes it easier to cook without animal products, and to eat a varied and balanced diet.

Mibelle Group Nutrition, keeping pace with consumers

“It’s not about eating to survive the next three days, but about how to eat to live to 100 years old.” This quote by the Centre for Health lies at the core of our work. Our aim is to develop healthy foods that taste good to both vegans and flexitarians. On the basis of this commitment we create attractive new products and optimise existing recipes. If we succeed in making these taste good, if they are balanced, complete and can be used in many ways, then they will be well received by our target groups. Like our grated lupin-based cheese, which means consumers can create delicious dishes such as oven bakes, fajitas and spaghetti in no time at all. The high level of demand shows that the product has hit home, and that both flexitarians and vegans like it.

Some tips for a consciously healthy diet:

• Eat fresh, local and seasonal
• Pay attention to the quality of your food
• Take time when preparing your food and, more importantly, when eating it
• Every meal tastes better with company
• Eat mindfully and celebrate your meal
• Be thankful for every meal