In just two years the market for plant foods has grown by 48%. This market is led by vegetable milk, but they also stand out meat and vegetable yogurt. Every day there are more people who, chasing one healthy diet, bet on these plant foods. But those who are in the lead and consume this type of product the most are people with a vegan diet, since they replace those of animal origin. Do you want to know which ones exist, what they are like and why their consumption is growing so rapidly? We will tell you!
What are plant foods?
The foods of vegetable origin are all those that grow directly from the land. People who bet on this type of livelihood avoid eating food of animal origin and substitute it for these products. Surely you are wondering how milk or yogurt, coming mainly from cows, goats or sheep, can be vegetable, or even vegetable meat itself, but here we are going to explain it to you.
First, the vegetable milk It is created through plant material dissolved and disintegrated in water. It is made from nuts, cereals, legumes and seeds, extracting the plant material in water, separating the liquid and formulating the final product. This milk is ideal for people with lactose allergy that they cannot take the one of animal origin.
At vegetable yogurt Something similar happens, since you simply have to replace traditional milk with other types of vegetable drinks. Either vegetable milk, soy milk, oat milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc. And later, add the bacteria that allow the vegetable drink to ferment and heat, and then cool, for later consumption.
But what about meat? How can it be vegetable? It's simple. It is made up of natural products. The basis is the gluten or wheat pasta and is enriched with cereal flours y vegetables, such as the soybean or the lentil. In appearance and color, animal and vegetable meat are very similar, but the taste is difficult to achieve and depends a lot on the preparation, since there are different types of meat and ingredients. This type of meat is what vegetarians consume, since without being vegan they can consume derivatives of animals, but not animal meat.
Why is your consumption growing so much?
There is a great debate between which foods are better, if the vegetables or natural, and each person has an opinion according to their ideals and / or experiences. The only thing that is clear is that sales of plant foods have grown in Spain in the last two years, reaching the 448 millones de euros, as revealed by the study of "The market for plant alternatives in Europe: what is its real size?", published by the European project Smart Protein, based on data obtained by the consulting firm Nielsen and produced in association with ProVeg International.
Some of the causes for what this happens, in addition to issues of intolerance, allergies, vegetarianism, veganism or other types of diets, is due to the fact that in the foods of Animal origin is the saturated fat, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, in the food of vegetable origin the fats that are usually found for the most part are mono and polyunsaturated, which are less harmful to health. Another important reason is that, in general, vegetable protein is usually accompanied by more nutrients and more fiber and therefore has less caloric density.
Whether or not you prefer one vegetarian or vegan food, it is important that in your usual diet you consume this type of plant foods. Combining those of animal and vegetable origin will give you the proteins and vitamins necessary to follow a healthy diet. Plus, it's fun to try the different plant-based products out there and discover new flavors and compare your texture, su color or on odor with the traditional ones of animal origin. You dare? Are you one of those who follow the philosophy veggie? If so, you already know that you are contributing to the reported boom in the study.
