Veganism on the rise across EU

Veganism has been growing in popularity over the last few years.
In a recent study carried out in the US, the Statista Global Consumer Survey found that about five per cent of respondents were vegans.
Countries in which veganism is on the increase include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Sweden and Estonia to name but a few. There are also many more vegetarians in the world. Around 40 per cent of the population of India, for example, identify themselves as vegans or vegetarians (which include ovo-lactovegetarians and pescatarians).
As a result, the worldwide vegan food sales have experienced a boom in sales from $14.5 billion in 2020 to $15.8 billion in the following year and this is expected to continue to increase over the coming years.
Elimination of meat and substitution with high-protein vegetable foodstuffs, together with vegan milk consumption in preference to animal milk, health concerns and weight management are some of the main reasons for this shift in dietary preferences. Worldwide consumption of meat substitutes has increased from 133 million to 470 million kilograms between 2013 and 2020.

As a consequence, the food industry has had to...