Mad cow, bird flu set moody stock swings in motion

This just in from USA Today's Money section: "The USA is not going vegan."

Well, that must be reassuring to their readers... I wonder what their source is for that insightful observation.

According to Thomas Morabito, analyst at Susquehanna Financial, "People will still buy beef, pork and chicken." Evidently meat is cheap right now due to overproduction (and let's not forget government subsidies), not reduced demand. Yet, the demand for vegan products rises. Of course, I don't meant to suggest that the USA is, as a country, going vegan. But -- and I'll admit my sources on this next statement are mostly anecdotal, since vegan surveys are far too infrequent -- if I look around at all the vegan activity (the absolute explosuion of communities and retailers) on the web, if I look at the number of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and retail shops opening around the country, and if I look at the number of vegan convenience foods making their way on to mainstream grocery store shelves, I can't help but come to the conclusion that the veganism must be growing in this country, whether some Americans are going completely vegan or simply incorporating more vegan meals into their regime. And this is what has multinationals buying up vegetarian product companies to hedge their bets for the future. I'm not financial analyst, but that's how I interpet the writing on the wall, despite proclamations that meat-eating isn't going anywhere (Don't you realize? Meat-eating is American!).

Categories: vegan | marketplace