Article originally appears in the March 29 issue of the SNEB eCommunicator.

If you think you are seeing more vegetarian/plant-based options everywhere, here’s more about this trend..

OVERALL TRENDS

**These veg trends are going mainstream – Mintel research says that 30% of U.S. adults eat meatless at least once a week. And restaurants are paying attention…a pea protein-based burger @ TGIF, spiralized veggie pasta @ Olive Garden, cauliflower pizza crust @ California Pizza Kitchen, broth bowl w/ edamame @ Panera.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/restaurants/2018/these-vegetarian-trends-are-going-mainstream

**Going vegan to be biggest food trend for 2018 – If you think you’re seeing ‘plant-based’ more online, you’re right. And one data company said searches for plant-based tripled from 2016 to 2017 during March to July. And one company says those identifying as vegan increased 500% since 2014 (6% in the U.S.).
https://www.riseofthevegan.com/blog/going-vegan-biggest-trend-for-2018

**Detailed reports about vegetarians, vegans including infographics (Faunalytics)
https://faunalytics.org/a-summary-of-faunalytics-study-of-current-and-former-vegetarians-and-vegans/

**Vegetarianism in the U.S. (infographic)
https://i1.wp.com/faunalytics.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/US_VEG_INFO.jpg?ssl=1

**Vegetarian statistics (U.S.) – demographic breakdown of vegetarians and top vegetarian cities
https://www.statisticbrain.com/vegetarian-statistics/

**Vegetarian statistics globally – U.S. isn’t the only country going vegetarian…the U.K. has seen a 350% increase in those identifying as vegans when compared to a decade ago and veganism was a top Canadian 2017 search trend.
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/vegan-statistics-global/

DINING TRENDS

**Top 5 dining trends – There’s been a 90% increase in Google searches this past year, in some countries McD’s has a veggie burger and it’s likely that others will join Ben and Jerry’s to offer vegetarian frozen desserts – 3 flavors Ben and Jerry’s available @ https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ben-jerrys-just-released-two-new-vegan-flavors_us_589b53cfe4b09bd304bf39bb and Häagen-Dazs has 4 flavors @ http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=9720&catId=1).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/eustaciahuen/2017/12/21/top-5-dining-trends-to-watch-in-2018/

**Fast casual trends – Taco Bell has a menu of vegetarian options and was the first quick-service restaurant to be certified by the American Vegetarian Association. It has 13 AVA-certified menu items and 35 AVA-certified ingredients — 26 are vegan.
https://foodandnutrition.org/march-april-2016/fast-casual-changing-eat-fast-food/

GROCERY TRENDS

**8 major grocery chains that carry tons of plant-based meats including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Target, Costco, WalMart and others.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/grocery-chains-that-carry-plant-based-meat/

**How supermarkets can adapt to increases in veganism and vegetarianism – 3.7% identified as vegan/vegetarian in 2008 but PEW says this has almost tripled to 9% in 2016. Supermarkets can adapt to this by offering more kinds of produce, offer vegetarian meals if they have a meal delivery service and offer veggie options in ‘grab ‘n go’ departments.
http://datecheckpro.com/2017/08/04/how-supermarkets-can-adapt-to-increases-in-veganism-and-vegetarianism/

**The legume-based pasta primer – pasta is one food that is increasingly made with non-flour ingredients
http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/smart-choices/is-legume-pasta-healthy

MEAL DELIVERY TRENDS

**Plant-based meal delivery services – Sun Basket (vegetarian options), GreenChef (vegan/vegetarian), Home Chef (vegetarian) and Veestro (plant-based) are a few available.
http://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/5-organic-and-healthy-food-delivery-options-for-the-conscious-consumer

RESOURCES

**Food trends (archives) from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) Food and Nutrition magazine – many articles are vegetarian-focused
https://foodandnutrition.org/tag/trends/

**Vegetarian recipes and articles about vegetarianism from AND’s Food and Nutrition magazine
https://foodandnutrition.org/search/Vegetarian+recipes/

**Best 2017 vegan apps (reviewed by RDNs)
https://www.healthline.com/health/vegan-top-iphone-android-apps

**Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru reviews new products and covers food trends
http://www.supermarketguru.com/

**Vegetarian Dietetic Practice Group, AND
https://vndpg.org/