The Rise of Plant-Based Diets

Nora Harris strolls down the aisles at Trader Joe’s, looking for vegan goodies. Her cart resembles a farmer’s basket, coming straight home from a harvest. The leafy greens and colorful variety of veggies will make for the perfect tofu scramble.  

Harris is a junior at Kalamazoo College and has been vegan since starting college, about three and a half years ago. Before that, she was vegetarian for 11 years. 

“I became vegan because I just was grossed out by the thought of eating animal products of any kind,” Harris said. “I was a vegetarian because meat grossed me out, and then it sort of progressed to including cheese and eggs and any other animal products, which was a little inconvenient at the time, because it was like ‘why does my brain hate me’.” 

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a vegan “does not consume meat, dairy products, eggs, honey, or any product derived from an animal.” 

Harris has noticed a recent increase in plant-based products which makes it easier for her to shop at a grocery store or eat out at a restaurant. Plant-based options are a way to start eating less meat and the recent increased production of these products makes it easier to achieve dietary goals.  

According to Nestle Professional, as of 2021, the popularity of plant-based eating increased over 3,000 percent in the last four years. Additionally, the number of plant-based options offered on American menus increased by 3,298.6 percent in those four years. Since then, the pandemic has increased this diet’s popularity because more people had time to cook and try these new products.  

“A healthy, plant-based diet aims to maximize consumption of nutrient-dense plant foods while minimizing processed foods, oils, and animal foods (including dairy products and eggs). It encourages lots of vegetables (cooked or raw), fruits, beans, peas, lentils, soybeans, seeds, and nuts (in smaller amounts) and is generally low fat,” according to the National Library of Medicine.  

Kalamazoo College nutritionist Gretchen Kauth has also noticed an increase in plant-based products in her work as a dietitian. She sees clients who change their diets for a variety of reasons.  

“Hopefully health reasons, hopefully the planet reasons and then there can be religious reasons, animal welfare reasons that people choose to do this. There can be food intolerances or allergy kind of things. Multiple reasons that people might choose to eat this way,” Kauth said.  

Katherine Black, a junior at Kalamazoo College, has been a vegetarian since she was 12 years old. According to Harvard Medical School, vegetarians “are people who don’t eat meat, poultry, or seafood.” 

“I never liked meat. I would just kind of refuse to eat meat, even as a young child. I was so young that I don’t even know why,” Black said. “My mom just kind of gave up forcing me to eat meat when I was like 12.” 

Sitting in a restaurant with her meat loving brother and dad, Black scanned the menu for vegetarian options. She settled on her meal and awaited ridicule from her family. 

Unsure of how she could get a fulfilling meal without meat, Black’s family teased her saying that there’s nothing on the menu for her to eat, so she might as well get a hamburger. Numb to the conversation after having it at every outing, Black turned her focus to finding what she wanted to eat, ignoring the criticism of others.   

As she grew older, Black took control of her own diet. The rise of plant-based products has helped her to find more options in restaurants and ingredients to cook with at home. 

“I generally feel like the world is becoming a more welcoming place for vegetarians,” Black said.  

Standing in the kitchen, the smell of tofu and fresh veggies fills the air. Harris stands over the stove, the steam fogging up her glasses, as she mixes together her tofu scramble, complete with vegan pesto from Trader Joe’s, Harris’ favorite place to shop for vegan goodies. She usually spends about $34 on groceries per week. 

“It’s cheap to be vegan. I think the way it becomes expensive is when you’re trying to get veganized snacks and desserts,” said Harris. “Buying popcorn kernels for a snack is not breaking the bank. Otherwise, I buy veggies and tofu.” 

One of the most popular plant-based food categories filling up the supermarkets is milk alternatives, according to Nestle Professional. The most popular type is almond milk, then oat, and then soy.  

Soy beverages are fortified with vitamin A, vitamin D, and calcium and are the only plant-based milks that have a nutritional content similar enough to dairy milk’s nutritional composition to be included in the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines. According to this program, it is important to consider the amount of protein, potassium, calcium, and vitamin D when choosing a milk alternative.  

A half-gallon of soymilk retails at an average of $3.99 to $4.29, according to Forbes Magazine. A half-gallon of regular fat-free or reduced-fat dairy milk retails at an average of $2.39 to $2.49. Buying soy milk for an entire year would cost about $90 more than purchasing dairy milk.  

Sofia Klein, a senior at Kalamazoo College, was a vegetarian for six years, after learning about slaughterhouses for the first time when she was about 7 years old. Klein now eats meat, but enjoys trying new plant-based foods, including imitation meat. 

Popular brands of this “meat” include Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat, and MorningStar Farms. Klein recalled her first experience with imitation meat to be surprising, yet intriguing.  

Klein sat in the dark booth with her family, watching each waiter walk by with trays of food that she hoped were headed towards her table. After what seemed like forever, Klein’s first ever Beyond Meat burger was placed in front of her. Shocked, Klein attempted to send it back, thinking she got a real burger.  

“I thought it was going to be like a veggie burger and when the waiter put the plate down in front of me, I was really confused,” Klein said. “I think that it’s really interesting that it exists, and it’s a great way to feel like you’re still eating meat when you’re not. But I also think that kind of defeats the purpose of if you’re going vegetarian and you’re trying to get away from meat, that you’re still eating things that look and taste exactly like meat.”  

A study conducted by Clemson University found that most mock meat falls into three categories: plant-based, fermentation-based (mycoprotein), or cell-based (cultured meat). Plant-based options are mostly made from pea protein, soy protein, wheat gluten, or a combination of these protein sources. Fermentation-based imitation meat uses mycoproteins created from a certain mold and corn starch, that’s been broken down into glucose, similar to the fermentation process of yogurt or wine. Lastly, cell-based meat substitutes are lab-grown meats made from animal cells from a living animal but are not yet available commercially.  

This study also explains how traditional meat is made of muscle fibers that group together to form larger structures. The texture of real meat is firm, juicy, and hard to mimic, because of this grouping quality.  

“I think it is great in a lot of ways to sort of present that, to normalize being vegan. For me, that sort of progression isn’t really that useful because I’m vegan because I don’t like the taste of meat, and meat scares me,” Harris said. “The thought of eating a burger that is vegan but where it tastes like meat, that does not appeal to me at all. I guess the Beyond Meat craze hasn’t been that great for me specifically, but as whole I’m glad it’s happening.”  

Two Beyond Meat burger patties cost $5.99, each with 20 grams of protein, while two pounds of regular ground beef cost the same price with the same amount of protein and will make about eight patties, according to CNBC. Prices are higher because of the company’s volume of production and cost of ingredients.  

Kauth has also noticed an increase these products, but she doesn’t recommend all of them to her clients. She recommends eating whole foods. 

“Get their protein from beans, peas, legumes, vegetables, legumes, that kind of thing. I have minimal, minimal, minimal hesitation telling anybody to do that,” Kauth said. “I do have hesitation telling people to eat a lot of processed non-animal things.” 

Kauth said that eating imitation meat is an unknown health choice because all of the components of the production process are not yet known. But she does believe that it’s a good choice for the environment. She urges anyone trying to change their diet to be intentional with their choices.  

 “I would say with more education, you can make great choices within a budget,” Kauth said.  

Harris has learned the ins and outs of a vegan diet throughout the years. She knows what she likes to eat and what she needs to eat to have all of the nutrition that she needs, and shops for that. 

Harris said, “I think that people that really push the vegan agenda, it’s a little exclusive. There are a lot of people who can’t afford to buy tofu all the time. I do think it’s pretty cheap to be vegan but I’m buying food for just myself, so I think it’s different if you’re providing for a family.” 

Harris enjoys following a vegan diet but understands that it is not for everyone.  

“I’m vegan because I can’t imagine eating anything with animal products. If I could imagine eating animal products, I would go for it. That’d be so great,” said Harris.  

After six years as a vegetarian, Klein became anemic because of the insufficient amount of protein and iron in her diet. She was lethargic, taking a nap for three to four hours every day. Her skin looked grey and unhealthy. Her nutritionist told her that her supplements were no longer cutting it and she needed to eat meat.  

“I knew exactly what I wanted to eat,” Klein said. “I introduced myself to chicken first, before I started eating anything else, and I didn’t have any issues with it.” 

Klein described her family as “white meat chicken breast type” people. Her family is also Jewish, and only eats kosher meat.  

“I think just keeping kosher in general involves a lot of really clean eating,” said Klein. “It’s all very healthy.” 

According to OK Kosher Certification, kosher meat must be killed and examined by a shochet, a person certified by Jewish law. All utensils must be kept kosher, and the meat must be soaked and have removed any trace of blood before cooking. A kosher animal chews its cud and has split hooves, meaning for example, that a cow is kosher, but a rabbit is not.  

Other religions similarly restrict the consumption of meat. Hindus often do not eat cows because they are viewed as sacred, according to the Pew Research Center. Muslim teachings prohibit pork, meaning many Muslims do not eat pig. 

Like Klein, Black struggled to eat enough protein with her active lifestyle, playing on two sports teams in high school. Out of fear of her body not being able to handle meat, Black opted to try eating fish in high school, and has been pescatarian ever since.  

Black said that she eats a lot of tofu, eggs, and nuts. She ensures that she eats between six to 10 grams of protein per meal. 

According to Harvard Medical School, the recommended dietary allowance of protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. One pound is 0.45 kilograms. It is also recommended to spread out your protein intake, as opposed to eating it all in one meal. 

Black weighs 120 pounds. Following the Harvard Medical School recommendation, Black should eat 43.2 grams of protein per day.  

Black and Klein both agree on the importance of planning out a transition to vegetarianism or veganism for best results. The protein sources cannot just be cut out, they need to be replaced.  

Health concerns with avoiding meat include an insufficient intake of protein, iron, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, and fatty acids, according to the National Library of Medicine. It is recommended to take supplements or to find specific foods with high quantities of these nutrients.  

Yet when done correctly, a plant-based diet offers many health benefits. Vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and high blood pressure. It is also possible to reduce medications needed for chronic illnesses, for example to lower blood pressure. Additionally, vegetarian and vegan diets can be effective for weight loss. 

“My biggest thing is don’t restrict yourself. I think it’s great that people want to explore the vegan diet for any reason, I just think it becomes an issue when it feels like you’re denying yourself food for any reason,” Harris said. “If you really want to try being vegan, start small. Don’t just say no more meat forever.”  

This same study by the National Library of Medicine found that plant-based diets are associated with a smaller risk of mortality, mostly because of a reduction of red meat consumption which is high in cholesterol. 

In addition to health reasons, many vegetarians and vegans follow their plant-based diet to be more sustainable for the environment.  

Black said, “now that I’m older, I can appreciate I’m not contributing to climate change and bad effects on the environment in that way.” 

According to Stanford University, up to 32 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are from farm animals. This is more emissions than all types of transportation combined, which results in global warming and an increase in extreme weather conditions.   

Similarly, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 26 percent of ice-free land on earth is used for livestock production, and 33 percent of croplands are used to produce food for the livestock. If all these grains were fed to humans, we could feed 3.5 billion more people, according to Oxford University. The price of grains is driven up due to its use as food for the animals, hurting the global poor and further restricting their access to food.  

However, an increase in demand for more fruits and vegetables means an increase in demand for underpaid farmworkers. According to Pitt News, these workers deal with horrid conditions like working amid the COVID-19 pandemic without proper protection.  

The rise of plant-based products has certainly contributed to the accessibility of a vegan or vegetarian diet, but it is important to replace whatever you are giving up. 

“I want people to know that I don’t feel like I’m disadvantaged health wise because I’m a vegetarian,” Black said. “If you eat the right foods then it’s very doable.”