Vegans are sprouting up

With all the cruelty, environmental problems, and diet-related diseases in the world, it can be easy for vegans to get discouraged. Trying to convince people to go vegetarian can be like banging your head against a brick wall. Just the other day, I wrote a blog proposing, perish the thought, an excise tax on meat to help offset skyrocketing healthcare costs and environmental degradation. Some meat-eaters didn’t take kindly to this idea, calling me a socialist or making hostile, defensive comments. It’s frustrating, to say the least. Sometimes I wonder what it will take to get through to some people and if things will ever change. But then, I think back to when I went vegan—17 years ago—and I realize how far we’ve come. It may not always seem like it, but we’re making progress every day.

I was 19 when I stopped eating eggs and dairy products. 36 may seem ancient to some of you, so I’ll try to keep my “I remember when’s” to a minimum. But I do remember my first trip to the small vegetarian food store in my neighborhood, and how astounded I was to see vegetarian Not Dogs, Phony Baloney, Tofutti Cuties, and other foods that I never even knew existed. Even in the mid to late-90’s, vegan foods weren’t available in many mainstream places. Vegans had to go to “special” health food stores just to buy veggie burgers and soy milk, which was once brownish and grainy tasting.

Not anymore! Tasty vegan foods like Boca burgers, Gardenburger sausages, Morningstar Farms Meal Starters, and Silk soy milk are not only sold in “conventional” grocery stores, they’re advertised in well-known magazines like Shape, Fitness, Self, Family Circle, and Woman’s Day. A Mintel survey showed that U.S. sales of vegetarian and vegan food increased by 64 percent from 2000 to 2005 and that the vegetarian food market was forecast to grow to over $1.7 billion in sales by 2010.

An April 2008 survey conducted by Harris Interactive Service Bureau indicated that a whopping 11.9 million people are “definitely interested” in following a vegetarian-based diet in the future. Restaurants are scrambling to meet the ever-growing demand for meatless meals. Popular chains, including P.F. Changs, Johnny Rockets, Moe’s, and even Denny’s, home of the 55-course meal, offer vegetarian and vegan options. Burger King has a veggie burger, KFCs in Canada offer vegetarian chicken, and Silk soy milk is available at Starbucks.

Most colleges have vegetarian options, as you’ve probably discovered. A number of public school districts across the country serve vegetarian meals. All 110 Gwinnett County public schools in Atlanta, for example, offer tofu-based corn dogs, veggie burgers, soy milk, and other vegetarian options. Grady High School, also in Atlanta, even has a separate lunch line for students who want vegetarian meals. The list goes on and on. Times and minds have changed dramatically since I was a child. Mystery meats, egg salad, and cheese pizza were the only options I had when I was in school.

Now, just about anyplace that serves food serves vegetarian options. Just the other week, I enjoyed a veggie burger and a veggie dog at Harbor Park, a minor league baseball stadium in Norfolk, Va. Most major league ballparks offer an array of vegetarian foods, as do most resorts and cruise lines. One cruise line, a Taste of Health Holistic Cruises, even caters to vegetarians and vegans.

Not long ago, Mark Bittman, the author of the popular How to Cook Everything books, released How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Even the U.S. military now provides vegetarian MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for soldiers who want meat-free meals.

We’ve still got a long way to go, no doubt. Many people remain resistant to change, often for no other reason than they like the taste of meat and are unwilling to give tasty mock meats and other vegetarian foods a chance. There’s not a whole lot we can do about them, other than to keep plugging away. I prefer to focus more on the fence-sitters who are willing to give veganism a try. Our efforts to promote a healthy, humane lifestyle are paying off and will continue to do so. If we continue to convince friends and family members to go vegetarian, and to ask stores, restaurants, and college campuses to serve vegetarian foods, we will eventually have a very vegetarian-friendly society.