The skyrocketing popularity of veganism has caught the attention of one of the biggest sellers of fried chicken

KFC don't want to let vegans down. (Photos: KFC)

Global fast-food giant, KFC, has announced it will trial new plant-based options later this year, responding to the skyrocketing popularity of veganism.

Veganism 'has really blown up'

KFC'S innovation director, Jack Hinchcliffe, told the Telegraph the company is 'currently in the process of working on both vegetarian and vegan options in the innovation kitchen', adding: "Veganism as a trend has really blown up."

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Hinchliffe didn't say what the plant-based options would be but did state it needed to be 'credible, authentic and genuine' - disregarding the idea of creating a bean burger, arguing it would 'let down vegans'.



"For us, it’s about taking the amazing tastes of KFC and offering those in a vegetarian or vegan alternative," he said.

Last year, over 12,600 people signed a petition for the fast-food chain to offer a plant-based option after it announced it was in the early stages of developing a veggie fried chicken.

'The horrors of the abattoir'

Animal-rights organization, PETA, who submitted the petition, said: "PETA is calling on KFC to dish up delicious all-vegan fried chicken that could spare millions of sensitive birds the horrors of the abattoir.

"Chickens used for food endure systemic abuse in today's meat industry. They're routinely fed antibiotics and bred to grow so large that their legs often collapse under their own body weight.

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"At the abattoir, they're shackled upside down, their throats are slit, and they're scalded in de-feathering tanks, sometimes while still conscious."