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USA: Meat eaters ate 228 million plant-based burgers in past year

Credit: Beyond Meat - Facebook© Photabulous!

American demand for plant-based burgers is on the rise, up 10%, amounting to 228 million orders for the year ending May 2019, compared to the same period last year, according to The NPD Group.

Many of the companies in the playing field, such as Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Gardein and Lightlife, are in fact specifically targeting meat eaters. Thus marketing terms like "bleeding" burgers. The thinking is that vegans and vegetarians, which only make up about 7% of the marketing place, do not need to be enticed to stop eating animals.



â€œAlthough vegetarians and vegans are certainly contributing to the growth in plant-based, they still represent a small (single digits) percentage of the U.S. population and arenâ€™t the primary contributions.

These companies instead are focused on the omnivorous and flexitarian individuals that are trying to add more plant-based foods to their diet. Aside from wanting to add more plant-based foods to their diets, meat-eaters have concerns with animal welfare and the sustainability of raising animals for food, The NPD Group says in a statement to Food Navigator USA.

Almost 20% of the US adult population, are reportedly trying to get more plant-based foods into their diets. "Plant-based burgers allow consumers to substitute without sacrifice" said Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. Essentially, they get the 'burger' while feeling like they have addressed their social, environment and/or health concerns.

But there is still a long way to go, as 6.4 billion beef burgers were ordered at quick-service restaurants (QSR's) in the past year, 28 times more than plant-based burgers.