The restaurant chain's CEO Niren Chaudhary says it has 'strong credentials on plant-based'

A quarter of its menu is already plant based, and with 'just one customization, 60% of our menu is plant-based'

Panera points to a rise in customers seeking meatless alternatives, citing concerns about health, animals, and the environment

Disney recently began making plant-based meals available at all of its restaurants and quick-meal hubs at Walt Disney World in Florida

Panera announced today that it plans to make at least half of its menu plant-based in the next few years.

The restaurant chain's CEO Niren Chaudhary told Business Insider that a quarter of its menu offerings are already plant-based, but it plans to increase that significantly.

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'We already have strong credentials on plant-based,' he said. 'Twenty-five per cent of our menu items are plant-based. With just one customization, sixty per cent of our menu is plant-based.'

Coming up: Panera announced today that it plans to make at least half of its menu plant-based in the next few years

Chaudhary pointed to a growing trend of customers cutting back on meat for reasons of nutrition, animal welfare, and sustainability.

Panera wants to meet that demand and do its part to positively impact the environment.

'It's more about better for you, and better for the world, and better for the environment, and better for animals,' he said.

'I think consumers are recognizing that — mostly the younger consumers, they feel more accountable for that.'

Panera's vice president of wellness and food policy, Sara Burnett, added that consumers are 'more and more knowledgeable [about climate change],' and seeking plant-based food offerings is 'going to become a bigger motivation for consumers over time.'

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Updates: The restaurant chain's CEO Niren Chaudhary said that a quarter of its menu offerings are already plant-based, but it plans to increase that significantly

The chain, she said, is thinking not just about how their ingredients taste, but whether they 'have a positive effect on people and planet.'

According to CNBC, Chaudhary said that Panera also plans to add more grain options and 'high-quality lean-cut meats' to the menu.

Panera already has quite a few vegan and vegetarian items, and online, it has a whole page dedicated to eating vegan in one of its locations.

Vegan items include four varieties of bagel, several types of bread, oatmeal, several smoothies, its customizable salads, ten vegetable soup, and a Mediterranean Veggie sandwich ordered with customizations.

Ta-da! Disney announced that it was making plant-based meals available at all of its restaurants at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California

In September, Disney announced that it was making plant-based meals available at all of its restaurants and quick-meal hubs at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California.

The company revealed on its blog that the vegan meals would roll out immediately at the Florida resort's parks and hotels, and they'd come to the California resort this spring.

Visitors can identify the dishes by a green-leaf icon on its menus.

The parks will now offer more than 400 dishes, both sweet and savory, that are entirely plant-based.

The vegan meals don't have animal meat, dairy, eggs or honey. They are made from vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, and legumes.

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While some items already qualified or only needed to be slightly tweaked, the parks have also introduced several new dishes that are vegan.