Vegetarian facts
• The number of people in the UK who maintain a vegetarian or vegan diet accounts for approximately 4.6 % of the population . In India it is an estimated 39.5 %. In Rajestan it is over 74 %.
• There are an estimated 1.5bn vegetarians globally , according to Gallup / Vegan News . and 9.7m Americans follow a plant-based diet .
• According to a YouGov / Mintel report , 22 % of UK Millenials have tried a vegetarian diet , compared to 13 % of Gen X and 11 % of Baby Boomers .
• Vegetarians show a lower , 10-12 % incidence of cancers , says NCBI . no animal-derived ingredients . She tells me the trademarks aren ’ t exclusively for food items , but it can also be applied to drinks , beauty cosmetics , cleaning products as well as health products .
Manchester Central is one of the UK venues that gained this accreditation , alongside Royal Holloway University , University of Chester and University of Plymouth .
“ Seeking this accreditation formed part of our organisational sustainability strategy ,” explains Shaun Hinds , CEO , Manchester Central . This strategy , he believes , has an emphasis on protecting the natural environment while considering the social , economic and cultural impacts .
“ The accreditation also shows clients that our vegan and vegetarian options form a core part of our hospitality offer . We are incredibly proud of our latest vegetarian and vegan dishes , securing the use of the approved trademarks exemplifies our commitment to full traceability of the food that we serve ,” adds Hinds .
Taste matching Venues and caterers can also show their commitment by partnering with veggie and vegan experts and suppliers .
ACC Liverpool / Sodexo Live ! works alongside Meatless Farm – a company that strives to help people reduce their meat consumption by swapping to its meat-free products . “ Meatless Farm has helped us enhance our vegan menu choices across our arena kiosks ,” says Mitchell .
From September , ACC Liverpool became the first venue within the Sodexo Live ! portfolio to trial and install these kiosks . “ We hope that if someone is in the queue at the Meatless Farm kiosk , they won ’ t want to jump out of that queue and go to the burger kiosk – it ’ s all about matching what ’ s already out there .
“ You shouldn ’ t have to sacrifice taste and flavour when it comes to vegetarian or vegan food and that is a big factor in helping people swap to plant-based products ,” says Mitchell .
Mitchell adds that one 400g pack of its Meatless Farm mince has a fraction of the environmental impact of its meat counterpart .
Who leads the charge ? So , with so many initiatives , partnerships and accreditations available , who should be responsible for implementing them ?
For Mitchell , it ’ s firstly the responsibility of the venue . “ It ’ s our responsibility to make sure we have plant-based menus and options available for clients to choose from .”
Hinds agrees and says : “ We believe our role is to provide organisers with all the tools they need to make sustainable choices for their events .”
Mitchell believes suppliers , organisers and clients also play a role . “ It ’ s down to our suppliers to ensure they can provide the correct ingredients , it ’ s down to organisers and clients to reduce the environmental impact of food at events .”
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