The Vegan Market in Canada

What is Vegan? The abstinence of all animal products That means NO to: Meat (beef, pork, chicken), poultry, fish Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) Honey (for some) Leather, wool, silk, fur, etc. in clothing… And it means YES to: Compassion Health Environmentalism

Why Vegan? The environmental perspective Vegans use the least amount of resources to produce food 12-16 pounds of grain needed per pound of beef 2500 – 5000 gallons of water needed per pound of beef Only 25-50 gallons for tomatoes, wheat, apples 3.25 acres of land needed per meat-eater 1/3 acre for a vegetarian 1/6 acre for a vegan 78 calories of energy needed per calorie of beef protein Only 2 calories needed for soybeans Vegans pollute the least amount into the environment by avoiding the wastes from animal agriculture: 120 pounds of wet manure produced per day by average dairy cow resulting in water pollution, methane gas resulting in global warming, etc. Some have said the while going vegetarian is like driving a hybrid car, going vegan is like riding a bike – it’s that much better for the environment!

Size of Canadian Market In 2016, a quarter of consumers in a survey in Canada stated that they try to limit the amount of red meat they eat, while eight percent identified themselves as vegetarians or mostly vegetarian British Columbia has one of the largest shares of vegetarians among Canadian provinces, with 13 percent of consumers in the province claiming that they were vegetarian or mostly vegetarian. Meat consumption also varies according to age group. In 2015, about 12 percent of young Canadians claimed that they were vegetarian or mostly vegetarian in contrast to only five percent of Canadians aged 50 and older. 

Size of Canadian Market versus US In the US 6% of consumers claim to be vegan In the US 7% claim to vegetarian 12% of foods in the US carry a vegan claim Mintel Research in Canada confirms 2% identify as Vegan and 4% as vegetarian

Understanding of Vegan?

Vegan Matters?

Size of Canadian Market?

Regional Differences

Age Differences?

Meat Consumption by Age

What’s Next? If you need more information, feel free to reach out to: Tricia Ryan Tricia.Ryan@georgebrown.ca 416-999-2043