Increase of vegetarianism in the world

Whether for health, environmental or anti-animal abuse reasons, in recent years we have seen a significant increase in vegetarianism in the world: 3% of all people have declared a vegetarian or vegan diet, which translates into approximately 100 million people consuming vegetarian food, while the vegetable meat industry closed with a volume of 3.6 billion US dollars during 2020 alone.[i] However, the global vegan products industry already exceeds 50,000 US dollars.[ii] The global vegan products industry is already worth more than 50,000 US dollars.

Reasons for the rise of veganism worldwide

The cause of the growth of this industry while so many others are seeing setbacks during the pandemic? There are many, but we can say that the COVID-19 crisis has contributed to its acceleration,[iii] serving as a catalyst for an inevitable change in the food industry, especially with the tendency of consumers to know exactly what they consume, where it comes from and what effects it has on both their personal health and the well-being of the planet. For example, did you know that a hamburger takes more than 1,000 liters of water to reach your table and that it pollutes more than the average car pollutes per day?[iv]

The vegan market: a sustainable investment option

Due to the pandemic, the risks of pollution from the livestock industry, awareness of the effects our food has on the environment and an increased demand for plant-based products based on informed decisions about responsible eating and consumption, more and more companies are offering new products to a population that is increasingly open to trying substitute options to animal meat.

Not surprisingly, there are already investment options in vegetarian food and vegan products, as is the case in the stock market, with exchange-traded funds – or Exchange-Traded Fund, ETF, for its acronym in English – where we find the recognized symbol VEGN, has been trading since 2019 and has seen increases of up to 500%.[v]

VEGN ETF and the Beyond Investing US Vegan Climate Index

The VEGN ETF, in turn, is guided by the famous Beyond Investing US Vegan Climate Index, which groups more than 275 companies that are exclusively engaged in the production of vegan, 100% animal-free and environmentally friendly goods and “excludes companies involved in animal exploitation, advocacy, human rights abuses, fossil fuel extraction and energy production, and other environmentally damaging activities” – as described on their portal.[vi]

Projections for the vegan market are increasingly on the rise, between 20% and 30% annually. So research into new plant-based protein options, vegan cosmetics and more is looking like an excellent sustainable investment option for the coming decades – and will most likely remain so for many years to come.

[i] https://www.eleconomista.es/mercados-cotizaciones/noticias/10942255/12/20/El-veganismo-una-nueva-oportunidad-de-inversion.html

 

[ii] https://www.ig.com/es/estrategias-de-trading/veganismo-en-bolsa–como-operar-en-companias-veganas-201015

 

[iii] https://www.latimes.com/espanol/california/articulo/2020-07-20/proyectan-el-aumento-en-veganismo-y-la-demanda-de-carne-a-base-de-plantas-tras-coronavirus

 

[iv] https://www.autopista.es/noticias-motor/contamina-mas-tu-coche-comerte-hamburguesa-analizamos_215561_102.html#:~:text=Seg%C3%BAn%20los%20informes%20y%20los,km%20un%20coche%20de%20gasolina.

 

[v] https://www.eleconomista.es/mercados-cotizaciones/noticias/10942255/12/20/El-veganismo-una-nueva-oportunidad-de-inversion.html

 

[vi] https://expansion.mx/mercados/2019/09/13/moda-vegana-llega-a-los-etfs-deberias-invertir