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Vegetables Will Replace Meat by 2020—And Millennials Are Driving the Shift
Millennials have consistently demonstrated that they care about food, which also means caring about the environment
By Ben McKean • 10/10/16 7:30am
Adam Jaime
The University of Oxford found that giving up or reducing meat intake can reduce your carbon footprint more than giving up cars. Adam Jaime/Unsplash
Throughout the history of the American dinner plate, meat held pride of place—a hunk of beef resting next to a pile of starch, with a few tepid vegetables perhaps thrown in for a dash of color and virtue. Peas, carrots and broccoli were an afterthought—something parents had to admonish and/or bribe their children to consume.
But the balance of power is beginning to shift. Scientific research, seasonal and local food activists, environmental advocates, chefs, and increasingly health-conscious consumers are ushering in an era where vegetables will usurp meat as the star of the dinner plate. By 2020, vegetables will assume top billing in the American diet, leading to a healthier and more sustainable future.
Meat Vs Vegetables
American children are conditioned from a young age to be wary of vegetables. A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2014 found that when preschoolers are told food is “good for you” or will “make you strong,” they infer that the food is less tasty and will consume less of it. In our culture, vegetables have not traditionally been presented as something delicious and fun, and the impact of this mindset is clear.
Only six percent of American adults eat the recommended serving (2 ½ cups) of vegetables per day, according to the Produce for Better Health Foundation. These numbers are even lower among preteens and teens, whose consumption of vegetables is the lowest.
Meanwhile, America eats more meat than the rest of the world, with the average person consuming 270.2 pounds a year.
Vegetables Will Replace Meat by 2020—Guess Who Is Driving the Shift | Observer