It might be most noticeable in the US, where fast food restaurants have become a part of the daily routine, but a recent Gallup poll found that almost half of Americans eat fast food on a weekly basis. Even so, according to recent numbers the world’s taste in food is changing. And because of that, the nature of fast food joints has been changing too – and its been changing fast.
In the US alone, around 5% of the population identifies as vegetarian. And half of those – 2.5% or about 8 million people – are vegan. That may not sound like a lot, but consider this: in 2000, a study found that only 2.5% of the US population identified as vegetarian, with an even tinier subset of that group as vegan. That growth hasn’t been relegated solely to the US, either.
In countries like India, the vast majority of the population skews vegetarian, and in Germany 9% of the population has stated that they are vegetarian or vegan. All across Europe, more and more people are opting to eat vegetarian and vegan. And if those numbers keep growing, fast food restaurants are going to have to change with it or risk being left behind.
Vegan Fast Food Options
Surprisingly enough, fast food chains like Burger King, Dairy Queen, and Chick-Fil-A already offer vegan-friendly meal options. (The Munchy Menus blog has a great roundup of vegan options at traditional fast food restaurants here.) Even Zaxby’s – a Southern US chain that specializes in fried chicken – has gotten on board. And while a few of them don’t offer much aside from salads, chains like Taco Bell actually have quite a few options for vegan diets.
Newer (and supposedly more health conscious) fast food restaurants like Chipotle, Panera Bread, and Chop’t have even managed to put together their menus with healthier and more vegetarian- and vegan-friendly items in mind. This transition to healthier foods and foods that are available to a larger variety of diets has been gaining traction for the last decade and is really gaining steam now.
But what’s really interesting is that some organizations are predicting that we could be looking at a world that’s comprised of a majority of vegetarian and vegan eaters in 25 to 30 years, driven by food safety concerns and other environmental factors. If that were the case, what would fast food look like?
What Will Fast Food Look Like in the Future?
There’s no doubt that wherever consumer tastes go, investment and options will follow. So the more people that decide to switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet, the more of a possibility there is of seeing fast food restaurants that focus their entire menu on items that meet those dietary requirements.
There aren’t currently a huge number of major international chains that focus entirely on vegetarian and vegan fare, but one company has successfully adopted this model and become a bit of a multinational star in the fast food world. Maoz (which was actually started and currently based in the Netherlands) is a vegetarian fast food restaurant chain with the mission of spreading vegetarianism worldwide. Smaller chains like Veggie Grill and Native Foods Cafe are doing well in smaller markets, but haven’t quite made the jump to being a large, national chain that can compete with the likes of McDonalds and Burger King.
Who knows? Maybe in 10 or 20 years, vegetarian and vegan fast food options will be far reaching and every restaurant – whether it’s a small local joint or a national chain – will have food options that are appropriate for all of us.
Are there any local chains where you live that offer purely vegetarian or vegan fast food options? Let us know about them in the comments!
