We know that people around the world dealing with lockdowns as a result of the pandemic are scrambling to stock up on food. But what have we been putting in our pantries? Sales of plant-based foods have skyrocketed given that they offer more nutrition – especially the whole foods — and a longer shelf life than other food items.
According to Nielsen research, US sales of vegan meat have jumped by 280%, sales of fully cooked vegan meat are up 85%, and cooked chicken up 35%, for the week ending March 14th compared with the same period last year. These foods — which can be high in sodium and some fats — are still healthier overall than animal meat — as they contain no cholesterol or antibiotics — and are far less damaging to the environment.
Sales of long-lasting, plant-based food items have increased too e.g., rice (up 166%), and beans (up 230%) over the same period according to Nielsen.
Left to right: Two plant-based milks requiring refrigeration, and two shelf-stable plant-based milks.
Also, sales of oat milk have increased by 476% over the same time period. According to The New York Times, plant-based milks last longer than dairy. And shelf-stable plant-based milks have been flying off supermarket shelves as consumers look for nutritious foods that can last through longer lockdown periods.
“As consumers assess their decisions on what can be stored for long periods and what cannot, there’s little doubt that buying will shift towards shelf-stable and frozen options,” Nielsen said.
And plant-based foods are among the majority of foods recommended to help enhance your immune system. For advice on healthy eating during the lockdown, check out CNN commentary.
More broadly speaking, the pandemic is leading to higher growth potential for plant-based foods as consumers around the world reassess their food choices, especially given the current high profile of the spread of zoonotic diseases that jump the species barrier from animals to humans.
The overall size of the plant-based food market in the US has now grown to $5 billion according to the Plant Based Food Association and the Good Food Institute.
And the devastation caused by Covid-19 in China is persuading Chinese authorities to refocus on the security of their food system. The San Francisco-based food company, Just, which makes plant-based egg products, is currently fielding a wave of inquiries from some of China’s bigger food manufacturers that are seeking animal-free protein sources, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Just CEO Josh Tetrick says that authorities are thinking about how to reduce the risk of future outbreaks by curbing China’s reliance on meat from confined animals.
David Yeung, founder of Green Monday, a Hong Kong-based maker of imitation pork products and seller of other plant-based foods, told the SCMP that he believes the virus will drive consumers toward such products. “The triple threat of coronavirus, ASF [African Swine Flu], and avian flu fully expose the vulnerability of the protein/food supply chain,” Yeung says. “From a consumer standpoint, demand for safe, reliable healthy food will absolutely skyrocket.”
So, what we are putting in our pandemic pantries is changing the food market and Covid-19 is making it painfully clear that we need to reassess what we should consume — not just now — but into the future. There is concensus among scientists and other authorities who study pandemics that unless we change how we obtain our food and move away from consuming animals more pandemics are inevitable. Seeing the scale of the threat to human health from Covid-19 – not to mention the overwhelming of national health systems and the wrecking of economies, this is surely not something we want to keep repeating.
And there is a simple answer, and it’s something each of us can do -- starting today. Shift our eating habits away from animals to more whole food, plant-based foods.