As we get closer to the second half of this century, we can see some interesting tendencies. The food industry is changing as people look for new types of food. For many, it has become clear that the world needs a sustainable food industry that’s more friendly to the environment and supports a healthy lifestyle. Thus, we can see the number of vegans and vegetarians growing every year across the world.
But those who love meat are not ready to change their food habits yet. Fast-food franchises are still thriving despite the new healthy-food tendencies. In line with this, we decided to compare the vegetarian growing curve in Europe with the number of fast-food franchises. As an example, we chose the fast-food chain par excellence: McDonald’s.
30% of Europeans are open to a more sustainable food Production
From 2016 to 2020, the number of vegans in Europe has doubled. This means that there is twice the number of people that adopted a new diet eliminating animal products and byproducts. While in 2016 the vegan population was estimated to be 2.6 million people, in 2020 they reached 3.6 million. This means that 3.2% of the population has chosen a healthier and cruelty-free diet.
According to a post published in ‘Green Queen’, even a larger number of people consider themselves flexitarians. These people are moving away from a meat-based diet and consuming vegan products. Statistics show that many of them are planning on becoming full vegans in the near future. The flexitarians in Europe are now approximately 20.9% of the population, which means that more than 30% of Europeans are no longer leading a meat-based lifestyle.
Veganism vs fast food in the European continent
According to ‘Green Queen’ the highest numbers of flexitarians in Europe are in Austria (31.8%), Germany (30%), and Portugal (28.6%). However, other rankings show Germany as the third country with the highest number of McDonald’s outlets in the world. Let’s take a look at the first ten countries according to a chart published in RList in 2021.
First 10 McDonald’s countries in the world
- United States: 14,146
- Japan: 2,975
- China: 2,391
- Germany: 1,476
- Canada: 1,450
- France: 1,419
- United Kingdom: 1,274
- Australia: 920
- Brazil: 812
- Russia: 645
These numbers show that even in a country like Germany, we can find almost 1,500 McDonald’s outlets. Despite being one of the pioneers in veganism and flexitarianism, this is the fourth country with the largest number of McDonald’s restaurants in the world. France and the United Kingdom are also on this top-ten list.
If we zoom in a bit, we can analyze the statistics only for Europe. These are the countries first 10 McDonald’s countries in Europe in 2020 according to ‘statista.com’.
First 10 McDonald’s countries in Europe
- France: 1,495
- Germany: 1,448
- United Kingdom: 1,334
- Russia: 785
- Italy: 608
- Spain: 535
- Poland: 461
- Netherlands: 255
- Israel: 203
- Sweden: 201
As we can see, only one of the most flexitarian countries is on this list. On the other hand, Austria and Portugal are not among the top-10 (11th and 12th places respectively).
McDonald’s per capita
But the rankings look different when we discuss the number of McDonald’s outlets per capita. In this case, Austria leads the ranking with over 22 outlets per million inhabitants.
First 10 European countries with the highest McDonald’s rate per capita in 2016
- Austria: 22.3*
- Sweden: 22.2
- France: 21.2
- Switzerland: 19.7
- United Kingdom: 19.4
- Ireland: 19.1
- Germany: 17.8
- Denmark: 15.4
- Portugal: 14.7
- Netherlands: 14.6
*Number of McDonald’s outlets every 1M inhabitants The numbers show that the three countries with the highest flexitarian tendencies are also among the 10 countries with more McDonald’s per capita, with Austria leading the ranking, and Germany and Portugal in 7th and 9th places respectively.
Nonetheless, some argue that statistics per capita don’t necessarily mean people’s preference for a certain type of food. If we consider the differences in population density, a McDonald’s outlet in Stockholm can serve fewer people than in the largest cities of London and Paris. This would explain why Russia is in fourth place in the ranking of countries with most outlets in Europe (10th in the world) but has a low per capita rate. According to Statista, in Russia, we can find only 4.2 outlets per million inhabitants. This has a lot to do with the fact that Russia is the largest country in the world, yet has one of the lowest population densities.
The food trends in Europe in 2021
The new decade has brought many changes. This is reflected in people’s increasing interest in sustainable food products and a healthier lifestyle.
A 30% of the population in the European continent is flexitarian and is considering changing to veganism. Also, 3.2% are already living on an animal-free diet and using cruelty-free products. While these countries still have many fast-food franchises, many of these are already including vegan options on their menus.
Also, many brands are striving to create new flavors and recipes to make vegan food taste more like meat. This is a great option for those who love meat but want to feed on sustainable products. If we consider society’s increasing interest in vegan products, the proof showing that our current food system is harming the ecosystems, and the release of a wider range of non-animal-based products, we might just say that the future is vegan after all.