How a Post-Coronavirus Market in China is Set to Embrace Veganism
Plant-based fried chicken at KFC and oat milk coffees at Starbucks are among the new product launches set to grow the plant-based market in post-pandemic China.
With the coronavirus pandemic just the latest infectious disease linked to our treatment of animals, more scrutiny than ever has been placed on the likes of the world’s wet markets and factory farms.
Rather than continuing our current food system that relies on the mass slaughter and consumption of animals - one that causes the majority of new infectious diseases like COVID-19 and SARS - a post-pandemic world can provide us an opportunity to transform our current system into a safer, healthier and more ecological plant-based food system instead.
Businesses and brands are eager to make that healthier future a reality in post-coronavirus China, as this week KFC traded animal meat for plant protein, in their new trial of plant-based fried chicken at select stores in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Starbucks has gone even further, and released a new vegan menu in China, complete with Beyond Meat beef, plant-based Omnipork, and oat milk for beverages. The game-changing menu is debuting now across all of its 3,300-plus outlets in China.
These products show the growing demand for plant-based food, particularly in a post-coronavirus market where more people are wanting to choose healthier options. The pandemic has also cemented a general shift away from consuming certain animals in China, with the government recently announcing a national ban on the consumption of wildlife, as well as some cities going further by banning dog and cat meat too.
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