By: Debayan Paul
In this unprecedented time in history, the world is willingly and unwillingly undergoing changes. Be it more than a billion people locking themselves down in cities across the globe, or surges in the sales of plant-based milk and meat, the Coronavirus crisis has certainly shown new ways of living to humankind.
As the world gradually goes into lockdown owing to the highly infectious nature of the Covid-19, sales of common household supplies spiked steadily. And vegan meat recorded the highest jump in the meat category.
According to data for the week ending on March 14th, sales of plant-based meat went up by 280% according to Nilsen. The previous week ending March 7 recording a 206.4 % surge.
This is not the only time plant-based substitute demand went up. Earlier this year, news about China’s interest in the vegan egg from JUST surfaced online.
According to Bloomberg Green, the San-Francisco based egg alternative maker has been flooded with inquiries from some of the biggest Chinese food manufacturers.
JUST Inc. one of the most widely preferred plant-based substitutes for eggs in the US, makes use of mung beans to recreate the taste and texture of eggs.
The JUST CEO, Josh Tetrick revealed that that Chinese state-backed food manufacturers are showing interest in the vegan egg replacement amidst Coronavirus outbreak.
In an interview, Tetrick stated that China is considering more quality-controlled foods during this time.
To Curb Reliance on Animal Sources
Chinese authorities are trying to curb reliance on animal food sources obtained from confined animals to prevent further spread of the outbreak.
The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a wet market where freshly slaughtered animals are traded in the city of Wuhan has been blamed for the possible epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak.
According to data from the WorldOmeter website, which tracks the Coronavirus infection in real-time, 492,056 cases have been recorded with 22,175 deaths.
Possible Pandemic Essentials? Hand Sanitizer, Masks and… Oat Milk!
Photo by Cleanlight Photo on Unsplash
Stocks of hygiene products like masks, hand sanitizers, sanitizing wipes, and tissues have been whizzing past the ailes of American supermarkets- something expected in a time at the cusp of a deadly virus outbreak.
But one commodity that has garnered special attention is oat milk, a dairy-free milk alternative, that tastes very close to dairy milk. So much so, that itss demand has dwarfed even that of hand sanitizers.
A whopping 476 percent surge in the sales of oat milk has been documented amidst the outbreak in the weeks ending with March 14. Whereas dairy milk sales went up by only 32.x% in the same time frame.
The better resemblance to the original milk, shelf-stable nature and smaller carbon footprint of oat milk is being seen as a good addition to the ‘pandemic pantry,’ as Nielsen would call the stockpiling of the pantry for future pandemic fears.
So is veganism helping?
On the very surface, it is. According to The Medical News Today, the one currently in outbreak came from animals- pangolin and bats to be precise.
Most of the initial infections were documented on people who either frequently visited the wet market in Wuhan or worked in there.
A recent paper published in the journal Nature found that pangolin, one of the suspected animals to carry the Covid-19, carries a virus that has a close resemblance to the Coronavirus currently ravaging the world, the BBC reports.
That said, on the ground of common reason, a person who is plant-based would naturally avoid meat, be it from exotic species or domesticated. Even if links between animal meat and Coronavirus were to be confirmed, it would not really bother vegans.
