Public health initiative, Meatless Monday along with Grubhub, the nation’s top takeout marketplace recently announced the results of Grubhub‘s analysis of vegetarian and meatless alternative orders between January 2015 to July 2017 … and the results are exciting!

The findings show that Americans are increasingly ordering meatless dishes. Not only that, but the popularity of vegan, vegetarian, and meat substitutes have grown significantly in recent years. 

“With so many vegetarian dishes gaining popularity, it is easy to see that choosing meat-free meals is not just a trend,” Barbara Martin Coppola, CMO of Grubhub, told PR NewsWire.

What does this data say? For starters, it reinforces that meat and dairy are falling out of favor with consumers. One-third of Americans now identify as flexitarian, choosing to leave meat off their plate more frequently. Milk consumption has been steadily declining by 25 percent per capita since the mid-1970s. Meanwhile, the plant-based meat and plant-based milk markets continue to grow. The plant-based milk industry has grown by 250 percent in just five years while the market for plant-based meat substitutes is estimated to grow to $5.2 billion by 2020. Not to mention, more restaurants are making it easier than ever to order plant-based.

There’s no denying that the future of food has arrived — and it’s vegan. And with takeout delivery services like Grubhub, you don’t even have to leave the house if you want to try to cut back on meat and dairy.

To learn more about the impact of our food choices as well as trends and developments in the plant-based food space, check out our podcast #EatForThePlanet with Nil Zacharias.

Image Source: Grubhub