Nearly a third of Canadians have been influenced by the new food guide, says poll

A new Canada-wide poll suggests the country’s new food guide is already having an impact on citizens.

According to the results, 29% of Canadians admitted that the new Food Guide’s recommendation to incorporate plant-based protein impacted their food shopping decisions.

Within the first four months of 2019, 38% of Canadians had tried a plant-based food item, with B.C. having the highest rate, at 44%, followed by Quebec at 42%.

Researchers say the Beyond Meat “phenomenon” is continuing to impact protein choices by shoppers, however, questions remain.

“Beyond Meat is after flexitarians – those consumers wanting to reduce their animal protein intake, for one reason or another,” states poll results.

“Reports suggest that some stores across the country have been selling 50 to 70 units per day of the Beyond Meat product. It’s unclear how these sales have affected demand for beef, pork, or chicken, but it’s quite reasonable to believe that they have.”

Researchers say Beyond Meat is not exactly perfect.

“It does include natural ingredients like yellow peas,” stated the research.

“In fact, some of them come from Canada. But it is also a manufactured mix of unnatural ingredients.”

Industry experts say that plant-based products are expected to continue to invade the market place, but items such as cultured meat and insect-based products are likely to grow in popularity in coming years.