Meatless Meals Increase

The animal agribusiness machine may have a steak in restaurants, but it’s only a matter of time before their bread and butter becomes the next side dish. According to Restaurants & Institutions (R&I), a leading source of food and business-trend research, nearly one-quarter of Americans sometimes opt for meatless dishes at restaurants. To bolster the company’s claim, Harris Interactive conducted a poll finding that 3.2 percent of Americans, or 7.3 million people, identify themselves as vegetarians. The same study found that 10 percent of consumers largely follow vegetarian-inclined diets and 5 percent more are “definitely interested” in the shift to a vegetarian-based diet. Soy steak, anyone?