First US plant-based education center opens amid growing demand for meat-free diets

15 Aug 2019 --- The first fully plant-based US nutrition and culinary education center is opening in St. Louis, Missouri. The Center for Plant-based Living (CPBL) is a response to the growing demand for information and application of a plant-based diet. The project is headed by Caryn Dugan, a blogger who has become St. Louis’s official plant-based nutrition, culinary and lifestyle “go-to gal.”

“This is a natural progression of the business. Over the years, I have watched this plant-based movement gain strength and speed. People are hungry for a place to go where they can always get reputable information and gain the skills they need to start adding more plants to their plate. They also need support – oftentimes the missing key component that halts change. CPBL will offer all of this,” says Dugan.

Dugan adopted a plant-based diet in 2008 in response to her father’s death from cancer and her own diagnosis ten weeks later. She now shares plant-based nutrition and culinary education with the St. Louis community. This is through in-person classes in several venues; presentations, including collaborations with Washington University physicians; hosting a plant-based nutrition summit at Washington University; and regular morning television show segments. 

The plant-based market shows no signs of slowing down.The classes and programs offered will involve Forks Over Knives, The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine and the Plantrician Project, all of which Dugan has strong ties to. 

Plant-based growth has been a key theme for several years, but the extent to which it grew into the total mainstream with both vegetarian and vegan options became incredibly clear throughout 2018. According to data from Innova Market Insights, there has been more than 45 percent average annual growth in food & beverage launches with a vegan positioning (CAGR, 2013-2017).

Additionally, the plant-based market shows no signs of slowing down. For the mainstream consumer, going plant-based is about achieving a healthy and sustainable balance between meat and vegetables, rather than adopting an all-or-nothing way of eating. The fashionable rise of “flexitarians” and “reducetarians” means that new opportunity exists for hybrid foods that combine animal-derived and plant-based proteins.

UK supermarket Sainsbury’s recently temporarily converted a London meatshop into a meat-free butchers. An in-store butcher with specialized training in plant-based cooking was on-hand to share recipes and tips with curious customers. Additionally, samples of the products were on offer in an effort to entice the more trepidatious consumer. 

A recent UN report also discussed how a plant-based diet could be vital to fighting climate change. Ruminant meat (beef and lamb), in particular, has been consistently identified as the single food with the greatest impact on the environment, on a global basis, most often in terms of GHG emissions and/or land use. 

However, there are some drawbacks that should be taken into account. Low-meat diets reduce the required agricultural area and re-growing vegetation takes up carbon until a new equilibrium is reached. Notably, not all plant-based foods are equal, as various production approaches can be used for the same type of food. For example, some types of flooded rice production are known emitters of methane.

Meat producers are also adding plant-based products to their portfolios. The burger category is especially trendy, with Smithfield Foods launching a soy-based protein portfolio earlier this week. 

By Katherine Durrell