There are around 600,000 vegans in the UK, according to The Vegan Society. That's just over 1% of the population – an amount expected to increase to 25% by 2025. And if there's one type of food that Brits love, it's fast food. True, it's not the most nutritious¹, but there's nothing quite like the crunch² of crispy chips, or that first big bite into a juicy hamburger. People in the UK love junk food so much that there was a 34% increase in the number of fast food outlets³ from 2010 to 2018, according to the Office for National Statistics. It's no surprise, then, that vegan fast food is also on the rise.

 

Vegan fast food has become big business. At Just Eat, an online food delivery company, vegan orders more than doubled in 2018, a spokesperson told the BBC. Greggs, a chain of high-street bakeries, named its vegan sausage roll the 'fastest-selling product in six years'. And big franchises⁴ such as McDonald's and KFC have announced meat-free chicken nuggets to come in the future.

 

What's driving this popularity? Katrina Fox, founder⁵ of Vegan Business Media, believes it's the result of social media and the breaking down of stereotypes⁶. "Vegan food is no longer seen as a bit of lettuce⁷ and lentils – you can eat pretty much anything," she told the BBC.

 

It's also claimed that there are health benefits. John Marulanda, owner of Mooshies - a vegan burger bar in London – wants to implement⁸ "a change to a healthy version of fast food." Something, he claims, that comes as a result of the inherent nutritional⁹ value of the ingredients they use.

 

But, is vegan fast food actually healthy? Azmina Govindji of the British Dietetic Association says "not to assume" that is the case. "It's fine if those products have got vitamin B12, iodine¹⁰ or calcium¹¹ added to them… but they can still be fried, it can still have lots of creamy, fatty sauces and lots of salt."

 

Given the current growth in orders, the trend for vegan fast food isn't likely to disappear any time soon. Health-wise, it may not be any more nourishing than regular fast food, but for many, the lack of animal suffering involved in the process is a big plus.

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