Hello and welcome to Zoe Shorts, the bite-sized podcast where we discuss one

topic around science and nutrition. I'm Jonathan Wolf and as always I'm joined

by Dr Sarah Berry and today's topic is meet and dairy alternatives. Are they

healthier than the real deal? So Jonathan, imagine your local supermarket for

second and think about how many more meat-free items and dairy-free items are

available compared to say five years ago and the demand for milk alternatives

plant-based proteins and vegan snacks has doubled in the last five years and

it's sawing year on year and this is as consumers look to eat healthier

products for both human and planetary health. So are these alternatives really

healthier or is this all just clever marketing? Not all of these plant-based

substitutes are made equally and with such a diverse range of meat and

dairy alternatives out there there's a few sides to this story. Fantastic, well we've

done a little bit of research so let's get started.

At first of all why have we seen such an increase of demand for vegan products?

Yes, so the proportion of people following either a vegetarian or a vegan diet

has quadrupled in the UK in the US in the past five years alone. We need to

recognize that the rise in numbers of people seeking these plant-based

alternatives to meat or dairy or eggs or fish is largely motivated by

combination of factors so combination of human and planetary health as well as

animal welfare. Last year a study was released that confirmed that farm animals

produce more emissions than cars and vans combined. So reducing the demand

from meat and dairy is going to have a positive impact on the planet but just how

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