UAE-based frozen food company Healthy Farm is on a mission to encourage more people to buy vegan food.
Owned by Middle Eastern manufacturers Global Food Industries, Healthy Farm revealed its aim to convert 500,000 consumers to “plant-based eating” ahead of February’s Gulfood 2020 event in Dubai.
Per Arabian Business, Jacek Plewa—the brand’s general manager—said Healthy Farm anticipates that “15-20 percent of meat consumption in the UAE and the region will be plant-based by 2025.” He continued, “we aspire a 50 percent share for Healthy Farm’s portfolio of plant-based products.”
‘We Are Reaching the Point of No Return’
“We are no longer in the experimental stage where plant protein food sources are a gimmick or something quaint,” said Plewa. “These alternatives are impressively gaining preference across the globe. Consumers recognize the tangible impact left by nutrition choices on health, wellness, the environment, and animal welfare.”
Currently, global livestock accounts for around 14.5 percent of all annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States. The meat industry also uses significant amounts of water and land.
“We are reaching the point of no return fast,” said Plewa. “With the current model of sourcing our food via animals, there will not be enough food for all on our planet in 30 years, to put it simply.” He added: “we are already damaging irreversibly our environment and our planet.”
Vegan Food in The UAE
The UAE is becoming more vegan-friendly. In 2018, Bareburger locations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai added the plant-based Beyond Burger to the menu. Applebee’s in Dubai also serves vegan B12 burgers.
Last year, Veganity, which first opened in Dubai in 2017, became the world’s largest vegan restaurant. It intends to expand to more cities, including Abu Dhabi.
The restaurant’s founder and chef Sky Sommers told Grazia in 2018, “It’s a myth that you can’t get enough [protein from plant-based foods] … People think we eat like rabbits but everything you ate before you can just make vegan and it’s way healthier. My hope is to mainstream the plant-based movement.”
Healthy Farm’s vegan products include regular and spicy burger patties, meatballs, chunks, and kebabs.
