Prince George, son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, has single-handedly boosted the sales of French Puy lentils in the UK.
Back in September, on the four-year-old’s first day of school, British newspaper the Daily Mail, ran an article stating that the young prince’s new school menu would feature Puy lentils. The result was lentil mania, according to Antoine Wassner, the head of Sabarot, a French company specialising in the sale of lentils, pulses, and seeds.
“It’s the ‘star effect’ as soon as a VIP is displayed with a product!” Wassner explained to French publication L’express. “We have [had] a lot of requests from our customers, on the spot, in Britain, since the Daily Mail article, especially from restaurateurs.” Wassner is hoping that the current changing attitudes regarding food in Britain will continue to bolster sales. “Maybe this fashion will not last across the Channel, but with the vogue of ‘vegan’, we’re hopeful,” he stated.
The “vogue of ‘vegan’” has been sweeping across the nation over the last year, with more and more UK residents opting to leave meat off their plates. The demand for non-animal sources of protein, such as lentils, is rising as a result. UK supermarkets have noticed the dietary shift, with reports that vegan and meat-free options were flying off the shelves surfacing in February. The Vegan Society also noted that around half of UK citizens are now displaying ‘vegan-buying behaviour.’
Another report from January stated that nearly 30% of UK meals no longer include meat, a shift that has occurred, in part, due to health concerns. Amongst other health reports, a recent study linked eating bacon with a heightened risk of breast cancer and another connected the consumption of red meat in general with an increased chance of developing rectal cancer.
But it’s not all about health, environmental concerns and animal welfare are also contributing factors for the UK public. National newspaper, The Guardian, recently announced a new series focusing on the welfare of the country’s farm animals. “By increasing the scale of production, and reducing exposure to what were once seen as essential components of farming, such as sunshine, quality of life for the animals, space and natural grazing. A new artificial lifecycle was introduced instead,” the paper explains. “Eggs are hatched on factory belts, chickens are crammed into sheds and cages, pigs are confined to crates, [and] cows are reared in barns.”
Image Credit: Kensington Palace
