Vegan options are going mainstream

Only four percent of Americans follow a vegetarian diet, according to a Gallup poll. Even fewer follow a strict vegan lifestyle, avoiding all animal products in food and clothing.

But many people are starting to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diets, often for health reasons and out of a concern for the environment.

And vegan and vegetarian options are going mainstream. Think about “meatless Mondays” or the Impossible burger. Don’t want cow milk? Your local grocery store dairy case probably carries milk made from oats, soybeans, rice, almonds, coconuts or cashews.  

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what it means to be vegan or to follow a mostly plant-based diet. What makes people decide to do it? Are there health benefits or health hazards? Can you get the protein and nutrients your body needs without eating animal products?

And we want to hear from you, too.  

Are you vegan or do you eat mostly a plant-based diet? What do you see as the benefits? What challenges do you run into? How do you get balanced nutrition or handle eating out with friends?  

Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour.  

Guests:

• Jacque Reid is the founder of the “Vegan Sexy Cool” brand, which includes a digital lifestyle magazine and a podcast. She is also an Emmy-award winning journalist. She co-hosts the “Reid This/Reid That” podcast with MSNBC’s Joy Reid. She previously hosted lifestyle TV shows on NBC affiliates in New York and Boston and was the lead news anchor for “CNN Headline News” and the “BET Nightly News.”   

• Megan Baumler is an assistant professor and director of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She is a licensed and registered dietitian nutritionist. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.