Reports have shown that Gen Z and Millenials are the most likely to become vegan. Many young people advocate for clean eating for health reasons, ethical reasons, but also out of concerns regarding climate change. Or is this simply because of influence from social media? 

In the past decade, in case you haven’t noticed, brands and influencers are promoting the vegan lifestyle – veganism and clean eating have taken social media by storm. Social media has of course contributed to this wave with many health influencers and even popular culture figures such as Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus openly preaching about the vegan diet, but also brands creating campaigns about veganism, appealing to young people and gaining their support. Major food chains such as Pizza Hut and McDonald’s have even started to try creating vegan food to accommodate the growing number of vegans and the high demand. 

Or is it the other way around? Are influencers and brands causing young people to want to become vegan, or is the media simply trying to appeal to this young vegan population?

Earlier we spoke with Dr Diana Borgueva, Centre Manager at the Centre for Advanced Food Engineering at the University of Sydney.