Vegan and vegetarian diets are becoming increasingly popular.

What was still marginal just a few years ago has become an increasingly popular lifestyle for reasons of health or ecological awareness.

I am, of course, in favor of this trend, but only on condition that we pay attention to the quality of what we put on our plates because, unfortunately, vegetarian food does not always rhyme with health...

An investigation that undermines this juicy market

When you take the time to cook at home, raw or minimally processed plant proteins such as legumes and cereals are perfect substitutes for meat products.

Unfortunately, with our fast-paced lifestyles, many people take the easy way out and turn to commercial plant preparations.

After investigating the quality of these products, the consumer association CLCV (Consommation Logement Cadre de Vie), warns that many of those sold in supermarkets are hyper-processed, expensive, and not as healthy as they would have us believe.

95 vegan dishes based on soy, vegetables, legumes or cereals were analyzed, divided into three categories: vegetable patties, imitation meat and breaded products.

The results are quite worrying...

On average, the products we screened contained only 39% plant-based ingredients!

So what do we find in the remaining 61%?

Well, mainly water, fat, salt, spices and additives.

56% of products use water as the main ingredient, and imitation meats are the most concerned (72%)!

Apart from this inglorious deception, which has no major health consequences, what is more worrying is the large amount of salt, fat and sugar found in these products. 

It's also worth remembering that 8 out of 10 products contain at least one additive. The majority of additives used are texture agents (64%), flavors (23%), then colorants (3%).

The remaining 9% are various additives: acidifiers, anti-caking agents, antioxidants.

At this point, we can really talk about ultra-processed food.

An edifying test

We need to look in more detail at what I see as the major problem.

Here's a nutritional comparison between a veggie steak and a beef steak:

We can see that meat imitations are significantly sweeter and saltier than their meat counterparts.

However, they are higher in fiber and contain much less saturated fatty acids.

You'd think they'd balance each other out.

From a purely nutritional point of view perhaps, but what's really upsetting is that many advertisements extol the health benefits of vegetarian or vegan products.

In reality, we're a long way off.

Salt and sugar are just as bad for your health as saturated fats!

Another study2 shows that cereal bars, breakfast cereals, desserts and vegan cheeses are too high in saturated fats.

To give you some pointers, here's what to look out for when reading labels:

• Total fat

High : More than 17.5 g of fat per 100 g

Low: 3 g or less

• Saturated fats

High: more than 5 g of saturated fat per 100 g

Low: 1.5 g saturated fat or less

• Sugars 

High: over 22.5 g total sugars per 100 g

Low: 5 g total sugars or less per 100 g

• Salt

High: more than 1.5 g salt per 100 g (or 0.6 g sodium)

Low: 0.3 g salt or less per 100 g (or 0.1 g sodium)

A question of price?

So what can you do to ensure better quality? Pay a little more?

The answer is no!

The study I'm referring to shows that there's little correlation between price and the Nutri-Score, the quantity of ingredients of plant origin, the quantity of additives and the origin of the ingredients.

With this new market booming, manufacturers are marketing an increasingly varied and attractive range of products.

Little by little, what had driven consumers away from planet- and health-conscious eating is finally catching up with them.

The giants of the food industry apply the same methods to their products as they do to the average consumer: create products that are easy to cook, addictive (hence the excessive presence of salt, fat and sugar), and appealing to the greatest number of people.

To return to the question of price, we simply realize that for manufacturers, "eating vegan" is synonymous with "having a well-stocked wallet".

A DGCCRF investigation in 20203 points out that: " the gross margin of professionals on vegan products seems [...] higher than for "traditional" products. ".

In fact, on average, a kilo of vegetable steak costs €13/kg, compared with €10.5/kg for the animal equivalent.

Back to square one?

As we grow, we can see the extent to which the market vegan is moving ever closer to the sadly traditional model, with profit as its main objective. 

Ingredients are imported cheaply and the finished product is sold at a premium, with little regard for ecology or nutritional quality.

That's why I urge you to pay close attention to where the products you buy come from, how they're made and their health benefits.

It's better to shop in specialty stores where ethics are the order of the day than at the local supermarket. And above all...

Nothing beats homemade!

Choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet requires a certain adaptability.

Shopping takes more time and attention.

We also have to accept the fact that the flavors are different from those we're used to.

The fact that manufacturers are trying to get as close as possible to meat dishes shows that there is a real demand from consumers.

We want steak without the steak!

That's where the absurdity lies.

The reality is that you have to learn to cook differently, to combine new ingredients, to enhance recipes with spices and aromatic herbs.

Worth the money

The studies a home-cooked vegetarian diet allows :

• prevent overweight. Researchers found that the prevalence of overweight or obesity was 40% among omnivores compared to only 25% among vegetarians;

• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular cardiovascular disease (hypertension, stroke, arteriosclerosis, heart attack...). Vegetarians have also been reported to have a 32% lower risk of hospitalization or death from heart disease than non-vegetarians;

• Significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Vegans are even 62% less likely to develop diabetes, while vegetarians enjoy a 38% reduction in risk;

• Protect against certain cancersparticularly cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. The risk of prostate cancer is also reduced by 35%6,7!

And what are your favorite places to find good vegan products?

Do you pay attention to nutritional quality when you eat them?