Africa: the younger generation can switch more easily to a plant-based diet

In Nigeria, which has the largest population on the African continent, more than three quarters of Generation Z and millennials say they are willing to give up meat consumption and prefer plant-based proteins. Good news if we know that Africa will make up a quarter of the world’s population by 2050.

According to the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) numerical projections, Nigeria will be the third most populous country in the world by 2050, with more than 400 million inhabitants, far behind India and China. Ethiopia ranks 8th with over 200 million, Congo 9th (195 million), Egypt 11th (160 million), Tanzania 15th (130 million) and Kenya 20th (91 million). Scientists estimate that by 2050, a quarter of the world’s population will live in Africa, compared to one in six people today. An evolution that naturally raises the question: how to feed so many inhabitants?

A recent study conducted by the US company North Mountain Consulting Group in collaboration with the Credence Institute in South Africa provides a first element of the answer by promoting the idea of ​​a plant-based diet. The younger generations would visibly prefer steaks made with soy, chickpeas, etc. In Kenya, 72% of young people are willing to follow this type of diet, while in Nigeria it is 63% and in Egypt 46%. In general, vegetable proteins are particularly well accepted by the young generations in Niger (76%), Kenyans (80%) and Egyptians (62%).

These numbers are all the more a strong signal that Nigeriens are big meat eaters, the report said. “A high degree of openness to plant-based, lab-grown or hybrid foods indicates an opportunity to reduce reliance on conventional meat, improve public health […]” explains Dr. Keri Szejda, of the North Mountain Consulting Group.

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