Samenvatting

Veganism and vegetarianism is a globally growing practice that is becoming of high social relevance. However, Egypt is an overlooked country when it comes to the widely discussed topic of veganism/vegetarianism. There is a lack of statistical analysis as well as plant based food market presence. The present study aims to provide a quantitative overview about the likeliness of Egyptians to follow a plant based diet while putting into consideration various demographic factors such as age, gender and level of education. An online survey was conducted and posted on Facebook and WhatsApp groups. 271 (66.4% females) valid responses were received, from those 40 respondents were vegan. Health benefits and concerns over animal welfare were found to be the main reasons to adopt a vegan diet. However, the lack of vegan products in the Egyptian market as well as social pressure seem to be the reason why some vegans might be inclined to quit their diet. Moreover, the main limitations for omnivores to adopt a plant based diet were the enjoyment of the taste of meat (51.08%), lack of knowledge about this diet (14.72%) and low availability of vegan products (9.52%). Regarding demographic factors such as gender, age and level of education, the statistical analysis showed that these factors do not have an influence on the diet followed. However, younger Egyptians with a lower level of education are more likely to follow a plant based diet. This research can help businesses understand the plant based food market in Egypt and it can also be beneficial for the Egyptian government to make use of the findings to create a local vegan society that increases the awareness on veganism. Future work could investigate neighboring Arab countries in order to create a cohesive marketing database that can be later used in expanding the plant based food market across the Arab region.