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With the horsemeat scandal affecting millions of people in Europe and the recent outbreak of bird flu in certain Asian countries, it appears that people might be a bit weary of meat and are becoming more interested in veganism. Aside from the fact that Americans have some influential vegans to look up to, such as former president Bill Clinton, and although people are not necessarily changing their diets, it seems like people sure are more curious about the vegan diet than ever before. According to Google Trends, which can monitor the frequency of searched topics, more and more people searched for veganism in 2013.

Google Trends' graphic chart shows a study incline in increase veganism. The highest point on the chart is 100, which represents the highest level of interest ever reached and that point was finally matched by the searches in March of this year. This increase in curiosity suggests that more people are looking into adopting a healthier diet. According to a study done in 2012 by the Vegetarian Resource Group and Harris Interactive, the amount of vegans in the United States makes up 2.5 percent of the entire population measured. Although 2.5 percent is not a huge percentage, this rate increased from 1 percent in 2009, also indicating that veganism has gotten slightly more popular over the years. The rate has more than doubled over three years. Furthermore, a New York Times article in 2012 also reported that the demand for meat has been slowly declining.

Google Trends reports that the possible increase in curiosity could be due to popular celebrities that are vegan and promote their veganism. For example, before Oscar winning actress Natalie Portman got pregnant, she was a vegan and spoke strongly against animal cruelty. Other popular vegan celebrities include comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her actress wife, Portia de Rossi, and actor Woody Harrelson. On top of the increasing popularity of veganism in celebrities, other entertainment fields have promoted vegetables over meats. For example, entertainer Justin Timberlake was recently on Saturday Night Light in which he did a sketch and sang "Bring it on down to Veganville." Despite the growing popularity of this diet choice, it is a very strict diet to follow.

Vegan dieters essentially do not eat produce that is derived from any animal products. Vegans do not eat meat, poultry, diary, and other animal-derived foods. Whether or not more people are becoming vegans or are just merely curious, Google Trends' report is important for retailers to see what types of produce consumers might want in today's world.

The charts can be found here: Google Trends.