O mercado vegetariano em serviços de alimentação coletiva: análise da expansão e qualidade nutricional das preparações – revisão narrativa

Abstract

Vegetarianism has been gaining prominence among the population for various reasons, usually related to ethical, health, and environmental aspects, as well as the influence of the media. With the growing relevance of vegetarianism, it is natural for the food market to adapt to meet these new trends. Considering this, the present study aimed to conduct a narrative review of the literature, focusing on analyzing the environmental impact of meat consumption, the growth of the vegetarian market, consumer profiles, and the nutritional quality of vegetarian preparations in collective food services. To select the studies, a search was conducted in scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and SciELO. The selected full-text articles were read and analyzed in detail. Research has shown that meat production has a significant environmental impact, with an emphasis on water consumption, the number of grains used for feed, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions. An increase in people's awareness of the benefits of a well-planned vegetarian diet for the prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases was observed. The vegetarian market still faces challenges in fully meeting demand, especially regarding the variety and nutritional quality of products when compared to other food categories. The consumer profile was found to be diverse, reflecting different motivations and sociodemographic characteristics. In food services, various vegetarian preparations have been developed using different ingredients that not only offer a wide variety of flavors but also present nutritional properties beneficial to health. However, in general, the nutritional quality of these options showed lower protein levels when compared to non-vegetarian alternatives. Different studies also indicated that consumers have shown satisfaction with vegetarian preparations, receiving positive evaluations regarding sensory aspects. However, the limitation of specific studies on commercial vegetarian restaurants stands out, which may restrict the generalization of these results to all contexts of out-of-home food services.