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Tofu Up, Hot Dogs Down? Google Has Proof

Written by PETA

Posted 12-17-2010

For years, the PETA Files has been telling you how eating vegan is all the rage. But now, the clever folks at Google Labs have given us the tool to prove it. Their new Books Ngram Viewer allows visitors to see and compare, in graph form, trends in word usage over time, based on a database of books (here's a more thorough explanation of how it all works). And the food editor at Good has noticed that mentions of the word "tofu" have far surpassed those of "hot dog."

So if you know someone who still hasn't gone vegan, you now have graphic proof that all the cool kids are doing it! Then make sure they won't be left behind by sending them here.

Written by Jeff Mackey

Tags:

vegan, tofu, hot dog, google, Good

Recent Comments

sandra commented:

Dec 21, 2010 3:01 PM

not enough!
Kristin commented:

Dec 21, 2010 10:05 AM

Well said Antoine! jksdzfh, the article didn't say people searched for "vegan" more than "hot dog". It said they search "tofu" more than "hot dog". They are both foods. It is true that while meat consumption is on the rise worldwide, its on a slight decline in the US. I wish wish wish more people were open to learning about the horrors of factory farming and how we can have a more sustainable, cleaner earth. I wish people CARED about their lives and the world they live in more. I hope that we can change the world. Or if not, at least the US. I've gotten my boyfriend to go vegetarian but not vegan. My family and roommate just kinda pick on me for it though. =/
Meredith commented:

Dec 20, 2010 3:54 PM

Tofu up!
Michele commented:

Dec 20, 2010 2:45 PM

You said it all, Antoine! :)
Antoine commented:

Dec 20, 2010 10:01 AM

The problem with statistics about meat consumption going up, Toby, is that these trends are worldwide. In countries where vegan education is actively occuring, meat consumption is going down; veganism is becoming popular and even die-hard meat-eaters are realizing that they need to eat less meat. The problem is that countries where there is little or no vegan education have the largest (and booming) populations...they are industrializing quickly and choosing to make all the wrong choices (just as the idiots in the "west" did) so they WANT big SUVs, they WANT unsustainable suburbs, they WANT coal and nuclear power, and they WANT cheap meat from factory farms. And that is why worldwide, meat-consumption is going up. But it is not true that it is going up in the US, Canada or in Europe. My hope is that thanks to the Internet, phenomenons like facebook and other methods that we can use to educate people about veganism, soon the world will be affected by veganism (and environmentalism). After all, if you are living in a country that is not very modernized, why would you "upgrade" to systems that have been proven NOT to work? Why not go directly to vegan agriculture, solar and wind power, sustainable neighborhoods and non-polluting vehicles? What is wonderful about this kind of incidental statistic is that it demonstrates concretely how attitudes are changing. When we do vegan outreach, we meet more and more people who KNOW that being vegan is better (for their health, for the environment). Even those who fight against us know that they are in the wrong. Veganism is being touted as the ultimate healthy food and it is way more mainstream now.
Toby commented:

Dec 20, 2010 9:44 AM

A co-worker once asked me what tofu is... just a hunch here, lots of (if not most of) the US working class don't know the word 'vegan', no joke, they might think it has something to do organic or local food. I'm still interested in seeing the rate of veganism over the years... I know meat consumption has gone/is going up (terrible trend). A weeks supply of healthy, ethical protein (lentils) for one person is $1; I don't think many people in the US know that eating that instead of meat is an option (terrible trend).
jksdzfh commented:

Dec 18, 2010 1:52 AM

This might not mean there are alot of vegans. Some people could just be curious about what it is. And vegan is more searched because... why the heck would you search for "hot dog"? Veganism is a lifestyle that is gaining alot of attention, but a hot dog is just food. Their is nothing special or striking about it that will make you go "Hmm... I think i will go see what a hot dog is."
Missy commented:

Dec 17, 2010 7:01 PM

Tofu down, steak up: http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=tofu%2Csteak&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3

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