Vegetarian Schnitzel Outsells Chicken Schnitzel in Israel

The Jerusalem Post reports that vegetarian schnitzel outsells chicken schnitzel in Israel by a 3:2 ratio! Here are some highlights of the article:

Schnitzel is still a mainstay of the Israeli diet but consumers may be surprised to hear that sales of the vegetarian variety are surpassing the traditional breaded chicken breast in the frozen food section of supermarkets by a three-to-two margin even though only 10 percent of the population is vegetarian.

According to a report by the Gaon group's Credit Information Association Ltd. released Sunday, sales of prepared meat-substitute products grew 5% over the past 18 months, bringing annual volume to NIS 300 million - or 6,760 tons - per year. Sales of frozen chicken products grew only 4% to total NIS 200m. - or 6,000 tons per year.

The organization attributed the findings to a worldwide trend of increased consumption of health food, including soy products. More than half of the population eats ready-made, meat-substitute products regularly with children between the ages of four and 14 being the primary consumers.