FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday 2 April 2004
“Get yer veggie dogs here!”
More Soy Dogs Sold in America’s Ballparks in 2004

Oakland, CA – “Take me out to the ball game. Buy me some peanuts and veggie dogs.” That’s right. This baseball season we’ll see an increase in the availability of veggie dogs at baseball stadiums all over the country. Eleven Major League Baseball stadiums will be offering the item, including both bay area ballparks, San Francisco Giants’ SBC Park and Oakland Athletics’ Network Associates Coliseum. The latest Major League ballpark to add the item to their menu is San Diego Padres’ Petco Park, which will offer veggie dogs in multiple stands throughout the stadium.

Baseball fans are thrilled with this addition to the concession fare. Only four years ago, there were no MLB stadiums offering veggie dogs on the menu. This changed when actress/activist Johanna McCloy created Soy Happy, a consumer advocacy service that promotes the addition of viable vegetarian alternatives to mainstream venues. She began contacting baseball stadiums, empowered interested consumers to offer suggestions at their local venues, and offered liaison assistance between concessionaires and existing manufacturers. The response was overwhelming. “It’s truly a food revolution whose time has come,” says the Soy Happy web site. The rise in popularity of vegetarian alternatives to hot dogs at baseball stadiums is a reflection of the overall demand for soy-based meat alternatives by mainstream consumers in the market place.

In a recent survey conducted by Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert, an expert analyst on consumer behavior and food trends and editor and contributor to NBC's Today Show, 68 percent of respondents responded that they consume soyfoods as a regular part of their diet. The survey, Lempert states, "shows how important healthy eating has become to the U.S. consumer." Mintel Consumer Intelligence issued a report on the market for vegetarian foods in 2001 and found that “while only 2.5% of American consumers are consistent vegetarians, it is estimated that 25% of consumers replace meat with meat alternatives at least for some meals.” It should also be noted that Mintel estimates that most respondents to their survey were meat eaters and that the market for alternatives has only grown in the three years since they issued this report. Soy-based meat alternative sales have been growing at a rate of 15-20% a year, with sales reaching approximately $600 million in 2003. Why the rise in sales? Americans no longer have to sacrifice their favorite food experiences for health. Baseball fans can still have a tasty dog at the ol’ ball game!

Opening month for baseball also happens to be Soyfoods Month. “With two out of three adults, and one out of every five children overweight in the U.S., baseball fans can now select a low calorie and high protein soy dog for better health at the ballpark, “ says Nancy Chapman, President of the Soyfoods Association of North America.

For more information: http://www.soyhappy.org