A vegan investment firm has the power to dramatically further the reach of cruelty-free companies. For those of you with an interest in money management, starting a fund that invests in such companies has the potential to increase capital for ethical entrepreneurs, which automatically ends up doing a lot of good for animals, too.
Wide Circle Vegan Investment Fund is working on doing just that. The Fund, which will be a private equity investment fund “committed to investing in companies that provide substitutes for animal based products and to creating a diversified portfolio that will give investors a competitive return,” is currently seeking ethical entrepreneurs as well as prospective investors.
One thing I appreciate most about Wide Circle is their market analysis, which clearly demonstrates why vegan investing is the row to hoe whether your interest is helping animals, or just growing your own bank account. From their statistics:
Current Market
- Sales of vegetarian foods in the U.S. were estimated at $2.8 billion in 2006, which represented a constant-price growth rate of 72% since 1998.
- 3.2% of U.S. adults follow a vegetarian diet, up from 2.8% in 2003 and just 2.3% in 2000.
- 4% of adults in Canada follow a vegetarian diet and 10% of the English identify themselves as either vegetarian or vegan.
- Younger people are moving towards vegetarianism, with 10% of the 25 to 34 year olds saying that they never eat meat.
- the vegetariansite.com, an internet business that sells a wide variety of vegan products, has seen 20% annual growth with increasing orders from Canada, Europe and Japan.
- The July-December 2007 newsstand sales of Vegetarian Times increased 19.4% over the same period in 2006.
Whether you choose to open your own vegan investment firm, or invest in one like Wide Circle, voting with your dollars — and encouraging others to do so, too — is a perfect way to put money where your mouth is.
Photo Courtesy of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.
