Monday, September 6th marked the official beginning of the 21-day Vegan Kickstart campaign sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), in an effort to promote vegan diets and healthier lifestyles.

Day by day, evidence of the growing economic power of vegetarian food-seeking consumers continues to mount, telling us that “veg” is here to stay. What’s the evidence of this growing economic force, you ask? A quick scan of recent headlines gives the lowdown on the growth of “vegenomics.”

Though teens are an enigma to many adults, they are the consumers of tomorrow — heads of households and holders of the family purse who will make the decisions and shape the habits and attitudes of yet another, even newer generation. With enormous potential buying power and influence, we may believe we don’t understand this group, but what we do know about them offers great potential to vegetarian food businesses.

Sometimes checking the pulse on what consumers are saying is easier than you think. Sometimes it just takes the click of the mouse and you can catch a glimpse of what consumers are thinking, feeling, and eating!

A list of the top ten college food trends for 2010 was recently compiled developed by Sodexo, a foodservice provider to 600 college campuses around United States. In consultation with students, chef’s and other public opinion groups, Sodexo predicts that the major food trends across college and university campuses across the country will include locally grown, and regional and global comfort foods. Sodexo also cites the growing popularity of vegetarian foods among students over the next year.