This article appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter.

Anja Baak, who runs wild-venison-curing business Great Glen Charcuterie, observes that these days they have some customers who are vegan.

“They are vegan," she says, "and don’t want to touch anything from the farming-system but would be happy to eat wild meat, and our charcuterie because most of our products are actually 100 percent wild venison.”

Her observation chimes with recent article in the Telegraph with the playful headline, 'Venison is vegan - even the plant munchers are admitting it".

While clearly that’s not entirely accurate, certainly there are 'plant munchers' who are otherwise following a mostly vegan lifestyle but also eating wild deer.

The venison market is changing, and not just because increasing numbers of consumers are looking at it as an ethical and environmental option, since deer, which browse on young trees, hinder woodland planting and regeneration.

It sits, as Euan Ross, sales director at Highland Game, one of the UK’s largest venison processors, puts it,"at the intersection of premium, health, provenance and sustainable low impact stories".

“Venison," he says, "is high protein, nutrient dense, naturally lean, rich in iron and fits perfectly with modern eating habits."

“With around 4% of consumers in the UK now using weight-loss medications, with this number is set to grow shoppers are becoming far more conscious about the nutritional quality of the food they eat. At the same time, there is a growing consumer movement looking for better, alternative proteins."

"Venison is shifting away from being viewed as a niche or purely seasonal game product. The dial is going in the right direction, approx. 1-1.5 million shoppers are buying into........

© Herald Scotland