Number of Veg*ns on the Rise

The number of vegetarians is definitely on the rise.  In 2006, the Vegetarian Resource Group, via a poll conducted by Harris Interactive(R), asked Americans 18 and older which foods, if any, they never eat.  The list included meat, poultry, fish or seafood, dairy products, eggs, and honey.  By definition, 2.3 percent of respondents were found to be vegetarian, replying that they never ate meat, fish or poultry. Nearly triple that amount, 6.7 percent, replied that they never ate meat.

When broken down by gender, more women are vegetarian than men. Of the women polled, three percent were vegetarian, while two percent of male respondents were vegetarian.  Where the greater disparity among the genders exists is between men and women who don’t eat meat. Nine percent of female respondents said they never eat meat, while five percent of men admitted to never eating meat.  Perhaps most interesting was that male vegans outnumber female vegans (no meat, fish, poultry, dairy, or eggs).  The poll found that 1.4 percent of males were vegan, while 1.3 percent of women followed a vegan diet.

The fact that the number of vegetarians, or simply people cutting back on their intake of animal products is increasing is very encouraging.