Vegan Life

USA has 50% more vegans since 2012

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The latest Gallup Poll reported that the number saying they are vegans rose from 2% to 3%, a 50% increase, while the number of vegetarians remained unchanged for the same period.

Applying these percentages of 3% and 2% to the US population of 325.7 million in 2017 (the most recent available from the US Census Bureau) versus 311.6 million in 2011 respectively, it would yield 9.7 million versus 6.2 million, an increase of roughly 3.5 million vegans in the past 6 years.

More insight into the poll numbers can be gleaned when looking at age groups, politics and income.

The highest concentration of vegans are in the 30-49 age group at 4%, followed by 3% from the 18-29 and over 65 age groups. Equivalent numbers for vegetarians was 8%, 7% and 2% respectively. When it came to political ideology though, self-described liberal Americans are the most likely to be vegan (5%) or vegetarian (11%).

From an income perspective, Gallup reported that Americans earning less than $30,000 were more likely to identify as vegetarian, whereas the differences in the levels of veganism among income levels was determined to be "not statistically significant".

Overall, veganism is increasingly in the spotlight these days, with many reasons driving Americans to adopt a plant-based diet, ranging from improved health, concern for global-warming to animal rights. One factor that is making the transition easier than ever, is the growing availability of manufactured plant-based food, by both stores and companies investing in new and expanded products.

The 2018 retail sales data for plant-based foods supports this trend, with sales up 20% since last year. Plant-based food sales topped $3.3 billion, outpacing sales of all retail foods by 10x, according to data the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) commissioned from Nielsen. As well a surge in demand for plant dairy alternatives, reflects the growing appetite for plant-based food among Americans. As Gallup reports, "it appears Americans are eager to include alternatives to animal products in their diets but are not willing to give up animal products completely".

This is only the second time Gallup has asked Americans about veganism.





Â© The Vegan Authority



