Vegetarian Resource Group Survey Results from

Veggie Fest, Naperville, IL, August 8-9, 2009

At a vegetarian festival attended by thousands of people in a suburb of Chicago recently, Vegetarian Resource Group volunteers asked 175 vegetarians and vegans what influenced them to make the switch to a plant-based diet. Survey takers were given a list of 15 possible answers along with an "Other" choice where they could write in answers they did not find in the list. People were asked to select only one answer (some struggled with this at first because they felt multiple factors influenced their decision).

The top five answers were almost the same in vegetarians and vegans, but their position in the top five varied, except for the number one choice. The most frequently selected factor that motivated both vegetarians and vegans to change their diet was their own inner voice. Next, listed in order of decreasing popularity, vegetarians selected influence of a family member or friend, video or photos of animal cruelty, encounter with an animal, and print (magazine, brochure or non-fiction book). Vegans (in order of decreasing frequency) selected print, influence of a family member or friend, discussion with one or more persons and video or photos of animal cruelty. Beyond the top five, a variety of other answers were selected by vegetarians and vegans such as lecture/workshop or advice from a health care practitioner.

Gretchen Chlebowski, August 31, 2009

Surveyed: Vegetarians & Vegans*

(Vegetarians never consume meat, poultry, or fish/seafood)

My decision to become a VEGETARIAN was most greatly influenced by (check one):

Count Choice 35 My own inner voice 27 Influence of a family member or friend 24 Video or photos of animal cruelty 15 Encounter with an animal 14 (brochure, magazine, non-fiction book) 5 Discussion with one or more persons 5 Advice from a health care practitioner 4 Lecture or workshop 2 Event where I tasted vegetarian food 2 Other non-fiction video or TV show 2 Audio (radio show, non-fiction recording) 2 Computer (website, blog, electronic mail) 0 Information booth 0 Fiction (novel, movie, television show) 0 Celebrity role model

Other (survey taker wrote in their own response): 11 Spirituality, religion or born vegetarian 10 Health 5 Gross flesh / bad taste of meat 2 No other reason specified

*Vegans who answered this survey question were answering what caused them to become vegetarian, if vegetarianism was an intermediary step to their veganism.

Surveyed: Vegans

(Vegans are vegetarians who also never eat dairy, eggs, and honey)

My decision to become a VEGAN was most greatly influenced by (check one):

Count Choice 17 My own inner voice 12 Print (brochure, magazine, non-fiction book) 6 Influence of a family member or friend 6 Discussion with one or more persons 5 Video or photos of animal cruelty 5 Lecture or workshop 5 Advice from a health care practitioner 3 Encounter with an animal 3 Computer (website, blog, electronic mail) 2 Other non-fiction video or TV show 1 Event where I tasted vegan food 1 Fiction (novel, movie, television show) 0 Audio (radio show, non-fiction recording) 0 Information booth 0 Celebrity role model

Other (survey taker wrote in their own response): 5 Health 1 RGBH infected cattle 1 Raw food movement 2 Religion 1 Yoga

Click here to see the results of additional polls conducted by the Vegetarian Resource Group