Vegetarianism Thrives As Healthful Lifestyle
Summarizes a study called “The American Vegetarian: Coming of Age n the 90’s” which was conducted for the Vegetarian Times.
- According to this study, 12.4 million American adults, 6.7% of the population, consider themselves to be vegetarian.
- 2 out of 5 vegetarians in the US (39%) have become vegetarian in the last 5 years. 23% have been vegetarian for over 20 years, and 68% are female.
- 63% have answered questions in the last 6 months about food, nutrition or health because they were vegetarian.
- 21% had given advice on vegetarianism to more than 5 people in the last 6 months.
There are few differences between vegetarians and general population in income, household size or region of the country.
- 81% of vegetarians exercise regularly.
- 45% buy nutritional supplements.
- 58% shop at health food stores and 93% at supermarkets at least once a month.
- 57% of vegetarians are very interested in product labels.
- 41% purchase products that protect the environment at a higher cost.
46% became vegetarian for health reasons, 89% made their own decision to become vegetarian, while 11% did so on medical advice. 59% do not have any family or friends who are vegetarian, while 12% indicate they were influenced by family and friends to become vegetarian.
Self described vegetarians practice a number of varying habits ranging from simple meat reduction to veganism.
52% said they switched to a vegetarian diet overnight and 42% said it was over time.
79% eat dairy at least once a week, while 38% eat eggs once per week.
10 percent eat red meat weekly, 11% monthly and 14% a few times a year. 40% eat fish and poultry once a week and 4% do not consume any animal products.