U.S. Vegan Population Doubles in Only Two Years
December 14th, 2011 | 
Author: According to a new Harris Interactive study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, the number of vegans in the United States has doubled since 2009 to 2.5% of the population. An amazing 7.5 million U.S. citizens now eat vegan diets that do not include any animal products – no meat, poultry, fish, dairy or eggs. Close to 16 million, or 5%, identify as vegetarian, never eating meat, poultry or fish.
If this rate continues, vegans will be 10% of the U.S. population in 2015, 40% in 2019, and in 80 % in 2050! This would mean an end to the exploitation and suffering of billions of farmed animals. The study also revealed that 33% of U.S. citizens are eating vegetarian meals a significant amount of the time and ordering vegetarian meals at restaurants, though they are not vegetarians. That is over 100 million people, one third of the country!
Interestingly, the demographic breakdown of the study discovered that it was equal percentages of Democrats and Republicans eating vegetarian. Perhaps these two parties CAN agree on something- the vegan lifestyle is healthy and compassionate. Conscientious eating is going mainstream so if you haven’t already, reduce or eliminate your consumption of animal products- everyone’s doing it!
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This is not a satisfactory aggregate . One may be happy with the trend , but by 2050 can you imagine the number of animals that will be mercilessly killed . The rate needs to speed up at least 4 times. Everyone do their best campaign . Please try to feel the agony which non humans have to endeavor each moment as we talk. By the time I finish typing this small paragraph , a hundred animals have already been slaughtered. STOP IT !!!
The world seems divided into two camps right now as far as food goes. Those who care and those who don’t. Those who don’t care and just want to eat whatever they believe to be tastiest are finding that their health is failing. Many of their children will die before they get a chance to have kids of their own. This isn’t speculation, it’s already happening, check the obesity rates! A large proportion of people who do care about their health are moving towards veganism. I truly believe that we will see numbers of vegans growing exponentially in the future. It seems that what is good for the planet and the animal kingdom is good for humanity also!
This is thrilling to me! We are finally making headway! The only thing that I found troubling about the article was that the author continues to perpetuate the MYTH that ones political affiliation somehow dictates ones moral compass “Interestingly, the demographic breakdown of the study discovered that it was equal percentages of Democrats and Republicans eating vegetarian….” Or even ones ability to advocate for animals?? What a shame. What is so “Interesting” about that? Narrow minded..That is what I would call it.
You’re right, political affiliation shouldn’t be much of a factor, but I’m glad that the author brought it up, because vegans, for the most part are very anti-Republican, and they need to be careful who they throw stones at.
GREAT news to hear !! This is the right time to continue to promote vegan lifestyle and lead by example for other to follow !! GREAT news for all the innocent animals that have suffered too long already!! I will continue to promote my vegan lifestyle: lead by example of the benefits of being a vegan
Obviously, this is a great time to show other vegan lifestyle and good time to continue to promote vegan way of life !! GREAT news for all the innocent animals that have suffered too long already !!
I am so pleased to hear so many people think the same way as I do, I am a young vegan and sometimes feel like the only vegan on earth! I will always push the fact vegan is a fantastic diet, but I also realise everyone has the right to their own opinion. I am very pleased to see the vegan population on the rise
FANTASTIC NEWS! what a way to start the week after thinking about how many baby lambs were slaughtered
Hurray! Nothing is easier or more satisfying than aligning one’s values with one’s actions (causing the least harm and the most good). The Vegan-makers for me were the films Earthlings and Meet Your Meat in 2008. After seeing the truth about “meat” production, I became Vegan on the spot and will never turn back. Others struggling to become Vegan or Vegetarian will find loads of help on the Internet. … Earthlings can be viewed for free online at http://www.earthlings.com/. Welcome to a more compassionate world!
This is great news. It’s exciting to have information like this every now and then to reaffirm that our compassionate lifestyle is spreading!
Hopefully this trend will carry on, as I am a vegan myself. A vegan life style is simply good for the animals, people, the environment and your own health.
I am delighted!
I will not give up eggs – they’re MY eggs from MY chickens who are spoiled rotten with love. When they can no longer lay, they will just be pets. Besides, I like them.
Hi Linda, if those are the only eggs (and animal products) you eat, fair enough – rescued chickens giving you a wee present now and again and being your friends for life sounds good to me! There are quite a few people doing this – rescued battery chickens growing back their feathers, being loved up by people instead of exploited and living out their feathery lives in happiness. In the UK there is a hen rescue sanctuary called ‘Hen Heaven’ and the hens pay the rent by the sanctuary selling the ethical eggs to veggie businesses. Seems to work. No males to dispose of when laying girls are rescued of course, as the boys are killed as chicks. I have never liked eggs much even before being a vegan so it wasn’t such a big deal to stop eating them but this sounds like a good compromise for you. If that’s all you eat, to all intents and purposes you are a vegan really! Good luck and say hi to your lovely hens from a UK vegan.
I have been vegan for 16 years , the more the merrier.
Thank you for all your comments on this subject. I am slowly becoming vegeration
Hi Barb, good luck on the veggie bus! It’s really not difficult, there are tons of wonderful foods and recipes out there. Depending on where you live, the US is a very good place to be vegan. If you aren’t already acquainted with the Vegetarian Resource Group, give them a go – they have lots of great recipes and ideas and will support you.
GREAT NEWS!.. maybe in a few years a vegan will win the indy 500!..
Go Vegans! All souls welcomed; become part of the new revolution to plant based diets! Great news to my ears, and to think in the 60′s I never heard the word Vegan–We’ve come a long way baby! Congrats to all!
Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Of the 2009 poll, this VRG poll says,
“The past and present surveys used different methodologies, and thus,
a direct comparison can’t be made.” The poll also says, “We don’t
believe we have enough information to state whether the number of
vegetarians in the U.S. is definitely changing but feel comfortable
that it is at least a steady 2-3 percent.”
These differences are within the poll’s statistical margin of error.
You do the same poll on the same day several times, sometimes you will
get a higher number and sometimes a lower number.
As long as it always remains a person’s individual choice and not through some mandate forced upon them with the threat of violence(I consider unwarranted use of government upon the individual to be an act of violence) I will celebrate peoples right to whatever lifestyle choices make them happy
Mitch,
Unlike you, many of us will not “celebrate peoples right to whatever lifestyle choices make them happy.” Folks do not have a right to cause pain and suffering to others, even if that choice makes them happy. An animal’s right not to have cruelty inflicted upon him/her trumps a human’s immediate oral pleasure with the taste of blood and the texture of flesh.
…wow
Not sure if this “…wow” is a sarcastic one or not. If it is, it’s a very childish way of trying to get over someone’s argument, by disregarding it with a dumb answer. It’s a very true argument. I eat meat, Im not sure if I can ever be vegetarian but I do realize that humans have taken cows ,chickens, pigs, turkeys, and sea-life and turned them into products instead of living beings. If we are going to take the species out of the wild and domesticate them for food use, we should at least respect their lives while they are alive. Aside from the inhumane treatment of them, the conditions they are kept in are disgusting, causing or creating diseases that humans are susceptible to. Do you like mad cow disease? How about E. Coli, which is caused by contamination by feces? Do you like puss, from infected and overused utters, in your milk? Swine flu? If not for the animals, we should update our meat factories to higher standards for our own health.
You Go Mitch! If humans had to kill their own animals in order to eat I believe the vegan population would probably be more like 99 percent. I foresee a time when animal consumption will be written in history books and people will say “Really?!? Why?!” I pray that day will be soon.
It is going more mainstream and getting easier to eat out finally:) More people will definitely become vegans but we will always be in the minority. The bigger picture is humane farming which is catching on. If the animals were treated humanely it wouldn’t matter so much. As Paul McCartney has said “if slaughter houses had glass doors, we would all be vegan”
I have been a vegetarian for 30 plus yrs and a vegan for 10. I did so to avoid being a contributor to animal suffering and death but I have reaped the benefits. No one can believe I am 60 yrs old and I hope it encourages others to follow a similar path.
I am in the process of becoming vegetarian! Learning new recipes is fun, and I’m glad that I will be able to have a healthy diet without animal meat! I feel better already!
The point is not the total number, it is the fact that it DOUBLED in less than 2 years. So if it continues to double every two years, it won’t be insignificant anymore.
I doubt we will really reach such high numbers of veganism in the future, but I do think there will be more awareness of vegetarians and Meatless Monday will become mainstream and well as other meatless days. I doubt we could really get a lot of population to convert to vegetarianism or veganism, but if their meat consumption was reduced maybe 50%, that is a big difference!
A tiny bit of hope in the darkness –
I remember when no one knew what vegan meant.
THANK YOU, IDA, for all you do for
the animals.
I and all the animals thank you.
i wish this was the case, but the sample is too small to really have any meaningful significance.
With a 95% confidence level and an interval of 3 for the US population, this sample size is just about right.