What do we know about vegans in the 21st century? This page summarises some of the findings from the panel surveys.
Looking for the number of vegans? See our round up of vegan statistics.
On being vegan
Do vegans know other vegans?
If you are vegan you are more likely to know other vegans - only 14% of
vegans did not know another vegan whereas 64% of vegans know 3 or more.
In June 2003, 85% thought that the internet had made them feel less isolated
as a vegan, compared with 54% in June 2000. (Sources: Survey 7 and Survey
1)
Why vegan?
87% of people are vegan for ethical/moral reasons. (Source: Survey 7, see also Survey
3)
| Vegans | UK Vegans | USA Vegans | |
| Dietary/health | 11% | 9% | 19% |
| Ethical/moral | 87% | 90% | 77% |
| Spiritual/religious | 2% | 1% | 4% |
Do vegans try and convert others to a vegan diet?
Only 17% of vegans often or always try to convert others to a vegan diet.
Of the rest 47% never, or hardly ever, try to convert people. However
63% of vegans know someone who has become veg*an because of their influence. (Source: Survey 3)
Do vegans have the support of their non-veg*an family and friends?
62% of vegans rate their non-veg*an family and friends as supportive of
their vegan lifestyle. (Source: Survey
4)
Do vegans share their homes with companion animals?
40% of vegans share their house with a cat and 26% with a dog. Other animals
you are likely to find in a vegan household include rabbits, fish, rats,
guinea pigs and hamsters. (Source: Survey
7)
How long have you been vegan?
83% have been vegan over two years. (Source: Survey
6)
| Vegans | UK Vegans | USA Vegans | |
| Less than a year | 5% | 4% | 9% |
| 1 to 2 years | 12% | 11% | 18% |
| 2 to 5 years | 23% | 18% | 35% |
| 5 to 10 years | 28% | 29% | 26% |
| 10 to 20 years | 25% | 31% | 11% |
| More than 20 years | 6% | 7% | 1% |
When did you become vegan?
78% of vegans went vegan between the ages of 16 and 34, with 52% between the
ages of 16 and 24. The average (mean) age for turning vegan is 24.1, although
the most frequent ages are 19, 20 and 21. US vegans generally turned vegan
younger (mean age 22.4) than UK vegans (mean age 24.9). (Source: Survey 7)
| Vegans | UK Vegans | USA Vegans | |
| <15 | 10% | 7% | 17% |
| 16-24 | 52% | 51% | 52% |
| 25-34 | 26% | 29% | 21% |
| 35-44 | 8% | 9% | 6% |
| 45-54 | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| 55+ | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Vegan demographics
Most likely to be female and under 35. (Source: Survey 7)
| Gender: | Vegans | UK Vegans | USA Vegans |
| Male | 33% | 36% | 22% |
| Female | 67% | 64% | 78% |
| Age: | Vegans | UK Vegans | USA Vegans |
| 16-24 | 21% | 14% | 36% |
| 25-34 | 40% | 39% | 44% |
| 35-44 | 25% | 32% | 11% |
| 45-54 | 10% | 11% | 7% |
| 55+ | 4% | 4% | 2% |
What jobs do vegans do?
There are vegan accountants, administrators, artists... lawyers, lecturers,
librarians... receptionists, registrars, researchers... plus phlebotomists
and prison guards, sculptors and subtitlers... and even weather forecasters!
16% work in computing/IT, 15% in education and research, 12% in clerical
and administration roles and 9% in general management. (Source: Survey 6)
| Vegans | UK Vegans | USA Vegans | |
| Working full time (30+ hours per week) | 55% | 58% | 50% |
| Working part time (9-29 hours per week) | 13% | 13% | 10% |
| Unemployed - seeking work | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Unemployed - not seeking work | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| Not working - retired | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Not working - looking after house/children | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Permanently sick/disabled | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Student | 18% | 13% | 27% |
| Other | 4 | 4% | 3% |
Vegan shopping
Do vegans use the internet to find vegan products?
96% of vegans have used the internet to locate vegan products. (Source: Survey 7, see also Survey
1)
Do vegans buy online?
In comparison to other UK internet users vegans are more likely to buy
online (1) and since our surveys began
the number of vegans purchasing products online has steadily increased.
This table shows the percentage of vegans purchasing products online in
the 6 months prior to each survey.
| Jun 00* | Nov 00 | May 01 | Oct 01 | May 02 | Oct 02 | Jun 03 | |
| Vegans | 69% | 75% | 77% | 79% | 81% | 82% | 81% |
| UK Vegans | 73% | 77% | 80% | 81% | 84% | 83% | 84% |
| USA Vegans | 76% | 81% | 82% | 87% | 85% | 87% | 83% |
Do
vegans buy vegan products online?
75% of vegans have purchased vegan products online. 79% of UK vegans and
78% of USA vegans have purchased vegan products online, compared with
50% of vegans in the rest of the world. (Source: Survey 7)
Do vegans buy ethically?
95% of vegans go out of their way to buy from ethical companies. (Source: Survey 1)
Do vegans buy ethically for others?
73% of vegans always/often buy vegan products when buying presents for
others. 54% of vegans use the internet to help them locate suitable
presents (55% UK, 66% USA). (Source: Survey
2)
1. 51% of UK internet users have shopped online, June 2002, Taylor Nelson Sofres survey on behalf of The Royal Bank of Scotland. Approximately 62% of UK internet users (14 million of the 21.6 million adult UK internet users) have used the internet to buy or order products or services, Dec 2001 Forrester Research.
Vegan food
Where do vegans buy their fruit and vegetables?
61% of vegans use a supermarket, however the main outlet varies by country.
In the UK, 70% of vegans buy from supermarkets, 18% from greengrocers
or markets and 6% from wholefood or healthfood shops. In the USA only
46% of vegans buy from supermarkets, with 45% buying from wholefood or
healthfood shops. (Source: Survey
5)
Do vegans use dairy substitutes?
87% of vegans use soya milk at least once a week, and 68% use soya milk
at least once a day. 57% use soya milk in tea and/or coffee (26% use it
in both and 43% use it in neither). 71% of vegans at least sometimes eat
cheese substitutes, with 34% often eating them (25% of UK vegans, 29%
of US vegans and 46% of vegans outside the UK/USA never or almost never
eat cheese substitutes). (Source: Survey
7)
Is food labelling important to vegans?
Of the vegan products and services which panel members had previously
said they would most like to see introduced in 2001, almost half (47%)
of vegans ranked better labelling on products as being most important. (Source: Survey 2)
Do vegans refer to food labels?
71% of vegans always refer to labelling information on the food that they
purchase. UK vegans are twice as likely to always refer to food labelling
information as the rest of the UK population (2),
and 97% usually refer to food labels. (Source: Survey 5)
How concerned are vegans with food labelling?
Almost all vegans (96%) have some concerns about the accuracy of food
labelling, with 43% claiming to be very concerned. Whereas most of the
UK population (62%) (3) do not have concerns
about the accuracy of food labelling most UK vegans (96%) are concerned.
Three-quarters (78%) of UK vegans are fairly/very concerned about food
label accuracy compared to just a quarter (28%) of the UK population as
a whole (3). (Source: Survey 5)
Do vegans look for the Vegan Society trademark?
94% of UK vegans have bought a product with the Vegan Society trademark
on. (Source: Survey 5)
Are vegans concerned about genetically modified (GM) foods?
95% of vegans would rather not eat GM food and 95% also think that the
labelling of food products with GM ingredients should be made compulsory.
In the UK vegans have a much stronger opinion on GM foods than the general
population, with 48% of UK vegans claiming they would never eat it, compared
with 18% of the general population. 40% of the UK population do not mind
whether or not they eat GM food (4) compared
to just 5% of UK vegans. (Source: Survey
5)
Do vegans worry about nutrition?
62% of vegans hardly ever worry about nutrition, and the longer they have
been vegan the less likely they are to worry - less than 3% of those who
have been vegan for 10 years or more say they often or always worry. Although
vegans don't worry about their nutrition levels, their non-veg*an family
and friends do, with 2 in 3 vegans having family or friends who worry
on their behalf! (Source: Survey
4)
Do vegans eat out?
41% of vegans eat out at vegetarian restaurant at least once a month,
and a lucky 9% manage it every week or more. 25% of vegans manage it less
than once a year. 31% of vegans have never eaten
in a completely vegan restaurant. (Sources: Survey
7 and Survey 5)
86% of vegans think that restaurants/cafes cater for vegans poorly. 44% of UK vegans think that they are very poorly catered for, compared with 28% in the US and 32% in the rest of the world. Of the 60% of UK vegans who use soya milk in tea and/or coffee, only 29% often or always ask for it when eating/drinking out. (Source: Survey 7)
In the UK, 34% of vegans eat out once a month or more at a vegetarian restaurant, as compared to 19% of vegetarians. In the population as a whole, around 3% of adults in England and Wales eat out once month at a vegetarian restaurant. (5) (Source: Survey 5)
2. 68% of UK vegans refer to food labels compared to
33% of the UK population as a whole. Source: Consumer Attitudes To Food
Standards Final Report, UK Food Standards Agency, January 2001.
3. Consumer Attitudes To Food Standards Final Report, UK Food Standards
Agency, January 2001.
4. MORI poll for Greenpeace UK on GM Food, May
2002.
5. MORI poll to mark Pub Food Week, June 1997.