The fifth survey of the Vegan Research Panel took place during May 2002. 2088 panel members were sent an email inviting them to complete an online survey comprising 12 questions. 58% of the panel completed the survey within an 18 day period.
Reading the small print
UK vegans are twice as likely to refer to food labelling information as
the population as a whole (1) and almost
all (97%) refer to food labels. Awareness of the Vegan Society trademark
is high in the UK, with most vegans (94%) having bought a trademarked
product.
1. 68% of UK vegans always refer to labelling in comparison
to 33% of the UK population (Consumer Attitudes To Food Standards Final
Report, Food
Standards Agency, Jan 2001).
Note: 60% of UK vegans find understanding food labels easy and 25% find
it difficult. These figures exactly match the figures for the UK population
as a whole (Consumer Attitudes To Food Standards Final Report, Food
Standards Agency, Jan 2001).
Vegans say no to GMO
UK vegans have a much stronger opinion on GM foods than the general population.
Almost all UK vegans (95%) would rather not eat genetically modified food
compared with 2 out of 3 of the general population. Furthermore, the vast
majority (96%) believe that the labelling of food products containing
GM ingredients should be made compulsory. This compares with three quarters
(76%) of the UK population as a whole. (2)
2. 48% of UK vegans would never eat GM food, compared with 18% of the general population. 40% of the UK population do not mind whether or not they eat GM food compared to just 5% of UK vegans (MORI poll for Greenpeace UK on GM food, May 2002).
Veggie shopping
The main outlet where vegans buy their fresh fruit and vegetables varies
by country. In the UK, vegans are less likely to shop in supermarkets
than non-vegans (3). In the USA, almost
half of all vegans (45%) buy from wholefood or healthfood shops.
3. The survey found that 70% of UK vegans buy the majority of their fruit and vegetables from supermarkets, whereas 95% of UK household food shopping is done in supermarkets (Consumer Attitudes to Food Standards Wave 2, Food Standards Agency, Feb 2002).
Eating out
Vegans are much more likely to eat out in a vegetarian restaurant than
their non-vegan counterparts, with one third (34%) of UK vegans eating
out at a vegetarian or vegan restaurant at least once a month. This compares
to one fifth of vegetarians and just 3 in 100 of the UK population as
a whole. (4)
4. Around 3% of adults in England and Wales eat out once month at a vegetarian restaurant (MORI poll to mark Pub Food Week, Jun 1997).
Switching on
Internet usage amongst online vegans continues to increase with three
quarters (75%, rising to 88% in the USA) logging on at least once a day (5). Eight out of ten online vegans have
purchased online in the last 6 months - up 12% on Survey 1 in June 2000.
5. Comparable figures from Survey 1 were 66% in the UK and 78% in the USA.
The figures below are based on the 1203 panel responses unless otherwise stated. Figures in parenthesis are based on the 483 UK vegan responses.
| Never | 0% | (0%) |
| Rarely | 1% | (0%) |
| Occasionally | 4% | (3%) |
| Usually | 31% | (29%) |
| Always | 64% | (68%) |
| Very easy | 7% | (7%) |
| Fairly easy | 49% | (53%) |
| Neither easy or difficult | 19% | (15%) |
| Fairly difficult | 23% | (23%) |
| Very difficult | 2% | (2%) |
| Yes, I am very concerned | 40% | (42%) |
| Yes, I am fairly concerned | 34% | (36%) |
| Yes, I am slightly concerned | 22% | (18%) |
| No | 3% | (3%) |
| Don't know | 1% | (1%) |
| Yes | 69% | (94%) |
| No | 10% | (1%) |
| Don't know | 21% | (5%) |
| I would never eat GM food | 42% | (48%) |
| I would prefer not to eat GM food | 51% | (47%) |
| I don't mind whether or not I eat GM food | 7% | (5%) |
| I would prefer to eat GM food | 0% | (0%) |
| I would always eat GM food | 0% | (0%) |
| It should be compulsory to identify all products with GM ingredients | 95% | (96%) |
| It should only be compulsory to identify products with GM ingredients above a certain level | 3% | (2%) |
| It should not be compulsory to identify products with GM ingredients at all | 1% | (1%) |
| Don't know | 1% | (1%) |
| Supermarket | 64% | (70%) |
| Greengrocer | 10% | (12%) |
| Wholefood or healthfood shop | 14% | (6%) |
| Market | 7% | (6%) |
| Farm shop | 2% | (2%) |
| Online shop | 0% | (0%) |
| Other outlet | 2% | (4%) |
| Home grown | 1% | (0%) |
| Once a year or less | 30% | (27%) |
| Once every six months | 15% | (15%) |
| Once a quarter | 19% | (24%) |
| Once a month | 18% | (18%) |
| Two or three times a month | 11% | (9%) |
| Every week or more | 7% | (7%) |
| Information, including travel and product guides | 17% | (18%) |
| Footwear, including more styles, lower cost and wider availability | 29% | (30%) |
| Shops, larger range of vegan products, and home delivery | 26% | (30%) |
| Clothing, more attractive and less expensive vegan options | 11% | (8%) |
| Food, just generally more vegan food products available online | 17% | (14%) |
| Yes | 24% | (41%) |
| No | 76% | (59%) |
| Several times a day | 53% | (48%) |
| Once a day | 22% | (22%) |
| Several times a week | 20% | (23%) |
| Once a week | 2% | (4%) |
| Several times a month | 2% | (2%) |
| Once a month or less | 1% | (1%) |
| Yes | 80% | (84%) |
| No | 20% | (16%) |