Day 75 -- I Am Not Alone

Since I've started eating vegan, I've been surprised at how many friends and acquaintances are eating (or trying to eat) a plant-based diet.  I just casually mention my change in diet and invariably, the person I'm talking to will tell me about their plans to eat vegetarian or vegan in the future or their current eating habits which are plant-based.  It seems that many people are coming to the conclusion that the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is not for them.

I decided to do a little bit of internet research about vegetarianism and veganism and see just what percentage of the population eats a plant-based diet.  It's estimated that approximately 1% of the world population is vegan.  And the population seems to be growing in the U.S.

In 1971, 1 percent of U.S. citizens described themselves as vegetarians. A 2013 Public Policy Polling survey found 13% of Americans identify as vegetarian (6%) or vegan (7%).  This is up from the previous year in which a 2012 Gallup poll found 5% of Americans identify as vegetarian and 2% as vegan.   A 2008 Harris Interactive poll found that 10% of adults "largely follow a vegetarian-inclined diet," with 3.2% following a vegetarian diet and 0.5% identifying as vegans.  A 2000 Zogby Poll found that 2.5% of respondents reported not eating meat, poultry, or fish; while 4.5 percent reported not eating meat.

Vegetarian Times has a good article called Vegetarianism In America that gives more statistics.  It's nice to know that I'm part of a growing population.  Maybe like the coffee craze that put a Starbucks on every corner, the vegetarian/vegan "craze" will put a vegetarian/vegan restaurant at least on every other corner.