Gallup: 4% of U.S. consumers identify as vegetarian, 1% as vegan

Showing little change from five years ago, a new poll by Gallup finds that 4% of Americans say they are vegetarian, with 1% identifying as vegan.

Gallup reports the findings are similar to its consumer polls in 2012 and 2018.

However, the July 3-27 poll showed a lower percentage of self-identified vegetarians compared with the earliest consumer polling in 1999 and 2001, when 6% identified that way, according to a summary of the research published on the Gallup site.

Less than 1% of U.S. adults say they are both vegetarian and vegan, according to the July Gallup poll.

In previous polls, Gallup found that political liberals and lower-income adults were among the subgroups most likely to be vegetarian, and that remains the case in the latest update, according to Gallup.

“Nine percent of liberals today are vegetarian, higher than in any other key subgroup Gallup analyzed, and three times the rate of political moderates and conservatives,” Gallup said in a summary of the poll.

Lower-income Americans (7%) are about twice as likely as middle-income (4%) and upper-income (3%) Americans to be vegetarians, the poll found.

Women (6%) are more likely than men (2%) to say they eat a vegetarian diet, Gallup reported.

Despite an increase in plant-based meat substitutes, Gallup reported that trend has not coincided with a rise in the percentage of consumers who identify as vegetarian or vegan.

“Americans who reported a reduction in their meat consumption typically cited health and environmental reasons for doing so,” Gallup said in a summary of the poll. “But these changes have not been met with an increase in Americans’ adoption of vegetarian or vegan diets, as less than 5% of U.S. adults follow either eating approach.”