EA - Linkpost: Survey evidence on the number of vegans in the UK by Sagar K Shah

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Linkpost: Survey evidence on the number of vegans in the UK, published by Sagar K Shah on May 31, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.Stephen Walsh PhD recently carried out a review of different surveys estimating the number of vegans in the UK on behalf of the UK Vegan Society. This is the best review I’ve seen in the UK context that takes into account recent data.The review suggests:Around 0.25% of UK adults were vegan in 2015. The proportion was probably stable around this level for at least 15 years.The share increased to around 1% by 2018.A best guess of a further increase to around 1.35% by 2022 (note this estimate is less certain and not directly comparable to earlier estimates).The headline results are based on the Food and You (face-to-face) and Food and You 2 (online, postal) surveys commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency, after comparison with results from other surveys, including consideration of questions asked to identify vegans, survey mode, sampling method and sample size.Stephen’s article was originally published in the Vegan Society Magazine (only available to members). Given the potential wider interest in the results, I have received his permission to share a link to a copy of his article, and he is happy to answer any interesting questions that come through in the comments.I have copied below the chart summarising the results of different surveys offering a consistent time trend, and the questions used in the Food and You Survey (2010 to 2018). The article contains links with further information about the surveys used in the chart below.Questions used in the Food and You Survey (2010 to 2018)Question 2_7Which, if any, of the following applies to you? Please state all that apply.Completely vegetarianPartly vegetarianVeganAvoid certain food for religious or cultural reasonsNone (SINGLE CODE ONLY)IF Q2_7 = Vegan VeganChkCan I just check, do you eat any foods of animal origin. That is meat, fish, poultry, milk, milk products, eggs or any dishes that contain these?1 Yes2 NoThanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.