If it continues in the same way, in five years one-tenth or one-tenth will no longer eat meat. The number of vegetarians or vegans has increased by 14 percent in recent years. This emerges from the annual report released Tuesday by the Swissveg association.
The association cites greater media presence of the disadvantages of meat consumption and easier access to information on the internet as the reason for the increase.
In 2022, Swissveg counted 304,000 vegetarians in Switzerland. 42 thousand people are on a vegan diet. As Swissveg reports, this was made for the little “Corona dent”.
The boom in the sale of meat substitutes was evident in consumer habits. More than half of those surveyed ate such products.
The difference in dietary habits between men and women is evident once again: In 2022, 3.5 percent of men and 5.3 percent of women lived without meat. 0.2 percent of men and 1 percent of women self-identified as vegan.
It has also been confirmed that more and more young people are turning to vegetarianism. 6.5 percent of respondents aged 14-34 did not eat meat. By age 55, it was still 2.5 percent. One percent in the younger age category and 0.3 percent in the older age category followed a vegan diet.
With a share of 6.8 percent, university graduates were more likely to eat vegetarian and vegan than those with compulsory or secondary education qualifications (4.2 percent).
The majority cited ecological and ethical motives, above all animal welfare, as reasons for a vegetarian or vegan diet. However, in the second place, one’s own health and world nutrition came into play.
Figures are based on Mach consumer research. This is based on those over 14 who speak German, French or Italian and therefore represent 6.86 million people. 30,000 people participated in the telephone survey.
In the study, survey participants were asked about their dietary habits since 2015. Since 2019, the survey includes vegetarians.
(SDA)