Gen Z is most likely to go vegan for their ‘health’ but meat cravings are a ‘big barrier’ – survey finds

Gen Z is most likely to be incentivised into going vegan for health reasons, according to a new survey.

The Medical Inspiration Daily For Stronger Society (MIDSS) polled 2,101 vegans and 1,011 non-vegans born between 1997 and 2012.

Why Gen Z is going vegan

It found a whopping 52.1 percent of respondents were incentivised to go vegan for health reasons – following evidence of a plant-based diet can promote better heart health and healthy weight management.

Environmental benefits were the second highest factor (17.1 percent) followed by ‘not wanting to eat animal products’ (16.9 percent), and family factors (10.7 percent).

Only 3.3 percent of those surveyed said they were inspired by social media influencers.

Challenges

However, a staggering 37.17 percent admitted the biggest challenge they faced since going vegan is dealing with meat cravings.

For non-vegan participants, this was also a big barrier, with a majority (51 percent) saying they simply ‘can’t give up meat’. 

This is in spite of the growing number of plant-based meat brands, which are rapidly gaining in popularity.

In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) said: “Gone are the days that one needs to only eat tofu and rice every day as a staple of veganism.

“There are countless new products on the market that are completely plant-based and mimic their animal counterparts well. 

“These new alternatives are rich in flavour and nutrients, which should make them widely acceptable to this generation.”

You can read the full survey here

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Featured image: Lomb via Adobe Stock