How many UK veg*ns?

[Veganism]

Here's a link to the UK Veg Soc's recent posting on the numbers of UK veg*ns.

http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=753

It shows that the number of vegans in the UK has been pretty static - according to the vegan soc for about 10-12 years at around 150,000. (despite what you will read on any number of UK pro-vegan and AR websites)

The figures also show a steady increase in the amount of spending on meat-free/free-from foods. This suggests that more people are cutting down on the amount of animal they eat rather than giving up altogether. Predictions are that this market will continue to grow - driven by an increase in veggies and flexi's.

In the last edition of the Vegan Soc mag a survey amongst the people taking the vegan pledge revealed that most people wanted to adopt a vegan diet for health reasons as their first motivation, and to help animals 2nd.

Research has shown that most vegans were veggie before they went vegan – for most of us it is journey, not a snap decision based on unquestionable logic. It may start with giving up red meat and end with going vegan.

This is all useful information and the movement needs to think about what the figures reveal and develop campaigns based on the evidence.

This evidence suggests vegan/abolitionist campaigns may not be the most effective way to help animals. Encouraging more people to go flexi would save more animals than converting a tiny number to veganism – and it may well be the first step on their journey towards veganism.

Why do so many campaigners feel they cannot promote ‘the journey to veganism’? And could we be more effective for animals if we did?

 

 

[Carolyn Bailey]

I think this information supports what I think is true, and kinda obvious. There's also evidence that those who identify as "\vegans" - in life, and certainly in surveys, eat and use other animals regularly. 

"Unequivocal vegan education" doesn't seem to be the answer, and certainly not the "only" answer. It's amazing that all but one person ARZone have interviewed over the years has come to veganism gradually, and through what some would refer to as "welfarist advocacy", yet some of those same people claim that the very "welfarist advocacy" that brought them (and most others) to veganism is not what we should be engaging in. That doesn't seen to make any sense at all to me. 

Social psychology is very relevant in understanding how best to advocate for other animals in an effective way, and something I think we should embrace and understand far more.