Vegetarians Only Make Up 5 Percent Of US Eaters, Poll Says

Sure, "Meatless Mondays" may have enough clout to pull a USDA acknowledgment, but it turns out that vegetarianism (and vegan diets even more so) may not be as prevalent as we imagined.

A new Gallup poll (conducted every 10 years or so) found that only 5 percent of the 1,014 subjects polled considered themselves "vegetarian."

This is hardly different from the past two studies; in 1999 and 2001, 6 percent of respondents self-identified as vegetarians.

As for vegans, only 2 percent considered themselves vegans. This seems to be the first time Gallup has asked whether people identify as vegan.

However, the numbers may be skewed since the questions simply asked if respondents considered themselves vegan or vegetarian. Seven percent of respondents did not have an opinion when asked if they were vegan, meaning they probably weren't sure what the term meant.

Less than 1 percent of respondents had "no opinion" about vegetarianism.

The research also shows that vegetarianism is more prevalent among women and older adults, although not by much. Considering that most meat-eaters wouldn't date vegetarians (according to Match.com, that is), it seems that the vegetarian dating pool is unfortunately limited. Pescetarianism, anyone?