Is vegetarianism on the rise, or is it falling?

While there has indeed been an uptick in vegetarianism in advanced economies, the trend appears to be the reverse in emerging economies

Vegetarian diets are adhered to by people for myriad reasons, be it religious, cultural, environmental, health-related or otherwise.

While it is largely established that vegetarian diets can have a positive impact on health and lower individual carbon footprints, not all countries appear to be embracing it.

According to a survey by Statista, the share of people who have taken up vegetarian diets have indeed increased in advanced economies. To illustrate, Germany and Britain in Europe, as well as the United States, have recorded increases in vegetarianism.

Even South Korea, where only 0.9 per cent of respondents in 2018/19 had said they followed vegetarian diets, saw the number increase nearly three fold to 2.5 per cent.

However, for emerging economies like China and India, the trend appears to be the reverse, with vegetarianism actually declining over the last three years.

In India, for instance, nearly a third of all urban respondents in 2018/19 had said they followed vegetarian diets. That number has since declined to 26.5 per cent.

In China, too, the percentage of people following vegetarian diets has declined from 9.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent, as per the survey.

Other countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Spain, known for their love of meat, have also seen vegetarianism decline over the past three years.