Are Vegans Truly Happier Than Meat-eaters? Science Says Yes!
A new study by Tracking Happiness shows a connections between happiness and veganism – revealing that vegans are happier than others.
Researchers surveyed 11,537 people from the United States and asked them “If you look back at the last year of your life, how would you rate your happiness on a scale from 1 to 10?” The average happiness rating of all respondents was 6.90.
They then asked respondents to tell them whether they were vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or meat-eaters, and the results showed that vegans were the happiest at 7 percent higher happiness levels than meat-eaters, who scored the lowest average happiness rating.
“We’re not surprised by these findings at all. We know that the image of veganism is undergoing the most radical change in its history, while shedding some tired, old stereotypes. It’s no longer portrayed as an unusual lifestyle, it’s easy and accessible – you can walk into any supermarket and be greeted by a huge range of plant-based products or walk into any restaurant and be presented with an exciting vegan menu,” said Francine Jordan, spokesperson for the Vegan Society. “There has never been a better time to be vegan and it’s great to see that vegans are much happier too!”
Researchers also found that happier people also considered themselves more likely to turn vegan in the future. Out of the 8,988 meat-eaters in the survey, those who reported higher happiness ratings were more likely to adopt a 100 per cent plant-based diet in the future.
Here are the findings:
- Vegans report higher happiness levels than meat-eaters (+7%).
- Happier people are more likely to turn 100% vegan in the future.
- Only 14% of our meat-eating respondents reported a negative bias towards vegans. Non-vegans aren’t nearly as opposed to veganism as the stereotypes suggest.
- 32% of vegans & vegetarians state that their biggest driver is the environment.
- Older people are less likely to ever adopt a vegan diet.
- These observations – and many more – are covered in this in-depth analysis of our study.
Shifting Perceptions of Vegans
The study also looked at the shifting perceptions of society about vegans, finding that less than 15 per cent of people had a negative opinion of vegans and veganism in general. The average meat-eater in the survey thought positively about vegans (3.44 on a scale from 1 to 5).
This contradicts earlier research from a study titled ‘It ain’t easy eating greens‘ which found that only drug addicts face more hatred and prejudices than vegans.
Carleigh Bodrug, Founder of Plant You, agrees with the new research, “The perception of vegans has definitely shifted to a more positive light in the last five years, in my experience,” she said.
“I personally believe this is because of education on the impact animal agriculture has on our precious earth, being one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. This, coupled with the introduction of more delicious plant-based products on the market, has made people more open to a discussion about reducing their animal product consumption.”
Read the full study results at Tracking Happiness.