HC Deb 10 June 1997 vol 295 cc429-30W
Mr. Flynn

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has of the percentage of the UK population currently(a) lacto-vegetarian and (b) vegan; and if he will make a statement. [2712]

Mr. Rooker

Data collected as part of a recent MAFF-funded survey of the diets of vegetarians suggested that approximately 2 per cent. of the population of Great Britain aged 15 and over are vegetarian, a further 3 per cent. consider themselves to be vegetarians but also eat fish, and 0.3 per cent. are vegan. We do not have equivalent figures for the UK, nor any readily available information on the percentage of the population who are lacto-vegetarian.