Why are Australians going vegan?

Survey research reveals what is motivating Australians to follow a plant-based diet.

5 min readJul 15, 2021

The ABC’s 2019 Australia Talks National Survey questioned nearly 55,000 Australians on their attitudes and behaviours, including whether they followed a plant-based diet and why.¹ This post takes a look at the responses people gave as their main reason for being a vegan or vegetarian.

Breaking down responses by demographic characteristics, it compares the main motives of vegans and vegetarians by gender, age, ethnicity and location. Doing so lets us identify whether certain motives (e.g. the environment) seem to resonate more with specific sectors of the Australian population (e.g. young adults) when it comes to diet change. This information may assist in developing more effective messaging strategies to promote the consumption of plant-based alternatives to animal products.

Some key takeaways:

Animal welfare, health and the environment were the three leading reasons people gave for keeping a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Animal welfare was the most popular response among women, people aged 25 to 49, whites, all six states and the ACT, and people living in outer metropolitan and regional areas. Click here for 3 animal welfare reasons to go vegan.
Health was most popular with men, Australians aged 50 and over, people from the Northern Territory, and those residing in rural areas. Click here for 3 health reasons to go vegan.
The environment was the top reason given by youth aged 18 to 24, non-whites, and people from inner metropolitan areas. Click here for 3 environmental reasons to go vegan.

General:

Animal welfare ranks first among the main reasons why Australians choose to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet (at 35%). Health comes in second (27%) and the environment in third (21%). Religious, financial and other reasons combine to 16 per cent.

Gender:

Men give health as their top reason (34%), followed by animal welfare (23%) and the environment (19%). About one-quarter of men are vegan or vegetarian for a reason besides these three options.
Women are strongly motivated by animal welfare concerns (41%). They are nearly twice as likely as men to claim it as their main reason for abstaining from meat/animal products. Health (25%) and the environment (22%) are also frequently given as reasons.

Age:

Motives for keeping a plant-based diet by age cohort is covered in Table 1. Darker shaded cells indicate a higher percentage of responses within the age bracket. The most popular reason in each age bracket is also emboldened.

Animal welfare is a top motivator for being vegan or vegetarian among those aged between 25 and 65 years. It is most pronounced among people in their forties. For the other age brackets, both younger and older, it is the second most cited reason.
Health is the top response for Australians aged 50 and over. The older people get, the more popular health becomes as a main reason. By retirement age, it is the dominant response people give for keeping a plant-based diet. Conversely, health was not a common response among 18 to 24 year olds for being a vegan or vegetarian.
Environmental concern is by far the biggest motivator for young adults. Half of respondents aged 18 to 24 years choose the environment as their main reason. More generally, the environment features as a popular motive among the under 40s vegan and vegetarian cohort. However, for Australians aged 40 and above, the environment is not a popular reason for maintaining a plant-based diet.

Ethnic background:

When it comes to ethnic background, animal welfare is the most popular choice of motivation for white vegan and vegetarians, followed by health.
Responses from non-white vegan and vegetarians are more evenly spread across environmental, health, animal welfare and religious motives.

Location:

This section covers responses by the state/territory and region Australians reside in.

Vegetarians and vegans from all six states and the Australian Capital Territory choose animal welfare as their top motivation. Animal welfare motives are strongest in the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania.
Environmental concerns are important in the ACT, Tasmania and Victoria. Queenslanders are least likely to select the environment as their main reason.
Health is the top reason given for people in the Northern Territory. It is also the reason given by about a third of vegetarians and vegans living in Queensland and Western Australia.

Vegetarians and vegans from inner metro regions are equally likely to choose animal welfare and the environment as their main motive for their dietary decision.
Animal welfare is the top reason given by vegetarians and vegans living in outer metro and regional areas.
Health is the top response by rural Australians for their decision to follow a plant-based diet. It is closely followed by animal welfare.
The environment is not as strong a motivator for vegans and vegetarians in outer, regional and rural areas compared to those living in the inner city.