Number of vegetarian children in the U.S. is growing

September 10, 2:13 PMCincinnati Vegetarian ExaminerJessica Prussia

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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) conducted a study back in 2007 that has begun to shed some light on an otherwise nearly-untapped subject: vegetarian children in the U.S. The study revealed that roughly 1 in 200 children in the United States choose a vegetarian diet. That’s about 367,000 children.
 

According to an article from MSNBC,  there are other surveys that say the rate could be much higher in older children (teens) than what the CDC survey discovered, as much as 6 times that number in fact.  (Click here for an article from VegNews.com relating to this topic)

The results of the CDC study were based off of approximately 9,000 parents/adults speaking on behalf of those who were under 18.

So why are these children opting for vegetarian cuisine when most of their friends continue being omnivores? For the animals, of course! With easy access to the internet, kids are finding all the PETA videos available on their website, slaughterhouse investigations on YouTube, as well as a bevy of sites devoted to maintaining a vegetarian lifestyle.

Safe to say, the number of vegetarians in general is definitely on the rise. Kids are becoming more willing to accept flak from their classmates for the sake of the animals, and more equipped to respond to their criticisms with well-founded facts about their choices. It makes me proud to be a parent, that’s for sure.