All-American Classic: Beloved Burger Tops Fake-Meat Charts

The burger has become an unofficial icon of the United States. And, as the following chart shows, it seems that the love held for this fast-food classic seems to transfer into the vegetarian and vegan friendly world too.

While plant-based alternatives are hardly the population’s favorite choice, when it comes to non-meat options, Americans are most likely to opt for burgers. Just over one in five respondents (22 percent) polled in Statista’s Consumer Insights Sustainable Consumption special survey said that they had consumed vegan or vegetarian burgers in the past three months. Plant-based chicken in the form of nuggets or strips were the next most popular (18 percent), followed by vegan or vegetarian bacon (14 percent) and then sausages (13 percent).

Although these figures aren’t particularly high, it’s interesting to note that in the U.S., only 3 percent of respondents describe themselves as vegan and only 6 percent as vegetarian. This implies that meat eaters too (including flexitarians) turn to plant-based meats occasionally.

November 1 marks World Vegan Day.