Weekly Insights: Eating Less Meat

From students’ views on eating less meat to 2021 elections, here are this week’s top college student insights.

Going Veg

A recent College Pulse survey of 510 undergraduates finds that 5% of students have stopped eating meat in order to reduce their carbon footprint, while another 16% say they have reduced their meat consumption. However, college Democrats are more likely than college Republicans to say they’ve stopped eating meat altogether (8% vs. 0%) or started eating less (23% vs. 6%). 

Democrats are also significantly more likely to say they would be open to dating a vegan. Two-thirds (66%) of Democratic students say they would be open to dating a vegan, compared to about one-quarter (26%) of Republican students. LGBTQ students are also more likely than their straight classmates to be open to dating a vegan (59% vs. 42%). Overall, 47% of students say they would.

Would you be open to dating a vegan?

2021 Elections

Many states will hold statewide or local elections November 2, but a new College Pulse survey of 400 undergraduates finds that half (49%) say they are not sure if there is an election where they live. One-third (33%) of students say there is one. Among students who know of an election, 6 in 10 (62%) plan on voting. About one-quarter (23%) don’t plan to vote and 15% are undecided. Male students are more likely than female students to say they plan to vote (79% vs. 45%) and less likely to say they aren’t sure (7% vs. 22%).

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Methodology: All surveys were designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of full-time and part-time students attending colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.