Early in 1986, the Realeat Company commissioned a Gallop poll, which indicated that 2.7% of the population (1.5 million people) regarded themselves as vegetarian, with a further 3.1% (1.75 million) being non‐meat eaters. There had been a growth of 11% in the number avoiding meat since 1985 and this had mainly occurred among women, particularly those aged 16–24 years. 12.5% of this age group were found to be either fully vegetarian or non meat‐eating.