About 84% of people who try a vegetarian or vegan diet eventually go back to eating meat, according to a large U.S. study of more than 11,000 people conducted by the animal advocacy research organization Faunalytics. That means for every current vegetarian or vegan, there are roughly five former ones. The number is striking, but it comes with important context about who quits, how fast, and what their eating habits actually look like afterward.
Where the 84% Number Comes From
The most widely cited figure on vegan and vegetarian recidivism comes from the Faunalytics study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of over 11,000 U.S. adults aged 17 and older. The study grouped vegetarians and vegans together, finding that 84% of people who had adopted either diet had since abandoned it. Because the study combined both groups, the exact quit rate for vegans alone is harder to pin down from this data.
A separate survey by the Vegetarian Resource Group tracked people over three years and found something quite different. Among those who identified as vegan in 2006, 94% were still vegetarian or vegan in 2009, with only 6% dropping the diet entirely. The same 6% lapse rate applied to vegetarians who weren’t vegan. This suggests that how you define “quitting” and how long you follow people matters enormously. The Faunalytics study captured anyone who had ever tried the diet, even briefly, while the Vegetarian Resource Group tracked committed, self-identified practitioners over a shorter window.
Data from the EPIC-Oxford study, a large European research project, adds another layer. Among participants who identified as vegetarian or vegan in the mid-to-late 1990s, about 73% were still following that diet when checked again over 20 years later. That’s a much higher retention rate than the Faunalytics number suggests, likely because these participants had already been committed long enough to identify with the diet at the start of the study.
Most Who Quit Do So Quickly
The timing of when people quit reveals a pattern. Among those who lapsed, about 34% lasted only three months or less, and 53% quit within the first year. The first few months appear to be the critical window. If someone makes it past the one-year mark, they’re far more likely to stick with it long term.
This helps explain the gap between different studies. The Faunalytics number captures a large pool of people who may have tried veganism for a few weeks and moved on, while studies that follow established vegans and vegetarians over years find much lower dropout rates. Someone who has been vegan for two years is in a very different position than someone who started last Tuesday.
Why People Stop
The two biggest barriers are lack of social support and taste preferences. Those may sound simple, but they play out in daily life in ways that wear people down over time.
Social friction is a constant. Restaurants often offer one plant-based option, or none. Traveling can turn meals into a logistical challenge. Cultural foods from someone’s upbringing may not have vegan versions, or those versions aren’t easy to find. One person in a qualitative study published in BMC Nutrition described a road trip where they wished for any kind of quick vegan option at a rest stop. Another talked about not wanting to be excluded when friends wanted to try new restaurants.
Beyond logistics, there’s social stigma. Multiple study participants described being judged, bullied, or constantly asked to explain their choices. The pressure to justify a dietary decision at every meal, at every gathering, wears on people. One participant described watching a vegan friend get treated so poorly in high school that it put them off the idea for years. Others talked about simply not wanting to be “that person” who makes dining complicated.
Health concerns also push some people back to meat, though the research on this is less specific. Nutrients that require more careful planning on a vegan diet include vitamin B12, iron, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and calcium. When people don’t plan for these gaps, they can develop symptoms like fatigue or brain fog that they attribute to the diet itself.
Quitting Doesn’t Mean Going Back to Normal
One of the most overlooked findings in the Faunalytics data is what happens after people quit. Former vegans and vegetarians don’t typically return to a standard American diet. On average, they eat only about half the daily servings of meat compared to the general U.S. population. The researchers noted that a former vegan or vegetarian is more accurately described as a “meat reducer” or semi-vegetarian than someone who fully reverted.
This reframes the 84% figure. A large majority of people who try veganism do stop following it strictly, but the experience appears to permanently shift their relationship with meat. They eat less of it, even if they no longer avoid it completely.
What Separates Those Who Stay
The research points to a few factors that predict long-term adherence. People who adopt veganism gradually, rather than overnight, tend to stick with it longer. Those whose motivation is rooted in ethics or animal welfare rather than health or weight loss also show higher retention. And the social environment matters: having a partner, family, or friend group that supports or shares the diet makes a measurable difference.
The improving availability of plant-based options at restaurants and grocery stores may also be shifting these numbers over time. The Faunalytics researchers noted that both social support and taste satisfaction should improve as high-quality vegan food becomes more common, potentially reducing the dropout rate in the years ahead. The studies cited here captured data at specific moments, and the landscape of accessible vegan food has changed substantially even in the last five years.