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Nearly 40% of Russians think being a vegetarian is harmful — poll

Just one in 100 Russians confessed they are vegetarians

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Almost 40% of Russians believe that a vegetarian diet is harmful, while one in five Russians think vegetarianism is a healthy way to eat, a survey conducted by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center revealed on Friday.

"Some 39% of respondents said vegetarianism is bad for health. However, one in five (20%) believe that this lifestyle is healthy," the survey showed. Another 27% said a vegetarian diet does not influence health.

Most advocates of vegetarianism (34%) say this diet is healthy as it purifies body (40% of Russians who think so are older than 60). Another 15% of Russians said this food is light and 14% stress that these meals neither contain fat nor cholesterol.

Many opponents of a vegetarian diet (33%) complained about the lack of vitamins and nutrients in vegetable food. One in three respondents (28%) said a human body needs animal protein and another 13% believe a diet should be balanced.

One in ten Russians (11%) insist that it is impossible to live without meat and dairy products, while 8% of those polled said giving up meat is unnatural.

Just one in 100 Russians confessed they are vegetarians, while 98% said they eat meat.

The nation’s leading polling agency conducted the survey on July 31 based on phone interviews with 1,000 respondents above 18. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% at the 95% confidence level.