A study of 2,000 adults identified a vast generational divide on veganism, vegetarian and flexitarian lifestyles.
The research revealed younger people in the UK are far more likely to embrace ‘Meat-free Mondays’ or even completely follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.
But nearly half of older people don’t believe that going vegan will have a 'positive impact' on their health and fitness.
And while millennials are twice as likely to see veganism as 'trendy' and 'cool', more than one in four over 50s see it as nothing more than a 'trend'.
The research was conducted by Wellwoman Vegan, a dietary supplement for vegetarians and vegans, whose spokesman said: “Older generations may feel the diets they’ve grown up with have done them well so far, so there’s no need to change.
“But in many instances, younger people are much more engaged as to how the food you put inside your body can have a long-term effect.
“Making sure you get a wide variety of colours, vitamins and minerals in your diet is key, and vegans often eat a wider variety of foods than anyone.”
The study also found three in 10 adults between 18 and 30 describe a vegan lifestyle as ‘healthy’, whereas just 18% of those aged 51 or above say the same.
Young adults also know twice as many people who follow a vegan diet, although over a third admit they know someone they suspect is only a vegan because they think it’s trendy.
Worryingly, a quarter of those over 51 disagree that going vegan can have a positive impact on the planet.
And 35% are also put off by following a vegan diet because they believe it’s too expensive.
The research, carried out via OnePoll, found almost one in 20 people aged 18-30-describe themselves as a vegan, along with just 1% of over 50s.
And while 7% of millennials are considering embracing the diet, just 2% of 50-year-olds said the same.
More than half of non-vegans admit they simply like meat too much to consider embracing the diet, while 48% don’t think they could give up dairy.
Others say it’s too expensive (17%), consider it to be too much effort (19%) or don’t believe it will make any difference to the environment anyway.
It also emerged that 28% think veganism to be something reserved for more affluent people while 56% say it’s more common among the younger generation.
More than a third believe those living in the south are more likely to be a vegan than people in the north of the country.