World Vegan Day is right around the corner on November 1. A recent study found Orlando to be the third best city in the U.S. for vegans and vegetarians.
A vegan is a person who doesn’t eat or use animal products, while a vegetarian is a person who doesn’t eat animal products but also sometimes doesn’t use them as well.
According to the Vegetarian Resource Group’s 2016 Harris Poll, about eight million U.S. adults are vegan or vegetarian. While many live a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle to spare animals, some turn to a no-meat diet for health reasons.
In 2016, a study from Italy’s University of Florence showed vegan and vegetarian diets could be linked to significantly lower rates or ischemic heart disease and cancer. There were also links to lower stress and healthier guts.
But finding meatless restaurants and supermarkets can be a challenge in today’s society. Some experts say giving up animal protein can save a person close to $750 per year. However, some find a vegan lifestyle to be tougher on their wallets.
To find the best and cheapest places for a no-meat meal plan, WalletHub compared 100 of the largest cities across 15 key metrics. Data collected ranged from the share of restaurants serving meatless options to the cost of groceries for vegetarians to salad shops per capita.
As mentioned above, Orlando came in third just behind New York, NY, and Portland, OR. Further down the list at number nine Miami found a spot and Tampa came in 15th.
In a further breakdown of the study, Orlando is first for highest percent of restaurants serving vegan options and tied for first for most salad shops per capita.
Miami came in first for most vegetable nurseries per capita and second for most juice and smoothie bars per capita.
Other Florida cities that are featured on the list include Hialeah (29th), Jacksonville (32nd) and St. Petersburg (71st).
