Vegetarian-Inclined

As the communications director of Vegetarian Times (along with Yoga Journal and Backpacker), I am responsible for writing all press releases. We had recently commissioned a Harris Study on how many vegetarians there are in the U.S. adult population -- we called it the "Vegetarianism in America" study.According to the study, "3.2 percent of U.S. adults, or 7.3 million people, follow a vegetarian-based diet. Approximately 0.5 percent, or 1 million, of those are vegans, who consume no animal products at all. In addition, 10 percent of U.S., adults, or 22.8 million people, say they largely follow a vegetarian-inclined diet."On Slashfood, there's a discussion of the term "vegetarian inclined." One blog said, "Let's be clear - there's already a word for someone who is vegetarian inclined. It's called an omnivore." Another post said "It's pretty simple and obvious to me, but then I identify as "vegetarian-inclined"... It just means eating very little meat in comparison to the average person. What's silly or confusing about that?"The fact is, there's a wide swath of people who eat very little meat. Not "no" meat, but "almost" no meat. This swath equals 22.8 million people - an important demographic for those in the wellness business, as Vegetarian Times is. It would have been far more confusing, and downright silly even, to use the term "semi-vegetarian." Or "flexitarian" -- how many people have ever heard that term?"Vegetarian-inclined" seems simpler and clearer to me.