It's being suggested there aren't as many vegetarians in our midst as first thought. 

New research from Auckland University's School of Population Health shows the number of New Zealanders who follow a strictly vegetarian diet is just 2%, and vegan is even lower at 1%.

Previously, market research suggested the number of vegetarians was around 20%.

Lead Author Dr Kathryn Bradbury told Mike Hosking that the finding isn't a surprise, as she'd thought the figures were way too high. 

She says if you look at countries similar to us, the number of vegetarians is usually less than 5%. 

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