Ask Nancy Callan whether she would say vegetarianism is on the rise and she’ll reel off a speedy response.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Callan, past president of Earthsave Canada—a nonprofit organization that advocates a plant-based diet—told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “But I believe that interest in vegetarianism is extremely on the rise, and I think that flexitarianism is very much on the rise. The number of flexitarians is growing exponentially—it’s astounding.”

Flexitarians aren’t vegetarian but they eat vegetarian food a lot of the time. Callan added, “Flexitarians are where the money is.”

“A few years ago, they were saying that vegans are the centre of the bull’s-eye for marketing, such that if you market to the vegans, all of these concentric circles will be addressed as well—such as people concerned about the antibiotics or others concerned about animal welfare,” she said.

Flexitarians are mentioned in a 2005 report for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada called Canadian Food Trends to 2020: A Long Range Consumer Outlook. In it, they appear as a subsection of the “veggie movement” and are described as “non ”˜carnivores’ who avoid red meat, may eat chicken, but do not consume fish or seafood”. The report lists two subsets of flexitarianism—exceptors and trenders.

Exceptors will eat meat on special occasions, such as turkey at holiday dinners, and don’t mind “hidden” animal products in food. Trenders are those who frequently choose “non-meat alternatives” such as pastas, bean dishes, soy products, and veggie burgers.

According to a 2004 Ipsos-Reid survey entitled Consumer Perceptions of Food Safety and Quality, about eight percent of Canadian households have at least one vegetarian.