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1. The percentage of Americans uninterested in trying plant-based meats drops, with burgers and ground “meat” options driving consumer plant-based interest.
The share of Americans who say they have not tried and are not interested in trying plant-based meats has decreased from 50% in Q4 2024 to 41% today, indicating a rise in awareness and experimentation. This growth is also reflected in recent consumer-declared intent around Thanksgiving meals, with more planning to buy plant-based meat options this year compared to last year.
Among those interested in plant-based meat alternatives, burgers, ground “meat,” sausage, and chicken nuggets generate the highest levels of consumer interest, suggesting that familiarity and product versatility continue to drive demand in this category.
Cast Your Vote: Which of the following meats do you think has the best corresponding veggie or vegan alternative?
2. Diets are increasingly playing a role in American eating routines, led by intermittent fasting.
CivicScience tracking data reveal that dieting is becoming a more common behavior among U.S. adults this year. More than two in five Americans now say they’ve followed a diet recently, up from just over one-third in Q4 of last year. The prevalence of dieting increases significantly among consumers who dine out frequently, most notably led by those who regularly do so at upscale restaurants.
A deeper dive into the diets Americans claim to have been following reveals a clear leader: Intermittent fasting, for which 26% of U.S. adults report having participated in the past 30 days. This outpaces the percentage who say they are on either a Mediterranean, Atkins, keto, or gluten-free diet by eight percentage points each. Vegan (15%) and paleo (11%) were much less common recent diet regimens.

3. LinkedIn serves a variety of purposes for its users, as nearly half say that it has positively impacted their professional lives.
A recent wave of layoffs across major companies is igniting uncertainty about what’s next for American workers. This week, CivicScience turned to examine the digital hub of professional life on LinkedIn to examine how people are using the platform and whether they feel that it’s paying off. More than one-third (35%) of users primarily turn to LinkedIn to stay in touch with former coworkers and business contacts, while a similar percentage use it to search and apply for jobs.
But do users think their time on LinkedIn has proved fruitful in helping their work-life? According to additional polling, 48% of respondents tell CivicScience that LinkedIn has either directly helped them advance their career or make valuable professional connections. Seventeen percent of users say they haven’t benefited yet, but expect to in the future. Positive career impacts differ by gender—men are 62% more likely than women to say their LinkedIn use has directly helped their careers.

Take Our Poll: When viewing someone else’s LinkedIn profile, do you: