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“If I became a vegan, my family and friends would hate me:” Anticipating vegan stigma as a barrier to plant-based diets
Abstract
A significant body of literature has developed which examines why meat consumption continues to be so important to Americans. Our paper contributes to this literature by examining how fear of stigmatization may be a barrier to avoiding meat consumption. This is an important subject because there is evidence that suggests that individuals who avoid meat, especially vegans, are stigmatized for disrupting social conventions related to food. In this paper, we present data from series of focus groups in which vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous college students discussed perceptions of vegans and veganism. Our analysis shows that non-vegans anticipate stigma associated with eating like vegans. We identify two strategies by which non-vegans attempt to avoid this stigma: social and behavioral distancing. These results suggest that vegan stigma is a barrier that inhibits dietary shifts toward a plant-based diet. Our results are important because they can be used to improve the efficacy of public health initiatives focused on encouraging plant-based diet adoption and meat consumption reduction.
... In addition to factual information, perceived social norms can also play an important role in changing consumer habits and policy attitudes (Andreoni et al., 2021;Fesenfeld, Rudolph, et al., 2022;Nyborg, 2018;Nyborg et al., 2016;Rinscheid et al., 2021). However, there is little empirical evidence on such effects in the context of food policymaking, particularly in respect to meat and meat substitutes, although existing literature underlines the importance of the social environment and individuals perceived social norms in shaping food-related decisions (Fesenfeld, Rudolph, et al., 2022;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019;Mollen et al., 2013;Robinson et al., 2014;Sparkman et al., 2021;Ye et al., 2021). According to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), the more a person believes that other people, so called social referents, approve or do not approve of a certain behavior, the stronger this person will adhere to these subjective social norms. ...
... In addition, we selected the following control variables since they have been identified in the food consumption literature as the most relevant predictors of meat consumption and the willingness to switch to more plant-based diets as well as respective policy support. Hence, in addition to basic sociodemographic variables (e.g., age, gender, education, income, household size) we also asked questions on: a) participants diets because meat consumption habits affect the willingness to eat more plant-based products (Graça et al., 2019); b) their food shopping criteria, especially how much emphasis they put on sustainability criteria such as animal welfare and environmental impacts of food products Fesenfeld, Sun, Wicki, & Bernauer, 2021); c) the amount of substitutes consumed, e.g., by friends, family etc. to analyze the degree of socialization of eating plant-based meat substitutes in their closer environment (Graça et al., 2019;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019); d) their food neophobia to determine the degree of reluctance to try new foods using the original Food Neophobia Scale (Pliner & Hobden, 1992;Siegrist & Hartmann, 2020); e) their perceived ability to cook with meat substitutes as a proxy for the participants ability to switch to more plantbased diets (Graça et al., 2019;Schösler et al., 2012); f) their perceived availability of meat substitute products when shopping which has been shown to be a barrier to changing the diet accordingly (Apostolidis & McLeay, 2016); g) their household characteristics influencing the likelihood of following more plant-based diets (Graça et al., 2019;Koch et al., 2019;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019); h) their shopping behavior, i.e., the frequency of them going food shopping by themselves, as a predictor of higher or lower involvement in food purchasing (Apostolidis & McLeay, 2016); i) their use of a shoppinglist as a proxy of translating purchasing intentions into actual behavior (Kamm et al., 2015) (see the detailed question wording in the questionnaire in Appendix J). ...
... In addition, we selected the following control variables since they have been identified in the food consumption literature as the most relevant predictors of meat consumption and the willingness to switch to more plant-based diets as well as respective policy support. Hence, in addition to basic sociodemographic variables (e.g., age, gender, education, income, household size) we also asked questions on: a) participants diets because meat consumption habits affect the willingness to eat more plant-based products (Graça et al., 2019); b) their food shopping criteria, especially how much emphasis they put on sustainability criteria such as animal welfare and environmental impacts of food products Fesenfeld, Sun, Wicki, & Bernauer, 2021); c) the amount of substitutes consumed, e.g., by friends, family etc. to analyze the degree of socialization of eating plant-based meat substitutes in their closer environment (Graça et al., 2019;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019); d) their food neophobia to determine the degree of reluctance to try new foods using the original Food Neophobia Scale (Pliner & Hobden, 1992;Siegrist & Hartmann, 2020); e) their perceived ability to cook with meat substitutes as a proxy for the participants ability to switch to more plantbased diets (Graça et al., 2019;Schösler et al., 2012); f) their perceived availability of meat substitute products when shopping which has been shown to be a barrier to changing the diet accordingly (Apostolidis & McLeay, 2016); g) their household characteristics influencing the likelihood of following more plant-based diets (Graça et al., 2019;Koch et al., 2019;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019); h) their shopping behavior, i.e., the frequency of them going food shopping by themselves, as a predictor of higher or lower involvement in food purchasing (Apostolidis & McLeay, 2016); i) their use of a shoppinglist as a proxy of translating purchasing intentions into actual behavior (Kamm et al., 2015) (see the detailed question wording in the questionnaire in Appendix J). ...
The food system causes more than a third of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, of which half are from livestock. Shifting towards plant-based diets could significantly reduce deforestation, protect biodiversity , and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate targets. Arguably, large-scale shifts in meat consumption require ambitious policy change. Yet, deep-rooted eating habits, pleasure, cultural status, and personal freedom are just a few of many obstacles to adopt ambitious demand-side policies and reduce meat consumption. Here, we hypothesize that technological innovation in meat substitutes, if effectively combined with social norm and factual informational triggers for behavioral changes, can foster positive political feedback to transform the food system. To test our hypothesis, we conducted survey experiments with citizens (N = 2590) in China and the US-the globally largest meat markets-and analyzed data using different machine learning methods. Our findings show that personal experience with novel plant-based meat substitutes strongly predicts individuals' intentions to reduce their meat consumption, eat more substitutes, and support public policies to catalyze a transition to more plant-based diets. We also find that in both countries factual and social norm information about the benefits of more plant-based diets can increase citizens' behavioral change intentions and support for meat reduction policies. Overall, however, social norm information had no significant additional effects on the outcomes compared to the simple factual information treatments. In the US, prior experience with innovative meat substitutes potentially can boost the positive effects of informational campaigns on public support for meat reduction policies. The results offer promising implications for a policy sequencing strategy to create positive political feedback and enable socio-technical tipping dynamics for sustainable food system transformation.
... Because veg*ns often decide to consciously deviate from carnist norms based on strong moral motivations, they tend to strongly internalize their diet as an important aspect of who they are (Rosenfeld and Burrow, 2018;Rosenfeld, 2019b) and as a part of their moral identity (Chuck et al., 2016;Feinberg et al., 2019), i.e., their identity as a morally committed person and associated thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with regard to promoting or protecting the welfare of others (Aquino and Reed, 2002;. The labels "vegetarian" and "vegan" may be a source of ingroup pride (Rosenfeld, 2018), facilitate cooperative group formation (Smaldino, 2019) and moral identity signaling (Aquino and Reed, 2002;Paxman, 2016), so that omnivores may readily perceive veg*ns as morally committed advocates who attract attention for "their" cause (Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019;De Groeve et al., 2021). ...
... Because the omnivorous diet is conventional, majority norms exert a strong immediate influence on omnivores. One reason for majority's social power is that majority membership protects against social rejection (Martin et al., 2008): eating and sharing animal products is a way to facilitate social bonding and different animal foods may characterize different nations (e.g., Australian meat pies), celebrations (e.g., Thanksgiving Turkey) or (sub) cultures (Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019;Nguyen and Platow, 2021). For example, in Western countries many people love dogs and eat pigs (Joy, 2009), while eating dogs may be acceptable in some Asian countries (Podberscek, 2009) and eating pigs is forbidden by Islamic and Judaic scripture (Farouk et al., 2015). ...
... Conformity pressures may explain why meat reduction initiatives may evoke considerable resistance (Morris et al., 2014) and why omnivores often report having experienced conflict with veg*ns, who oppose the majority's carnist ideology (Guerin, 2014;Piazza et al., 2015;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019). Conversely, veg*ns can be targets of anti-veg*n bias (Earle and Hodson, 2017) such as social stigma and negative stereotypes (Chin et al., 2002;Minson and Monin, 2012;MacInnis and Hodson, 2017;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019;. ...
Animal-based diets in Western countries are increasingly regarded as unsustainable because of their impact on human health, environmental and animal welfare. Promoting shifts toward more plant-based diets seems an effective way to avoid these harms in practice. Nevertheless, claims against the consumption of animal products contradict the ideology of the omnivorous majority known as carnism. Carnism supports animal-product consumption as a cherished social habit that is harmless and unavoidable and invalidates minorities with plant-based diets: vegetarians and vegans (veg*ns). In this theoretical review, we integrate socio-psychological and empirical literature to provide an identity-based motivational account of ideological resistance to veg*n advocacy. Advocates who argue against the consumption of animal products often make claims that it is harmful, and avoidable by making dietary changes toward veg*n diets. In response, omnivores are likely to experience a simultaneous threat to their moral identity and their identity as consumer of animal products, which may arouse motivations to rationalize animal-product consumption and to obscure harms. If omnivores engage in such motivated reasoning and motivated ignorance, this may also inform negative stereotyping and stigmatization of veg*n advocates. These “pro-carnist” and “counter-veg*n” defenses can be linked with various personal and social motivations to eat animal products (e.g., meat attachment, gender, speciesism) and reinforce commitment to and ambivalence about eating animal products. This does not mean, however, that veg*n advocates cannot exert any influence. An apparent resistance may mask indirect and private acceptance of advocates’ claims, priming commitment to change behavior toward veg*n diets often at a later point in time. Based on our theoretical account, we provide directions for future research.
... Food can also serve as a point of division and contention. If dietary differences preclude sharing food, this can create negative emotions and social distance which may feel especially uncomfortable if experienced between vegans and their non-vegan friends or family (Bresnahan et al., 2016;Cherry, 2015;Hirschler, 2011;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Vegans' dietary behaviors may be affected by such negative emotions and social distance (Jabs et al., 2000;Rosenfeld & Tomiyama, 2019); thus, the role of social relationships and social interactions should also be explored as key factors in the work on vegans' dietary lapses. ...
... These differing meanings likely carry implications for how identity and other interactional processes unfold. For instance, ethical vegans may lose social ties for espousing moral/ethical concerns viewed as "radical" by non-vegans, whereas health vegans may preserve social ties for espousing health concerns viewed as more conventionally palatable (Greenebaum, 2012a;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). As a result, any ties that ethical vegans forge and maintain with fellow vegans may be especially supportive ones that highly influence self-evaluation and behavior (see, e.g., M. Gallagher et al., 2022). ...
... In the vegan context, this means that high social identity recognition may influence vegans to largely define themselves in opposition to non-vegans present in social situations, thus building social distance between them and non-vegans. However, a result of social distance may be emotional strain, especially if the distance is built between family or friends (Bresnahan et al., 2016;Cherry, 2015;Hirschler, 2011;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Ultimately, this strain may serve as a motivating factor to reduce distance and preserve social bonds. ...
An interesting finding in the literature on vegetarianism and veganism finds that vegetarians and vegans often report that they deviate from their diets from time to time. Work examining this phenomenon finds that these dietary lapses relate to many factors; however, little research examines how these factors collectively influence dietary lapses while also controlling for the relationships that may exist among factors. Here, I fill this gap by drawing from the unified model of vegetarian identity (UMVI) and identity theory (IT) to propose an inclusive model of dietary lapses. Structural equation model results from a sample of 488 vegans reveal differences in how identity and interactional processes relate to dietary lapses across ethical and health motivations. This work is important because it highlights how identities relate to dietary behaviors differently for ethical and health vegans; it also provides fruitful avenues for future work in this area.
... Many studies on veganism or vegans within the social psychological discipline use a critical discursive framework to focus on vegans as a disadvantaged stigmatized group and seek the predictors of vegan stigma (e.g., Rothgerber, 2014;Bresnahan et al., 2016;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019). For instance, through a discursive analysis that critically examined vegaphobia in the UK newspapers it was demonstrated that vegans were stigmatized and stereotyped as unrealistic sentimentalists, fanatics or extremists (Cole and Morgan, 2011). ...
... Although most of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society members position themselves as radical activists, some of them rejected being labeled as vegan to avoid being considered as "hardcore vegan" which implies an inflexible ideological position, and the organization should keep a distance from this position. Moreover, Markowski and Roxburgh (2019) showed that stigmatization of vegans also has negative impacts for omnivores as it can inhibit dietary shifts toward veganism due to the negative label. Related to the perception of stigmatization and its consequences are the attitudes toward vegans, and especially the role that ideology plays in creating and maintaining the attitudes. ...
... Even though only a small difference, vegans (9.8%) referred to a shared identity more often than vegetarians (8.9%) (Cruwys et al., 2020). Moreover, Markowski and Roxburgh (2019) demonstrated that vegetarians and omnivores often shared negative perceptions of vegans and veganism, further highlighting the need for differentiation between non-meat eaters. Hence, even though similar, there are differences between vegans and vegetarians in terms of politicized content and identification which suggests that they should be studied as distinct groups. ...
In recent years, and in the current climate crisis, the interest in veganism and sustainable diet/lifestyle has increased. This growing interest can also be seen within academia. Therefore, we set out to systematically document and organize the social psychological literature on veganism and vegan identity to identify where the field currently is, and what we need to do next. Following PRISMA guidelines we identified a data set of 26 academic papers published between 2010 and 2021. Through a thematic analysis of the data, we created four categories of study focus and content: (1) vegans as a disadvantaged/stigmatized group, (2) the role of ideology in negative attitudes toward vegans, (3) the role of moral and ethical beliefs in changing or sustaining dietary preferences, and (4) veganism as a social movement and vegan activism. Our analysis emphasizes issues with merging all non-meat eaters, reduction of veganism into dietary or lifestyle choices neglecting the politicized content and movement, lack of processes underlying emergence and endurance of veganism, and decontextualization of vegan identity. What is needed is a more fine-grained exploration that addresses the identified issues to account for the content of vegan identity. This would expand, for example, the motives literature to include and emphasize intersectionality in a vegan identity context. Specifically, to facilitate a more sustainable lifestyle, the content of social dimensions needs to be qualitatively explored.
... While studies have shown that social networks with meat reducers and avoiders encourage meat reduction (Stoll-Kleemann & Schmidt, 2017), others have concluded that significant others can be a barrier to behaviour change too (Cheah, Sadat Shimul, Liang, & Phau, 2020;Wyker & Davison, 2010). For example, fear of social stigma among friends and family when choosing a vegetarian dish can prevent meat reduction (Bohm, Lindblom, Åbacka, Bengs, & Hörnell, 2015;De Boer & Aiking, 2011;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019;Schösler, de Boer, Boersema, & Aiking, 2015). Moreover, former meat avoiders have identified lack of social support as a barrier when they were following a plant-based diet (Hodson & Earle, 2018). ...
... Eating meat is unfashionable ( Cordts et al., 2014) Social networks with meat reducers and meat avoiders ( Hodson & Earle, 2018;Lacroix & Gifford, 2019;Stoll-Kleemann & Schmidt, 2017) Expected approval by others who eat less or no meat (Schenk et al., 2018) Fear of social stigma among friends and family when choosing vegetarian dishes ( Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019;Cordts et al., 2014) Vegetarian (or vegan) meals are not suitable for special occasions like Christmas, BBQ etc. (Hielkema & Lund, 2021) Eating meat as a sign of beaing wealthy (Piazza et al., 2015) Social network/others in the household eat meat (De Boer et al., 2017), lack of social support (Hodson & Earle, 2018) Meat is socially construed as central in food practices ( Bohm et al., 2015;Hoek et al., 2011) ...
Meat reduction is gaining attention among consumers, marketers, policymakers and scientists. Yet little is known about decision-making processes and behaviour change towards meat reduction. This paper explores the applicability of the decisional balance (DB) framework to the field of meat reduction. To this end, a novel DB scale to measure the perceived importance of beliefs about meat reduction at different stages of behaviour change was developed and validated in two studies with German meat eaters. In Study 1 (N = 309), the item inventory was tested using an exploratory factor analysis and then validated in Study 2 (N = 809). The results yielded two higher-order DB factors (pros and cons), which were subdivided into five lower-order factors (perceived benefits of a plant-based diet, downsides of factory farming, health barriers, legitimation barriers and feasibility barriers). The pros and cons were summarised in a DB index. All DB factors and the DB index were tested for internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥.70) and aspects of validity. Furthermore, the typical DB pattern of the pros and cons of behaviour change was confirmed: the cons outweighed the pros for consumers who did not intend to reduce meat consumption, while the pros outweighed the cons for consumers who intended to reduce meat consumption. The new DB scale for meat reduction has proven to be a suitable measure to gain insights into consumers' decision making and could be used to develop targeted meat reduction interventions.
... Just as diet-related social support helps individuals pursue healthy eating behaviours, social support plays an important role in maintaining a veg*n diet (Jabs et al., 1998;Hielkema and Lund, 2021), with veg*ns often seeking out veg*n social groups (Chuter, 2018;Séré de Lanauze and Sirieix, 2022) and romantic partners (Twine, 2014). Similarly, a lack of social support can present a barrier to individuals maintaining a veg*n diet (Hodson and Earle, 2018;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019). ...
... This may be due to autonomous motivation being relatively stable (57% of variability was between-person) and high; perhaps it is only when motivation becomes relatively less autonomous that subsequent goal pursuit is affected. It is also likely that the goal of transitioning to a veg*n diet differs from other goals (e.g., veg*ns face social stigma for their choices; Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019), so the processes linking motivation to progress may differ, or may be moderated by factors we did not examine. ...
Previous studies have consistently shown that autonomous motivation – pursuing goals because one wants to, rather than has to – is associated with greater behaviour maintenance in the context of healthy eating, exercise, and diet maintenance. The present study used a 7-wave longitudinal design to examine how autonomous motivation is related to dietary goal progress in individuals (N = 222) transitioning to a veg*n (i.e., vegetarian or vegan) diet. We hypothesized that when people reported more autonomous motivation (compared to their own average) they would be more successful in reaching their dietary goals. We also explored the role of goal-facilitating behaviours in this process. We found no directional effects of relative autonomous motivation on goal progress or goal-facilitating behaviours, although the concurrent relations were significant. There were also no within-person effects of behaviours on progress. These findings shed light onto the relationship between autonomous motivation, behaviours, and goal progress both at the same time and over time, and highlight the importance of examining within-person fluctuations over time.
... For example, even people who are motivated to maintain a new diet often must exercise effortful momentary self-control to overcome temptations to lapse into old dietary patterns in everyday settings (Gardner et al., 2021). Some people may be discouraged from adopting a vegan diet because they anticipate stigma and ostracism by significant others (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Understanding successful -and unsuccessful -attempts to go vegan depends on documenting the many factors that may aid or inhibit adherence to a vegan diet. ...
... Our participants also voiced concern about not wanting to impose their vegan principles or practices on others. Such considerations may arise from stigma surrounding the vegan diet (MacInnis & Hodson, 2017), which appears to stem from violation of dietary norms (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Some participants, however, reported that family members embraced their new diet. ...
A vegan diet, which excludes all animal-derived products, has been associated with some improvements in health, while also conferring environmental benefits. Understanding the psychological determinants of successfully switching to a vegan diet will help to inform the design of interventions supporting long-term dietary change. Studies to date have tended to focus on reasoned motives underlying the decision to initiate such a dietary shift. Yet, focusing on reasons for switching may overlook the importance of a broader range of psychological factors that may help or hinder attempts to maintain a vegan diet. This qualitative interview study, the timing of which coincided with UK Covid-19 lockdowns, documented experiences of 20 young adults (17 female; mean age 22y) who attempted to adopt a vegan diet in the past nine months and had or had not successfully maintained this change. Reflexive Thematic Analysis identified five themes surrounding initiation and maintenance. A theme of ‘motives, expectations and cues to switching’ showed that switching was motivated by ethical or health concerns, and cued by Veganuary, lockdown or health issues. ‘The effortfulness of switching’ captured experiences of the perceived burden imposed by adhering to the diet due to, for example, a perceived lack of accessible vegan options. The ‘flexibility of dietary rules’ theme showed that many found the ‘no animal products’ rule clear but restrictive, so allowed themselves occasional non-meat animal products. ‘Social acceptability concerns’ captured the importance of acceptance from vegan and non-vegan family and friends, and ‘satisfaction with the switch’ described the perceived benefits that sustained maintenance for many. Our findings suggest that interventions should seek to support people to overcome potentially unforeseen practical and social challenges to adhering to a vegan diet.
... For example, a study conducted in Malaysia found that almost the 40% of non-vegetarian consumers had negative attitudes toward vegetarian diets (Mohamed et al., 2017). Furthermore, Markowski and Roxburgh (2019) found that vegetarian or vegan American students often prefer not to declare their dietary choices or not to reduce meat eating to avoid stigmatization and difficult discussions with peers and families. Finally, a recent study by Bagci et al. (2021) showed that the two parts express negative opinions toward each other. ...
... These results are in line with the previous research conducted on other labels that found, for example, that the ethical or ecological identity moderate the halo effect of fairtrade (Schuldt et al., 2012) or organic (Schuldt et al., 2010) labelling respectively. Furthermore, they relate to the research that found that average consumers tend to stigmatize vegetarianism and veganism (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019), because consider plant-based diets as inadequate and unhealthy (Crnic, 2013), naïve (Burgess et al. 2014), feminine (Ruby & Heine, 2011) or less tasty (Pohjolainen, 2015) than diets that include animal-based food. ...
Plant-based meat alternatives have grown tremendously in recent years, with an unprecedented increase in vegan and meat-sounding labelled products appearing on European Union shelves. However, a regulation clarifying what the "vegan" label means and if "meat-sounding" names should be allowed when referring to plant-based foods is still lacking. Led by opposite reasons, both vegetarian and meat producers' associations are demanding to fill this legal void. Our paper contributes to this debate by providing the results of two online experiments that measures how consumers perceive plant-based meat substitutes based on vegan vs. meat-sounding labelling. The results of the first study showed that meat-sounding labels applied to plant-based food altered perceived healthiness, but not other characteristics of the product. The second study indicated that vegan labelling exerted a negative effect on the consumers' perception of tastiness and healthiness, and willingness to buy of plant-based foods. Importantly, these effects were moderated by the consumers' attitudes towards meat-eating and veganism. In line with these results, we propose that the explicit use of the "vegan" label might be counterproductive to increase the sales of plant-based foods, and that the biasing impact of meat-sounding labels on plant-based food's perception is weak.
... More and more attention is being given to the role of food in combating climate change, with a focus on the benefits of meat reduction and more plant-based diets. While food systems, food subsidies, and national dietary standards play a major role in a population's dietary choices, so do many personal, social, and cultural factors (Markowski and Roxburgh 2019;Kurz et al. 2020). In the present work, we focus on the important role of social factors, honing in specifically on factors that lead people to promote plant-based diets to others as a case study of the social diffusion of climate action. ...
Why do (or do not) people encourage others in their social networks to adopt climate-friendly behaviors? Encouragement like this has been referred to as “relational organizing,” and can help scale up climate action across communities. Since relational organizing is a social behavior, it likely has its own specific barriers and motivations beyond what affects personal climate action. Food is a big part of our day-to-day lives and our relationships with people we care about. It also impacts the climate, ecosystems, animal welfare, and our own health. As such, people’s climate-friendly food choices provide an ideal case study to explore drivers of relational organizing. Using an online survey with two North American samples of motivated audiences (one US-wide animal advocacy community, N = 1166, and one environmentally focused community in Boulder, Colorado, N = 363), we sought to identify and categorize the social–psychological barriers to and drivers of relational organizing for climate-friendly food choices. Using exploratory factor analysis and predictive models, we found that self-efficacy in carrying out the personal behavior, response efficacy beliefs, supportive social norms, and personal aptitude in relational organizing (e.g., personal norms) predicted relational organizing action after the survey. People’s sense of personal obligation to engage in relational organizing (i.e., personal norms), beliefs that would make a difference to important causes (i.e. response efficacy), and social identity beliefs around activism were particularly important. We discuss how these findings can help inform interventions related to climate-friendly diets, and what this means more broadly for how relational organizing can support climate action.
... The conceptions of both alternative groups reflect a vegan identity as "nonvegetarians" and "nonomnivores," which has been evidenced in both online (Kauria, 2020) and offline contexts (Rosenfeld, 2019;Wrenn, 2020). 4450 Joustra, Alfaro, and Giacoman International Journal of Communication 17(2023) In contrast, vegans are stigmatized by nonvegans, conceptualizing them as people that constantly need to express their worldview and classifying them as hypocrites, arrogant, and intolerant (Aguilera-Carnerero & Carretero-González, 2021;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Facing this context, vegans use strategies to present themselves in face-to-face interactions. ...
This research aims to identify the underlying discourses in the representation of vegan identity and its alterity in memes. We made a structural analysis of 276 memes published in two Chilean vegan accounts on Instagram. The results reveal that the discursive structures of the memes studied consist of two evaluation axis (one practical and one ethical-political) that generate a typology of representations about vegan identity (authentic vegan) and its alterity (impostor nonvegan, authentic nonvegan, impostor vegan). We also found two interactions that deepen the definition of the authentic vegan identity. In these interactions, conflict and ridicule toward the nonvegan prevail. We conclude that online contexts and the use of memes as the analysis unit allow an emerging conflictive side of veganism that had been hidden in previous works. This article invites others to delve into the study of vegan identities and existing negotiation strategies in both online and offline spaces.
... Bénabou and Tirole (2011), for instance, argue that certain moral behavior by others is categorically rejected and suppressed because it otherwise makes it difficult to find excuses for one's own less moral behavior. This 'do-gooder derogation' also occurs in judgments of dietary decisions (Lea and Worsley, 2003;Minson and Monin, 2012;Cramwinckel et al., 2013;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019;Vandermoere et al., 2019). Cramwinckel et al. (2013) report that such devaluation occurs primarily when the decision maker's moral motivation is obvious to observers, which can help to explain why observability in our experiment has an adverse effect only when combined with the information nudge. ...
... This hypothesis is grounded on two related arguments. Firstly, while the omnivorous diet is a more conformist and mindless food choice, meat and fish exclusion represents a non-modal food choice worldwide and a socially and practically costlier behaviour (De Groeve et al., 2021;De Groeve & Rosenfeld, 2022;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019;Nezlek & Forestell, 2020;Minson & Monin, 2012;Stanley, 2022). ...
The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) is a widely used measure of individual propensity to rely on analytic thinking. This measure is consistently related to decision-making tasks, beliefs and real-life decision outcomes and also inversely related to conformist and mindless decision making. Drawing from previous studies showing that food choices are related to cognitive style, we hypothesised that an analytic cognitive style would be inversely related to meat consumption and beliefs supporting meat eating. In two highly powered studies (total N = 7,283), we investigated the relationship between the CRT and meat consumption and associated beliefs, controlling for relevant demographics. Our results showed that a higher CRT score predicted self-identification as vegetarian, exclusion of meat and fish from diet and lower belief that meat consumption is normal and necessary for health (study 1). This link remained when need for cognition and self-esteem were introduced as concurrent predictors (study 2). Despite a small observed effect size, these results confirm the relevance of the CRT for investigating consequential decision making and habits.
... SIs provide possible solutions to unmet needs, and among these solutions are those that are sustainable for societal challenges, such as animal welfare, climate change, or environmental destruction [5,6]. Along these lines, PBDs have been considered SIs [7,8] that require special attention for their dissemination because the adaptation to a new diet may require specific and interrelated change decisions at different stages of the adoption process [9][10][11][12] and, in addition, communication is not sufficient to ensure their dissemination [13]. ...
Although there is great interest on the global stage in promoting plant-based diets (PBDs) to achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the results of their adoption are unsatisfactory. Academics propose to entangle this effort by addressing the challenges of dissemination of social innovations (SIs). SIs generate different adoption attitudes, some of them related to socio-psychological aspects on the part of potential adopters. This research work aims to better understand the adoption of SIs, such as PBDs, which may induce socio-psychological concerns in potential adopters. In this sense, this research postulates that current perspectives on the dissemination and adoption of SI offer partial insights into understanding the shift to PBD. To overcome these limitations, a holistic process perspective of the adopter’s decision-making to change diet is derived and proposed. An exploratory, abductive, and theory-building effort has been carried out, based on a cross-analysis of three different adopter profiles, with a total of 69 semi-structured interviews. A new model for a comprehensive understanding from the adopter’s perspective on dietary change is outlined with new socio-psychological insights emerging from the adopter’s viewpoint. Additionally, the new model offers renewed opportunities for practitioners in terms of PBD implementation, usage, and policy.
... Despite this rising popularity, an emergent body of literature suggests that vegans in educational spaces experience social prejudices and stigmatisations related to their ethical praxis and values (Kahn 2011). Identified as a barrier to full or open engagement with veganism (Markowski and Roxburgh 2019), the experience of vegan studentship presents a novel area for sociological investigation, building upon scholarship in the social construction of veganism in early school years and adolescence (Cherry 2015;Lindgren 2020). This paper seeks to provide initial reflections regarding the scope for future studies of vegan studentship. ...
... These results extend the findings of Aschemann-Witzel et al. (2022) regarding communicating potential benefits of upcycled foods, as our findings indicate that framing such benefits in a concrete manner has positive effects on the moral signalling consequences of upcycled foods and in turn on consumers' intention to purchase upcycled foods. However, previous studies indicate that there is also a certain risk involved regarding moral signalling, namely that consumers associate the purchase of sustainable (and in particular plant-based) foods with an anticipation of being viewed as a moral do-gooder (i.e., anticipated moral stigma; Bolderdijk and Cornelissen, 2022;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019). Future research might further examine to this downside of moral signalling in relation to the consumers' attitude to and consumption of upcycled food products. ...
Increasing consumer adoption of upcycled food products contributes to making the food system more resource efficient and to transitioning towards a circular economy. Yet, it is unclear how upcycled food can best be communicated towards consumers so that it signals something positive about consumers and make consumers more inclined to purchase upcycled food. In the current study, we examine to what extent upcycled foods may evoke morally self-rewarding feelings associated with purchasing upcycled food for consumers depending on (1) whether environmental or health product benefits are communicated in (2) either an abstract (generic sustainability or health lifestyle benefits) or concrete fashion (specific environmental or nutritional benefits). We found that concrete product communication led to stronger anticipated self-rewarding feelings associated with purchasing upcycled food, relative to abstract communication of either environmental or health benefits. Regardless of level of abstraction, communicating environmental (rather than health) benefits also led to stronger self-rewarding feelings. In turn, the stronger anticipated self-rewarding feelings were, the higher consumers' intention to purchase upcycled food. The findings provide marketing guidelines for companies on upcycled food: product communication about concrete environmental or nutritional benefits of upcycled food increases the extent to which consumers experience purchasing upcycled food as morally self-rewarding, which in turn is positively associated with consumers’ intention to purchase upcycled food.
... Indeed, the preparation of healthier dishes requires additional culinary skills and preparation time, even more so if one must satisfy the diverse tastes of loved ones (Videira et al., 2011). Moreover, if it is already difficult to manage changes in routine, lack of family support may discourage consumers from reducing meat consumption (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Similar to Carfora et al. (2020) and Higgs (2015), this study revealed that as the perception that eating meat is an expected attitude of loved ones increases, the likelihood of consuming meat increases. ...
A reduction in meat consumption is crucial for addressing public health problems, especially in industrialized countries. Among low-cost interventions, emotionally provocative health-information strategies could be effective options in fostering meat reduction. Through an online experimental survey, administrated to a quota-based national sample (N = 1142), this study analysed the profile of Italians consuming red/processed meat above World Health Organization (WHO) recommended amounts. Via a between-subjects design, the research tested whether two health frame-nudges (societal impact and individual impact of over consumption) persuaded these individuals to reduce future meat consumption. Results showed that adhering to an omnivore diet, higher consumption of meat than peers, household size (larger) and positive moral perception of meat consumption increased the likelihood of overconsumption. In addition, both nudges proved to be effective in positively impacting future intentions to reduce meat consumption among individuals exceeding WHO recommended amounts. The two frame-nudges were more effective among females, respondents with children in the household and individuals with a low health status perception.
... Thus, in order to shed light upon facilitators and barriers to meat reduction in large population segments, it makes less sense to take a starting point in the otherwise large number of studies on vegetarians and vegans (e.g. Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019;Rosenfeld & Burrow, 2017;Twine, 2018). ...
Exploring everyday life dynamics in meat reduction - a cluster analysis of flexitarians in Denmark. Flexitarians are attracting increasing attention in the research on meat reduction. But there has been limited focus on comprehensive understandings of a broader range of dynamics that can work as barriers and facilitators for meat reduction. In this article, we use social practice theory (SPT) as a comprehensive approach to barriers and facilitators in meat reduction in everyday life. We present an analysis of data from a representative Danish cross-sectional survey. We show, first, that Danish flexitarians can be divided into four distinct clusters (what we will refer to as classes) in accordance with combinations of everyday facilitators and barriers. Second, we show that the prevalence of these classes varies considerably depending on how long people have been flexitarians. We argue that the patterns in this variation indicate that over time people transition to other classes where barriers to plant-rich eating become less significant, and routinization emerges in different ways. Finally, third, we show that flexitarians do report eating less meat than consumers who label themselves as eating meat with no restrictions. But we also highlight that the difference is relatively modest. Indeed, meat intake is still quite common even in classes where routinization is highest. Throughout the paper, we discuss similarities and differences between the SPT framework and another recent framework, the COM-B model, that also provides a comprehensive approach to the understanding of behavioural change.
... For instance, individuals high in moral exporting might be less likely to be influenced by reputational concerns about others' judgment (Maki & Raimi, 2017). Or social response efficacy might be influenced by social norms: individuals may assume from normative cues that neighbors would react poorly to new information, making potential relational organizers believe reaching out would be ineffective (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Additional research could explore causal connections to help foster beneficial feedback loops between social psychological factors and relational organizing behaviors. ...
As biodiversity loss and climate change accelerate, more people worldwide are engaging in conservation behaviors to “do their part.” Yet, individual behavior change alone is insufficient for the large‐scale, rapid change needed to address these crises. Relational organizing, which involves individuals reaching out to others in their social network, can enhance the speed and scale of conservation behavior change and address the complex, collective action nature of many conservation problems. However, many people practicing conservation behaviors in their own lives do not engage in relational organizing about conservation issues. Here, we suggest this may be the result of specific social‐psychological factors inhibiting people from reaching out to others. We summarize the evidence and offer a research and practice agenda to prioritize (1) understanding the social‐psychological barriers that prevent relational organizing, and (2) addressing these barriers through targeted outreach interventions to help scale and accelerate community action for conservation. Can relational organizing help conservation behaviors scale? This perspective explores how to support people currently taking action for conservation in encouraging others they know to join them.
... This is not surprising, as some participants alluded to making dietary choices that could be considered deviant from the norm (e.g., abstaining from eggs, alcohol, or meat). Given the cultural significance of dietary choices and the importance of social conventions around food [65], people that deviate from the norm can experience social pressure to defend their choices [66]. Future communication strategies could help people who aspire to healthy and sustainable diets by providing them with coping strategies to deal with possible negative reactions from their social contacts. ...
Background
Nutrition information-seeking behavior is highly prevalent even though it can be challenging to find reliable nutrition information in the current media landscape. Previous quantitative research has identified which population segments use which sources, yet little is known about motivations underpinning nutrition information-seeking behavior. Understanding motivations for seeking nutrition information can increase the efficacy of future nutrition education efforts. The present study aims to identify motivations for nutrition information-seeking behavior among Belgian adults.
Methods
In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 adults ( n women = 15, n men = 4, n other = 1). Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed in NVivo 12 using inductive thematic analysis. The coding process involved open and axial coding combined with constant comparison to identify themes.
Results
The interviews revealed a diverse spectrum of motivations for nutrition information-seeking behavior. Five categories of motivations centered on health management, cognitive needs, affective needs, social integrative needs, and personal identity. Participants indicated seeking nutrition information to regain a sense of control over their health and it also helped them express their autonomy. Additionally, participants sought nutrition information out of curiosity or out of a long-standing interest. Nutrition information-seeking was also used as a form of emotion regulation with participants actively engaging in seeking behavior to pursue enjoyment, diversion, confirmation, inspiration, and even relaxation. Furthermore, nutrition information-seeking enabled participants to meet social integrative needs by helping them connect to others, gather social support, help others, and sometimes convince others. Lastly, participants indicated a need for nutrition information to express or defend their identity.
Conclusions
Our results indicate that beneath the surface of a more apparent need for nutrition information lies a range of motivations demonstrating that nutrition information serves more complex needs than simply information needs. To improve the efficacy of future nutrition education efforts, communication strategies must be tailored to a diverse range of motivations.
... Even in studies that have found that omnivores hold positive attitudes toward veg*ns, vegans tend to be viewed less positively than other vegetarians (Judge & Wilson, 2019). The negative views of vegans have been described as "vegan stigma," which has been discussed as a possible barrier to people adopting a vegan diet (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). Such strong negative views of vegans also appear to be present in media accounts of veganism (e.g., Cole & Morgan, 2011). ...
In studies conducted in the US and Poland, vegans, non-vegan vegetarians,
pescatarians, and omnivores described how they perceived they were treated
by others as a function of their diet. We found that vegans thought that
others treated them more negatively because of their diets than vegetarians
or pescatarians did, and pescatarians thought that others treated them less
negatively than vegans and vegetarians did. In Study 1 (N = 96), we found
that vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians thought that others treated them
more negatively because of their diet than omnivores did. Moreover, perceptions
of negative treatment were positively related to how much participants’
diets differed from an omnivorous diet. We replicated these findings in
Study 2 (N = 1744), and we also found that vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians
thought that others treated them more positively in some ways
compared to omnivores. In Study 3 (N = 1322), we found that differences
in perceptions of negative treatment by strangers among vegans, vegetarians,
and pescatarians were larger than differences in perceptions of treatment
by friends and family members.
... Evidence that vegan men are viewed as more effeminate than omnivorous men suggests that concerns about preserving their masculinity might deter men from exploring more plant-based diets (Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019). One avenue to promote more plant-based diets among men could be to promote veganism in ways that are compatible with masculine norms (e.g., Rothgerber, 2013). ...
Images of sexualized women depicted as animals or alongside meat are routinely used in advertising in Western culture. Philosophers and feminist scholars have long theorized that such imagery reflects the lower status of both women and animals (vs. men) in society and argued that prejudiced attitudes towards women (i.e., sexism) and animals (i.e., speciesism) are interconnected, with meat‐eating as a core symbol of masculinity. Addressing these key ideas from ecofeminist theory, we review the psychological evidence on the associations between sexism, speciesism, meat, and masculinity. Research on the animalistic dehumanization of women provides evidence that sexism and speciesism are psychologically entangled and rooted in desires for group‐based dominance and inequality. Furthermore, research on the symbolic value of meat corroborates its masculine value expressing dominance and power, and suggests that men who abstain from meat consumption (e.g., vegans) are feminized and devalued, particularly by those higher in sexism. We conclude that a greater recognition of the interconnected nature of patriarchal gender relations and practices of animal exploitation, including meat‐eating, can help in efforts to improve the status of both women and animals.
... In this sense, especially males that are more compromised with masculine traditional attributes use different strategies (e.g.,: denying animal suffering, low hierarchizing other species, believing animals are meant to be converted to food, etc.) as forms to justify meat eating [194]. Evidence also suggests that individuals who avoid meat, especially vegans, are stigmatized by veganphobes [195] for disrupting social conventions related to food [196]. Additionally, veg*n options can be deemed to be more "feminine diets", as they are deficient in proteins, [187], and therefore not suitable for males. ...
Planetary and human health depend on Westerners' ability to reduce meat consumption. Meat production degrades the environment while excessive meat intake is associated with cancer and cardiovascular disease, among others. Effective reasons and motivations are needed for consumers to change their diet. The fact that modern animal agriculture inflicts a great deal of pain on animals from their birth to their slaughter, animal welfare/suffering may drive consumers to curtail their meat consumption. This systematic review examined a total of 90 papers to ascertain consum-ers' awareness of the pain animals experience in animal agriculture, as well as consumer attitudes towards meat reduction due to animal welfare. Results show that consumers have low awareness of animal agriculture. Awareness of animal agricultural practices and animal sentience is associated with increased negative attitudes towards animal suffering. Animal suffering due to farming practices , transportation, slaughter, and animal sentience are factors that may encourage a reduction in meat consumption, and even dietary change in the short term. There is also evidence that animal suffering may be a more compelling motivation for consumers' willingness to change their diet than for health or environmental reasons. Therefore, increasing consumers' awareness of animal suffering in meat production is paramount to contributing to reduced pressure on the environment and improved human health.
... Indeed, previous literature shows that being part of a minority can make minority members feel different and distant from other members of the group (Hassouneh et al., 2014;Gutmann-Kahn and Lindstrom, 2015), whether it stems from having a different identity or even believing to have diverging opinions from majority members. Even if being vegetarian or vegan is not quite the same as other marginalized groups because they are a minority group based on choice not by biological trait, research shows that similar processes of distance and stigmatization still occur (Bresnahan et al., 2016;Markowski and Roxburgh, 2019). For example, vegetarianism is often treated as a deviant practice that requires explanation (Wilson et al., 2004;de Groeve et al., 2021). ...
Several scientists have shown the importance of mitigating global warming and have highlighted a need for major social change, particularly when it comes to meat consumption and collective engagement. In the present study ( N = 486), we conducted a cross-sectional study to test the mismatch model, which aims at explaining what motivates individuals to participate in normative change. This model stipulates that perceiving a self—other difference in pro-environmental attitudes is the starting point and can motivate people to have high pro-environmental intentions. This mismatch effect is explained by participants’ willingness to participate in normative and social change: people that perceive a gap between their personal attitude and the social norm should be more willing to participate in normative change. This should then motivate them to have high pro-environmental intentions on an individual and group level. The results confirm the hypothesized model on an individual and group level and explain how people can be motivated to participate in normative change. Implications of these findings and the need for further studies are discussed.
... However, recent research suggests that consumers still may view vegans in a negative light, including seeing those following a PBD as 'fussy' , 'extreme' , 'awkward' 'hippies' or 'privileged' . 6,11,12,13 Capability: the physical ability and cognitive skills required to eat a plant-based diet ...
The ability of practitioners to support patients to sustainably transition to a healthy, plantbased diet can have significant benefits for their patients’ long-term health. This process can be best supported through an understanding of what may help (and hinder) this process and the strategies that may most effectively support a long-term change. This chapter is written in three parts, with the aim of providing an overview of existing research and practical insights for healthcare practitioners and those involved in research, advocacy and policy-making processes.
... Research in this area has largely focused on the form and content of anti-vegan prejudice. Characteristic of such attitudes is the perception that people who identify as vegans tend to be militant, hostile, overly sensitive, hypocritical, annoying, self-righteous, opinionated, inflexible, and judgmental (Cole & Morgan, 2011;Markowski & Roxburgh, 2019;Minson & Monin, 2011). Generally, this arm of research converges on the conclusion that moralistic impressions of vegans seem to account for the bulk of antipathy and discrimination against them (see De . ...
Despite the established health and ecological benefits of a plant-based diet, the decision to eschew meat and other animal-derived food products remains controversial. So polarising is this topic that anti-vegan communities - groups of individuals who stand vehemently against veganism - have sprung up across the internet. Much scholarship on veganism characterizes anti-vegans in passing, painting them as ill-informed, uneducated, or simply obstinate. However, little empirical work has investigated these communities and the individuals within them. Accordingly, we conducted a study using social media data from the popular platform, Reddit. Specifically, we collected all available submissions (∼3523) and comments (∼45,528) from r/AntiVegan subreddit users (N = 3819) over a five-year period. Using a battery of computerized text analytic tools, we examined the psychosocial characteristics of Reddit users who publicly identify as anti-vegan, how r/AntiVegan users discuss their beliefs, and how the individual user changes as a function of community membership. Results from our analyses suggest several individual differences that align r/AntiVegan users with the community, including dark entertainment, ex-veganism and science denial. Several topics were extensively discussed by r/AntiVegan members, including nuanced discourse on the ethicality and health implications of vegan diets, and the naturalness of animal death, which ran counter to our expectations and lay stereotypes of r/AntiVegan users. Finally, several longitudinal changes in language use were observed within the community, reflecting enhanced group commitment over time, including an increase in group-focused language and a decrease in cognitive processing. Implications for vegan-nonvegan relations are discussed.
As the market for sustainable food continues to expand, there is a need to understand how consumers' consumption habits and perceptions are changing. Targeting the younger populations is of interest as they arguably will shape the future of food. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide in-depth consumer insights on a range of topics from current consumption habits (i.e., meat reduction, plant-based meat/seafood (PBM/S)), towards future protein alternatives (i.e., cell-based meat/seafood (CBM/S), precision fermented dairy (PFD)). Online focus groups were conducted in the UK with meat-eaters (n = 38) aged 18-34. Codebook thematic analysis was applied using the Framework Matrix as a tool for data analysis. Key themes were presented using the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation), which identified areas of behavioural change. Results found a trend towards meat reduction, partially initiated by moving away from home and limited food budgets. Overall, participants acknowledged the environmental impact of food, but a notable knowledge gap was apparent when quantifying the effect, especially for dairy and seafood. Compared to PBM, few participants had tried PBS products, partially due to lower availability and familiarity. Enablers for PBM/S included convenience, positive sensory experiences and the influence of others, whilst barriers related to negative health connotations and over-processing. For CBM/S and PFD, animal welfare, curiosity and optimised nutrition acted as enablers, whilst barriers related to wider consumer acceptance, affordability and unnaturalness. In general, participants felt changing food consumption habits can have an impact on climate change and were optimistic about novel technologies supporting future protein transitions. Increasing public understanding around the environmental impact of food, especially seafood and dairy, and prioritising the affordability of sustainable food are suggested as intervention strategies to encourage sustainable food consumption.
Studying the drivers of animal protein consumption (APC), beyond just meat consumption, is of great importance as reducing APC has a high potential to mitigate climate change and other environmental issues. One known determinant of food behavior is the social environment. However, in pro-environmental literature, social contacts' influence on meat consumption is often limited to normative influence (social norms). Moreover, when social influence on other pro-environmental food behavior is examined, only the direct association without possibly underlying mechanisms and mostly short-term behaviors rather than usual dietary patterns are addressed. This study addresses these gaps by examining the pathways of mechanisms behind the influence of perceived APC reduction behavior by close social contacts on behavior- in our case self-reported APC behavior (social influence) among young adults (age 18-35). We propose a conceptual model that integrates traditional social influence theories from communication science and social psychological theories and considers social contacts' behavior an antecedent of TPB and NAM constructs. Cross-sectional survey data, including egocentric network data, were collected in January 2022 through an online citizen panel among 204 young adults. The results of Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling suggest that social contacts' perceived APC reduction behavior influences multiple psychological constructs beyond social norms (awareness of consequences, perceived behavioral control, social norms, and attitude) simultaneously. All constructs except for social norms are internalized into a personal norm, which then leads to an increased intention to reduce APC and a decreased self-reported APC. Altogether, our study identified mechanisms behind social influence, which can also be applied to other behaviors. Leveraging close social contacts may be a promising pathway for policy and changemakers to stimulate the internalization of psychological constructs related to APC reduction.
As the current literature and media continue to focus on the role of the production and consumption of animals within the food system, awareness of the devastating health, animal welfare, and environmental outcomes increases. With the omnivore majority present in the US, there is a compelling narrative forming in shifting away from a predominant animal product-focused consumption to more plant-based eating. While ample research has focused on individual psychology and public health elements of diet change, this research provides a novel lens into the social, cultural, and financial factors to unpack the mechanisms of change across the food system. This analysis offers a comprehensive examination of the challenges of an animal-centric food system and the benefits of a plant-based food system. From this understanding, we provide insight into several concepts for why change is occurring. To gain a better understanding of potential drivers, catalysts, and barriers of this plant-based shift, 33 leaders, innovators, and educators connected to the plant-based industry were interviewed. The analysis concludes that the drivers are multifaceted and interconnected and provide the potential for positive societal transformation. This research can be utilized to better aid businesses, organizations, policies, healthcare practitioners, and educational efforts around this transition.
Küresel iklim değişikliği ve hayvan hakları konusundaki hassasiyetlerin bir uzantısı olarak vegan ve bitki bazlı beslenmeye olan ilginin artmaya başladığı görülmektedir. Bu araştırma, Türkiye’de veganizm konusundaki tartışma alanının Twitter’da nasıl yapılandırıldığını; veganların ve hepçillerin anlatılarını hangi temel konular üzerinde inşa ettiğini belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmada 2022-2023 yılları arasında vegan, veganizm ve veganol anahtar kelimeleri ve hashtag’leriyle paylaşılan 62.742 tweet üzerinde MiniLM-L6 modeli ile öznitelik çıkarımı, UMAP ile boyut indirgeme ve HDBSCAN ile kümeleme işlemleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kelime ağırlıklandırma yöntemiyle kümelerde öne çıkan kelimeler ve rastgele yapılan manuel okumalarla elde edilen bilgiler kullanılarak, veganlar, hepçiller, kararsızlar ve vegan ürün reklamı yapan kullanıcılar olmak üzere dört farklı kesim tarafından 18 konunun tartışıldığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca #vegan hashtag ağı incelenerek, vegan beslenme eğilimindeki temel motivasyonların sırasıyla hayvan hakları konusundaki endişeler, sağlıklı beslenmeye/yaşama olan ilgi, kilo kontrolü ve son olarak ekolojik kaygılar olduğu belirlenmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: vegan, veganizm, Twitter, kümeleme, konu modelleme.
Researchers interested in animal ethics have proposed the 'meat paradox' - psychological discomfort arising from people's affinity for animals and conflicting desire to consume their flesh. Yet what can be said about the psychology of consuming an animal's non-meat products, in an age where most beings in these industries are harmed, and ultimately killed? Non-meat animal products (NMAPs) such as eggs and dairy entail the same, and perhaps even worse ethical issues as meat yet receive disproportionately less critical attention. Therefore, unlike meat, very little is known about the psychology of egg and dairy consumption. This study looks at vegetarians to address this gap, because they are more likely to show empathetic concern for animals than meat-eaters, yet actively choose to include these products in their diet, a conflict ripe for exploration. Interview data were analysed via thematic analysis, finding that vegetarians perceive robust ethical issues with NMAPs but give various justifications pertaining to personal benefits and social norms. Cognitive dissonance was evident and participants used various strategies to resolve it. This paper expands research on food psychology and animal ethics and may also be used to inform NMAP reduction strategies, an important pursuit in the quest for a more sustainable and compassionate world.
This empirical paper explores the transition to a vegetarian or a vegan diet, at the meeting point of individual biographies and their social context. It is based on 13 interviews conducted with 14 participants in the province of Quebec, Canada. It mobilises a conceptual framework that couples a social practice approach (SPT) with the concept of ‘fractures’ as developed by O’Neill and colleagues (2019). The results show that the transition to a vegetarian or a vegan diet involves tastes, ethical concerns and skills that were formed since childhood, and that it also depends on the interaction of elements specific to a social context such as a supportive social environment or the availability of meat replacement products. The participants’ experiences also suggest that transitions can be sparked by life events such as a new friendship, a new relationship or moving out of the parents’ house, all of which have in common a transformation in the social relations and networks central to everyday life. The conclusion discusses the role played by time, social relationships and space in the participants’ accounts and how it can be read through the lens of SPT and ‘fractures’, to understand how individual experience can be tied to change on a larger scale.
Objetivo: Identificar as diferentes classes de consumidores de comida vegana baseado em suas motivações, inibições e envolvimento com a dieta vegana.Método: Foi realizada uma survey com 263 veganos e testado um modelo por meio de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais e Análise de Classe Latentes.Resultados: A motivação pessoal mostrou-se um forte motivador dos hábitos alimentares, e o envolvimento influenciou significativamente a intenção de compra, conforme previsto. O estudo identificou duas classes de veganos: os Saudáveis e Ecológicos, sugerindo que o público vegano é mais heterogêneo do que é comumente conhecido.Contribuições: A pesquisa ofereceu novas possibilidades a academia, trazendo mais informações sobre esse tipo de consumo. O estudo pode auxiliar os fornecedores de produtos veganos a conhecerem melhor os diferentes tipos de comportamentos dos seus consumidores.
Plant-forward diets offer a potential solution to many of the health and ecological crises that we find ourselves facing today. A key barrier to the adoption and maintenance of plant-forward diets is an anticipated lack of support from family members, friends and romantic partners. The present study examined how relational climate (i.e., the cohesion and flexibility of a partnership) contributes to the tension individuals anticipate in their relationship when a member reduces their animal-product consumption, and their own openness to reducing. Four hundred and ninety-six coupled individuals took part in an online survey. Analyses revealed that couples with more flexible leadership styles anticipated less tension should they or their partner adopt a plant-forward diet. However, dimensions of relational climate were largely unrelated to openness to plant-forward diets. Romantic couples who perceived themselves to be matched in terms of dietary habits were less open to reducing their animal-product consumption than unmatched couples. Politically left-leaning couples and females were more open to plant-forward diets. The meat attachments of male partners were reported as a particular barrier to dietary goals, as were practical concerns about meal coordination, finance, and health. We discuss implications for promoting plant-forward dietary transitions.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recommend behavioral targets for future interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at college campuses and to advise interventionists on how to choose between many potential behavioral targets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the community-based social marketing (CBSM) methodology over two studies. In Study 1, the authors assessed adoption rates (i.e. penetration) and likelihood of adoption (i.e. probability) for 16 potential behavioral targets. In Study 2, the authors used quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the barriers and benefits of engagement in five of the top-performing behaviors from Study 1.
Findings
The findings suggest that an intervention to promote purchasing green energy credits (GECs) has a high potential to reduce emissions. Purchasing GECs has a small penetration (<7%) and a large impact (1,405 kgCO 2 e/person/year). Compared to the other four behaviors the authors examined in Study 2, purchasing GECs is also more convenient and requires very little time. Thus, the behavior should be appealing to many individuals interested in reducing emissions or protecting the environment.
Originality/value
The authors performed a holistic evaluation of potential behavioral targets that included a barrier and benefit analysis, in addition to the traditional CBSM method of combining impact, probability and penetration.
Reducing one's consumption of foods containing animal products, or avoiding such foods altogether, has become part of everyday life for many people in the Western world. People's motivations for such "animal product limiting" are well-established, but the ways in which individuals enact and experience dietary change in the initial phase are not well understood. Nor is it clear whether, and how, these people present their dietary changes to others. Through the analysis of interviews with 28 people residing in Denmark who had recently (<9 months) embarked on flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan diets, this paper explores how people, in the initial phase of trying to consume fewer, or no, foods with animal products, (i) engage in the practicalities of daily food activities and (ii) communicate their experiences with, and opinions about, the dietary changes they are making in interpersonal interactions. The findings reveal two very different ways of organising the daily food activities: Foodism and Convenience. They also disclose three different ways of communicating in interpersonal interactions: Ethical advocacy, Plant food demonstration and Anonymisation of diet. The paper offers insights into the variation in practices underlying animal product limiting. It suggests that the plant food sector should cater for people relying on convenient food practices as well as those engaged in more advanced ("foodie") practices. Further, in discussing interpersonal communication in the light of community-based social marketing, we argue that the findings highlight how animal product limiters, in everyday social life, may be able to encourage more people to embark on animal product limiting.
A body of research has shown that violent protests reduce support for social movements. However, few studies have examined whether the same is true for protests which are peaceful, yet disruptive (e.g., blocking traffic). Across two pre-registered experimental studies, we explored whether pro-vegan protests that are depicted as causing social disruption lead to more negative attitudes towards veganism, compared to non-disruptive protests or a control condition. Study 1 utilised a combined sample of Australian and United Kingdom residents (N = 449; Mage = 24.7 years). Study 2 employed a larger sample of undergraduate Australian students (N = 934; Mage = 19.8 years). In Study 1, disruptive protests were associated with more negative attitudes towards vegans, but only among women. In Study 2, no such effect was found. Instead, a significant main effect was found for the protest's cause (vegan vs. fast fashion), but not protest type (disruptive vs. non-disruptive). That is, reading about a vegan protest, irrespective of how disruptive it was, led to worse attitudes towards vegans, and greater defense of meat consumption (i.e., endorsement of meat eating as natural, necessary, and normal), than reading about a control protest. This effect was mediated by the perceived immorality of the protestors, and, in turn, reduced identification with them. Taking together both studies, the purported location of the protest (i.e., domestic vs. overseas) did not significantly impact attitudes toward the protestors. The current findings suggest that depictions of vegan protests elicit worse attitudes toward this movement, regardless of how peaceful that protest may be. Future research is needed to examine whether other forms of advocacy can ameliorate negative reactions to vegan activism.
We are living in a flexitarian age, in which reduced meat eating and vegetarianism are normalising, while simultaneously meat eating is still the norm in Dutch society. A resulting individualisation of diets begs the question whether and how omnivores and veg*ns living together maintain commensality. Based on interviews with 119 young people living in shared households – made up of both veg*ns and omnivores – we investigate how these young adults shape and manage their shared meals. Our results show that veg*ns and meat eaters maintain commensality by, first, using a number of practical strategies that result in meals that are suitable to those different diets, and, second, creating a new norm that defines the diet as an individual choice so as to manage potential conflicts around clashing norms. This results in an active upkeep of tolerance in which veg*nism, meat eating and associated ethical-moral considerations are not discussed. The acceptance of (specifically) vegetarianism, the limited social tensions between meat lovers, meat reducers and meat avoiders, and our finding that people find ways to eat – apart – together, hints at optimism for the future.
As a continuation of the previous chapter, this chapter foregrounds the social and relational dimensions of veganism, highlighting how men’s close relationships shape their veganism. The chapter explores how vegan men negotiate relationships with friends, relatives, and intimate partners and the gendered nature of these experiences. Vegan men’s intimate relationships are examined through the notion of vegansexuality. The findings suggest that masculinity shapes close relationships in important ways. Relationships with non-vegan male friends and relatives were the most difficult to manage, indicating the significance of eating nonhuman animals in most constructions of masculinity. It is suggested that doing veganism in close relationships can function as a form of everyday activism challenging the hegemony of the meat culture.
This chapter focuses on the emotional, affective, and embodied dimensions of men’s veganism. While veganism is much more than a diet, the key way it is manifested is through eating. The body is thus implicitly central to the vegan praxis, although it tends to be neglected in the case of Western white privileged men in particular. The chapter provides an overview of conceptual insights on links between men, masculinities, emotions, embodiment, and affect, drawing on ecofeminist, critical masculinities, and feminist new materialist scholarship. The chapter argues that emotions and affects are interwoven with intellectual knowledge and rationality in men’s veganism. It demonstrates how men’s concerns about nonhuman animals, their own health, and the environment are simultaneously emotional, affective, and rational.
This book explores the potential of men’s veganism to contest unsustainable anthropocentric masculinities. Examining what it means to be a vegan man and connections between men, masculinities and veganism addresses exploitative human-animal relations, climate change, and social inequalities as urgent and interconnected global issues. Using conceptual insights from critical studies on men and masculinities, ecofeminism, critical animal studies and vegan studies, this book examines the potential of men’s veganism and vegan masculinities to foster more ethical, caring and sustainable ways of relating to nonhuman animals and to contribute towards more egalitarian gender relations. This book is grounded in a qualitative empirical study of the lived experiences of 61 vegan men in Northern Europe. The themes explored include men’s transition to veganism, the emotional and embodied dimensions of men’s veganism, negotiating social and intimate relationships as vegan men, and links between men’s veganism, gender equality and social justice.
This chapter highlights the challenges that vegans face in speciesist societies and the communicational effort required of them to navigate socially difficult situations around veganism. Inspired by social interactionist theoretical approaches, the social and relational dimensions of veganism are canvassed. Underscoring ways in which doing gender and doing masculinity are interlinked, the chapter explores the strategies that vegan men use to convey veganism and the communicational dilemmas they face in everyday interactions with non-vegans. As key strategies, vegan men avoided talking about veganism unprompted and practised non-confrontational styles of communication, including distancing themselves from the trope of the preachy vegan. The chapter considers the implications of the ways that vegan men negotiate veganism in everyday interactions for the spread of veganism and for the construction of masculinities.
Sustainable Development Goal 11 aims to transform cities towards inclusion, safety, resilience, and sustainability. Littering, i.e. misplacing solid waste, is a worldwide problem which is associated with negative environmental, social, and economic consequences. In this study, we investigate the role of selected personal factors insofar as they affect people’s intentions to avoid littering in municipal public places. We conducted a quantitative survey (n = 537) in Frankfurt am Main and analysed the data gathered by conducting multiple regression analyses. The results show that anti-littering attitudes are prevalent in the sample, and most participants stated that they had strong intentions to avoid littering. The findings regarding the roles of sociodemographic characteristics were fairly consistent with previous studies. However, only self-reported littering behaviour and the acceptance of littering cigarette butts could be related to intentions to avoid littering. Other personal factors did not play roles. The results contribute to a better understanding of factors that influence people’s littering behaviour and may help municipalities to address this problematic behaviour. The findings also enable the development of customized measures to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the currently widespread littering behavioural patterns.
Put simply, veganism refers to the practice of avoiding the consumption of nonhuman animals. Veganism has become more mainstream in recent years and is receiving increasing academic consideration. Although veganism extends beyond diet, much popular – and indeed scholarly – attention centers on it as a dietary practice. As well as being a practice, veganism may also be an important aspect of identity, of identity politics, and can be considered a social movement in itself. Sociology is extending its reach increasingly to issues associated with (critical) human–animal studies, such as veganism, so much so that it has been proposed that sociologists who want to shape sociology as a more inclusive discipline should avoid the consumption of nonhuman animals.
Purpose
With the recent surge of plant-based menu items, it is critical to understand how to effectively communicate such products to consumers. This study aims to examine the impact of various descriptive names on consumers’ responses to novel meat alternatives in China, one of the emerging yet unexplored markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies were conducted using a single factor ([descriptive name: “ Renzao Rou [artificial meat]” vs “ Sushi Rou [vegetarian/vegan meat]” vs “ Zhiwu Rou ” [plant-based meat]) between-subjects experimental design.
Findings
Study 1 shows that “ Sushi Rou ” and “ Zhiwu Rou ,” triggering more positive name associations, led to higher future consumption intention than “ Renzao Rou .” A qualitative analysis demonstrates the differences in the name associations. Study 2 replicates the naming effect and examines the role of specific product attributes. Perceived health, naturalness and novelty are the main drivers of favorable responses to “ Zhiwu Rou ” (vs “ Renzao Rou ”), whereas perceived health, taste and naturalness mediate the positive effect for “ Sushi Rou ” (vs “ Renzao Rou ”).
Practical implications
Food service operators interested in introducing meat alternatives in China should carefully choose the product name to attract specific segments. International chains should consider cultural norms when expanding to emerging markets.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to reveal the product naming effect on meat alternative products from the perspective of marketing communications. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanism driving Chinese consumers’ responses.
Two studies compared omnivores’ and veg*ns’ attitudes and dehumanization tendencies toward each other and identified the social psychological factors explaining them. Study 1 (N = 208, Italians) showed that veg*ns’ hold less positive attitudes toward omnivores than the reverse, and attributed to them less human uniqueness and nature; these differences were explained by veg*ns’ stronger identification with the ingroup and higher perceptions of reproach from the outgroup, even if omnivores’ higher levels of social dominance orientation worsened their attitude toward veg*ns. Study 2 (preregistered, N = 200, mostly from UK) overall replicated Study 1 findings at the explicit level. Interestingly, omnivores’ and veg*ns’ implicit attitudes were equally positive (but less positive than self‐reported attitudes) and not predicted by the same mediators associated with the explicit measures. This work suggests that neither veg*ns nor omnivores hold negative attitudes toward each other: they were both positive or neutral toward the outgroup, even if at the explicit level this positivity is greater for omnivores.
Socioeconomic status has been related to poorer eating behaviors, potentially due to feelings of lower status relative to peers. Despite experimental evidence that temporarily feeling of lower status can contribute to greater caloric intake, it remains unclear how feelings of lower social status relate to eating behavior in daily life. This study aimed to test whether lower subjective social status (SSS)—the feeling of having relatively lower social status—in American society and relative to college peers were related to daily food selection. A sample of 131 young adults (Mage = 20.3, SD = 0.8; 60% female; 46% Latinos; 34% European American; 15% Asian American; 5% of other ethnicities) reported their SSS in society and in college and completed 15 daily reports regarding the number of daily servings they had of fruits, vegetables, fried foods, fast foods, desserts, and sugary drinks. Multilevel models with days nested within individuals were used to test whether low SSS in society or college related to daily food intake. Next, we examined whether associations were driven by young adults' perceived stress and daily stressors. Analyses controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, family and personal income, and parents' education to test the unique associations between subjective status and food intake. Whereas SSS in society was not related to food intake, young adults with lower SSS in their college consumed fewer daily servings of healthy foods and more daily servings of high-fat/high-sugar foods. Although lower college SSS was related to greater perceived stress, perceived stress and daily stressors were consistently unrelated to daily food intake. Findings suggested that lower SSS in local environments (e.g., college) may impact young adults’ daily food choices through processes beyond heightened stress.
Huhn und Mensch sind seit mindestens 3500 Jahren miteinander verbunden. Hühner sind die mit Abstand häufigsten Landwirbeltiere der Erde, auf einen Menschen fallen ca. drei Haushühner. Sie sind das Paradebeispiel industrieller Landwirtschaft, doch ist das Bewusstsein um die Fähigkeiten, die Kulturgeschichte, das Schicksal des wichtigsten Nutztiers in der Bevölkerung gering. Gleichzeitig gibt es eine interessante Wechselwirkung zwischen Hühnern und Kindern, die man sich in tiergestützten Interventionen gerne zunutze macht. In Schulen der Sekundarstufe findet man Hühner aber erstaunlich selten. Diese Arbeit widmet sich einem Pionierprojekt in einer Wiener AHS, wo im Zuge einer Unverbindlichen Übung (UVÜ) mit rd. 40 Teilnehmer*innen der 5. bis 7. Schulstufe die Implementierung von Schulhühnern im Schulgarten vorbereitet wird. Es werden Themen rund um das Haushuhn, seine Biologie und Ethologie sowie seine Haltungsansprüche identifiziert und erläutert. Diese dienen als inhaltliche Basis der Lehrveranstaltung. Pädagogische Ziele werden formuliert genauso wie grundsätzliche Spannungsfelder zwischen tiergerechter Haltung und dem System Schule, die sich bereits im Vorfeld abzeichnen. Weiters wird eine Jahresplanung präsentiert, wie die vorgestellten Themen als Unterrichtsmodule geclustert und in rd. 36 Schulstunden vermittelt werden können. Dieser Grobkonzeption folgt die detaillierte Feinkonzeption von zwei Unterrichtsblocks, eine Beschreibung deren tatsächlicher Durchführung und eine Erläuterung der damit einhergegangenen Probleme bzw. Verbesserungsvorschläge. Als Ergebnisse der ersten Unterrichtseinheiten wurden uner anderem die Komplexität der Lehrveranstaltung sowie erste Bedenken zum Tierwohl der beteiligten Hühner identifiziert.
Attention towards veg*nism is increasing as the impact of food choices on health and sustainability as well as ethical concerns regarding animal welfare emerge. Although online user analysis is an effective tool to obtain practical insights without geographical constraints, implementation on a large veg*n population has been carried out within a limited scope. This study investigated two veg*n subreddits, r/Vegan and r/Vegetarian, using multiple text mining techniques to classify users' interests and preferences. Based on K-means and term frequency-inverse document frequency, six clusters were identified: Food, Perception, Health, Altruism, Emotion, and Situation. The proportion of each cluster and keywords representing the clusters were obtained. Being a major sector, further assessment of the Food cluster was conducted using Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling technique. Confusion was observed in relation to being pressured with sudden changes in dietary patterns, including meal composition, preparation, and shopping routines. The results also revealed barriers to transition for individuals who have recently started veg*n diets, and those wishing to switch to stricter dietary patterns. In addition to difficulties relating to economic and social aspects, our findings suggest that the establishment of detailed guidelines may help accommodate the various dietary compositions across the veg*n spectrum, and clear information relating to veg*n food products is needed from manufacturers.
Often stereotyped as being apathetic to the human suffering, the American vegan movement has historically failed to build alliances with other social justice movements. As intersectional feminism gains a foothold in the movement and external political crises challenge the movement’s frame of reference, the role that identity plays in movement progress has become a serious concern. Using the 2016 election as a flashpoint, this article considers if the identity backlash characterized by the Trump campaign finds parallels in the American vegan movement. A survey of 287 American vegans finds limited evidence of Trump veganism, defined here as a single-issue focus on speciesism that rejects the relevance of human-experienced systems of oppression. However, respondents do find that movement diversity efforts are insufficient, especially when controlling for race and gender. Most respondents were ethically-motivated vegans, liberal voters, and intersectionally-oriented activists who reported multiple engagements with various leftist movements. Only four percent of respondents voted Trump, while 14% agreed with or were neutral about Trump’s campaign promise to put “America first”. Those who were vegan for reasons of self-interest and had been vegan for less than a year were significantly more likely to support Trump’s conservative agenda and were slightly less likely to participate in other social movements.
High levels of meat consumption are increasingly being criticised for ethical, environmental, and social reasons. Plant-based meat substitutes have been identified as healthy sources of protein that, in comparison to meat, offer a number of social, environmental and health benefits and may play a role in reducing meat consumption. However, there has been a lack of research on the role they can play in the policy agenda and how specific meat substitute attributes can influence consumers to replace partially replace meat in their diets. In this paper, we examine consumers’ preferences for attributes of meat and meat substitute products and develop consumer segments based on these preferences. The results of a choice experiment with 247 UK consumers, using food labels and mince (ground meat), illustrate that the type of mince, fat content, country of origin and price are major factors that influence choice. Carbon footprint, method of production and brand play a secondary role in determining consumers’ choices of meat/meat substitutes. Latent class analysis is used to identify six consumer segments: price conscious, healthy eaters, taste driven, green, organic and vegetarian consumers which have different socio-demographic characteristics and meat consumption patterns. Future interventions and policies aimed at reducing meat consumption including labelling, provision of more information, financial incentives, educational campaigns and new product development will be more effective if they are holistic and target specific consumer segments, instead of focus on the average consumer.
This article reports upon research on vegan transition, which I bring into dialogue with Sara Ahmed’s figure of the killjoy. Ahmed’s work on affect and the feminist killjoy is found to be apt for considering contemporary vegans and their transgression of normative scripts of happiness and commensality in a dominant meat and dairy consuming culture. The decentring of joy and happiness is also found to be integral to the critical deconstructive work of the vegan killjoy. Ahmed’s ideas further complement the frame of practice theory that I draw upon to understand the process of transition especially in the sense of opposing the meanings of dominant practices. Although food and veganism are not commented upon by Ahmed, the vegan subject constitutes, I argue, a potent further example of what she terms an “affect alien” who must willfully struggle against a dominant affective order and community. Drawing upon interviews with 40 vegans based in the UK, I illustrate examples of contestation and negotiation by vegans and those close to them. The article finds in the figure of the killjoy not only a frame by which to partly understand the negotiation of relationships between vegans and non-vegans but also an opportunity for further intersectional labour between veganism and feminism.
Two studies investigated why vegan stigma occurs and why people who eat meat are often unaccepting of vegans. Study 1 measured vegan stigma based on Link and Phelan’s (2001) model and proposed that the communal food hypothesis provides a partial explanation for vegan stigma. Study 1 revealed that labeling is the most salient dimension of vegan stigma, and being able to share food with others was important to participants which might explain why vegans are stigmatized. Study 2 explored how pro- and anti-vegan messages induced emotional response to veganism and the roles of argument strength and depth of message processing in perception of stigma. Study 2 found that anger and discomfort were strong moderators between messages, argument strength, and stigma response. Together these studies provide evidence to explain why vegans are stigmatized.
Recent theorizing suggests the 4Ns-that is, the belief that eating meat is natural, normal, necessary, and nice-are common rationalizations people use to defend their choice of eating meat. However, such theorizing has yet to be subjected to empirical testing. Six studies were conducted on the 4Ns. Studies 1a-1b demonstrated that the 4N classification captures the vast majority (83%-91%) of justifications people naturally offer in defense of eating meat. In Study 2, individuals who endorsed the 4Ns tended also to objectify (dementalize) animals and included fewer animals in their circle of moral concern, and this was true independent of social dominance orientation. Subsequent studies (Studies 3-5) showed that individuals who endorsed the 4Ns tend not to be motivated by ethical concerns when making food choices, are less involved in animal-welfare advocacy, less driven to restrict animal products from their diet, less proud of their animal-product decisions, tend to endorse Speciesist attitudes, tend to consume meat and animal products more frequently, and are highly committed to eating meat. Furthermore, omnivores who strongly endorsed the 4Ns tended to experience less guilt about their animal-product decisions, highlighting the guilt-alleviating function of the 4Ns.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The proportion of individuals choosing to follow a vegan diet has increased in recent years. The choice is made for different reasons, primarily concern for animals (ethics) and health, which may impact both specific food choices and other lifestyle behaviors linked to health outcomes. To determine the extent to which the reason for following a vegan diet was associated with health behaviors, we conducted an online survey recruiting an international sample of 246 individuals who reported adhering to a vegan diet. We hypothesized that compared to those following the diet for ethical reasons, those doing so for health reasons would consume foods with higher nutritional value and engage in other healthier lifestyle behaviors. Our hypotheses were partially supported in that those citing health reasons (n=45) reported eating more fruit (U=3503.00, p=0.02) and fewer sweets (U=3347.00, p<0.01) than did those citing ethical reasons (n=201). Individuals endorsing ethical reasons reported being on the diet longer (U=3137.00, p<0.01), and more frequent consumption of soy (U=2936.00, p<0.01), foods rich in vitamin D (U=3441.00, p=0.01), high-polyphenol beverages (U=3124.50, p<0.01), and vitamin supplements (vitamin D: χ(2)=4.65, p=0.04; vitamin B12: χ(2)=4.46, p=0.03) than did those endorsing health reasons. As these factors may affect outcome in studies investigating the impact of vegan diets on health, they should be taken into account when studying persons following a vegan diet.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Identifying as a vegan is a public declaration of one's identity, morals and lifestyle. Veganism is more than a diet; it is a philosophy and ethic. However, not all vegans hold the same norms and values. The differences are often determined by the reasons why one chooses to become a
vegan. Using Coffman's theory of impression management and the presentation of self, this qualitative study examines how sixteen self-defined ethical vegans negotiate contradictions in their ethics and behavior. The vegans construct a sense of authenticity through accommodating strategies
when they feel inauthentic. This is a two-prong process. They present a narrative of themselves in relation to the “other”-those they define as health vegans-and in relation to other ethical vegans. Through these narratives, this paper explores how these vegans negotiate the difficulties
of living in an animal-based consumer-driven society in a manner that preserves their ethics. Additionally, this paper observes how they cope when their behavior contradicts their identity as authentic vegans.
The present study examined intergroup judgments made between four groups of non-meat eaters: health vegetarians; ethical vegetarians; health vegans, and ethical vegans. Consistent with hypotheses based on horizontal hostility and the need to maintain ingroup distinctiveness, ethical vegetarians gave unfavorable evaluations to health vegetarians relative to vegans, especially when the mainstream omnivore group was made salient. Contrary to expectations, vegans gave relatively more favorable evaluations to ethical vegetarians than health vegetarians when mainstream salience was low. This was especially true for vegans who were motivated primarily by ethical concerns. When mainstream salience was high, vegans did not distinguish between the vegetarian subgroups. Results suggest that one's motives for abstaining from meat often play a larger role in this type of intergroup perceptions than one's dietary practices.
This study explores vegetarians’ and semi-vegetarians’ motives for reducing their meat intake. Participants are categorized as either vegetarians, who remove all meat from their diet, semi-vegetarians, who significantly reduce their meat intake (at least three days a week), or light semi-vegetarians, who mildly reduce their meat intake (once or twice a week). The results show that most differences appear between vegetarians and both groups of semi-vegetarians. Animal rights and ecological concerns, together with taste preferences, predict a vegetarian diet, while an increase in health motives increases the odds of being semi-vegetarian. Yet, the choice between a semi-vegetarian and a light semi-vegetarian diet can also be predicted based on animal rights concerns and taste preferences. To conclude, even within each diet group, subgroups with different motives appear, and it is recommended that future researchers pay more attention to these differences.
Thirty-two vegans were interviewed in order to examine the reasons for becoming vegan, the sustaining
motivation to persist, the interpersonal and intrapersonal impact of the diet and associated
practices, and the vegans’ assessment of omnivores’ eating practices. Interviews were analyzed using
a model that diagrams the process of becoming vegan provided by McDonald (2000). Participants
reported strained professional and personal relationships as a result of their diet and beliefs. Vegan
diets were associated with an increase in physical, eudaemonic, and spiritual well-being.
College or university is a critical period regarding unhealthy changes in eating behaviours in students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore which factors influence Belgian (European) university students' eating behaviour, using a qualitative research design. Furthermore, we aimed to collect ideas and recommendations in order to facilitate the development of effective and tailored intervention programs aiming to improve healthy eating behaviours in university students.
Using a semi-structured question guide, five focus group discussions have been conducted consisting of 14 male and 21 female university students from a variety of study disciplines, with a mean age of 20.6 +/- 1.7 yrs. Using Nvivo9, an inductive thematic approach was used for data analysis.
After the transition from secondary school to university, when independency increases, students are continuously challenged to make healthful food choices. Students reported to be influenced by individual factors (e.g. taste preferences, self-discipline, time and convenience), their social networks (e.g. (lack of) parental control, friends and peers), physical environment (e.g. availability and accessibility, appeal and prices of food products), and macro environment (e.g. media and advertising). Furthermore, the relationships between determinants and university students' eating behaviour seemed to be moderated by university characteristics, such as residency, student societies, university lifestyle and exams. Recommendations for university administrators and researchers include providing information and advice to enhance healthy food choices and preparation (e.g. via social media), enhancing self-discipline and self-control, developing time management skills, enhancing social support, and modifying the subjective as well as the objective campus food environment by e.g. making healthy foods price-beneficial and by providing vending machines with more healthy products.
This is the first European study examining perceived determinants of eating behaviour in university students and collecting ideas and recommendations for healthy eating interventions in a university specific setting. University characteristics (residency, exams, etc.) influence the relationships between individual as well as social environmental determinants and university students' eating behaviour, and should therefore be taken into account when designing effective and tailored multilevel intervention programs aiming to improve healthy eating behaviours in university students.
Goffman’s concept of impression management, front stage/backstage, and face work are used to explain how the participants in this qualitative study engage in promoting veganism and vegetarianism to omnivores in daily interactions. The participants often feel silenced by stereotypes, misinformation, and conflict. They believe that this persistence of stereotypes is a psychological defense mechanism by omnivores to mask feelings of guilt. To manage this tension and present this cause in a positive light, vegetarians and vegans engage in “face-saving” techniques to protect both parties from attack and alienation. These include rejecting “in-your-face” confrontations and adopting preventative “face-saving” strategies such as avoiding confrontation, waiting for an appropriate time, focusing on health benefits, and leading by example.
In family meals the normative and the performative are very far apart—though everyone likes to think of the family table as a place of harmony and solidarity, it is often the scene for the exercise of power and authority, a place where conflict prevails. My interest in this topic was sparked by research on middle-class parents’ struggles with their “picky eater” children. Besides narrating the way the dinner table became battleground with their own children, many parents also recalled their own childhood family meals as painful and difficult. From this very narrow focus on family struggles, I expand the discussion to the larger question of why this topic is relatively ignored in social science, and I question the sources of the normative power of the family “happy meal.” The ideological emphasis on family dinners has displaced social responsibility from public institutions to private lives, and the construction of normative family performances is part of a process that constructs different family types as deviant and delinquent.
Objective:
The purpose of this article was to comprehensively review published literature about strategies to reduce self-stigma among people with mental illness. Recommendations and implications for research also are discussed.
Methods:
The electronic databases of Ovid, PubMed, and PsycINFO were searched for peer-reviewed articles published between January 2000 and August 2011 by using the key words “self-stigma,” “internalized stigma,” “perceived stigma,” and “stigma intervention.” The search was further narrowed to studies that described a detailed intervention and that used self-stigma as a primary or secondary outcome, tested the intervention among individuals with a psychiatric illness, and analyzed data quantitatively with acceptable statistical tools.
Results:
Fourteen articles met inclusion criteria, and eight reported significant improvement in self-stigma outcomes. Participants predominantly had schizophrenia and related disorders or depression. Six self-stigma reduction strategies were identified. Psychoeducation was the most frequently tested intervention. Self-stigma definitions, measurements, and conceptual frameworks varied considerably across these studies. Several studies lacked a theoretical framework for their intervention. Six different scales were used to measure self-stigma.
Conclusions:
Two prominent approaches for self-stigma reduction emerged from our review: one, interventions that attempt to alter the stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes of the individual; and two, interventions that enhance skills for coping with self-stigma through improvements in self-esteem, empowerment, and help-seeking behavior. The second approach seems to have gained traction among stigma experts. Targeting high-risk groups to preempt self-stigma appears to be a promising area for future research.
The American diet has changed substantially over the last few decades. These changes provide a test for social theory and have substantial effects on the demand for various food products, thus impacting U.S. agriculture. In this paper a rapidly growing dietary choice—vegetarianism—is explored. Prevalence of various forms of vegetarianism is estimated in a representative sample of a suburban population and factors that influence choice of a vegetarian diet are examined. About 7 percent of the sample report they are vegetarians. The prevalence of vegetarianism is not influenced by age, gender, or education, but individuals holding traditional values are less likely to be vegetarian than others. There also is some evidence mat individuals holding altruistic values are more likely than others to be vegetarians.
Focus groups have received little attention from sociologists, although they are a commonly used qualitative technique in market research. The data collected in focus group sessions typically consist of tape-recorded group discussions among four to ten participants who share their thoughts and experiences on a set of topics selected by the researcher. We present a brief description of dimensions along which focus groups vary in their format and relate these dimensions to an example from our own focus groups, where the topic is how people think about the causes and prevention of heart attacks. We compare focus groups to informant interviews and participant observation, and we describe their application, either as a self-contained data collection strategy, or in conjunction with other qualitative and quantitative methods. We conclude with a discussion of the value of focus groups in triangulating data collection from several different methods.
By departing from social norms regarding food behaviors, vegetarians acquire membership in a distinct social group and can develop a salient vegetarian identity. However, vegetarian identities are diverse, multidimensional, and unique to each individual. Much research has identified fundamental psychological aspects of vegetarianism, and an identity framework that unifies these findings into common constructs and conceptually defines variables is needed. Integrating psychological theories of identity with research on food choices and vegetarianism, this paper proposes a conceptual model for studying vegetarianism: The Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity (UMVI). The UMVI encompasses ten dimensions—organized into three levels (contextual, internalized, and externalized)—that capture the role of vegetarianism in an individual's self-concept. Contextual dimensions situate vegetarianism within contexts; internalized dimensions outline self-evaluations; and externalized dimensions describe enactments of identity through behavior. Together, these dimensions form a coherent vegetarian identity, characterizing one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding being vegetarian. By unifying dimensions that capture psychological constructs universally, the UMVI can prevent discrepancies in operationalization, capture the inherent diversity of vegetarian identities, and enable future research to generate greater insight into how people understand themselves and their food choices.
Adapting Western meat consumption to health and sustainability challenges requires an overall reduction of industrially produced animal proteins plus a partial replacement by plant proteins. Combining insights on food, environment, and consumers, this paper aims to explore change strategies that may help to meet these challenges, such as promoting smaller portions of meat ("less"), smaller portions using meat raised in a more sustainable manner ("less but better"), smaller portions and eating more vegetable protein ("less and more varied"), and meatless meals with or without meat substitutes ("veggie-days"). The underlying logic of the strategies was clarified by analyzing dietary choices. A nationwide sample of 1,083 Dutch consumers provided information on current eating practices and potential changes. The results show that strategies to change meat eating frequencies and meat portion sizes will appeal to overlapping but partly different segments of consumers and that these strategies can be applied to address consumers in terms of their own preferences. The strategies appeared to have different strengths and weaknesses, making them complementary pathways to facilitate step-by-step changes in the amounts and the sources of protein consumed.
This book is a broad-ranging and provocative study of the human passion for meat. It will intrigue anyone who has ever wondered why meat is important to us; why we eat some animals but not others; why vegetarianism is increasing; why we aren't cannibals; and how meat is associated with environmental destruction.
Vegetarianism and veganism are increasingly prevalent in Western countries, yet anecdotal expressions of negativity toward vegetarians and vegans are common. We empirically tested whether bias exists toward vegetarians and vegans. In Study 1 omnivores evaluated vegetarians and vegans equivalently or more negatively than several common prejudice target groups (e.g., Blacks). Bias was heightened among those higher in right-wing ideologies, explained by heightened perceptions of vegetarian/vegan threat. Vegans (vs. vegetarians) and male (vs. female) vegetarians/vegans were evaluated more negatively overall. In Study 2 omnivores evaluated vegetarians and vegans more negatively than several nutritional outgroups (e.g., gluten intolerants) and evaluated vegan/vegetarians motivated by animal rights or environmental concerns (vs. health) especially negatively. In Study 3, vegetarians and especially vegans reported experiencing negativity stemming from their diets. Empirically documenting antivegetarian/vegan bias adds to a growing literature finding bias toward benign yet social norm-challenging others.
Social science research on stigma has grown dramatically over the past two decades, particularly in social psychology, where researchers have elucidated the ways in which people construct cognitive categories and link those categories to stereotyped beliefs. In the midst of this growth, the stigma concept has been criticized as being too vaguely defined and individually focused. In response to these criticisms, we define stigma as the co-occurrence of its components-labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination-and further indicate that for stigmatization to occur, power must be exercised. The stigma concept we construct has implications for understanding several core issues in stigma research, ranging from the definition of the concept to the reasons stigma sometimes represents a very persistent predicament in the lives of persons affected by it. Finally, because there are so many stigmatized circumstances and because stigmatizing processes can affect multiple domains of people's lives, stigmatization probably has a dramatic bearing on the distribution of life chances in such areas as earnings, housing, criminal involvement, health, and life itself. It follows that social scientists who are interested in understanding the distribution of such life chances should also be interested in stigma.
Through an examination of vegetarians' practical boundary-work, this paper not only highlights the significance of people's dietary identity but also accounts for how the triadic relationship among social groups complicates people's boundary-work. This paper illuminates vegetarians' strategies for managing cultural membership and identity in a triadic group relationship—namely, meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans. In the triadic group constellation, I distinguish three types of hierarchical boundary-work from nonhierarchical boundary-work. Unlike non-hierarchical boundary-work, which merely marks and reproduces social differences, hierarchical boundary-work represents and reproduces unequal social categorizations. Focusing on the enactment of dietary identity, I argue that vegetarians conduct a type of hierarchical boundary-work to represent their selfidentification as “the second best” in the triadic constellation. I detail four ways in which vegetarians conduct the-second-best boundary-work; moreover, I also show that hierarchical boundary-work in general and the-second-best boundary-work in particular can be used to examine the management, maintenance and reproduction of selfidentification in various social communities.
Recent research has pointed to the rise of socially conscious consumption and of lifestyle movements or social movements that focus on changing one's everyday lifestyle choices as a form of protest. Much of this research addresses how adults maintain socially conscious consumption practices. Using interviews with youths who are vegan—strict vegetarians who exclude all animal products from their diet and lifestyle—I isolate the factors influencing recruitment into and retention of veganism as a lifestyle movement. I show that initial recruitment requires learning, reflection, and identity work, and that subsequent retention requires two factors: social support from friends and family, and cultural tools that provide the skills and motivation to maintain lifestyle activism. I also show how participation in the punk subculture further facilitated these processes. This work contributes to studies of youth subcultures and social movements by showing how the two intersect in lifestyle movement activism.
Ethnographic work indicates that food transfer has social significance, but food transfer has not previously been considered as a nonverbal communication channel. We categorize social food transfer along two dimensions: nature of the behaviour in the transfer (X shares food with or feeds Y), and the state of the food transferred (Y's food never contacted by X, or Y's food previously bitten/tasted/touched by X; we call the latter food consubstantiation (shared substance)). These two dimensions generate the four conditions investigated in this study: no sharing, sharing, sharing with consubstantiation, and feeding. The social significance of these types of situations was assessed in two ways. American college students indicated in a questionnaire both the extent to which they transfer food within different relationships, and what they took to be normative among American college students. Second, a different group of students participated in an Asch impression study in which they observed a videotape of two young adults of opposite sex eating at a restaurant, with the variable across subjects being the four conditions designated above. Viewers were asked to assess the relationship between the young adults, and to rate the degree of intimacy between the adults in terms of mutual feelings and acts of intimacy (e.g. sharing drinks, touching, having sexual relations). Results from both studies are congruent, and indicate that sharing implies a positive/friendly social relationship, and feeding implies a stronger, often romantic relationship. Consubstantiation superimposed on sharing modestly increased judgments of intimacy and closeness of relationship. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This paper uses quality theory to identify opportunities for the meat sector that are consistent with trends in meat consumption. Meat consumption has increased and is likely to continue into the future. Growth is largely driven by white meats, with poultry in particular of increasing importance globally. The influence of factors such as income and price is likely decline over time so that other factors, such as quality, will become more important. Quality is complex and consumers' quality expectations may not align with experienced quality due to misconception of certain intrinsic cues. Establishing relevant and effective cues, based on extrinsic and credence attributes, could offer advantage on the marketplace. The use of extrinsic cues can help convey quality characteristics for eating quality, but also for more abstract attributes that reflect individual consumer concerns e.g. health/nutrition, and collective concerns, e.g. sustainability. However, attributes are not of equal value to all consumers. Thus consumer segmentation and production differentiation is needed.
As arguments become more pronounced that meat consumption harms the environment, public health, and animals, meat eaters should experience increased pressure to justify their behavior. Results of a first study showed that male undergraduates used direct strategies to justify eating meat, including endorsing pro-meat attitudes, denying animal suffering, believing that animals are lower in a hierarchy than humans and that it is human fate to eat animals, and providing religious and health justifications for eating animals. Female undergraduates used the more indirect strategies of dissociating animals from food and avoiding thinking about the treatment of animals. A second study found that the use of these male strategies was related to masculinity. In the two studies, male justification strategies were correlated with greater meat consumption, whereas endorsement of female justification strategies was correlated with less meat and more vegetarian consumption. These findings are among the first to empirically verify Adams’s (1990) theory on the sexual politics of meat linking feminism and vegetarianism. They suggest that to simply make an informational appeal about the benefits of a vegetarian diet may ignore a primary reason why men eat meat: It makes them feel like real men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
Meat eaters face dissonance whether it results from inconsistency ("I eat meat; I don't like to hurt animals"), aversive consequences ("I eat meat; Eating meat harms animals"), or threats to self image ("I eat meat; compassionate people don't hurt animals"). The present work proposes that there are a number of strategies that omnivores adopt to reduce this dissonance including avoidance, dissociation, perceived behavioral change, denial of animal pain, denial of animal mind, pro-meat justifications, reducing perceived choice, and actual behavioral change. The presence of vegetarians was speculated to cause meat eating to be a scrutinized behavior, remind meat eaters of their discomfort, and undermine the effectiveness of these strategies. It was therefore hypothesized that exposure to a description of a vegetarian would lead omnivores to embrace dissonance-reducing strategies. Supporting this hypothesis, participants who read a vignette about a vegetarian denied animal mind more than participants who read about a gluten-free individual. It was also hypothesized that omnivores would be sensitive to individual differences between vegetarians and would demonstrate using dissonance-reducing strategies more when the situation failed to provide cognitions consonant with eating meat or to reduce dissonant cognitions. Four experiments supported this prediction and found that authentic vegetarians, vegetarians freely making the decision to abandon meat, consistent vegetarians, and anticipating moral reproach from vegetarians produced greater endorsement of dissonance-reducing strategies than their counterpart conditions.
Contemporary families and food systems are both becoming more dynamic and complex, and current associations between adult family meals and body mass index (BMI) are not well understood. This investigation took a new approach by examining diverse settings and sources of food for family dinners in relationship to BMI in a cross-sectional nationally representative survey of 360 US adults age 18-85 living with family members. In this sample, 89% of adults ate family dinners at least 5 days per week and almost all ate family dinners cooked and eaten at home. About half of these adults also ate family dinners at restaurants, fast food places, or ate takeout food at home, and less common were family dinners at homes of relatives or friends. Family dinners eaten at fast food places, but not other settings or sources, were significantly associated with higher BMI. Overall, adult family dinners were commonplace, usually involved home cooking, and when at fast food places may be related with higher adult body weights.
Meat consumption patterns worldwide have dramatically changed over the past 50 years, putting pressure on the environment and leading – especially in industrialised and emerging countries – to unbalanced diets. Given demographic projections and foresight reports, the question is raised whether there are limits to the meat consumption. Based on data from 120 countries, this article analyses the evolution of meat consumption in general and the relationship between meat consumption and income in particular. The study shows evidence for an inverted U-shaped relationship between meat consumption and income, meaning that – at a certain level of income – average meat consumption will stagnate or even decline. The results can help policy makers to develop incentives for both environmental and health policies and offers stakeholders opportunities for further research and innovation.
Purpose – This article analyses the barriers perceived by consumers to lowering their meat consumption and adopting a plant-based diet, which means a diet that includes mainly non-meat foods, yet it can contain both plant and meat meals.
Design/methodology/approach – The prevalence of different barriers for following a plant-based diet is addressed, as well as consumer profiles considering socio-demographics, values and meat consumption. The data was collected in 2010 by a survey questionnaire, sent to 4,000 randomly selected Finns (response rate = 47.3, n = 1,890).
Findings – Different types of elements are perceived as essential barriers to adopting a plant-based diet, including meat enjoyment, eating routines, health conceptions, and difficulties in preparing plant foods. However, these barriers are strongly correlated, hence indicating that consumers may not make qualitative difference between different barrier elements. There are distinct socio-demographic, value and especially meat consumption frequency differences between consumers regarding the barrier perception. It is typical of male gender, young age, rural residence, household type of families with children, low education, absence of vegetarian friends or relatives, valuation of traditions and wealth, and high meat consumption frequency.
Social implications – High meat consumption is related to many environmental and public health problems. The results call for multifaceted policy implications that should concentrate on different barrier elements and certain value and socio-demographic groups. Importantly, focus should be not only on the group with the strongest barrier perception but also on those who could be especially willing to make changes in their meat consumption patterns. One practical implication could be to increase the availability of plant foods in public cafeterias or school canteens, as decrease in meat consumption frequency is strongly in correlation with the alleviation of the barrier perception.
Originality/value – Information about socio-demographic, values and meat consumption differences between consumers provide opportunities for focusing policy actions to assist consumers to better adopt a plant-based diet.
Vegetarianism is a dynamic and fluid lifestyle that can be described as unique for each person who practices. Vegetarianism traditionally falls outside of the accepted eating patterns in Western nations; furthermore, the meat-free lifestyle can be classified as a form of positive deviance. Semistructured interviews were conducted with self-described vegetarians regarding eating patterns and motivations within the initial adoption of the lifestyle. Vegetarian vocabularies of motive were categorized according to established deviance theory referred to as accounts. This newly practicing, or developmental, stage of vegetarianism was more likely to fall on the less strict side of the vegetarian continuum for eating patterns and the motives had a propensity to be monothematic.
Two experiments investigated the moderation of behavioral mimicry effects as a function of the to-be-mimicked target. In each experiment participants completed an ice cream taste test in the presence of a confederate who was instructed to either eat a lot of ice cream (high consumption condition) or very little ice cream (low consumption condition). The extent to which participants mimicked the ice cream consumption of the confederate was recorded. In addition two confederates were employed; one of the confederates in each experiment had a visual stigma. In Experiment 1 the confederate was either obese or not. In Experiment 2 the confederate had, or did not have, a facial birthmark. Results showed mimicry of the confederate's ice cream consumption except for the obese confederate in Experiment 1. Stigmatization of the to-be-mimicked target does inhibit mimicry effects but only when the nature of the Stigmatization is linked to the critical task. Results are discussed in terms of non-conscious elicitation and inhibition of behavior. Implications for social interaction are also discussed.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the dominance of an ascetic discourse of veg*anism in social research literature, and to relate it to a dominant hierarchical ordering of Western diets (to refer collectively to veganism and vegetarianism).
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the extant social research literature on veg*anism was undertaken in order to discern whether a consistent type of descriptive language existed. This facilitated an understanding of the way in which that language is constitutive of research generated understandings of veg*anism.
Findings
An ascetic discourse of veg*anism is dominant in social research. This is reflected in the phraseology used by authors. Typical descriptive terms of a veg*an diet include “strict”, “restrictive”, or “avoidance”. This ascetic discourse reproduces the hierarchical ordering of Western diets such that veg*anism is denigrated and made to seem “difficult” and abnormal.
Research limitations/implications
Veg*anism arguably promises multiple benefits for human, environmental, and nonhuman animal well‐being. The potential to realize those benefits is hampered by the perpetuation of an understanding of veg*anism as an ascetic practice.
Originality/value
This paper provides the first comprehensive examination of the language used to describe veg*anism within social research. It can enhance reflexivity on the part of social researchers interested in veg*anism, and help inform research design. In providing an alternative hedonic discourse of veg*anism, this paper also makes a contribution towards realizing the potential benefits of veg*anism through making it a more attractive dietary practice.
In spite of a growing body of vegetarian literature, there remains a lack of information about how people learn to become vegan. Using qualitative methodology, this research identified a psychological process of how people learn about and adopt veganism. Elements of the process include who I was, catalytic experiences, possible repression of information, an orientation to learn, the decision, learning about veganism, and acquiring a vegan world view. Noteworthy observations include individual and temporal variation in the use of logic and emotion, the centrality of reading, the repression and recollection of undesirable information, and the importance of two types of learning tasks to successful vegans.
How do activists create cultural change? Scholars have investigated the development and maintenance of collective identities as one avenue for cultural change, but to understand how activists foster change beyond their own movements, we need to look at activists’ strategies for changing their targets’ mindsets and actions. Sociologists need to look at activists’ boundary work to understand both the wide-sweeping goals and strategies that activists enact to generate broad-based cultural changes. Using data from participant observation and interviews with animal rights activists in France and the United States, and drawing on research on ethnic boundary shifting, I show how activists used two main strategies to shift symbolic boundaries between humans and animals, as well as between companion and farm animals—(1) they blur boundaries through focusing and universalizing strategies and (2) they cross boundaries physically, discursively, and iconographically. This study contributes a new theoretical and empirical example to the cultural changes studied by scholars of social movements, and it also provides a useful counterpoint to studies of symbolic boundary construction and maintenance in the sociology of culture.
Sharing meals together, both in terms of their social construction and the social rules which govern behaviour, is thought to be the essence of our sociality. Teaching and Learning about Food and Nutrition in Schools (reported by Burgess and Morrison in 1995) is an ESRC funded project, which, as part of the Nation's Diet Programme: The Social Science of Food Choice investigated food use and eating in schools. Prior to the project social scientists had seldom focused upon the socia