Vegan Stigma: A Barrier To Dietary Change
Non-vegans generally had negative perceptions of veganism and of vegans, and personally avoided their association by distancing themselves physically and verbally.
ALEX HIGSON: ‘Eating meat is still very much the norm in the developed world… only 4% of Americans identified as vegetarian or vegan. Groups working to persuade people to reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products — whether for ethical, environmental, or health reasons — will benefit from understanding the potential barriers to their efforts. So far, research has mostly identified personal barriers related to individuals’ personal characteristics, attitudes, or beliefs…
The authors of this study suspected there might also be a social barrier to dietary change: fear of stigmatization. Eating is a highly social activity—existing research shows that sharing meals fulfills a variety of social functions, including strengthening and maintaining relationships and teaching and reinforcing cultural beliefs and values…
The authors hypothesized that anticipating this “vegan stigma” – and the consequent loss of friendships and exclusion from social activities – might discourage people from adopting a plant-based diet. They set out to test their theory by conducting five focus groups in which they asked college students to discuss perceptions of vegans and veganism. One group consisted of vegans, two of vegetarians, and two of omnivores.
Their main findings were as follows: 1) Vegetarians and omnivores generally had negative perceptions of veganism and of vegans themselves, describing them with terms ranging from “pretentious” to “aggressive.” 2) Non-vegans avoided being associated with vegans by distancing themselves physically (i.e., by avoiding vegans—and verbally). 3) Because non-vegans anticipate that they, too, would be judged by others and socially excluded if they reduced or eliminated their consumption of animal products, they have a significant incentive to maintain their current eating habits…
On the basis of their findings, the authors suggest that for dietary change efforts to be as effective as possible, social barriers must be overcome, too. Therefore, groups working in this area should consider developing initiatives aimed at changing attitudes by portraying vegans and veganism in a more positive, socially acceptable light’. SOURCE…
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