Why People Become Vegans: The Science Of A Meatless Existence
It’s no surprise that being a vegan is tough, but meat-eaters and meat-abstainers probably have more in common than they might think.
At the age of 14, a young watched as a terrified pig was slaughtered on his family farm. In the British boy鈥檚 eyes, the screaming pig was being murdered. Watson stopped eating meat and eventually gave up dairy as well.
Later, as an adult in 1944, Watson realized that other people shared his interest in a plant-only diet. And thus 鈥 a term he coined 鈥 was born.
Flash-forward to today, and Watson鈥檚 legacy ripples through our culture. Even though only of Americans actually identify as vegan, seem to have about these fringe foodies 鈥 one way or the other.
As a behavioral scientist with a strong interest in consumer food movements, I thought November 鈥 鈥 would be a good time to explore why people become vegans, why they can inspire so much irritation and why many of us meat-eaters may soon join their ranks.
It鈥檚 An Ideology Not A Choice
Like other alternative food movements such as , veganism arises from a belief structure that guides daily eating decisions.
They aren鈥檛 simply moral high-grounders. Vegans do believe it鈥檚 moral to avoid animal products, but they also believe it鈥檚 .
Also, just like Donald Watson鈥檚 story, veganism is rooted in early life experiences.
Psychologists recently that having a larger variety of pets as a child increases tendencies to avoid eating meat as an adult. Growing up with different sorts of pets increases concern for how animals are treated more generally.
Thus, when a friend opts for this holiday season, rather than one of the turkeys consumed for Thanksgiving, his decision isn鈥檛 just a high-minded choice. It arises from beliefs that are deeply held and hard to change.
Veganism As A Symbolic Threat
That doesn鈥檛 mean your faux-turkey loving friend won鈥檛 seem annoying if you鈥檙e a meat-eater.
The late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain famously that meat avoiders 鈥渁re the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit.鈥
Why do some people find vegans so irritating? In fact, it might be more about 鈥渦s鈥 than them.
Most Americans meat is an important part of a healthy diet. The government eating two to three portions (5-6 ounces) per day of everything from bison to sea bass. As tribal humans, we naturally form biases against individuals who challenge our way of life, and because veganism runs counter to how we typically approach food, .
Why do some people find vegans so irritating? In fact, it might be more about 鈥渦s鈥 than them.
Humans respond to feelings of threat by derogating outgroups. 聽vegans experience discrimination daily, report losing friends after 鈥渃oming out鈥 as vegan, and believe being vegan cost them a job.
Veganism can be hard on a person鈥檚 sex life, too. finds that the more someone enjoys eating meat, the less likely they are to swipe right on a vegan. Also, women find men who are vegan than those who eat meat, as meat-eating seems masculine.
Crossing The Vegan Divide
It may be no surprise that being a vegan is tough, but meat-eaters and meat-abstainers probably have more in common than they might think.
Vegans are foremost focused on . Americans want their meals to be healthier, and research that plant-based diets are associated with reduced risk for heart disease, certain cancers, and Type 2 diabetes.
It may not be surprising, then, that Americans are pursuing a mostly veggie diet. That number is higher among younger generations, suggesting that the long-term trend might be moving away from meat consumption.
In addition, several factors will make meat more costly in the near future.
Meat production accounts for as much as of all greenhouse gas emissions, and clear-cutting for pasture land destroys 6.7 million acres of tropical forest per year. While some debate on the actual figures, it is clear that meat emits more than plants, and population growth is increasing demand for quality protein.
Seizing the opportunity, scientists new forms of plant-based meats that have proven to be appealing even to meat-eaters. The distributor of Beyond Meat鈥檚 plant-based patties says of its customers are meat-eaters. It is that this California-based vegan company will soon be publicly traded on Wall Street.
Even more astonishing, the science behind lab-grown, 鈥溾 meat is improving. It used to cost more than $250,000 to produce a single lab-grown hamburger patty. Technological improvements by Dutch company have reduced the cost to $10 per burger.
Watson鈥檚 Legacy
Even during the holiday season, when meats like turkey and ham take center stage at family feasts, there鈥檚 a growing push to promote meatless eating.
London, for example, will host its first-ever 鈥溾 Christmas market this year featuring vegan food vendors. Donald Watson, who was born just four hours north of London, would be proud.
Watson, who died in 2006 at the ripe old age of 95, most of his critics. This may give quiet resolve to vegans as they brave our meat-loving world.
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