A series of two studies published in The Journal of Social Psychology examined the attitudes of meat eaters, vegans and vegetarians (veg*ns), finding that veg*ns held more negative attitudes toward meat eaters than vice versa. However, both groups scored lower than the midpoint on measures of negative attitudes, and only less than 1% of tweets on meat eating or veg*nism were suggestive of negative attitudes.
Food choices can be reflective of psychological and social identity, including life philosophy. Some studies have suggested meat eaters feel negatively toward veg*ns. Other work has shown veg*ns avoid meat eaters, particularly in the context of intimate relationships. Meat consumption can fall on a spectrum, with some individuals reducing meat intake and falling somewhere between the “binary choice of eating or not eating meat.” In this work, Sara Pabian and colleagues examined the attitudes of meat eaters, occasional meat eaters, and veg*ns toward others who eat or do not eat meat.
In Study 1, the researchers administered a cross-sectional survey to 477 participants in Belgium, including meat eaters, occasional meat eaters and veg*ns. Importantly, this study allowed for the consideration of personal dietary choices in the assessment of participants’ attitudes toward others, which prior studies have overlooked. Participants provided demographic information, which was followed by questions regarding their meat consumption (i.e., actual meat intake for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacking), dietary identity, attitude toward meat eaters and veg*ns (e.g., “people who eat meat [do not eat meat] preach too much about their beliefs and eating habits”), and interpersonal interaction (number of close friends who are meat eaters or veg*ns).
Study 2 examined “negative attitude expressions in the discourse of individuals who prefer a certain diet (veg*ns vs. meat eaters)” on Twitter. The researchers searched for tweets via the 16 most popular hashtags related to meat eating or veg*nism (e.g., #antivegan, #yes2meat, #veganfood, #plantbased) in two randomly selected weeks in 2019 (i.e., during February, September). Of the 1328 tweets they found, 130 tweets were selected for coding. Two independent coders indicated whether a tweet contained a stereotype topic or not, and for those that did, they rated whether a negative attitude was expressed toward veg*ns or meat eaters, or if there was no negative attitude.
Pabian and colleagues found that meat eaters and veg*ns did not have negative attitude toward each other, which contradicts prior findings on attitudes toward veg*ns. Social circles contributed to this finding, such that, the more heterogeneous one’s circle of friends was in terms of dietary identity, the lower “vegaphobia” scores were. And although overall attitudes were not negative, the attitudes veg*ns held toward meat eaters were more negative compared to the attitudes of meat eaters toward veg*ns. The authors write, “Among the occasional meat eaters, the attitudes of those who self-identified with veg*ns toward meat eaters were significantly less favorable than the attitudes of those who self-identified with meat eaters toward veg*ns.”
The researchers note gender differences in these findings. Male (vs. female) meat eaters held more negative attitudes toward veg*ns. As well, veg*n women (vs. men) had the least favorable attitudes toward meat eaters. A content analysis of 1328 tweets suggested that negative attitudes and feelings toward veg*ns and meat eaters on Twitter comprised 0.68% of the tweets on such topics. Thus, Study 2 substantiated the results of Study 1.
A limitation the authors note is the non-representativeness of the sample. The convenience sample was skewed in terms of gender, and number of “avid meat eaters and vegans.” They write, “Future researchers should aim for a more heterogeneous sample, including older adults, and a more representative gender, educational level, and living situation distribution.”
The research, “‘Meating halfway’: Exploring the attitudes of meat eaters, veg*ns, and occasional meat eaters toward those who eat meat and those who do not eat meat”, was authored by Sara Pabian, Gaëlle Ouvrein, Kathleen van Royen, Frans Folkvord, Karolien Poels, Heidi Vandebosch and Charlotte De Backer.