Health, ethics and environment: A qualitative study of vegetarian motivations

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the motivations of vegetarians by means of online ethnographic research with participants in an international message board. The researcher participated in discussions on the board, gathered responses to questions from 33 participants, and conducted follow-up e-mail interviews with eighteen of these participants. Respondents were predominantly from the US, Canada and the UK. Seventy per cent were female, and ages ranged from 14 to 53, with a median of 26 years. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. While this research found that health and the ethical treatment of animals were the main motivators for participants' vegetarianism, participants reported a range of commitments to environmental concerns, although in only one case was environmentalism a primary motivator for becoming a vegetarian. The data indicates that vegetarians may follow a trajectory, in which initial motivations are augmented over time by other reasons for sustaining or further restricting their diet.

Portraits of Veganism: A Comparative Discourse Analysis of a Second-Order Subculture

“…Both films use particular claims to promote veganism. Such claims inform these films' audiences of pertinent aspects of vegans' subcultural identity, namely, its ideologies, social support to help mitigate the persistent challenges associated with managing this marginal identity [8].…”

“…Exposure to new rationales often invites vegetarians and vegans to reprioritize reasons for the adoption of this lifestyle, and the renegotiation of motives may occur at various points throughout the vegetarian career [8,19,20]. Interviewees in such research often report relying on written literature and television shows as a mode for learning about and adopting other motivations [6,8,14,19,21,22]. Exposure to new information may initiate the adoption of vegetarianism and prompt some participants' movement along the vegetarian spectrum that culminates in veganism [3,8,14,21] that vegetarians and vegans may adopt additional motivations and secure social support to help mitigate the persistent challenges associated with managing this marginal identity [8].…”

“…Exposure to new information may initiate the adoption of vegetarianism and prompt some participants' movement along the vegetarian spectrum that culminates in veganism [3,8,14,21] that vegetarians and vegans may adopt additional motivations and secure social support to help mitigate the persistent challenges associated with managing this marginal identity [8]. Throughout one's vegetarian career (sustained foray into vegetarianism), an individual's primary motive for pursuing this lifestyle commonly evolves [8,[19][20][21][22]. Exposure to new rationales often invites vegetarians and vegans to reprioritize reasons for the adoption of this lifestyle, and the renegotiation of motives may occur at various points throughout the vegetarian career [8,19,20].…”

“…Interviewees in such research often report relying on written literature and television shows as a mode for learning about and adopting other motivations [6,8,14,19,21,22]. Exposure to new information may initiate the adoption of vegetarianism and prompt some participants' movement along the vegetarian spectrum that culminates in veganism [3,8,14,21] that vegetarians and vegans may adopt additional motivations and secure social support to help mitigate the persistent challenges associated with managing this marginal identity [8]. Throughout one's vegetarian career (sustained foray into vegetarianism), an individual's primary motive for pursuing this lifestyle commonly evolves [8,[19][20][21][22].…”

“…Throughout one's vegetarian career (sustained foray into vegetarianism), an individual's primary motive for pursuing this lifestyle commonly evolves [8,[19][20][21][22]. Exposure to new rationales often invites vegetarians and vegans to reprioritize reasons for the adoption of this lifestyle, and the renegotiation of motives may occur at various points throughout the vegetarian career [8,19,20].…”