Against the cult of veganism’
Unpacking the social psychology and ideology of anti-vegans
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11360397 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rebecca Gregson (0000-0003-0202-6039, Lancaster University, corresponding author), Jared Piazza (0000-0001-7261-3939, Lancaster University), Ryan L Boyd (0000-0002-1876-6050, Lancaster University) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 178 |
| Pages | 106143 |
| Publication date | 2022-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Appetite (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0195-6663 • E-ISSN: 1095-8304 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106143 |
| PMID | 35787403 |
| OpenAlex | W4283753085 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 20 |
| References cited | 67 |
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
Animal rights · Scholarship · Sociology · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Animal and Plant Science Education · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology
You are where you eat
Accelerating social tipping points in sustainable behaviors
Cupcake vegans,” “cult vegans,” and “animal abusers”
Power & protein—closing the ‘justice gap’ for food system transformation
Why Health-Based Vegan Advocacy May Harm More Animals Than It Saves
Not on my plate
The structure and correlates of vegan stereotypes
Hegemonic Masculinities in Affective Digital Foodscapes
Navigating family dynamics in the transition to a plant-forward diet
The vegan dystopia
Beefed-up feeds
Is being anti-vegan a distinct dietarian identity? An investigation with omnivores, vegans, and self-identified “anti-vegans”
A football team with no midfield”
Social impediments to meat-eaters’ adherence to critical calls for a meat-free diet
Diet transformations in families
Game changers for meat and masculinity? Male athletes’ perspectives on mixed and plant-based diets
Theorizing the rise of internet food cults
Going Plant-Forward? Dietary Publics and Plant-Based Lifestyle Advocacy in Contemporary China
Overcoming (vegan) burnout
Hopefulness and victimhood among Finnish male influencers who create meat-related food content on social media
Why do right-wing adherents engage in more animal exploitation and meat consumption?
Breaching or Building Social Boundaries?
Internet, social media and online hate speech. Systematic review
Cyberbullying Via Social Media
The online competition between pro- and anti-vaccination views
Common Ideological Roots of Speciesism and Generalized Ethnic Prejudice
Jeer Pressure
Food in the Anthropocene
The Meaning Extraction Method
Do-Gooder Derogation
Consumer Psychology in a Social Media World
Medical Misinformation and Social Harm in Non-Science-Based Health Practices
Myside Bias, Rational Thinking, and Intelligence
Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye-contact on toxic online disinhibition
The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication
The 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidates and How People Tweeted About Them
Food foraging online
Sendeanlat (#Tellyourstory)
It ain’t easy eating greens
The Language of Online Intercultural Community Formation
Disgust in humor
Why is meat so important in Western history and culture? A genealogical critique of biophysical and political-economic explanations
A communicational approach to enhance open-mindedness towards meat-refusers
The role of meat appetite in willfully disregarding factory farming as a pandemic catalyst risk
Attitudes toward beef and vegetarians in Argentina, Brazil, France, and the USA
Consumer consciousness on meat and the environment — Exploring differences
Morally admirable or moralistically deplorable? A theoretical framework for understanding character judgments of vegan advocates
Rationalizing meat consumption. The 4Ns
If I became a vegan, my family and friends would hate me
Meat-related cognitive dissonance
Moral rebels and dietary deviants
Conservatism predicts lapses from vegetarian/vegan diets to meat consumption (through lower social justice concerns and social support)
Revealing dimensions of thinking in open-ended self-descriptions
The language of online leadership
Does Activism in Social Science Explain Conservatives’ Distrust of Scientists
Identification of Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences and the Sexual Self-Schemas of Women
The Routledge Handbook of Vegan Studies
Natural Language Analysis and the Psychology of Verbal Behavior
Fandom, social media, and identity work
The Online Disinhibition Effect
What is so special about online (as compared to offline) hate speech
Religious residue
Social Consequences of Disparagement Humor
Vegaphobia
Dirty laundry
The Psychological Meaning of Words
Online Interactions Between Group Members Who Differ in Status
| Unique citing works | 20 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 17 |