Food taboos outside the religious context:
vegetarians and vegans developed a taboo against meat eating
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15503/onis2024.35.51Keywords:
taboo, attitude, veganism, vegetarianism, meat consumptionAbstract
Abstract
Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a taboo against meat eating is forming in the vegetarian and vegan community.
Methods. For the purposes of the study, we created a questionnaire to measure taboo intensity and checked it in relation to three behaviors: paying taxes, committing acts of incest and eating meat (the latter only meant for the group of vegetarians and vegans), in order to then compare the results with each other.
Results and conclusions. 515 people took part in the study, including 335 in the vegetarian and vegan group and 180 in the control group. The results of the study support the idea that vegetarians and vegans developed a moderate taboo against eating meat, which is closer to the general population's feelings about incest (clear taboo) than about paying taxes (no taboo). The study also considered a number of moderators of the taboo against eating meat, of which some personality traits (agreeableness, emotional stability), political views and taking care of a pet were found to be statistically significant predictors.
Downloads
References
Corichi, M. (2021). Eight-in-ten Indians limit meat in their diets, and four-in-ten consider themselves vegetarian. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/08/eight-in-ten-indians-limit-meat-in-their-diets-and-four-in-ten-consider-themselves-vegetarian/
Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (2008). The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). W G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews, & D. H. Saklofske (Red.), The SAGE handbook of personality theory and assessment, Vol. 2. Personality measurement and testing (ss. 179–198). Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849200479.n9
Cramer, H., Kessler, C. S., Sundberg, T., Leach, M. J., Schumann, D., Adams, J., & Lauche, R. (2017). Characteristics of Americans Choosing Vegetarian and Vegan Diets for Health Reasons. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 49(7), 561-567.
Dinu, M., Abbate, R., Gensini, G. F., Casini, A., & Sofi, F. (2016). Vegetarian, Vegan Diets and Multiple Health outcomes: a Systematic Review with meta-analysis of Observational Studies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57(17), 3640–3649.
Fershtman, C., Gneezy, U., & Hoffman, M. (2011). Taboos and Identity: Considering the Unthinkable. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 3(2), 139–164.
Haidt, J. (2003). The moral emotions. W R. J. Davidson, K. R. Scherer, & H. H. Goldsmith (Red.), Handbook of affective sciences (ss. 852–870). Oxford University Press.
Harris, M. (1974). Cows, pigs, wars, and witches. Vintage.
Hornberger, A. (2020). Plant-Based Diets: Be Healthier while Reducing Your Water Footprint. Clean Water Action. https://www.cleanwateraction.org/2020/11/19/plant-based-diets--be-healthier-while-reducing-your-water-footprint
Janssen, M., Busch, C., Rödiger, M., & Hamm, U. (2016). Motives of Consumers following a Vegan Diet and Their Attitudes Towards Animal Agriculture. Appetite, 105, 643–651.
Jones, C. M. (2019). Cars, Cows, Coal or Consumption: Which Contributes Most to Climate Change?. Cool Climate Network. https://coolclimate.org/blog-cars-coal-cows-consumption
Kirkwood, B. (2020). New Study Reveals 9.6 Million Americans Are Vegan Now, A 300% Increase!. Vegan News. https://vegannews.press/2020/03/06/vegan-america-study/
Leahy, E., Tol, R., & Lyons, S. (2010). ESRI Working Paper No. 340. An Estimate of the Number of Vegetarians in the World. The Economic and Social Research Institute. https://www.esri.ie/publications/an-estimate-of-the-number-of-vegetarians-in-the-world
Liberman, A. (2015). Reactions to Edmund Leach's “Anthropological Aspects of Language” and John Halverson's “Animal Categories and Terms of Abuse”. Anthrozoös, 3(4), 214-226.
Navarrete, C. D., & Fessler, D. (2003). Meat Is Good to Taboo: Dietary Proscriptions as a Product of the Interaction of Psychological Mechanisms and Social Processes. Journal Of Cognition And Culture, 3(1), 1–40.
Radnitz, C., Beezhold, B., & DiMatteo, J. (2015). Investigation of lifestyle choices of individuals following a vegan diet for health and ethical reasons. Appetite, 90, 31–36.
Sentenac, H. (2015). 400 Million Fewer Animals Were Killed for Food Last Year vs. 2007 Because People Are Eating Less Meat. Harm.less, https://www.bharmless.com/400-million-fewer-animals-were-killed-for-food-last-year-because-people-are-eating-less-meat/
Sorokowska, A., Słowińska, A., Zbieg, A., & Sorokowski, P. (2014). Polska adaptacja testu Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) – TIPI-PL – wersja standardowa i internetowa. WrocLab.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Anna Kusztal, Eleonora Imbierowicz, Kornelia Kiebus, Urszula Frączek
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
