Attitudes Towards Meat And Veg*n Diets
Current estimates suggest that there are roughly 4 million vegetarians in the United Kingdom, which is about 7% of the population, according to the Vegetarian Society, 2000, who also estimates that 41% of the UK population are reducing meat consumption.
This study categorized people into four groups: meat eaters, meat avoiders (those who abstain from eating meat products), vegetarians ( do not eat meat and fish) and vegans (no animal products.)
According to this survey, meat eaters were the only respondents to report any positive beliefs about the meat eating diet.
A listing of the most salient beliefs toward a “meat diet” by each diet group follows:
- Meat Eaters – taste, fattening, nutritional or balanced, wide or varied choice, health scares
- Meat Avoiders – Cruel and barbaric, fattening, unhealthy, environmental problems, expensive
- Vegetarians (Unhealthy, cruel and barbaric, health scares, inhumane, murderous
- Vegans – cruel and barbaric, unhealthy, horrible, environmental problems
A listing of the most salient beliefs toward a “vegetarian diet” by each diet group follows:
- Meat Eaters – healthy, expensive, nutritionally unbalanced, boring or bland, low in fat
- Meat Avoiders – healthy, humane, nutritional and balanced, unfattening, restrictive
- Vegetarians – healthy, humane, ethical, tasty, cheap
- Vegans – hypocritical, humane, healthy, imaginative, environmentally friendly.
A listing of the most salient beliefs toward a “vegan diet” by each diet group follows:
- Meat Eaters – nutritionally unbalanced, extreme, restrictive unnatural, boring or bland
- Meat Avoiders – Restrictive, difficult to maintain, nutritionally unbalanced, no variety, ethical
- Vegetarians – Restrictive, humane, healthy, ethical
- Vegans – humane, healthy, environmentally friendly, restrictive
In sum, this survey shows that respondents were the most positive and believed in their own diets and were negative with respect to diets that were most different than their own.