A wealth of scientific evidence shows that Western animal-based diets are unsustainable. A major shift towards a primarily plant-based diet is essential for reducing climate-altering emissions and addressing various environmental and health crises. 

Transitioning to a diet that limits or excludes animal products requires adjustments to well-established daily routines, such as meal planning, cooking, and sharing with others. So far, research has mostly focused on longtime vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, or flexitarians, neglecting the experiences of those newly transitioning to a different diet. This research aims to fill this gap by investigating how people change their daily food-related routines and how they communicate their dietary changes to others.

Understanding the difficulties that occur in the early stage of diet change can help implement strategies that prevent people from returning to their old dietary patterns. Moreover, it can provide key insights to individuals aiming to change their diets, along with nonprofits and other stakeholders in the plant-based food sector. 

Methods 

For this study, researchers interviewed 28 people who had started reducing or eliminating animal-based products in the past nine months. The study participants were divided into four dietary groups: vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, and flexitarians. The interviews focused on six main themes: food and meals, planning and logistics, know-how and resources, social relations and settings, change and engagement, and values and affects.

Based on participants’ responses, researchers identified two different approaches to the practical aspects of dietary change:

Convenience: This approach includes those who consider cooking and other food-related tasks as a chore or a burden. Most of their food-related choices are made based on the most convenient options like grocery shopping at the nearest supermarket, buying ready-made meals, or choosing quick and easy recipes.

Foodism: This approach involves the tendency to take pleasure in cooking, grocery shopping, and experimenting with new recipes and tastes. People with a foodist approach, or “foodies,” tend to take their time cooking, searching for the right ingredients, and enjoy researching new foods and recipes. 

The second aspect of this study explored how dietary changes are communicated to others. The study showed that participants adopted three different ways to communicate their diet change to others:

• Ethical advocacy: Adopted primarily by vegans who feel an ethical commitment to stand up for the cause. Ethical advocates tend to publicly express their dietary choice, engage in conversations around the ethical implications of eating animal foods, and don’t shy away from confrontation. They often do organized advocacy work in organizations or nonprofits. To avoid coming off as too confrontational, they require strong linguistic and argumentative skills and a solid understanding of the available scientific evidence. 
• Plant-food demonstration: An indirect advocacy approach adopted mostly by foodies. By showcasing appealing, tasty food, either in-person or online, they aim to inspire others to consider dietary changes without engaging in direct, confrontational conversations. This strategy, which emphasizes pleasure, is generally better received than ethical advocacy.
• Anonymization of diet: Adopted mostly by flexitarians. This communication approach stems from the belief that dietary choices are private and that discussions about this topic are best avoided. Even when people feel strongly about their dietary choices (for example, vegans), the fear of encountering negative social consequences outweighs their willingness to engage in confrontation.

The authors found that during the initial transition phase, participants tended to adapt well to the changes needed to reduce or eliminate animal products (e.g., finding plant-based alternatives, learning to cook new recipes). This is particularly true when there is a good “infrastructure of consumption” in place, such as supermarkets selling plant-based alternatives, access to online recipes, inspiring social media content, or restaurants serving plant-based options.

The biggest challenges encountered by the participants related to their social lives. The tendency to avoid conflict or difficult conversations prevented some participants from sharing their new dietary path (anonymization of diet) or opting for a more flexitarian approach. 

Limitations

The interviews were conducted in 2017, and access and attitudes towards plant-based foods in Denmark may have evolved since then. Additionally, further research — particularly quantitative studies — is needed to explore if displaying enticing plant-based foods influences dietary change.

Key Insights

This study identifies potentially effective strategies for facilitating the adoption and maintenance of plant-based or flexitarian diets and communicating dietary changes to others. For example, individuals and advocates can highlight the health benefits of plant-based foods to others, share plant-based meals, or post inviting pictures as a form of advocacy. Nonprofits and organizations can collaborate with socially prominent figures who follow alternative diets to help shift social norms. The plant-based food sector can improve the availability of plant-based options in supermarkets, restaurants, and other public spaces, and target foodies.