What Motivates People To Adopt Vegan Diets?
An increasing number of studies are examining the motivations that lead people to adopt vegetarian and vegan diets. The Faunalytics’ study of current and former veg*ns investigated the key factors that lead some people to adopt or give up a plant-based diet. Other studies have looked at topics ranging from why children choose to become vegetarian, differences between health vs ethical vegetarians, and how childhood relationships with pets can influence meat-eating decisions.
This paper, published in Appetite, adds to the previous research by examining the key motivations for vegan diets and the attitudes of vegans towards animal agriculture and rights. The authors surveyed 329 consumers at seven vegan supermarkets in Germany in 2014. They collected demographic information, asked consumers to list up to three reasons why they chose to become vegan, and inquired about the opinions on “livestock” farming and the rights of animals (e.g. “In livestock farming, animals are never treated in a humane way,” “Animals have similar feelings and fears as humans”).
Regarding motivations to adopt a vegan diet, 89% of respondents listed motives related to animals, 69% cited motives related to personal well-being and health, and 47% mentioned motives related to environmental protection. The vast majority of respondents (82%) cited more than one source of motivation. The authors used cluster analysis to identify several meaningful consumer segments:
- animal- and self-related motives (n=100)
- animal-, environment-, and self-related motives (n=98)
- animal-related motives alone (n=49)
- animal- and environment-related motives (n=47)
- not driven by animal-related motives (n=35)
The results found a number of significant differences, as well as some similarities, across the segments. There were differences regarding age, length of time following a vegan diet, and in attitudes. Some of these differences include:
- consumers driven by animal- and environment-related motives were significantly younger than both those driven by animal-related motives alone and not driven by animal-related motives
- consumers driven by animal-related motives alone had been following a vegan diet the longest
- the majority of consumers not motivated by animal-related reasons thought that animal welfare was possible in agricultural farming, and the majority of those in other clusters held the opposite view with the exception of those in the animal- and self-related motive cluster, which had no clear majority
- the majority of consumers in all segments were not willing to buy animal products even if welfare was guaranteed, with different levels of agreement among different segments
- on average, all segments believed animals had feelings similar to humans, with different levels of agreement among different segments
The authors say that their findings reveal “a relationship between motives for following a vegan diet and attitudes towards animal agriculture,” On the other hand, there was no significant relationship “between motives for following a vegan diet and attitudes towards animal rights.” The authors found it interesting that, while the majority of participants didn’t think animal welfare is possible in agriculture, a substantial proportion (38%) did not oppose animal agriculture. Additionally, they speculate that differences in age and length of time indicate that motivations for following a vegan diet may shift over time.
Finally, perhaps the most significant takeaway from the study is the evidence that people often have multiple motives for choosing vegan diets. This finding reinforces those from other studies, including the Faunalytics study, which indicated that “current vegetarians/vegans have a wide range of motivations that keep them veg, which may mean that more diverse messaging and outreach could have a positive impact.” From this research, advocates may also want to note the seemingly uncertain attitudes that some vegans appear to have about animal welfare and animal agriculture.