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Vegetarian Population

 

A Vegan or Vegetarian Diet Substantially Alters the Human Colonic Faecal Microbiota

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This study examines the levels of intestinal microbes in omnivores, vegetarians and vegans. Vegans were found to have the least and omnivores the most. This is due to not consuming contaminated meat as well as a higher intake of fruits and vegetables, which are fibrous and help keep the intestines clean.

How Readable Are Your Animal Advocacy Materials?

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The most exciting project this new year, is the release of our latest study examining how easy it is for the average person to read and understand animal advocacy literature. Specifically, HRC partnered with VegFund and FARM to evaluate the readability of the most widely distributed vegan outreach pamphlets.

Readability of Vegan Outreach Literature

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To evaluate the readability of such materials in a more robust and transparent manner, the Humane Research Council (HRC) partnered with VegFund and FARM to test a selection of outreach materials that are commonly used by vegan advocates. The average readability scores placed these materials in the range of the 11th grade reading level or higher, which is three to four grade levels higher than the average U.S. adult.

Vegan Sexuality: Challenging Heteronormative Masculinity through Meat-free Sex

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This study examines how the sexuality of vegans is addressed and reacted to by a general audience. The authors examine online responses to the idea of "vegansexuals," vegans who wish to only date other vegans. The authors analyze the themes present in these responses and find that negative evaluations were attributed to vegans' sexuality.

Where To Go From Here: Thoughts on Preventing Veg'n Recidivism

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Now that we have explored what recidivism can look like and offered some social factors that may inhibit veganism, what does this mean for our movement at large? How can movement leaders and individual activists take this information to encourage people to try veganism and offer the right support to keep them from backsliding?

How Often Do Americans Eat Vegetarian Meals? And How Many Adults in the U.S. Are Vegan?

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This representative survey of 1,010 U.S. adults evaluates how often people eat vegetarian meals and how many vegans there are in the U.S. The survey found that about 5% of the U.S. population is vegetarian, and about half of them are vegan.

Veg'n Recidivism: Why is it Happening?

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Image by Flickr user omefrans, used under Creative Commons LicenseAdvocates can use sociological theories to understand some of the social and cultural barriers to vegetarian maintenance. During the course of my interviews with ex-veg'ns I found six common reasons as to why they struggled with the practice. These include family relationships, identity, the ambiguity of the veg'n label, gender roles, the influence of peers, and the temporary nature of trends.

Gender Differences in Family and Peer Reaction to the Adoption of a Vegetarian Diet

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This paper examines reactions of peers and family members to college students when they decide to become vegetarian. The author found, contrary to some other research, that men had more leniency from those in their social circles. Women were often confronted with paternalism, but overcame it with what the author labeled "moral resilience."

Returning to Meat: Who is Doing It, How it Happens, and What This Means for the Veg'n Movement

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Image by Flickr user More Good Foundation, used under Creative Commons LicenseFor my master's thesis I sought to answer a very simple but important question that may offer assistance to both the strength and future of vegetarianism: Why do vegetarians go back to meat? What I call "vegetarian recidivism" or "backsliding." To begin to answer this question I thought of “going veg” within the context of a social movement. Within this body of literature researchers have investigated both what mobilizes and stabilizes members of a social movement, but there is scant research addressing why people disengage from a social movement. Further, within the body of research addressing vegetarianism specifically, there were several reputable studies investigating the process of becoming vegan, but very little about the barriers and struggles to maintaining the practice.

Don't Mind Meat? The Denial of Mind to Animals Used for Human Consumption

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Researchers conducted three studies to examine how the mind—both beliefs about animal minds and the mental work necessary to create a shift between food animals and other animals—allows for people to simultaneously love animals and eat meat.


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