Veganism: from Restrictive, Healthy Taste to ‘Being a Good Person’
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Master thesis, as part of the program Cultural Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. Submitted on the 9th of July, 2018, Amsterdam. Veganism: From Restrictive, Healthy Taste to ‘Being a Good Person’ A sociological analysis of veganism from the perspective of distinction, with adaptions from reflexive theory Student: Roos Wever (11790113) [email protected] First supervisor: Dr. Kobe de Keere Second supervisor: Prof. Dr. Olav Velthuis Word count: 18.816 Roos Wever 1 Veganism: From Restrictive, Healthy Taste to ‘Being a Good Person’ Preface Hereby I present to you my master thesis, written as final part of the master Sociology, of the track Cultural Sociology. It has taken six months of searching for a topic and theory, conducting the field work and, finally, writing this thesis. I could not have done this without help from others, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. First and foremost, I would like to thank my respondents for taking the time to talk with me and opening up to me about their lifestyle. Without their stories I could not have written this thesis. Furthermore I would like to thank my supervisor, Kobe de Keere, for guiding me through this research, providing me with helpful feedback and suggestions to direct me in the right way, even though I sometimes impulsively decided to head into another direction. I also would like to thank Olav Velthuis for being my second reader, and providing me with inspiration for this thesis when I was part of his course Culture, Consumption and Commerce. I want to thank my library-buddy Elo for reserving a seat for me, as I always showed up later than I planned, and for our ‘gezellige’ lunchbreaks, our large amounts of coffee, but mostly the mutual support. I want to thank my parents for supporting me during 5 years of study, both bachelor and master, emotionally and financially, and my sister, which, I don’t know why, always caught me in bad moments, or maybe she just knows how to pull those tears out of me. I hope that she isn’t concerned about me – I’m doing well, Mieke! Last, but definitely not least, I want to thank my boyfriend, for always being there for me, encouraging me, providing me with feedback and comfort. I know it has sometimes been hard, both working on our master theses, our house sometimes a mess and not having much time for each other, but I’m just happy that we’re still standing strong. Roos Wever 2 Veganism: From Restrictive, Healthy Taste to ‘Being a Good Person’ Abstract This research examines veganism from the perspective of distinction, with adaptions from reflexive theory. As the amount of vegans is rising, as is the supply of vegan products and restaurants, it is useful to contribute to existing research on veganism by analyzing it as a form of distinction, following Pierre Bourdieu (1984). However, this research is also open to adaptions from reflexive theory, of which Margaret Archer (2000; 2003; 2012) is an advocate. Three parts of the vegan lifestyle are examined: the decision process in becoming vegan, the construction of the vegan lifestyle and social interaction. Interviews have been conducted with 18 vegans and analysis of these interviews revealed that distinction provides a useful lens for analyzing veganism, as several respondents in this research had a habitus that gave them the dispositions to become vegan. Moreover, veganism can be considered as a lifestyle, which, on some levels, can be associated with higher class. However, incorporating reflexivity in this perspective is also useful, since reflexive thinking occurs during the decision process, the construction of the vegan lifestyle and the construction of different interaction strategies used when engaging in interaction with non-vegans. Hence, food habits are not only a product of social class, but also of reflexive considerations of one’s environment. Keywords: veganism; distinction; reflexivity; decision making; lifestyle; interaction strategies Roos Wever 3 Veganism: From Restrictive, Healthy Taste to ‘Being a Good Person’ Table of contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 1 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Table of contents ........................................................................................................................ 3 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 2. Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Eating as a class disposition ........................................................................................... 10 2.3 Decision process ............................................................................................................. 12 2.4 Vegan lifestyle ................................................................................................................ 14 2.5 Veganism in the social sphere ........................................................................................ 16 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Research population: criteria and recruitment ................................................................ 20 3.2 Data collection ................................................................................................................ 21 3.3 Description of the research population ........................................................................... 22 3.4 Ethical considerations ..................................................................................................... 23 3.5 Data analysis ................................................................................................................... 24 4. Becoming vegan ................................................................................................................ 25 4.1 The vegan habitus ........................................................................................................... 25 4.2 Reflexivity ...................................................................................................................... 28 4.3 Peer group influences ..................................................................................................... 30 4.4 Reinterpreting vegan reflexivity ..................................................................................... 31 4.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 32 5. The vegan lifestyle ............................................................................................................ 34 5.1 Worldview ...................................................................................................................... 34 5.2 Consumption ................................................................................................................... 35 5.3 Activities ......................................................................................................................... 37 5.3.1 Vegan related activities ............................................................................................ 37 5.3.2 Class related activities .............................................................................................. 38 5.4 Social environment ......................................................................................................... 39 5.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 40 6. Social interaction .............................................................................................................. 41 Roos Wever 4 Veganism: From Restrictive, Healthy Taste to ‘Being a Good Person’ 6.1 Explaining veganism: objective and calm ...................................................................... 42 6.2 Estimating the opponent ................................................................................................. 43 6.3 Being prepared ................................................................................................................ 45 6.4 Avoid confrontation or situation ..................................................................................... 46 6.5 Eating animal-derived products ...................................................................................... 47 6.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 48 7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 49 7.1 RQ1: Which mechanisms underlie the decision process in becoming vegan? ............... 49 7.2 RQ2: How can veganism be understood as a lifestyle? .................................................. 50 7.3 RQ3: How do vegans interact with others about their lifestyle? .................................... 51 7.4 Final conclusions and implications ................................................................................. 53 7.5 Limitations and suggestions for future research ............................................................