Vegetarianism/Veganism: a Sociological Analysis A
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VEGETARIANISM/VEGANISM: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS A Thesis by STÉPHANIE REYMOND Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Chair of Committee, Edward Murguia Co-Chair of Committee, Joe R. Feagin Committee Member William Alexander McIntosh Head of Department, Jane Sell August 2016 Major Subject: Sociology Copyright 2016 Stéphanie Reymond ABSTRACT The vegetarian/vegan movement, as all social movements, is impacted by systemic issues, here, the issues of race, class, and gender. This study begins with an analysis of the relationships between these systemic issues and vegetarianism/veganism, by means of an examination of twenty well-known vegetarians/vegans. The twenty were selected on the basis both of their importance to the movement, and on the amount of material written about them. My findings are first, concerning race, that there was a greater number of non- Hispanic Whites than Blacks, Latinos/as, or Asians among the twenty vegetarians/vegans, a finding consistent with the literature on the subject. Secondly, in terms of social class, the selection of twenty vegetarians/vegans had more individuals from the upper-middle and lower-upper classes, than from the lower social classes. Finally, concerning gender, more men than women were included in the list of twenty. This latter finding is not consistent with the literature which indicates that more women than men are vegetarian/vegan, this is probably due to the fact that, generally speaking, women tend to be under-represented in the mass media. The second part of this study is a micro-analysis of the discourse of five of the twenty vegetarians/vegans. Their motivations for becoming vegetarian/vegan are discussed, in particular their concern for animal welfare and human health. The analysis of the five also demonstrated that their paths to becoming vegetarian/vegan rarely were direct and that most experienced some back-and-forth movements in the process of their ii conversions. Based on the accounts of the five, factors facilitating the conversion to vegetarianism/veganism included the importance of having a strong vegetarian/vegan social network, of having the support of close friends and family, and the important role that media plays in the diffusion of the movement. On the other hand, factors keeping people from becoming or from staying vegetarian/vegan are presented, such as negative stereotypes about veganism, as well as the absence of the link between meat about to be eaten and the fact that this meat once was a living animal. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my mentor and Committee Co- Chair, Professor Edward Murguia, for his continuous support, guidance, and encouragement throughout the course of this research. I am beyond grateful for the time he spent advising me on this thesis and I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my graduate studies. I would like to thank my Committee Co-chair, Professor Joe R. Feagin, for his guidance and insightful comments. I am grateful for his immense knowledge and for the time he dedicated to enrich my ideas. Thank you for the words of encouragement and support as well. In addition, my sincere thank you goes to Professor Alex McIntosh, who gave me the freedom to explore on my own but who was always available to give me direction. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 DEFINITION OF VEGETARIANISM/VEGANISM .............................................. 3 A BRIEF HISTORY OF VEGETARIANISM/VEGANISM ................................... 5 The History of Vegetarianism in Europe ............................................................ 5 The History of Vegetarianism in America .......................................................... 7 Vegetarianism/Veganism Today ......................................................................... 10 METHODS ................................................................................................................ 13 DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CONVERSION TO VEGETARIANISM/VEGANISM ............................................................................ 16 Gender Differences Among Vegetarians/Vegans ............................................... 16 Is Vegetarianism/Veganism Based on Social Class? .......................................... 23 Racial Differences in Vegetarianism/Veganism ................................................. 27 OTHER GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS CONCERNING VEGETARIANS/VEGANS .......................................................... 30 Age ...................................................................................................................... 30 Marital Status ...................................................................................................... 30 FIVE ACCOUNTS OF WELL-KNOWN VEGETARIANS/VEGANS .................. 32 Paul McCartney ................................................................................................... 33 Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram ................................................................................... 33 Ellen DeGeneres .................................................................................................. 33 Thierry Casasnovas ............................................................................................. 33 T. Colin Campbell ............................................................................................... 34 v DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE FIVE VEGETARIANS/VEGANS ................... 35 The Path to Vegetarianism/Veganism ................................................................. 35 Factors Contributing to the Diffusion or Retrenchment of Vegetarianism/Veganism ................................................................................ 38 Reasons for Becoming Vegetarian/Vegan, Based on Five Detailed Accounts ... 45 More than Just a Diet, a Spiritual Awakening..................................................... 51 Engagement in the Vegetarian/Vegan Community ............................................. 53 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 56 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 65 vi INTRODUCTION We should always be clear that animal exploitation is wrong because it involves speciesism. And speciesism is wrong because, like racism, sexism, homophobia, anti- Semitism, classism, and all other forms of human discrimination, speciesism involves violence inflicted on members of the moral community where that infliction of violence cannot be morally justified. Gary L. Francione, animal rights advocate and Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers School of Law-Newark. This research is a comprehensive sociological analysis of vegetarianism/veganism. In-depth studies of this movement and the dimensions I examine have been non-existent. Little is known about how and why individuals become vegetarian/vegan. My intent is to go beyond the idea of vegetarianism/veganism as being only a diet consisting of not eating and not wearing animal products. First, I will define and detail the history of the vegetarian/vegan movement. I will demonstrate that vegetarianism/veganism is a social movement embedded in a larger system that is sexist, racist, and classist. Social movements are defined as “a form of political association between persons who have at least a minimal sense of themselves as connected to others in common purpose and who come together across an extended period of time to effect social change in the name of that purpose” (James and van Seeters 2014). We will see that vegetarians/vegans, because they share a common identity and because they organize in associations for the purpose of changing mainstream views on vegetarianism/veganism, are engaged in a social movement. We will see that the systemic issues of race, class, and gender are interconnected, that they impact the vegetarian/vegan movement, and that they influence those wanting to access a vegetarian/vegan diet. To do this, I will review the literature linking race/class/ gender to vegetarianism/veganism. 1 Next, I will compare the biographies of twenty well-known vegetarians/vegans, analyzing them to see if they fit the literature on the connections between vegetarianism/veganism and race, class, and gender. Thus, I will not only look at systemic relationships, but I will look at relationships at the individual level as well. Further, I select five of the twenty accounts of vegetarians/vegans, and thoroughly analyze them to obtain even more information about their paths to vegetarianism/veganism and the back and forth movements they may have experienced in their conversions. Based on these five accounts, I explore the factors contributing to the diffusion of vegetarianism/veganism. Elements such as the