Understanding the Reasons for and Barriers to Becoming Vegetarian in Prospective Vegetarians and Vegans A Qualitative Phenomenological Exploration by TARA ELIZABETH GALLIMORE School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition McGill University, Montreal December 2015 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Human Nutrition © Tara Gallimore 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 RÉSUMÉ ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................................. 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 10 PREFACE & CONTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS .................................................................................................. 12 I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Self-Disclosure ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Purpose of the Inquiry ............................................................................................................................ 16 Meet My Participants.............................................................................................................................. 17 Rana .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Lynn ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 Aimee .................................................................................................................................................. 18 Islah ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 Ellen ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 Odell .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Jeremy ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Paige .................................................................................................................................................... 20 Aaron ................................................................................................................................................... 21 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................... 22 Timing: When I Reviewed the Literature ................................................................................................ 22 Vegetarianism ......................................................................................................................................... 22 What is Vegetarianism? ...................................................................................................................... 22 Prevalence of and Interest in Vegetarian Diets .................................................................................. 23 Vegetarian Diets and Chronic Disease Risk ......................................................................................... 23 Vegetarian Diets and Risk of Nutritional Deficiencies ........................................................................ 24 Added Hormones in Beef and Dairy .................................................................................................... 24 Antibiotics in Meat .............................................................................................................................. 26 Vegetarianism and the Environment .................................................................................................. 26 Vegetarianism and Animal Welfare .................................................................................................... 27 Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 31 Reasons for Becoming Vegetarian .......................................................................................................... 31 2 Dynamic Vegetarian Motivations........................................................................................................ 32 “Health” and “Ethical” Vegetarians’ Motivations ............................................................................... 33 Vegetarians’ and Semi-Vegetarians’ Motivations ............................................................................... 33 Current and Former Vegetarians’ Motivations ................................................................................... 33 Generational Differences in Motivations ............................................................................................ 34 Gender Differences in Motivations ..................................................................................................... 34 Limitations of the Aforementioned Studies ........................................................................................ 34 The Transition to a Vegetarian Lifestyle ................................................................................................. 35 Barriers to Becoming Vegetarian ............................................................................................................ 36 Gender Differences in Barriers to Becoming Vegetarian .................................................................... 38 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 39 III. METHODOLOGY: INTERPRETIVE PHENOMENOLOGY ............................................................................ 40 Interpretive Phenomenology: A Philosophy and a Research Approach ................................................. 40 Selecting Research Participants .............................................................................................................. 41 Participant Recruitment ...................................................................................................................... 42 Conversations with Participants ............................................................................................................. 42 My Identity .......................................................................................................................................... 43 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 44 Interview Transcription ....................................................................................................................... 44 Developing Findings: Considering Parts and Whole ........................................................................... 45 Writing and Re-Writing ....................................................................................................................... 46 Reflexivity ............................................................................................................................................ 46 Interpretation as Fluid ........................................................................................................................ 48 Interest, Commitment, and Strong Orientation ................................................................................. 48 Generalizability and Transferability .................................................................................................... 49 Research Ethics Considerations .............................................................................................................. 50 IV. FINDING #1—REASONS FOR BECOMING VEGETARIAN ......................................................................... 51 Ethical Reasons ....................................................................................................................................... 52 Animal Rights and Animal Welfare: Similarities and Differences ....................................................... 52 Animal Rights ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Animal Welfare ................................................................................................................................... 56 Environmental Sustainability .............................................................................................................. 58 3 Human Hunger ...................................................................................................................................